This is part two of our three-part series: Tips for increasing enrollment at your Montessori school and will review Facebook promotions and retargeting strategies.
Click on any topic below to be taken to that section.
- Website
- Google Search
- Reputation Management
- Facebook Promotions – Schedule a Tour
- Facebook Promotions – Open House
- Facebook Remarketing
Part 3: Market to your Audience
- Content Marketing
- Video Storytelling
- Email Newsletter
- Building a Database
- Google Remarketing
1. Facebook Promotions – Schedule a Tour
One of the first things parents who have researched potential preschools and daycares want to know is if they can schedule a tour, preferably to observe a class in action. For instance, a local Montessori school near me offers an observation window specifically for prospective and current parents to observe the Montessori environment.
Whether your school has specific dates for tours or you grant tours year-round, you’ll want to promote it on Facebook. If you are wondering if Facebook is still an appropriate platform, consider these recent statistics in a 2018 social media fact sheet report by the Pew Research Center*
- Facebook continues to remain the primary social media platform
- 68% of U.S. Adults use Facebook
- 78% are between 30 and 49 years of age
- Approximately 74% of Facebook users login daily
*Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank and subsidiary of Pew Charitable Trusts. Pew Charitable Trusts holds silver level status with GuideStar which indicates a commitment to transparency.
These statistics represent what we are seeing across our Montessori promotions as well (see below).
When creating FB promotions we utilize the following layout:
Also, take a look at similar ads on FB and save the ones you like as examples for your business to emulate.
2. Facebook Promotions – Open House
Similar to running a promotion to schedule a tour, an open house promotion’s goal is to attract the parents of new potential students. However, your school’s capacity may differ. For instance, the staffing and resources necessary to host a successful open house may differ than the staffing needed to provide scheduled tours.
An open house allows parents a special opportunity to meet everyone involved at the school, from the Director and Owner to current parents and children. An open house provides your school a unique opportunity to make a great impression and showcase the value of your curriculum.
3. Facebook – Remarketing
The Facebook pixel is a remarketing tool that is easy to install. If your website is a WordPress site, you can upload the pixel following these instructions. Facebook does a great job of going through this step by step here.
Once your Facebook pixel is installed and setup, create “events” so that Facebook can track specific actions that are happening on your website.
For example, turn on the event “complete registration” to track when a visitor from your “Schedule a Tour” ad clicks through to your landing page and fills out the form to schedule a tour.
Recommendation: Use UTM Codes with or without Facebook pixel
If you aren’t already using UTM codes, we highly recommend it, especially if you are hesitant or not ready to install the FB pixel. UTM codes allow you to track a source (i.e. Facebook), medium (i.e. paidad), and campaigns (i.e. open house). Google has a tool that makes it easy to build campaign urls.
Facebook still reigns but don’t ignore the power of Instagram and Video
The above examples cover two specific promotion types we use for our Montessori clients. While Facebook continues to be the primary platform, it should be noted that Instagram and video ads are also powerful marketing tools. Within the Facebook Ads Manager platform, you can choose Instagram as a placement or choose to exclude it entirely. For example, you might choose to exclude it if you do not have an Instagram business profile setup. To exclude Instagram as a placement, select “edit placements” and uncheck Instagram.
In June of this year (2018), Instagram announced it achieved 1 billion monthly active users. Instagram has over 25 million business profiles and one-third of the most-viewed stories are from businesses. If your parent demographic uses Instagram, then you might want to consider creating a business profile and crafting stories that sell the benefits of a Montessori education. After all, according to Instragram, 60% of users state they discover new products on Instagram.
While each of the methods outlined above have been successful for our clients, your adoption of them should be directed by your school’s ability to accept new students.
Next week, we will dive into part 3 of this series and review how email marketing, content marketing and video marketing can help you increase enrollment at your Montessori school.
We are firm believers in the Montessori method, and are happy to any questions that you may have. Feel free to contact us at any time.
