Why Prep Schools Should Prioritise Marketing on Instagram
Are you a prep school marketer who has been considering using Instagram as part of your digital marketing strategy, but aren’t sold on the idea? Or perhaps you need to sell SLT on it? Do you wonder if it’s the appropriate place for your content and your target audience? Do you struggle to imagine what you’d post on the school’s Instagram account, if it had one?
If any of the above sound familiar, we’ve got you covered. Read on to find out why Instagram is not only a good idea, but an absolute must for every prep school’s marketing strategy.
Your target audience use (and are influenced by) Instagram
If you think back to any foundation level marketing class, you may recall that one of the big ‘4 Ps of marketing’ is ‘place’. Marketing in a place where your target audience actually are is paramount, and this applies equally to social media marketing as it does to more traditional forms. So, where online do you find the parents of young children? Millennials aged 25-34 are Instagram’s biggest users, so it’s a key platform to find your prospective students’ parents.
Not only this, but many Instagram users actually use the platform as a way to research products and services. If you thought Instagram was simply a place for people to post pictures of their avocado toast, think again. According to social media scheduling platform HootSuite, one in two people have used Instagram as a way to discover new brands. It’s no longer a ‘nice to have’; as a prep school, you NEED to be on Instagram.
Instagram helps paint a picture of life at your school
Don’t underestimate the power of showcasing the more intangible aspects of your brand on Instagram. What do we mean by this? Put yourself in the shoes of a parent whose eldest child is about to start school for the first time. You might not know what to look for in a school in terms of the teacher backgrounds, classroom sizes, or Ofsted reports. However, regardless of how much research you have or haven’t done, you will get either a positive or negative impression of schools from their social media presence. Most parents worry about their child adjusting to life at school, so they want to see that your students have fun, make friends, enjoy outdoor space, a safe and clean environment, healthy and varied school meals, and that their mental health and overall wellbeing are being safeguarded. Whilst showcasing academic achievements is impressive, it’s only part of the picture you’re painting of your school on social media.
Prep schools are full of interactive learning, colourful crafts, lively activities and fun theme days…so many elements that are ready-made to be shared via a visual medium like Instagram. This is a great way for parents to experience varied snippets of daily life at your school, in a way that your website doesn’t allow.
Your posts don’t have to include students’ faces
How do you market on a visual platform like Instagram if many of your parents don’t want pictures of their children’s faces on social media? No problem. There are many ways to showcase your school on social media without showing students’ faces. School facilities, parent testimonials, teacher interviews, or pictures taken from a distance so that no-one can be recognised…this stipulation should never keep a school from posting on Instagram. In fact, fewer posts of students’ daily activities can actually improve your overall content utility, and be very strategically-driven too. Need some inspiration? Check out our 12 post ideas that don’t show students’ faces on Instagram.
The key thing to remember in all this, though, is that a social media strategy should be at the heart of every post, Reel, Story or Guide you make. It’s not enough to put up a picture of every fun science experiment and of the hockey team in action every week. Make sure that your posts attract, educate, engage, and entertain and that each one is connected to your overall marketing strategy. Everything you post should further your strategy in some way.
Don’t know where to start? It can be daunting to begin marketing on social media, and requires commitment and strategy. If you need some guidance, whether that’s on a 1:1 basis or as part of a group, check out our range of school marketing courses and follow us on Instagram for regular tips, tricks and post ideas!