There is no denying that social media is the place to be right now. What was once just a place for you to share photos and messages with friends and family is now also somewhere where you can harness the power of the online masses and spread the word about your business.
If you do it right, you can successfully grow your brand and create an ever-expanding group of loyal followers that you could never have achieved with offline marketing methods alone. That being said, the world of social media marketing can feel like a minefield.
If you’re looking to advertise your nursery online, but don’t quite know where to start, then this is the article for you. Read on to find out our top 5 tips for building up a great reputation in the online sphere.
Pictures of activities and children
The first thing you should consider when starting up your social media accounts is cataloguing and sharing pictures and videos of all the fun and exciting things that children can get involved with at your nursery.
Think about giving your followers an idea of what a typical day involves and include a variety of images to keep things interesting. Remember to use keywords and hashtags in your posts. In time, you will build up a consistent flow of positive and engaging content to create a real feel for your nursery.
However, remember that although there has been a surge in popularity in sharing and enjoying wonderful photos of our children online, do ensure that have permission to do so and that you check local laws and abide by them strictly. Ensure that you have safeguarding procedures in place and do not name any children to avoid security issues.
Always ask parents’ permission before posting.
Activities for kids to enjoy at home
Another fantastic option for grabbing people’s attention is to provide them with something that they can make use of.
Everyone loves a bit of free, handy advice, especially when it comes to keeping their kids entertained and occupied! Show people how much fun the kids have at your nursery by providing parents with a host of original, creative ideas for activities that they can enjoy at home with their kids.
Think art projects, educational walks, at-home science experiments – the list is endless!
Fun “what to do” posts always go down well.
Announce upcoming events
If you have any scheduled events in the diary, make sure you use all your social media outlets to let your followers know what’s going on and when so that they can add it to their calendar.
Not only will it encourage people to engage in a real-life scenario, but it will also show that you are active in the community side of things.
For example, you could organise a walk and send out a post reminding people to bring a jumper for the walk on Wednesday. You will make people feel a part of your brand, and have the opportunity to meet them in person and show them what it is that you’re about.
Sharing a list of upcoming events – either at your nursery or in the wider community – is a great way to start conversations.
A nursery mascot
A nursery mascot is a fantastic idea to create a recognisable image of your nursery.
Not only will it help you to form your brand identity, but it will also be something that sticks in people’s minds so that they remember you. It could be something cute like a teddy bear with a t-shirt that has your nursery’s name and logo printed on it.
Kids can then take it around to parks, days out and to activities in and out of the classroom. Make sure to post plenty of pictures of it and give it its own hashtag!
Mascots are a fun way to engage with your parent following.
Make it worth their while
In the hugely saturated market of social media, it is not always enough to just post exciting pictures, ideas and trending news.
Think about it: when you’re scrolling aimlessly through post after post, it takes something special to grab your attention and draw you to actually click on that account.
By offering some kind of promotion or special offer, you are not only making your followers feel valued and included, but also encouraging engagement, which is key to building a strong and solid brand.
Giving people that opportunity to win something, even if it is only small, such as some colouring books, or educational toys, will have an impact on your amount of clicks, followers, likes and shares that you receive. You could even offer a replica of your nursery mascot for people to win!
Competitions can help you grow your following.
To gain a bit of free exposure while you’re at it, try asking people to tag you in their entries, use a custom hashtag and follow and like your post to enter the competition.
Another option to consider is offering people something if they sign up to a mailing list if you have one. This could be as simple as some exclusive content that people can’t get on your social media. Another pro tip: make sure that you tease upcoming promotions and special offers to ensure that that surge of new contacts sticks around for the long run.
There you have it – some awesome social media post ideas for nurseries. If you’re too busy to manage your own accounts, hand over the responsibility to the affordable social media management experts at 99social.