While a private K-12 school’s mission is to provide an exceptional education experience, these exemplary institutions also need to generate revenue and earn a profit. Like any enterprise that wishes to thrive and achieve long-term success, a private school must attract customers (students and their families) who are willing to pay the tuition.
Private school administrators must craft an effective marketing strategy to reach prospective students and make their institutions stand out in a highly competitive field. Any marketing plan to increase student enrollment should include built-in flexibility to adapt to the evolving expectations of today’s families and your progress to goals.
4 Most Effective Enrollment and Marketing Strategies for Private Schools
The following tips can help you develop targeted strategies to draw more students to your K-12 school.
Table of Contents
- Evaluate and Upgrade Your Website
- Stay Connected Through Social Media
- Stage a Community Event
- Stay Engaged With Families
- Simplify the Enrollment Process With Ravenna
1. Evaluate and Upgrade Your Website
Like most businesses today, private schools need a strong online presence to reach prospective students and families. Your school’s website should convey a professional image and perpetuate your institution’s brand identity. It should also be fast, easy to navigate, interactive, and contain essential information regarding your curriculum, special programs, activities, and faculty.
Integrating lead-generation software into the site can help you connect with interested families.
2. Stay Connected Through Social Media
Establishing a social media presence is essential for developing a following and promoting your school. Use social media marketing to post the latest news and information and communicate with students and families. Try to update your school’s status at least once each day to keep the content fresh and remain engaged with your audience.
If you’re unsure which social media platforms to use, survey your current students, their families, and your staff to determine the sites they most frequently visit.
Marketing Strategies for School Admissions
Once you know what social media platforms you want to use, most of also them offer paid advertising solutions to help reach your target audience. Coming up with creative school admission campaign ideas can help increase admissions. Consider your marketing strategies, tactics, slogans, or statements that have worked in your other marketing channels and incorporate them into your paid social efforts to increase applicants.
3. Stage a Community Event
Getting people in the door can generate interest in your school. Encourage families to visit and learn more about what you offer by hosting regular events like open houses, holiday parties, and bake sales. Administration and faculty members should attend to provide mingling opportunities and allow families to get to know your staff.
4. Stay Engaged With Families
In business, word-of-mouth advertising is an effective — and inexpensive — marketing tool. You can apply the same principle to your school’s marketing efforts by reaching out to your current students’ families via newsletters, email, and other communication platforms to keep them informed and excited about what’s happening at your school. They’ll likely provide a favorable review to their friends, family members, and business contacts who are searching for an excellent private school for their children.
Simplify the Enrollment Process With Ravenna
You can also attract more families to your school by providing a quick and simple enrollment experience. Ravenna Solutions offers innovative admission and enrollment software suite that helps streamline school office efficiencies.
Contact Ravenna online today to learn more about how our software can benefit your school’s marketing strategy.
