Childcare Marketing Tips

Childcare companies face a unique challenge establishing a balance between professionalism and authenticity. Prioritizing one over the other can turn off potential customers because parents expect companies to operate professionally, while presenting a charismatic personality synonymous with someone in childcare. Childcare companies need to communicate their safety standards, staff qualifications, and educational outcomes through their marketing while demonstrating that the environment they've created is nurturing, healthy, and positive for young children. If you own a daycare, preschool, or some other childcare facility, keep reading for tips on how to establish your marketing message with this key balance in mind.

Build an Engaging Website

Your facility's website is the ideal place to list your professional qualifications and introduce parents to your company. It should be functional and easy to navigate so that visitors can easily view information and have their potential concerns addressed. For example, including a "Meet the Staff" section on your website with photos and bios of each teacher and caregiver can let parents see who will be caring for their children. Outlines of programs and curriculum will help the parents understand what activities their children will be involved in throughout the day. As you complete your website, provide detailed and thorough information to reassure potential clients that your company is trustworthy and that their children will be safe under your care.

Your website design is also important when persuading visitors to enroll their children in your programs. Your color scheme, for example, should invoke the fun and safe environment that you provide in your facility. Use high-quality photos of your location, staff, and activities to convey sincerity and show a nurturing environment. Virtual or video tours are also a great way to highlight your center’s amenities while showcasing the size and cleanliness of your space. If you're having a difficult time deciding on layout and visual schemes for your website, try to imagine yourself as a prospective client and what first impressions your design choices would give.

Leverage Online Reviews

Positive reviews on Google My Business are a great way for companies to establish an online presence. Google reviews can be vital for a childcare facility because it will allow parents to form an early opinion on your establishment based on the complaints and praises of other parents. Google My Business profiles are often common search results for location-based questions. If someone googles something like “daycare centers in Glendale,” your Google My Business profile could be the first representation of your business seen by prospective clients.

Asking your satisfied customers to write reviews of your services will improve your numbers, your search ranking, and your overall reputation. Childcare services, however, tend to be employed for several weeks or months at a time, so requesting a review may require some extra tact and timing. We recommend that you request reviews from parents who have used your services continuously for at least one month. Try sending an email before long weekends or holiday breaks when parents are likely to have more free time on their hands to write a meaningful review of your services.

Use Social Media

Utilize social media as a way to connect and build trust with parents while creating a community around your daycare center or preschool. You can use social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to showcase highlights and snapshots of daily activities. This will allow parents to see the care and engagement that their children receive, while encouraging them to feel involved and connected. You can emphasize certain moments and milestones such as learning to read, creating arts and crafts, or special holiday events like Halloween and Christmas celebrations. Be sure, however, to receive parents' permission to record and post photos and videos of their children beforehand.

There's a plethora of other ways you can make use of social media. For example, you can introduce new staff members through bios, achievement highlights, or anniversary posts to help parents get to know who is caring for their children. You could also share photos and content from the parents themselves, allowing families to get to know one another and develop a community. You can also make educational content on your social media accounts to share parenting tips or ideas for fun activities that they can do at home. Allowing parents to be part of the fun will help them feel more engaged with your company, making them more likely to recommend your facility to other parents.

Start a Google Ads Campaign

Google Ads can help you connect with parents who are actively searching the web for services like yours. We've already mentioned the benefits of ensuring that your Google My Business profile is filled out with complete and accurate information, as well as having a sufficient number of positive reviews from satisfied clients. Try to keep new reviews incoming consistently because it will reflect a high level of engagement which will increase your Google search ranking, making your website more readily accessible to potential clients.

You can also pursue paid search campaigns. In this case, you'll want to leverage both geographic and demographic targeting options to reach Google users who are most likely to require your services. This means you'll want to target local searchers who are also parents; depending on the pricing of your services, you may want to narrow down this demographic by household income as well. As you craft your marketing campaign, consider which months tend to have the highest rates of enrollment, especially if you run a preschool. After you have researched high enrollment rates, allocate your budget accordingly so that you can maximize your ad campaigns to run during the times that will serve your company best. You can also select which time of day to run your ads. Most working adults take a lunch break around noon and finish their workday after 5pm, making these ideal times to run ads.

