Of the 54 million U.S. children between the ages of five and 17, 11.8 percent attended private schools in 2022. A notable increase from 10.4 percent in 2015, the rate of private education participation has quickly flourished over the last decade.
With growing interest in private schools, it remains important to build and sustain a strong enrollment pipeline. To do so, private schools must meet families where they are, by use of emerging and underutilized marketing channels. Below, we explore four digital marketing ideas for schools that go beyond the basics and can help your school stand out in a crowded K-12 education market.
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1. SEM and SEO
When families begin their search for private school options, Google is often the first place they go. If your school doesn’t appear in those searches, you risk being invisible to the very families seeking what you offer.
Search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) are two sides of the same coin toward this end. SEM involves running paid ads on search engines, appearing when users search for specific keywords like “best private elementary school in my city.”
SEO complements this channel, improving your website’s organic visibility on search engines through content, keywords, and website health. Essentially, understanding how Google and similar search engines rank the order of websites they list allows you to create content that ranks high for important family searches—basically free advertising.
Through a combination of organic and paid search strategies, your school can ensure relevant families find your website naturally.
Key Tactics
If you’ve ever used Google or Apple Maps in search of a bite to eat or directions to a new doctor, you’ve taken advantage of what’s known as local SEO. Local SEO includes creating and optimizing the Google Business Profile for your school, a free service that makes you more findable. Each Profile includes space for the following:
- Contact Information: In addition to an address, list a phone number, email address, hours of operation, and website to ensure inquiring families have the resources to contact your school and make informed decisions.
- Photos: Showcase your school with classroom and facility pictures, and add the school logo for a professional, branded look.
- Interactions with Families: Respond to current and previous family reviews to build trust with prospective families. List the answers to frequently asked questions to save your admissions team time.
In general, SEO and SEM revolve around anticipating how families search for schools online. The keywords you believe they will type into search engines are what you should include on your website, so it becomes associated with these terms.
There are many keyword research tools to assist with this strategy, but best practices include combining location with traits. Location includes either the region, city, or neighborhood where your school physically resides, and trait refers to school features. No school is just a private school, so get specific. Phrases like “private Jewish school in Williamsburg” will attract a much more relevant audience than “private school NYC.”
Shorter keywords tend to have much higher competition from similar organizations, so it’s recommended to pursue these longer phrases for organic strategies. With paid SEM campaigns, your school’s website rises to the top search results on the page, so target high-intent queries, regardless of length, to optimize return on the investment.
While most of these digital marketing ideas for schools take place solely on a computer, this one requires some old-fashioned word of mouth. Positive reviews are critical to not just recruitment, but they factor strongly into Google’s rankings as well. The more high-quality reviews your school can muster, the better, so encourage (or incentivize!) families to share their experiences.
2. Nontraditional Social Media Channels
While most schools have some presence on Facebook and Instagram, emerging platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Reddit, and even Nextdoor are gaining traction with both students and parents. These nontraditional social media platforms provide new, creative ways to engage with prospective families.
As traditional social media platforms become overserved with promotional content and advertisements, parents and students are increasingly looking for authentic, informal content rather than overly polished brochures. Platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts allow schools to showcase their culture, community, and personality in ways that are engaging and easy to consume.
Here are some platforms to investigate, which are not yet considered oversaturated with branded content.
- TikTok: Feature behind-the-scenes campus life, student-led projects, or fun teacher introductions. Use trends and soundtracks to increase visibility.
- YouTube Shorts: Share short testimonials, quick student interviews, or time-lapse videos of school events.
- Reddit: Participate in targeted parenting and education-related subreddits to offer genuine advice or insights, instead of ads.
- Nextdoor: Engage with local families by sharing events, school news, or volunteering opportunities. It’s especially effective for reaching nearby families looking for local alternatives.
- LinkedIn: Connect with prospective parents on the platform most used to research organizations and where 53 percent of users hail from high-income households.
Authenticity wins interest on these channels, so avoid overly scripted or salesy content. Let the best parts of your school speak for themselves.
3. Recruitment Workflow Automation
The third digital marketing idea for schools involves using software to streamline, personalize, and scale your admissions outreach. These tools can automate email follow-ups, tour scheduling, lead scoring, etc.
Automation enables admissions teams to do more with less, ensuring timely, consistent, and personalized communication with every prospective family, while freeing up your team to focus on what really matters: building relationships.
Key tactics involve:
- Automated email sequences: Set up drip campaigns that send relevant information based on user actions (e.g., inquiry submitted, tour attended, application started).
- Communication automation: Wrangle the myriad messages across email, SMS, direct mail, and any other communication channels your team uses through a central scheduling solution. These tools can increase the volume of family correspondence without compromising quality.
- Lead scoring: Identify and prioritize high-interest families based on their engagement with your website or communications.
4. Content Marketing with Interactive Experiences
Content marketing remains a cornerstone of digital strategy, but it’s evolving fast. Beyond blog posts, schools can now create immersive, interactive experiences that inform, engage, and convert families.
Parents want to get a real sense of your school before they step on campus. Interactive content builds trust from the start and helps them picture their child at your school. Plus, it serves as a lead-generation engine when gated or tied to inquiry forms.
Some digital content marketing ideas for private schools include:
- Virtual tours: Go beyond photo galleries with 360-degree walkthroughs or narrated video tours of classrooms, labs, and athletic facilities.
- Quizzes: Create interactive tools like “Which private school is the best fit for your child?” to both engage and collect leads.
- Downloadable guides: Offer resources like “5 Questions to Ask on a School Tour” or “Your Private School Application Checklist” in exchange for an email.
- Success stories: Share video testimonials or day-in-the-life features from students, parents, teachers, and alumni.
Your school will find success if you:
- Make all content mobile-first, as many families will engage via smartphone or tablet.
- Repurpose content across channels for maximum reach. For example, you can turn a student spotlight video into an Instagram reel, then use it for an email campaign on the same topic.
- Use tracking tools such as heatmaps or website analytics to see what content is resonating most and double down on those formats.
Strengthen Your School’s Digital Marketing with Ravenna®
The competition for students provides an excellent opportunity for savvy admissions teams to find and recruit the best-fit students. Schools that rely solely on word-of-mouth or traditional advertising are missing out on huge opportunities to connect with today’s digital-first families.
By embracing emerging digital marketing channels, your school can attract the right families, nurture them effectively, and ultimately fill your enrollment pipeline with mission-fit students.
