Parents are looking for reputable early childhood education and care providers, like you, for their children. The challenge is connecting those families to your centre. Growing your business and increasing enrolment starts with connecting to these families. Through an online presence and word of mouth, you can network with prospective parents and start building your community.
Being a resource is a great place to start. As an ECEC provider, you have extensive knowledge about ECEC . Sharing this knowledge and working to help guardians parents and families will help to grow your Early Childhood Education and Care business. In this article, we will outline content ideas to share, events to host, ways to build your brand, how to connect with your community, and how to use reviews to your advantage.
If you’re looking for tips on how to grow your ECEC business, keep reading.
Create and Share Content
Be a resource for your prospective families by creating or sharing helpful content. There’s a range of avenues to take when promoting your business, especially online. Take a look at some strategies to follow for online content:
· Start a blog
· Host webinars
· Share articles
These content pieces can be focused on parenting tips, safety techniques, children’s activities, and more. Anything you have knowledge in that’s helpful to your audience is a great start.
Host or Sponsor Events
Events are a great way to meet with prospective families and connect to the community. There are a lot of ways to get involved in the community that you may have not thought of. Take a look:
· Sponsor Local Events
o Sponsor school fairs, parties,fundraisers, parents’ nights in schools, etc.
· Donate and Volunteer
o Hosting a toy, food, or clothing drive is a great way to give back while teaming up with local organisations
· Take Field Trips
o Get more involved by taking the children on field trips to community events and local organisations.
· Create a Parent Interview Panel
o Help parents feel more connected to your school by starting a parent interview panel.
· Host Workshops and Trainings
o Bring parents into your centre by offering training and workshops on a variety of topics.
· Hold Parents Events
o Give parents the opportunity to be more involved in your program by offering events like open houses, parent nights, meet and greets, etc.
Learn more about building family and community partnerships in this article.
Build Your Brand
When marketing your Early Childhood Education and Care business, make sure you’re focusing on promoting your brand. When building a brand, you should focus on your mission,vision, and core values. This helps prospective parents understand what ourcentre stands for.
Use social media, newsletters, and other promotional strategies to highlight what makes your centre different. For example, if your centre has a strong focus on play, show that in your content.If your centre uses a software platform that’s helpful for staff and parents, showcase that.
Connect with the ECEC Community
There’s a huge ECEC community willing to help provide resources, answer questions, share ideas, etc. If you’re looking for tips on how to grow your ECEC business, start asking other owners you admire to help. A great way to do this is through social media, especially Facebook.
If you haven’t already, join ECEC-specific Facebook groups tonetwork with other Early Childhood Education and Care business owners. Thesegroups are full of professionals with similar challenges and experiences whoare willing and able to help.
Ask for Reviews
Reviews help families get a look into how their experience could be at your centre. Nowadays, reviews are crucial for running a successful business. Consumers rely on word-of-mouth and a truthful scope of experiences. To get more reviews for your childcare business, promote your business profile on social media, offer an incentive, and follow up with reviews.