Marketing is a very dynamic discipline and can be very time and resources consuming. Global marketing agencies are always challenged to stay up-to-date with the latest market tools and tactics, so what about schools or nurseries who are already striving to excel in education with little or no time left to do marketing.
In fact, although marketing in the modern days with all the technology and advanced media is quite complex, basic activities and marketing efforts can maintain your school’s market presence and help your business flourish.
Traditional marketing strategies like billboard, TV and print ads are hardly efficient anymore due to the endured high cost. In order to tackle such issues, we have listed seven tools for your school to market itself this year.
- Impressive PowerPoint presentations
Microsoft PowerPoint presentations are not only very cheap but also helpful on school orientation days, PTA meetings, graduation ceremonies. Parents love it when you give them something visual to look at during meetings like progress charts and reports. The more appealing and creative the data is the better.
- Helpful School Website
Years ago, websites were a luxury some entities could not afford. Nowadays, for a very low cost you can get your own branded school website. Make sure to have an admission tab, details for prospective parents, a photo gallery that includes photos from school events and more. Do not forget to update the school website frequently with event dates, activity programs and other school information.
- Responsive Hotline
As basic as it may sound, having a responsive hotline is something parents will thank you for. Most – if not all – of the parents are busy with 9-to-5 jobs and a daily list of chores and errands. Your school should try to ease their lives by lessening the time they are kept on hold.
- Email marketing
E-mails are free of charge and very handy. Make sure to ask parents to write their email addresses in applications, school forms and when trying to sign up on the school website. Always remember that email marketing is a double-edged sword. So do not try to bombard parents with a lot of emails every month, sometimes less is more!
- Social media buzz
Social media has been placed at the forefront of digital evolution in the last decade. With this emerging trend, it is relatively easy to get involved in the digital sphere. You can create multiple accounts on as many platforms as you want completely free of charge. Use social media to tell your story and not simply to sell. Social media can be a great tool to engage with parents and stay connected.
- School-parent communication apps
Daily communication with parents can be quite challenging and sometimes quick responses are crucial to get parents’ approvals, remind them about due dates or inform them in times of emergencies. Mobile applications like SchoolVoice are very suitable for the day-to-day school-parent communication as it save time and money unlike SMSs.
