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Six Effective Childcare Marketing Ideas

Marketing your childcare services can feel like a daunting task. How do you get started? Where should you be devoting your time? What platforms can make the biggest difference?

At LifeCubby, we’re dedicated to making center life a breeze for owners and directors across the nation. That’s why we’ve put together this list of five easy (and effective) childcare marketing ideas to ensure you’re constantly getting your program in front of new parents.

1. Design a clean, thoughtful website.

It’s almost impossible for new families to discover you if you don’t have some type of online presence. Websites are a great way to earn instant credibility with parents and to ensure the information they’re getting about your program is up-to-date and accurate. Websites are also crucial to have as a destination for other childcare marketing strategies, including paid search, paid digital and email marketing.

When it comes to designing a website, we recommend using a program like SquareSpace or Wix that offers pre-made and easily customizable templates. This will save you time and help ensure that your final product has a clean and professional aesthetic.

As for what to include on your website, we recommend highlighting key information about your center that would be important to potential parents. This includes background on your enrollment process, details about your curriculum and staff, photos of your classroom and an overview of your services. It’s also important to have an online form and contact information so interested families can get in touch with you easily.

2. Create a Google Business Profile.

Creating a Google Business Profile takes just minutes and is one of the most important things you can do to ensure people searching for childcare in your area find your program.

With Google Business, you can quickly create a listing for your center that includes key information, like your name, website, and hours, along with photos and contact information. Once your profile is created, you’ll also be able to share posts — making it easy to communicate center news, offers and events. Plus, with a Google Business listing, you’ll be eligible to receive public-facing Google Reviews from current and past parents.

Google Business also offers a marketing kit, which allows you to create free marketing materials (like posters, stickers, etc.) to help further promote your center.

3. Become active on social media.

Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are a great way to both engage with current parents and attract new ones.

Once you’ve set up your accounts:

  • Post regular updates about what’s going on in your center. Highlight how much fun kids have when they’re there, any new activities or curriculum and tips for parents navigating center life.
  • Encourage current parents to follow your pages, engage with posts and share them with their networks (an easy way to get in front of new eyes!).
  • Find parenting groups in your area (using Facebook’s search feature) and join them as your page. This is a perfect way to network with local parents and get in front of those who may be looking for a provider.
  • Collect reviews from current families.
  • Interact with people who are talking about your business and/or sharing its posts.
  • Take advantage of on-network paid advertising to reach even more potential families.

4. Start a referral program.

Happy parents are often the most convincing form of advertising. Incentive parents at your center to tell their friends and family about your services by rewarding them. This can be something as simple as a discount for every person they bring in or something more complex like a points-system that rewards them for continuing to bring in leads.

Whatever the details, we recommend constantly reminding parents about the program and providing them with easy-to-reference material about how the program works. Posting about the program on your social channels is another great way to ensure the program is always top of mind for current families.

5. Take advantage of paid search.

By running a Google Ads campaign, you can ensure you’re getting in front of parents who are actively searching for a childcare provider in your area. In addition to the captive audience you can reach, Google Ads are great because (unlike other forms of paid advertising), you can have complete control over how much you spend and when you spend it. And there’s no minimum spend — so you can start small and build up.

Though setting up a campaign can seem daunting, Google provides a host of free and engaging resources to learn how to quickly and effectively begin a campaign for your program.

6. Invest in software that makes parents’ lives easier

When it comes to attracting new parents, being able to tout the latest and greatest software is huge. By investing in childcare management software (like LifeCubby), you can promise potential parents the gift of connectivity — something other programs may not be able to deliver. Having an app where parents can pay their child’s tuition, quickly get in touch with teachers and see constant photo and video updates of their little ones is a huge selling point; it can even be the deciding factor for some parents. Want to learn more about how LifeCubby can help you attract more parents to your center with our childcare marketing ideas and software? Click here to schedule a free demo today.