Optimize for Search Engines

You can further expand your website's content, offering to rank for a wider range of topics and increase website engagement. Create a blog or resource section on your site that contains articles on topics of interest to parents. This can include articles on child development, academic help, nutritional guides, and other tips and advice. Each article should focus on one specific topic in order to rank for a particular query, such as "best healthy snacks for kids.” The article should also link internally to your other content and service pages to keep visitors engaged and encourage further exploration of your website.

It's important to update your blog's content on a regular basis because this will signal to Google that your website is active and help boost search rankings. On top of that, be sure that your website's loading times are fast and that the overall user experience of your website is smooth and reliable. Slow-loading websites can lead to higher bounce rates, meaning a higher percentage of users immediately leave the site without interacting beyond the first landing page. Your site should also be optimized for mobile as well because many users search for services with their smartphones.

Connect With Your Community

Parents can often experience some anxiety when enrolling their children in a daycare or preschool because they may be uncomfortable being separated from their children for an extended period of time. Fostering a community of transparency and reassurance, in which the parents feel more involved with daily activities can help alleviate some of that stress. Use email updates about classroom activities, schedules, and events to help keep parents in the loop. Consider holding events like arts and crafts nights that both parents and children can attend together. Involving the parents by allowing them to witness, and even partake, in the enjoyment and enrichment of their children will improve your reputation, which will, in turn, grow your business

Community outreach through other local charities or related organizations can also help build a positive reputation for your business. You can sponsor events, organize fundraisers, or even donate resources to local charities. For example, you could host a food drive or charity walk, getting parents and kids involved in helping the community. Or you could use your facility space to host free parenting workshops that help teach essentials on child development, nutrition, sleep routines, and other parenting tips. What each community wants may differ depending on where you are located, so consider what is valued by parents in your area and try to meet those demands as best as you can.

Build a Referral Program

A referral program can help incentivize additional enrollments via your active client network. Since parents are likely to trust the opinions of family and friends, it is important to encourage satisfied clients to reach out to fellow parents and caretakers. You can give meaningful and valuable rewards in exchange for parent referrals like tuition discounts, waived registration fees, or gift cards to family-friendly businesses. As you customize your rewards program, keep the process simple because complicated systems can discourage clients from using it, while becoming a burden to the company.

Daycare centers and preschools tend to be time-sensitive services because most parents enroll their children between the ages of 2 and 4 years old. As children age out, your clientele will dwindle, so it’s important to keep an influx of new clients. Encourage your current customers to reach out to people within their personal networks as many of them may know new and growing families in need of childcare. Consistently remind parents about your referral programs, so that as circumstances change within their personal circles, they'll remember to recommend your facility when the time is right.

How Childcare Providers Can Start a Direct Mail Campaign

Direct mail is an effective marketing tool that allows you to reach the mailboxes of families within a set radius of your business. It's a great way to build brand awareness in your local community as well as increase enrollments via special offers and promotions. A direct mail postcard can be sent without an envelope, so from the moment its recipient takes it out of the mailbox, its message and branding are completely visible. Most families frequently check their mailboxes, making it likely that they’ll see your ad and be exposed to your business. This is why direct mail is a marketing venue that you shouldn't ignore.

Try to time your direct mail marketing campaigns around peak enrollment periods, as well as the times leading up to those periods. Spring and summer are ideal times to advertise childcare facilities. In your postcard's message, be sure to clearly state any ongoing promotions or opportunities. Follow this up with a clear Call-to-Action statement (CTA) that instructs the recipient on what to do next. If you want the person to visit your website for enrollment, you can simplify the process for them by utilizing a QR code that they can scan to jump directly to your desired landing page. Otherwise, be sure to include your website's address so they know where to go to complete enrollment.

Conclusion

Running a daycare center or a preschool is not an easy profession and marketing is just one piece of the larger puzzle when it comes to running your facility. If you're pressed for time with other day-to-day management tasks, you may want to consider enlisting a seasoned professional to handle the bulk of your marketing work. Cactus Mailing has over 22 years of direct mail marketing experience and has managed more than 50,000 campaigns. We can handle everything from your postcard's design to mailing list selection to printing and mailing.

Get started on your first direct mail postcard campaign today and receive a free design.