We all know that a school is not actually considered a school unless it has students who are receiving an enriching year round education. This is why one of the main focuses of school recruitment staff is always increasing enrollment. But how can school enrollment be increased without the level of education being offered affected? How can K-12 schools compete with other schools when everyone has an “A” school grade and provides equally excellent education? Here are 3 incredibly simple tips for increasing school enrollment without missing a single beat elsewhere.
(1) Update Your School’s Website
Let’s face it. Modern parents are used to being able to browse a school website before showing interest in enrollment. For this reason alone, you should make sure your website looks its best, is easy to use and is performing optimally. The menus should be easy to navigate, the text should be large enough to read and the color scheme should be pleasing to the eyes. Rich and relevant web content is huge, hire someone if your team cannot do it or simply needs an initial jump-start. Paying school activity fees should also be a click away!
(2) Utilize Social Media Platforms
You’d be surprised just how much social media engagement can help increase school enrollment. This is because these days everyone seems to be on at least one social media platform, whether it be Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Create a page and post regularly or build a discussion group. School should be very creative, authentic, positive and approachable here, because parents are always following and watching you.
(3) Measure, Record & Use Data
One of the easiest ways to stay out ahead when it comes to recruitment is to keep track of your data. This is because you want to be able to know what works, what doesn’t and what area(s) could use a little tweaking. Use your metrics to inform you of where you need to focus and where you can to let up. For example, you should always ask prospective parents how they heard about your school and incentivize current families to write awesome school reviews.
Increasing school enrollment isn’t as tedious as it may seem. In order to compete, it’s always a good idea to treat a school like a business. Use technology to your advantage and you’ll be all set engage with your local audience and increase student numbers.
