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Social media can be a powerful marketing tool for your childcare or preschool business. Not only can it help foster a sense of community with the families in your program, but it can also attract more interest and inquiries from prospective families. Used strategically, social media can increase your program’s online visibility and build a strong brand reputation for your center!
Whether you’re just starting out or you’re looking for new ideas to try, these tips will help you improve your social media profiles, create content that your current and prospective families will love, and increase engagement on your posts so you can reach more people!
1. Keep your social media profiles updated.
Your profile or “About Us” section is one of the most valuable marketing sections on your social media pages—prospective families will refer to it if they want to get in touch with your center. Make sure to keep this section updated at all times with your most important business details, such as your phone number, website, address, and hours of operation. For example, you should update your details if your hours have changed since the start of COVID-19, or if a previous director set up the profile several years ago but it’s now out of date. You can also update your profile to share important updates, such as using the “bio” section on Instagram to announce when you’re accepting new student applications or opening signups for classroom tours.
Bonus tip: If you have multiple social media pages, use the same profile picture so you can establish a cohesive visual identity across all your channels. Many childcare and preschool businesses use an image that includes their business name and logo.
2. Ask your current families for input on what types of posts they like to see.
It can be time-consuming to constantly think of new things to share on social media. If you’re running out of ideas or need some inspiration, don’t be shy about asking the families in your program for their advice! Chances are that their responses will also give you insights into what prospective families would want to see on your social media pages too.
Use a free tool such as SurveyMonkey or Google Forms to collect their responses, and ask them what types of content they find the most helpful or enjoyable. You can also inquire if there’s anything they wish you’d post about that you don’t already. If you remind parents that one of your main social media goals is to keep them connected and engaged with what’s happening at your center, they’ll be more than happy to offer some feedback and suggestions!
Bonus tip: with brightwheel, you can easily send out survey links to all the parents in your program through the newsletter feature!
3. Use social media to highlight what makes your center special.
Social media gives you the unique opportunity to show prospective parents (and remind existing families about) what sets your center apart. Families looking for childcare and preschool options are likely checking out at least a few different programs, so it’s strategic to use your social media pages to demonstrate your center’s competitive advantages!
To get started, make a list of the strengths of your program. Maybe you have an incredible teaching staff, or you use contactless check-in and check-out to make parents’ lives easier. Think of ways you can promote these aspects of your program in a creative, engaging way. For example, you might try highlighting a “Teacher of the Month” to introduce your staff team to your audience, or post a video testimonial from a parent who loves your program. The more you use social media to promote your center’s unique strengths, the more it will become a powerful marketing tool for your business!
4. Post video content.
- Videos are extremely popular on social media and receive higher engagement than other types of content. Because videos are able to capture viewers’ attention longer than text or images can, they perform best with most social media algorithms—the backend processes that decide what people see on their feeds and in what order. In fact, studies estimate that videos will make up 82% of internet traffic starting this year. This is why it’s well worth your time to include videos in your content strategy, even though they may take more effort to create.
- If you don’t have professional video equipment, don’t worry! You can record high-quality videos on your smartphone, as long as you follow a few simple steps.
- Make sure you have good lighting. Natural lighting is best, so try shooting your videos near the windows if you’re filming indoors.
- Keep your phone level. Try to avoid moving your phone around too much when you’re recording, keeping it as level as possible. One tool to help you do this is the “gridlines” feature on your phone’s camera, which you can turn on in the settings or the camera feature itself. Gridlines are available on most smartphones, and won’t show up in the video recording itself.
- Put your phone on airplane mode. This will prevent any unwanted notifications and sounds from occurring while you’re recording.
Check out this article for other tips on how to record great videos on your phone!
5. Post when your audience is usually the most active on social media.
You may notice that your followers tend to be on social media more during certain parts of the day. Maybe it’s early in the morning, after they drop off their child at your center, or early evening. Whenever that window is, time your posts to when your followers are usually online. This will increase the likelihood that your audience will see your post and help you get more engagement from your followers.
If you’re not sure when your followers are most active, you can use this guide on the best time to post on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms as a starting point!
We hope that you found a few easy and quick ways to improve your social media presence and content strategy in this article. Happy posting!
To learn more about effective social media marketing to engage current families and attract new ones, check out our free guide, Social Media 101 for Childcare and Preschool Businesses!
Brightwheel is the complete solution for early education providers, enabling you to streamline your center’s operations and build a stand-out reputation. Brightwheel connects the most critical aspects of running your center—including sign in and out, parent communications, tuition billing, and licensing and compliance—in one easy-to-use tool, along with providing best-in-class customer support and coaching. Brightwheel is trusted by thousands of early education centers and millions of parents. Learn more at mybrightwheel.com.
