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Daycare advertising can significantly impact how you promote your services and attract new families to your childcare program. As more childcare centers open and families' childcare options increase, you need a marketing plan that allows you to stand out amongst your competitors. Effective advertising will communicate what makes your center unique and what families will gain by enrolling.
There are various daycare advertising techniques you can use, such as networking, securing online reviews, and even using word of mouth. Taking the time to develop a well-thought-out advertising campaign can lead to significant growth in your business. Read on for the best tips to advertise your childcare business and boost enrollment at your center.
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How to advertise your childcare business
Advertising a childcare business effectively involves a combination of digital and in-person strategies. Online methods include using social media platforms and maintaining a website to enhance your program's visibility. In addition, partnering with local community groups can help build personal connections with families an encourage word-of-mouth referrals. By integrating both digital and in-person approaches, childcare providers can reach a wider audience and foster meaningful connections within their local communities.
Create a website
A website is a great way to advertise your childcare business whether you're just starting a daycare center or have been in business for years. Having a website offers you many benefits as a daycare owner, and it's a great way to provide an excellent first impression. Your website allows you to showcase your services, facilities, staff, curriculum, and more. You can also highlight testimonials and positive reviews from families. Whether parents first hear about you online or through a personal recommendation, your website will allow them to do their research and learn more about you.
How to build your website
The good news is you don’t have to be a tech expert to create a website. There are several user-friendly options that walk you through the process. Here are four simple steps you can take to create your daycare’s website:
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Secure a domain name: If possible, include your childcare center name in your domain name. This will allow your center to be easily searchable online. You can secure your domain on platforms such as GoDaddy.com. The cost of acquiring a domain varies, ranging from US$2.00 to US$20.00 per year.
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Select a user-friendly website platform: With so many website platforms on the market, it is easy to select a user-friendly option such as Wix, Hostinger, or Squarespace to create your site.
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Choose a design template: Many website platforms offer design templates you can choose from, so few graphic design skills are needed. Choose a template that best matches your design preferences and business needs.
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Add relevant sections and content: You can include relevant information such as curriculum and philosophy, admissions procedures, testimonials, security and safety measures, staff information, hours of operation, and an FAQ section.
A polished website helps build trust and credibility and sets you apart from others who either don't have a website or have one that isn't as professional. If you are able to build the site yourself, you can update it regularly to share current information, events, and your enrollment status. With brightwheel's enrollment feature, you can also make it easy for families to submit an application online via a direct link on your program's website. This can help increase your enrollment and eliminate manual work. Creating a website provides a wealth of opportunities for your business, so it's well worth the time and effort.
Daycare SEO
To capitalize on these opportunities, you need to maximize the number of people visiting your website. This is why search engine optimization (SEO) is important to keep in mind when designing and reviewing your website. SEO involves getting the most traffic from search engines as possible. There is an entire industry built on SEO, but there are a few key principles you can follow without hiring a professional:
Use descriptive URLs: When deciding on the URLs, or web addresses, for your homepage and other pages on your website, pick words that accurately describe the content. It helps the search engine discover and categorize your website content correctly. This means that the search engine will then display your website as a result for relevant searches. For example, your URL for your enrollment information could be www.nameofdaycare.com/enrollment, or for a section displaying your facilities it would be www.nameofdaycare.com/facilities. This will also help users identify if the result is relevant to their search, increasing the chances that they will click on it.
Think of the search terms: Your website is more likely to perform well in search engines if the titles, subtitles and content of your pages include terms that families are likely to look up. So, a key step for daycare SEO is to think about the possible search terms that families may use in order to find information on daycare centers in their area. Once you have the list of keywords that you think they are likely to search for, make sure to include them in the title of the page, in subheadings, and naturally throughout the text itself. This will help the search engine itself scan the content and categorize the material according to relevant search terms.
Build your profile on listing pages: Including your business information on Google Business Profiles and platforms like Yelp will help further increase the visibility of your website, and by extension your daycare center. These free online business listings can do wonders for your business, if you spend some time building your profile well. It is important to include as much information as possible on your listing, including photos, a link to your website, etc, to attract more views. You may also want to consider enabling the option for parents to leave a review through these platforms. Having a lot of reviews makes it more enticing for other parents to clock on your listing. Of course, it is important to always reply to your reviews - positive and especially negative ones - to show families that you take their feedback seriously.
Stay up to date: Your website and business listings will perform better the more up-to-date they are. To help you keep the content up to date and provide accurate information there are two simple steps you can follow:
- Maintain a list of your online listings. This includes your website, but also any other listing pages where you have a profile. Keeping a clear list will ensure that you do not forget to update some of them.
- Set aside some time each month to check your listings for needed updates. Consider adding an hour to your calendar each month when you will review your listings and make any needed updates and improvements.
Search engine marketing
Once you have launched your website, it will still take time until you can generate a lot of traffic to it. Organic marketing strategies can be very effective in the long run, but sometimes you may want to reach families faster. In such cases, you may consider search engine marketing (SEM), which refers to paid ads online. This includes paid advertising with Google, Bing, or other search engines.
SEM can be a very effective way to promote a daycare business. It works by listing your ad in the search results, typically at the very top of the page, above organic results. This way, you increase the visibility of your website and your business.
