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Marketing to millennial parents is no longer a conversation about future marketing campaigns, it’s the reality in front of us today and here is what schools should know.
According to the National Retail Federation, over 50% of today’s children have millennial parents and one million millennials become new mothers each year. This means that millennials are now the primary prospective parents of independent K-12 schools and are searching for dynamic learning environments for their children.
As the first generation to grow up alongside the internet (and later, social media), millennials frequently use Google, Facebook, and private school review sites like Niche to decide where their child ought to be educated. 85% of millennials do online research when purchasing an item or committing to a service; before they even contact you, they likely know a great deal about your school based on what online reviews, parent testimonials, and your website say about your institution.
Millennials still place a heavy importance on educational curriculum and want academic excellence for their children as previous generations have, however the extra emphasis on social-emotional learning, diversity, and common values are where schools are needing to adapt their messaging. Furthermore, how, and where they are getting their information needs to adapt as well.
Being digital natives, millennials go directly online to research and respond well to responsive, mobile-friendly website design and text. They want to see the stories of your students front and center in your marketing; as a generation that values authenticity, they want real photos, footage, and stories from students and/or parents.
In addition, millennial parents also want to see support for equity and equality in their child’s school. According to Schneider B’s school marketing experts, 50% of millennial parents belong to an ethnic or racial minority–highlighting your school’s acceptance and inclusion will attract the attention of socially-conscious millennial parents.
As they spend much of the day on social media, using Google, Facebook, and Instagram ads are the best ways to reach millennial clients outside of direct word of mouth. Digital advertisements are significantly more likely to reach this generation than traditional advertisements, as digital advertisements can be targeted, exist on websites millennials use frequently, and create rapid conversions.
Your first move should be redesigning your website if it is outdated, text-dense, or mobile unfriendly. Millennial parents will be turned off by huge walls of text about your institution, so focus on authentic and snappy advertising via graphics, images, and video marketing to stand out from the crowd. Avoid stock photos, generic marketing slogans, or centering your faculty before your students.
Millennials also value text and email communication over print communication, as they can promptly see and respond to important messages from their child’s school. According to Mia Charette of Finalsite, 73% of millennials prefer to receive all communications by email, and they are 26% more likely to open an email with a personalized subject line. By using email automation, you can send personalized emails to your entire parent network with the push of a button.
If there is one theme with marketing to the parents of today it is that it needs to be digital. Beginning with your “digital campus” (your website), you can build out the message, landing pages, and calls to action that will not only attract new families organically through inbound content, but also lay the foundation for your paid marketing efforts across all platforms.
Just remember, no matter if you are blogging, making organic posts, or building a paid media campaign, the message should be values based, personalized, and student focused. Researching your school should be easy to navigate, quick to read, and visually engaging with clear calls to action and ways to get in contact along the way.
Marketing to millennial parents is no longer a conversation about future marketing campaigns, it’s the reality in front of us today and here is what schools should know.
According to the National Retail Federation, over 50% of today’s children have millennial parents and one million millennials become new mothers each year. This means that millennials are now the primary prospective parents of independent K-12 schools and are searching for dynamic learning environments for their children.
As the first generation to grow up alongside the internet (and later, social media), millennials frequently use Google, Facebook, and private school review sites like Niche to decide where their child ought to be educated. 85% of millennials do online research when purchasing an item or committing to a service; before they even contact you, they likely know a great deal about your school based on what online reviews, parent testimonials, and your website say about your institution.
Millennials still place a heavy importance on educational curriculum and want academic excellence for their children as previous generations have, however the extra emphasis on social-emotional learning, diversity, and common values are where schools are needing to adapt their messaging. Furthermore, how, and where they are getting their information needs to adapt as well.
Being digital natives, millennials go directly online to research and respond well to responsive, mobile-friendly website design and text. They want to see the stories of your students front and center in your marketing; as a generation that values authenticity, they want real photos, footage, and stories from students and/or parents.
In addition, millennial parents also want to see support for equity and equality in their child’s school. According to Schneider B’s school marketing experts, 50% of millennial parents belong to an ethnic or racial minority–highlighting your school’s acceptance and inclusion will attract the attention of socially-conscious millennial parents.
