Is your child care centre using social media to grow enrolment?

If you are using social media for your child care business, are you confident that your websites are optimized for mobile and driving enrolment to your door?

According to The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), by the end of 2015, there are a total of 1,200 child care centres in Singapore with a total enrolment of close to 90,000. With so many remarkable pre-schools and early childhood institutions burgeoning, operators are facing stiffer competition.

Traditional marketing and advertising that worked to fill up your vacancies a couple of years ago are now becoming ineffective. The new age parents are online-first searchers and trust the recommendations of strangers on Facebook over your marketing message.

Social media is a great way to increase your child care centre’s brand awareness, especially when so many parents are on social media today. Sure, you probably have a Facebook page and occasionally post photos from events, but what about other ways to increase your social reach in today’s technologically driven world? In addition to the 10 ways to increase engagement on Facebook, here are 3 new ways you can increase your engagement immediately on Facebook.

#1 Spotlight your Employee of the Month

One of the best ways to show what your childcare centre has to offer is to highlight the wonderful teachers and directors you have in running your centre. Parents love learning more about teachers. Sharing stories or fun facts about your employees is a great way to help parents feel more connected to your centre. One great tip is to have an “Employee of the month” which you share a fact or story about an employee each month. Plus, with consistent content, your readers will come back looking for that information on a routine basis.

#2 Respond to reviews – both positive and negative

Being active on the social networks that reach parents should be a cornerstone of your overall social media marketing plan. In this social media age, there is no shortage of social reviews. Staying on top of your customer reviews can only help your child care business in the long run. Monitor comments and reviews on a routine basis. Take an effort to reply reviewers for positive reviews and follow up with those who leave negative reviews.

#3 Reach all the right people through Facebook Lookalike Audience

Most online advertising relies on “cookies” to decide which adverts to show on different sites. On Facebook, your adverts are delivered more accurately to the audiences you chose. Lookalike Audiences let you find more people who are similar to your best customers. It’s a great way to use the insights you’ve gained from your Facebook marketing to find more people who’ll love your products and services.

Conclusion

Facebook and Instagram are where today’s parents hang out and recommend local businesses. If your child care business is not using social media, you are MISSING OUT on valuable prospects. You can create meaningful user experiences by just attracting and engaging your target audience on social media. These meaningful user experiences can, in turn, create a meaningful increase in enrolment.

What do you think? Do you have other ideas on how to increase your child care centre’s social media reach? Please leave your comments below and let us know your thoughts.