Of course there is a cost to this strategy, as usually you will need to pay for every click, or even every time your listing appears in a sponsored link, so the cost can build up. This is why it is important to decide on a clear budget in advance, so you know how much you are planning to spend on this strategy. You can read more on how to successfully create and balance your budget. But, it can be an effective way to supplement your organic marketing strategy while you’re building up momentum. If you do choose to invest in a paid search engine marketing strategy, make sure to make the most out of these tools, by customizing the audience for the ads. This way you can maximize your reach with a relevant audience, and see faster returns on your investment.
Encourage word of mouth
Word of mouth is one of the most powerful and highly effective marketing strategies. That's because it's not coming from you. You're not telling prospective families how amazing you are; others are doing the job for you.
When current families are satisfied with your daycare services, they are more likely to share their experience with their friends, family, and colleagues. People are more likely to trust word of mouth than other advertising techniques because it's authentic and is based on real experiences.
To maximize the benefits of word-of-mouth advertising, you can encourage your families to spread the word about your daycare center. You can incentivize referrals by providing tuition discounts or gifts to families whose referrals enroll in your center.
Collect online reviews
Online reviews are similar to word of mouth because they come directly from your families. Prospective families will want to learn about the experiences others have had while at your daycare, and online reviews can make this possible. While word of mouth is fantastic, online reviews can provide a greater reach, as they have the potential to inform far more people about all your center offers. Asking your families for online reviews is certain to build credibility and increase enrollment in your daycare.
You can also repurpose online reviews by adding them to your social media profile, website, and any written materials, like brochures or flyers. Some popular daycare review sites include Care.com and Winnie.com.
While you're sure to receive many positive reviews, some families may likely leave negative comments too. How you respond can also say a lot about the culture of your daycare center. Be sure to respond to all negative reviews while remaining positive and professional. Parents want to know that you'll take concerns seriously and respond appropriately, so show this in your responses.
Seek out networking opportunities
Networking involves using your relationships with local businesses and organizations to spread the word about your daycare. You can partner with local gyms, child-based activity programs like karate or ballet centers, parent groups, and more. Networking with local real estate agents can also be beneficial, as they can refer clients with children to your center. Essentially, you want to seek out companies that attract children and parents.
You can leave your business cards or flyers at their establishments, be listed as a preferred partner on their websites, set up a booth at their locations, or just come in and talk to their parents about your services.
This is your chance to turn on the charm and show people all the benefits your childcare business has to offer. As you build strong relationships with companies in your community, you'll likely enjoy word-of-mouth advertising as they share good things about your program.
Get creative
You don't have to stick to typical strategies when advertising your daycare business. Consider getting creative to encourage families to make use of your services.
- Offer evening/night care: Think about periodically providing evening care and advertising it as a parents’ night out. You can have children come in the evenings for a few hours while their parents enjoy a child-free night out (or at home). You can consider offering this service to your regular families or to others in the community who don't typically come to you for child care.
- Provide enrichment activities: Consider offering some extracurricular activities at your center that families may want for their children, such as art, music, language, or dance classes. You may consider partnering with a local company that already provides these services and can teach the children at your center.
- Host community events: Families are always looking for fun things to do with their children, so you can make it easy by hosting events at your center. Activities like a Halloween trunk or treat, an Easter egg hunt, or a summer picnic are just some ways you can bring your community together.
- Hold an open house: Sometimes, families want to check out your facilities and meet you and your staff. Consider hosting an open house event quarterly to invite potential families into your center.
By being creative in your advertising efforts, you can effectively promote your daycare, build your reputation within the community, and increase enrollment in your childcare program.
Use social media
Having a social media presence is a great way to increase the visibility of your daycare center. Using social media is a cost-effective way to reach potential customers, and you can determine how much effort you put into it. Many platforms exist, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, allowing you to reach a large audience of families who may be seeking childcare services.
Use your social media to share images and videos of your facility, post updates and information about your services, and interact with current and prospective families. Consistently posting content allows you to build a solid online presence and generate great brand awareness.
While social media is free to use, you can also try paid advertising to target more of your ideal customers.
Social media advertising allows you to target specific demographics that you want your business in front of. This can be done through ads, where you can pick the specific audience by age, location, and other characteristics. You can also reach your audience organically. Consider joining local groups of parents on Facebook, and engage in discussions by sharing ideas and tips. While it is usually not advisable to post ads in such groups, you can build a strong reputation and connection with the parents. Having a strong presence on TikTok can also be a way to engage younger parents. It is noteworthy that over 70% of the app’s users are under the age of 34, compared to 56% of the same demographic on Facebook.
You may also want to consider diversifying your social media presence. Different platforms lend themselves to different types of content. While on Facebook you can engage with comments and post information about your daycare, you can use Instagram to showcase your facilities and activities taking place in your daycare. Consider using YouTube for longer videos, as tours of your facilities or vlogs with useful information and guidance for prospective customers.
Incorporate technology
Many families appreciate using technology to communicate important information and stay in touch. Highlighting some of the technology you use at your center can be a selling point when recruiting families to your daycare center.
A tool like brightwheel's communication feature simplifies family engagement by enabling you to send real-time messages and newsletters all from the same platform you use for billing, admissions, and classroom management. Staff can message families directly and share their children’s progress, giving families a glimpse into their child’s day.
Families will appreciate knowing that you have efficient processes in place, setting you apart from other centers.
Attract new families with effective daycare advertising
Your daycare advertising strategies can have a significant impact on the success of your business. Use various methods to determine which is most effective and impactful for you. Over time you'll reach more of your ideal customers and showcase why you stand out from other centers. You can get creative and innovative or stick to tried-and-true methods. Either way, advertise consistently to keep your roster and waitlist full.
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.
