"What to Do with Your Outdated Website," Reprinted from May 16, 2017 Fredericksburg Regional Business Magazine.
"What to Do with Your Outdated Website," Reprinted from May 16, 2017 Fredericksburg Regional Business Magazine.
Every year, more than a million millennials become parents for the first time. This means that there are currently around 13 million millennial parents in the U.S. who have school-aged children. In order to engage this market, private schools need to understand the unique values of the millennial generation. The way that Christian school marketing reaches millennials matters, and insights into this generation make effective inbound marketing possible.
Most people today wouldn't go to a new restaurant without checking it out online first. So why would parents send their children to a private school that has a weak web presence? Having an informative website is no longer enough. Parents and students want to feel a sense of connection. With an inbound private school marketing approach, you can build rapport with new families before they even set foot on your campus.
Inbound marketing for private education makes sense. But it takes the right strategy to make it perform at its best. Here are four questions your strategy must address to make your content marketing work.
Most private schools don’t have the budget for a full-time recruiter. That job gets shared by staff, board, and enthusiastic parents--often with mixed results. What most leaders don’t understand is that they already have a full-time recruiter who just isn't showing up for work.
Your school is unique, with great faculty, carefully selected curriculum, and rigorous academic programs. Yet, without the right kind of private school marketing that builds enrollment, none of that matters! Using an inbound marketing plan allows schools to consistently grow - and that can make the difference between thriving and barely surviving in the competitive world of private education.
I used to use 8-Track cassettes as a training prop - illustrating how obsolete technology impacts our businesses and organizations (here's the -->wiki on 8-track in case you've never seen one). I'd almost always get a laugh just by holding one of these bulky music storage devices up to the crowd. If the inventors and marketers of the 8-track, and so many other technologies, knew how short lived their strategy might be, maybe they would have made different decisions. Building an obsolete website is a real pitfall in growth marketing, especially given the pace of technology change.
Buyers today, including private school families, do at least 50% of their purchase consideration by looking online, before talking to anyone at your school. What they discover on your website can help them through the decision process and establish a relationship of value and appreciation even before they schedule a visit or attend an open house. Inbound marketing for private education is a potent strategy that positions your school for success in the new world in which consumers own the process.
Story Collaborative recently completed a series of focus groups comprised of millennials (ages 18-35) with the help of one of Honestly Magazine and Workforce & Community Education at Germanna Community College. The insights these millennials provided into their habits, preferences and challenges offer important clues to businesses that want to sustain and grow their brand. This is one article in a series of insights into business growth among millennials.
Story Collaborative recently completed a series of focus groups on millennial with the assistance of Honestly Magazine and the team at Workforce & Community Education from Germanna Community College. Focus group participants provided insights into their habits, preferences and life challenges which we combined with other research to shed light on strategies for effective business communication. This is the first of several articles.
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