It’s no secret that social media has taken over the world. We use it to stay in touch with our friends, get our news, and even find our next meal. So it’s no surprise that social media is also changing the way schools market to prospective students and their families.
In the past, schools relied on print advertising and word-of-mouth to get the word out about their programs. But with the rise of social media platforms, there’s a new way to reach potential students: social media advertising.
Social media advertising is the future of school marketing because it allows for targeting and personalization.
Traditional marketing methods — like print ads and billboards — can’t match the power of social media when it comes to reaching potential students. If you send out a print ad in the newspaper, you can’t control who will and won’t see it.
But with social media advertising, you can target your ads to specific groups of people.
For example, say you work for a public elementary school. To capture the interest of families just beginning their child’s academic career, you can target ads to parents of three- and four-year-olds who live in your district.
Targeting ads like that ensures your ad reaches the right people and that it doesn’t get lost in the noise of general advertising.
You can also use social media advertising to personalize your messages.
With traditional marketing, it’s hard to stand out from the rest. But with social media, you can create ads that are specifically tailored to each individual student.
For example, if you’re recruiting students for your STEM program, you can create an ad that highlights the benefits of your program for students who are interested in a career in STEM.
This type of personalized messaging is more effective than general advertising because it speaks directly to the parent/student’s interests.
Tip: Schools that take the time to deeply understand and define their target parent/family personas can tailor and serve highly specific ads.
For example, you can target parents who work at a particular company, shop at a particular store, or send their child to a particular competitor’s school. Instead of seeing a generic ad, they’ll see an ad that answers the question of why your school is different from or better than all others in town.
To see an example of how a school used parent personas for their social media ads, check out this case study: Baltimore International Academy East.
In addition to targeting and personalization, social media advertising has another big advantage: reach.
Chief Enrollment Officer and school marketing expert Nick LeRoy explains:
The biggest mistake I see schools making in social media is thinking that their organic posts (the ones they post without paying for) are reaching a wide audience.
These only go to those who have liked your page, and it doesn’t even go to all of those folks. The only way to reach a new audience in social media is by using paid advertising.
The good news is that you can run a pretty good campaign for under $1,000 a month. With each incremental student bringing in around $10,000, a district will see a strong return on investment with paid social media advertising.
With over two billion active users on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, you can reach a wider audience than ever before.
This is especially important for schools trying to increase student enrollment.
By advertising your schools on social media, you can reach students who might not be aware of your schools or programs.
So if you’re looking for a new way to market your school, consider social media advertising. It’s the best way to reach potential students in the 21st century.
And if you want expert help with this, check out SchoolMint’s digital advertising service. We can help you with school social media ads and marketing.