Increase Kindergarten Enrollment in Your Charter School with Savvy Marketing

What if your kindergarten enrollment numbers are too low and you're losing students to competing schools in the area? What if parents in your area are unsure about registering at your schools, or they simply don’t know how to register?

The Kindergarten Sign Up Campaign is an outreach campaign to encourage and support families to register their child for your kindergarten classes before June 1st.

Strong kindergarten enrollment means more student funding and a healthier, more vibrant school district. But will parents enroll their children in your charter school or choose a public school or private school? As parents increasingly base school choice on information they gather online, your school not only needs the traditional methods of promotion but also needs a smart digital strategy for improving kindergarten enrollment!

Know your audience

Your primary audience is made up of parents in their 20s and 30s. This group is active on social media. They expect to find all the info they need online and are much more likely to check your website than pick up the phone to call your office. Engage them on social media, and make it easy for them to find the info they need online!

In addition to digital, we also know that families place their children in pre-schools. This is a great place to market. There can also be targeted direct mail campaigns to zip codes where younger families tend to live.

Timing is everything

Don’t wait for the first day of registration to begin your digital campaign! School choice is a huge decision for parents, and many of them choose a school long before registration begins. Your charter school needs an engaging digital profile all year long, and your kindergarten registration campaign should startup well before the first day of registration. If registration opens on February 1, start your digital campaign in November!

Get your Marketing Brand Campaign Ready

Execute your kindergarten enrollment strategy across a mix of marketing vehicles that will help you dominate brand awareness. Every element of your marketing mix contributes to parents’ overall impression of your charter school. Remember, they are looking for a place where their children can succeed from kindergarten to fifth.

Here is a checklist of marketing mix elements you should be considering:

​Print	​Web	Digital
Trifold Brochure Direct Mailer EDDM Goody Swag Bag	​Online Parent Tool-Kit Open House Signup Landing Page	​Social Media Graphics Social Media Ads

Schedule out your Communications

Here are ideas for communicating starting in November:

November, December, January, and February	​March, April, May, and June
​Begin production of branded materials Email Blast for Referrals Arrange photography Finalize production of materials Pre-Record Video Promos EDDM Mailer 1 FB Ads Begin chatter in mommy forums SWAG Dropoffs at Pre-Schools FB Ads	​EDDM Mailer 2 FB Ads Open House FB Ads EDDM Mailer 3 (if necessary) End campaign Send Excitement Postcards in July

Lead Nurturing for Kindergarten Parents

Drip marketing is a communication strategy that sends, or "drips," a pre-written set of messages to customers or prospects over time...Drip marketing can be used as a function of the lead generation and qualification process.

We wrote this article to help you with this: Get More Applications by Nurturing Leads with Drip Email Marketing

GRAPHIC DESIGN INSPIRATION

​​Tri-Fold Brochures

Be proud of your programs: What does your school district offer in Kindergarten and beyond? What is your focus? Your philosophy? What will students learn? Highlight special facilities, projects, programs, and field trips. It is not enough to simply link to a curriculum document that shows none of your district’s personality. Usage SWAG Bags Front desk Dropped off at Pre-Schools in a holder

SWAG: Bag Gift at Preschools

​Aside from being useful, these 7"W x 9"H x 4"D BRAND-BOOSTING lunch bags are also a great choice when it comes to getting bigger exposure for your school! Brand Awareness Mascot Bag School Colors Logo Usage Add swag items, activity sheet, letters to parents, brochures, invitations Drop off at pre-schools “Free Gift” giveaway at open house

SWAG: Mascot Stress Reliever

​The 2.25" x 4.5" mascot stress reliever is a fun and huge way to promote your brand. They are fun for children as well as adults, so be sure to get plenty! Brand Awareness School Logo School Colors Usage Put into the SWAG Bag Parent and teacher giveaway Offer to students at the school store

SWAG: Branded Coloring Activity Sheet w/ Branded Crayons

​Give the pre-school children something fun to do with your brand! This custom activity sheet and crayons are a great way to brand your school in the eyes of parents. Includes Custom Activity Sheet Branded Crayon Box Usage Put into the SWAG Bag

Direct Mail Postcards (EDDM)

​EDDM stands for “Every Door Direct Mail.” This U.S. Postal Service program will help you deploy the Kindergarten promotion to areas targeting younger families. Includes Postcard Design Route Selection Usage Select a location and have the mailer hand-delivered to every mailbox along chosen routes.

Acceptance Excitement Summer Postcards

​Get your incoming students excited with a postcard from your school’s mascot! Parents will have fun giving these to their little ones. Includes Postcard Design Usage Send in July to all accepted families OPTION: Postcards can have the student's first name on the front

Registration Checklist

​The registration process can be complicated and daunting for parents. Help them out with an infographic that shows the registration process from start to finish, or a simple checklist that lets them cross off all the steps in order. For first-time parents even knowing what year their child should start kindergarten can be daunting, an infographic can help!

25 Questions Free PDF

Landing Page: Open House Signup

​We have built high-performing and captivating landing pages to capture leads using surveys, forms, calendars, a phone & texting system & more! Once parents leave their information to attend the open house, the calendar application captures the appointment and will begin following up with a sequence of emails to nurture the parent. Using our built-in tools will let you check parents in, schedule follow-up calls, and track analytics!

Microsite: Online Parent Tool-Kit

​Finding registration information should not require a call to your office! Build an easy-to-find section of your website with all relevant registration information: forms, program details, school boundary maps, transportation info, FAQ, important contacts, and a registration checklist. Your online kindergarten toolkit should list the detailed program information parents need and have beautiful designs and photos that show why the school is a great place to be!

Social Media Graphics

Social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are very powerful information-sharing tools. Use these platforms to broadcast registration information to your followers. People will share and will continue to follow if you consistently provide valuable resources and information as part of your overall social media strategy. Social media is also a great place to have conversations with your audience. Encourage people to ask questions and engage with you online (and make sure to reply when they do!).

Facebook & Instagram Ads

Go directly to where the parents are! As we mentioned above, your primary audience is in their 20s and 30s and is very active on social media, especially Facebook. With Facebook Advertising, you can send ads directly to the News Feed of parents who live within a 1-mile radius of your school. Facebook ads are an efficient way to show parents what makes your school special, get important information in front of them, and entice them back to your website for all the details.

Photos & Videos

Take plenty of high-quality, candid photos of kindergarten students enjoying learning and engaging with their teachers. Use high-resolution photos of your own students or purchase stock photos. Great photos act as visual cues that let parents know their children can be happy and successful in your school. We also recommend shooting a video tour of your kindergarten program. Take this time to also create a video where the principal invites parents to attend an open house. This video will be used on the website's open house landing page.

---

NEED HELP?

Have you implemented a kindergarten campaign into your marketing mix? If yes, please comment and share other ideas below.

If you want to speak to us about implementing this and other brand management tools into your charter school, please schedule a discovery call with us here: EB - 30-Min Book a Call