Child care marketing is one of the four essential components of online marketing.

Child care marketing is one of the four essential components of online marketing.

Your online marketing strategy is a crucial component in generating inquiries and increasing enrollment in your child care program. There are four online marketing “must-haves” that will make your digital presence stronger and make it easier for your big target market, the “millennials,” who were born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, to find you. Let’s get going!

1. Effective Website There are numerous components to an effective website, but the following are some fundamental components to begin with: The best practice in website design today is to use a WordPress-based website because it can be easily and quickly updated. • Look and appeal (easy on the eye) • Instant communication of your unique benefits • Great pictures or graphics of kids • Convincing to parents

• Social media icons that link to your social media sites Many websites built in the late 1990s still use Flash to create their graphics and images, which now appear empty on any Apple device like an iPhone or iPad. Examine your website carefully to see if it is conveying your message in the most professional and user-friendly manner possible.

If you want some ideas for updating your website, I suggest browsing the internet and finding websites that you like. 2. Google Maps Having a top listing in Google Maps, the geographic listings beneath the Google search results page with the red pushpins, is crucial, as is having a presence in online search results. Where do people find you when they search for terms like “daycare centers,” “child care centers,” “preschools,” “infant care,” and so on? in your state and locality? You ought to get to the top of the page! You are being overlooked if you are not, and there are numerous books and resources available to assist you.

3. Business Facebook Page Because many mothers use Facebook to connect with other mothers, it’s critical to establish a social media presence where your target market already hangs out. A personal Facebook page is required before you can create a Facebook business page, which is fairly straightforward. It is only a means of authorizing yourself as the administrator of your business page; your personal information will not be displayed on your page. The next step is to create your page by going to http://www.facebook.com/pages/create and following the on-screen instructions.

There are numerous resources for optimizing your Facebook page after that is finished. 4. Listings in Directory Listings in business and child care directories give you the opportunity to link back to your website, which improves the Google search results for your child care website.

You can list yourself on sites like care.com, momtrusted.com, greatschools.org, daycare.com, daycarematch.com, Yelp, and other similar sites. A listing may be available for free or may need to be purchased in some instances. Make it a weekly goal to list yourself or an employee in two or three directories. Your online presence will grow as a result, and if you have listings on sites like Yelp, you can check out what people are saying there.

You now have some fundamental strategies for expanding your online presence! In the future, I will teach additional “ninja” strategies, but if you concentrate on the fundamentals and maintain them over time, your child care center will see an increase in inquiries and enrollments.

A brand-new book by my husband Devin Murray titled Child Care Marketing Online is a great source of more in-depth information on online marketing that provides step-by-step instructions. It is the definitive guide to growing your online presence to bring in more families to your preschool, daycare, or child care center.