Whether you’re just getting started or even if you’ve been in the childcare industry for years, you must embrace every marketing opportunity. Marketing is going to be one most important thing to do to grow enrollment and keep your program relevant within the community. It takes the average consumer 3 to 5 times to see a promotion before they take action. Marketing can be one of the most significant expenses for a business, and this article will provide ways to grow enrollment on a budget. To grow enrollment on a budget, there are three things you can do today:
Purchase and Use Merch
The first thing you can do is order some merch with your program information. Merch includes a sweatshirt, t-shirt, and car magnets. These items should include information such as the program’s name, telephone number, and a catchy phrase related to one of your program benefits. It should also have a friendly visual representing childcare so potential customers can guess what type of business it is based on what they see. Do not include any information that can change, such as price, hours of operation, etc. The great thing about advertising this way is this is a one-time purchase and can be used all year round!
Build a Bigger Online Presence
Create a google business listing for free. Creating a google listing is a great way to make an online presence. Once you complete this listing, make sure to keep the information up to date. In addition, have your former, and current parents go on google to leave your program a review. Consumers make most of their purchases based on reviews. This is also the case when parents choose a childcare program to enroll their children!
In addition to google, create a Facebook and Instagram page pacifically for your childcare program. Suppose you are just coming into this industry. In that case, you can post your journey to becoming a childcare provider and let potential customers know some benefits of your program and how you plan to be different from your competitors. Suppose you are already open for business and have kids. Get parents to sign a form allowing you to post videos and pictures of children on social media. Next, post the day-to-day daily schedule in action. Let potential parents see what they can expect. There are so many different things you can post about your childcare program.
Advertise for $1 Dollar a Day
You can advertise on Facebook (Fb) for a little at $1 per day. The benefit of promoting your childcare program on Facebook is it has roughly 2.96 billion monthly active users, according to Statista. Using Facebook to advertise allows you to define your audience for better results. For example, you can target parents with children under age five within a 5-mile radius of your location. Fb adverting is also a great way to become known in your community. In addition, Facebook now owns Instagram, so when you run an ad on Fb, it will also run on Instagram. All you have to do is create a Facebook business page and connect your Instagram business page.
Conclusion
Remember, use all three methods of advertising simultaneously. Use the same visuals and colors in all advertising methods. Using the same brand/program visuals and colors will help the community or potential customers become familiar with your program. In addition, when potential customers see your advertising in different places, they will immediately recognize it’s the same childcare program they have seen. Customers will start to identify you and your program as being consistent. Consistency builds trust. Once the customer trusts you, enrollment is guaranteed to grow, or slots will stay filled!
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