Many enrollment and admission directors are feeling tremendous pressure to deliver on lofty enrollment goals in an increasingly competitive independent school landscape. As a former director of admission, I know this pressure almost too well. At the same time, marketing and communications directors are facing similar demands as it relates to attracting the number of mission-aligned students and families admission teams need, while also fostering a sense of joy and community that assists in retaining those families for the long haul. So, I was quite surprised to learn that some schools continue to lack alignment between these two departments!

Enrollment and marketing directors must focus on creating a strong, aligned foundation within the school to ensure that enrollment and marketing strategies are sustainable, well-coordinated, and effective. Here are five ways your school can achieve this: 

In today’s market, especially during a pandemic, paid advertising is a great way for independent schools to promote all the benefits and successes they are experiencing this year. The ads are also a great way to reach new families who are exploring different options for their children. According to an eMarketer study, 96% of social marketers consider Facebook the most effective paid advertising option available to them. Paid advertising on social media can be very effective at growing your admissions funnel, and it is relatively easy to put a quick ad campaign together; however, it is important to remember your organic presence can continue to nurture these families throughout the admissions process, as well as support the paid ads, so that the paid and organic strategies together have a longer, stronger impact.

3 Reasons Your School Should Be Posting on Facebook and Instagram While Running Ads

When you're looking to make a big decision, it's likely that you'll do a fair amount of research before committing. In today's digital world, that usually starts (and ends) with a search engine.

A few weeks back, we dove into a short-list of don’t-miss digital trends for independent schools at the start of the new academic year. Now that the season is in full swing, we will pull the curtains back on one of the most important trends to embrace this year: landing pages, and all the elements that make them an essential part of your school’s digital marketing strategies.

For independent schools, the purpose of a landing page is generally to drive inquiries for a particular school or program, to help bolster registrations for open houses and yield events, to assist fundraising and advancement activities, etc. When applied in concert with centralized marketing strategies, we often uncover valuable data that would convince even the most skeptical organization of the power of landing pages.

In this ever-changing digital landscape, it is increasingly difficult to keep up with trends. Going into the admissions cycle of a new year, what do schools need to be most mindful of? Enroll Media Group (EMG) and other sources are seeing what is the most valuable to keep on your digital marketing radar.

1. The Dominance of Voice Search