Childcare Industry is a vast industry worth $56 billion. Statistics show that the U.S. child care market was valued at USD 54.3 billion in 2019 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.9% from 2020 to 2027.
Now the BIG question is – Are you well prepared to meet the new demands of the Childcare Industry?
What different things are you doing from your competitors to attract new families? How effective is your business plan to increase enrollment to your childcare center?
As the enrollment is on for the fall session, this is the perfect time to evaluate your strategies. When it comes to strategy- childcare marketing is a crucial aspect to boost your business.
No, not the traditional marketing that you are already aware of. If Childcare Industry is set to enter new heights, you must be equally adopting practical marketing tools to respond to the new demands of the industry.
Content Marketing is that effective tool to leverage your business growth. According to CMI – Content Marketing is used by many prominent organizations globally, including P&G, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, and John Deere.
The marketing expert Neil Patel says – “content marketing is all about storytelling, and humans have told stories for as long as they could speak. Our attention will always go to those who tell great stories.”
So how great your story is, or at least if you have one, are you telling it the proper way?
‘Hey, we have an opening! Come to our Preschool is not going to work when your potential clients are theparents who want the best of the best for their children.
To tell your best stories, you should first know:
What is Content Marketing
Here is how The CMI defines it – “Content Marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
Parents – your prominent customers are the ones you want to attract by creating relevant content—distributing flyers and enlisting your childcare center on the yellow pages are not enough to increase your enrollment. If you are running a daycare or a preschool, you need to connect with parents to tell them about your business.
There are various forms of content marketing :
- BLOG POSTS
- VIDEOS
- INFOGRAPHICS
- SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS
- PODCASTS
- WHITEPAPERS
- EMAILS
- WEBINARS
Content Marketing thus gives you ample opportunity to create effective ways to engage with your audience, unlike traditional marketing. Traditional marketing limits your scope to reach out to your potential customers.
Rita, a childcare provider and founder of Play Safe Daycare, says – “Childcare Centers need content marketing now more than ever, and without it, your business is going nowhere.”
According to Hubspot – “ The goal of the content marketing is to reach your target audience and increase brand awareness, sales, engagement, and loyalty.
We are sure you want all that for your childcare business.
Four Key Reasons Content Marketing is Essential for Your Childcare Business:
1. Content marketing helps you to build trust and authority
Content marketing helps you to educate your potential customers and build trust and authority. But how do you do that?
Childcare provider and marketing expert Kim Perrel says – “Find out what issues parents are facing and try to solve them. If you watch closely enough, there are hundreds of ways to do that.”
The following four steps will help you to build your authority through content marketing:
- Provide crucial information regarding childcare to Parents
- Create case studies and go deeper into your research
- Collaborate with other childcare providers
- Share your success stories ( topics can be anything from parenting tips to early childhood education )
Over the years, Childcare businesses like HiMama and Brightwheel, through content marketing, have connected with new parents and expand their brand’s reach. Their weekly podcasts share valuable and informative content with parents. They have successfully managed to establish authority among parents and families.
Marketing Expert, Rand Fishkin, says- “ If people trust you, then it is just a matter of time that they turn to your loyal customers.”
Anna from Happy Hours Preschool says – “Initially our preschool blog focused on only ‘emotional wellbeing of children, later we had to cover different topics as parents started reaching out to us with different queries.”
This shows- if you put valuable content out there and educate them or inform them, it will establish your business as an authority in that particular field and build trust. It will also create curiosity among your customers, and they will pay heed to – what you want to offer. If you provide an exotic trail, you might land with a buyer.
2. It is cost-effective compared to traditional marketing.
Content Marketer Julia Mccoy says – “Content marketing is a long-term investment.”You don’t have to invest continuously in updating your content or strategies, unlike traditional marketing. Moreover, it costs 67% less than traditional marketing and generates 3x more leads than conventional marketing.
Running a childcare center involves investments that can drain your finances from license requirements to setting up equipment to managing childcare programs. In contrast, content marketing is less expensive and has better growth prospects. It allows you to grow your business without burning your pockets deep down.
Here are few reasons why content marketing is cost-effective:
- Releasing content through social media channels are affordable
- Quality informative content can perform better than the ad campaigns
- Updating your content cost requires no re-investment
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can be powerful tools to communicate effectively with parents and create better engagements. Uploading your childcare center pictures and videos costs you nothing.
Research shows that around 87% of marketers have successfully gained traffic websites by spending less than 6hours per week on social media. The other most significant advantage of content marketing is you don’t have to re-invest to update your content. In contrast, paid campaigns need you to re-invest after a specific period. However, one hit piece of content can fetch you sales that are not time-bound.
3. Better ROI with effective content marketing
Content marketing not only precedes traditional marketing tactics by a landslide, but it also pulls in significantly more website visitors and leads. The consistent production of content boosts website traffic, and as traffic increases, so do conversions. A good conversion strategy will bring in high-quality leads.
Childcare marketing expert Kim Perrel says – “Be consistent with your content production and distribute them effectively on the correct platforms. This will result in better lead generation and conversions”.
Julia of The Content Hacker says – “ 62% of all online searches start with Google. Well, that record certainly involves parents of all kinds.
If parents are looking for you on the internet, you can undoubtedly retain them by creating quality content. Your website is The first point of interaction with your potential clients.
Millennial parents are active social media users, and 97% of them are on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
You can retain them if your website content gives them important and valuable content. You can even convert them if you create better engagement. It is through blogs or white papers or through infographics you can publish your content.
Impeccable content can convert a visitor to a buyer. It is a constant flow of content that nurtures prospects through each step.
4. Great content increases your brand’s reach.
In today’s time, where everyone is on social media and 3.5 billion searches are happening every day on Google, parents spend more time on social media. Create compelling content that can give them value for time and money.
Share your content on social media channels. Statistics show that 97% of parents are active social media users and spend 20% of their time online reading content. Almost 70% are reading about brands that interest them. Parents are looking for valuable content that might help them or educate them on their journey.
If a parent shares your content, there are chances ten new people will get introduced to your brand. It effectively increases your brand’s reach.
Need Help with Childcare Marketing?
At PREto3, we help childcare businesses promote their brand and attract more parents to their childcare centers. PREto3 has already helped many daycares and preschools build a result-driven digital marketing plan that drives traffic to their website. Start your free trial with PREto3 today!
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