5 quick and effective marketing actions
Hopefully you have had the chance to have a look through our last article around marketing plans and gained some inspiration for developing your own to support your business recovery.
This week we are continuing on the theme of marketing, probably because it is one of the most important things to focus on right now. People are moving forward with their lives again and need to know what’s available to them particularly in terms of childcare and how to access it. So whilst you develop a stronger marketing strategy, here are 5 things that are quick to set up and effective in improving your current marketing and feeding into your wider marketing activities.
1. Be the “go-to” place for current information locally.
You have lots of information about what’s happening in childcare at the moment and are generally closer to it than parents. So why not use your marketing channels to pass on the facts that they need to know and become a reliable source of information locally. It will be helpful to parents and you can improve the visits to your website or social media pages.
2. Show new parents how to access a place in your childcare setting.
How do parents know when to approach a childcare provider to access a place? Whether they need one in the near future or perhaps next year when their child is old enough where do they find this information?
Develop clear guides for parents so they know how your admissions process works and they can join the process at the right time. It’s a great way to engage early with parents and build a relationship and bond with them well before their child attends to increase the likelihood they choose your setting when the time comes.
3. Get more from your website.
Why have a website if no one looks at it?
Developing websites to their full potential is a constant process so here are a few things to keep it moving forward to attract more visits and engagement:
- Make sure you include the childcare industry most searched keywords on your web pages and in your page titles. It helps with search engine rankings.
- Treat your website as a dynamic resource not a once only static body of information. The more content you upload the more interesting it is and more easily you can be found online. Newsletters and blogs are ideal options for this.
- Make sure the most common information that parents want to find is NOT hidden deep in your website behind lots of ‘clicks’, make it accessible from your main page.
- Regularly check you website analytics. See how many visits you have had, what pages people visit most, how many ‘click-throughs” on your links, what articles they are reading etc. It all helps you to improve the content on your website and encourage more people to visit.
- Have a “Contact me” button - Make it easy for people… they click on the button, you take the initiative and contact them.
4. Encourage existing parents to share and like your social media page and posts.
Just having a social media presence is not enough. You need to constantly encourage interaction with your pages and get people engaged. Getting your local community talking about your childcare setting and what you are offering takes a few nudges here and there, so don’t be afraid to ask your followers to like, comment and share with others to spread the word. Don’t forget to post regularly and be consistent to keep people interested.
5. How easy is it to find the top 3 most important facts about your setting?
I have been looking online at childcare providers, much as a new parents would do, trying to first of all find them and then get to the important data like;
“When do I apply?”
“What places are available?”
“Can I access the free entitlement for 30 hours or just 15 hours?”
“What is the process for registration?”
Thinking about what parents want, how easy is it for them to find the 3 most important facts they need to know about securing a childcare place with you?
- Where is the information found?
- Can the easily find it?
- Do you regularly update and promote vacancies and news they need to know?
- Can new parents searching for a childcare place for the first time find it easily?
I hope these 5 tips on marketing can help you spot areas for improving your marketing and ultimately take up of places. If you would like to look deeper into any or all of these areas, access any of the marketing tools for free, or would like to book a marketing review then please contact us at…
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