“It’s time. I’ve decided to take that engineering job in Michigan. It’s the move I need to make for my family and their future. I guess I should start taking a look at some of the communities located near the new company. What’s going on? Who has the best of what? Where should I send my kids to school? Are homes affordable there? ”
“My kid is being bullied at school. Not only does it hurt him but it hurts me to watch him go through it. I should probably get online and research how to deal with this. If I can’t find a way to get him through it, I’m going to have to look at different schools.”
“I’ve been playing football since I was little. High School football is a big deal for me because I could earn a scholarship and play for a good university. I want to play for the best high school team possible. I want the best coach so that I can play at the best of my ability.”
As a marketing consultant, these are the shoes I put myself in every day when strategizing for schools who are trying to increase enrollment. If you want to attract them, you have to be able to think like them. Try putting yourself in their shoes. What would you do? Where would you go for information?
A lot of folks are still focused on getting people to visit their website. While that still holds some relevance, now days it’s all about creating value for the person you are after. Getting found by them when they need you and giving them the information they are looking for.
We call that information content.
Content can be an article about choosing the right school in a new city, how to fight back against bullies or a list of the top high school football teams with coaches and stats.
Once you have content created, you want to capture contact information so that you can email qualified leads articles periodically to help them with their decision. By doing so, you begin to build a relationship and they begin to trust you.
When it comes to making a decision about sending your child to a new school, it is not one that is made over night. It’s a long decision process that begins with research. Studies show online search is the number one place to go for that research.
“That was the too long to read version”
If you want to enroll more students at your school, start posting articles that provide information to parents who are in the process of making that decision. Put yourself in their shoes.
Happy marketing!