As they spend much of the day on social media, using Google, Facebook, and Instagram ads are the best ways to reach millennial clients outside of direct word of mouth. Digital advertisements are significantly more likely to reach this generation than traditional advertisements, as digital advertisements can be targeted, exist on websites millennials use frequently, and create rapid conversions.
Your first move should be redesigning your website if it is outdated, text-dense, or mobile unfriendly. Millennial parents will be turned off by huge walls of text about your institution, so focus on authentic and snappy advertising via graphics, images, and video marketing to stand out from the crowd. Avoid stock photos, generic marketing slogans, or centering your faculty before your students.
Millennials also value text and email communication over print communication, as they can promptly see and respond to important messages from their child’s school. According to Mia Charette of Finalsite, 73% of millennials prefer to receive all communications by email, and they are 26% more likely to open an email with a personalized subject line. By using email automation, you can send personalized emails to your entire parent network with the push of a button.
If there is one theme with marketing to the parents of today it is that it needs to be digital. Beginning with your “digital campus” (your website), you can build out the message, landing pages, and calls to action that will not only attract new families organically through inbound content, but also lay the foundation for your paid marketing efforts across all platforms.
Just remember, no matter if you are blogging, making organic posts, or building a paid media campaign, the message should be values based, personalized, and student focused. Researching your school should be easy to navigate, quick to read, and visually engaging with clear calls to action and ways to get in contact along the way.
Marketing to millennial parents is no longer a conversation about future marketing campaigns, it’s the reality in front of us today and here is what schools should know.
According to the National Retail Federation, over 50% of today’s children have millennial parents and one million millennials become new mothers each year. This means that millennials are now the primary prospective parents of independent K-12 schools and are searching for dynamic learning environments for their children.
As the first generation to grow up alongside the internet (and later, social media), millennials frequently use Google, Facebook, and private school review sites like Niche to decide where their child ought to be educated. 85% of millennials do online research when purchasing an item or committing to a service; before they even contact you, they likely know a great deal about your school based on what online reviews, parent testimonials, and your website say about your institution.
Millennials still place a heavy importance on educational curriculum and want academic excellence for their children as previous generations have, however the extra emphasis on social-emotional learning, diversity, and common values are where schools are needing to adapt their messaging. Furthermore, how, and where they are getting their information needs to adapt as well.
Being digital natives, millennials go directly online to research and respond well to responsive, mobile-friendly website design and text. They want to see the stories of your students front and center in your marketing; as a generation that values authenticity, they want real photos, footage, and stories from students and/or parents.
In addition, millennial parents also want to see support for equity and equality in their child’s school. According to Schneider B’s school marketing experts, 50% of millennial parents belong to an ethnic or racial minority–highlighting your school’s acceptance and inclusion will attract the attention of socially-conscious millennial parents.
As they spend much of the day on social media, using Google, Facebook, and Instagram ads are the best ways to reach millennial clients outside of direct word of mouth. Digital advertisements are significantly more likely to reach this generation than traditional advertisements, as digital advertisements can be targeted, exist on websites millennials use frequently, and create rapid conversions.
Your first move should be redesigning your website if it is outdated, text-dense, or mobile unfriendly. Millennial parents will be turned off by huge walls of text about your institution, so focus on authentic and snappy advertising via graphics, images, and video marketing to stand out from the crowd. Avoid stock photos, generic marketing slogans, or centering your faculty before your students.
Millennials also value text and email communication over print communication, as they can promptly see and respond to important messages from their child’s school. According to Mia Charette of Finalsite, 73% of millennials prefer to receive all communications by email, and they are 26% more likely to open an email with a personalized subject line. By using email automation, you can send personalized emails to your entire parent network with the push of a button.
If there is one theme with marketing to the parents of today it is that it needs to be digital. Beginning with your “digital campus” (your website), you can build out the message, landing pages, and calls to action that will not only attract new families organically through inbound content, but also lay the foundation for your paid marketing efforts across all platforms.
Just remember, no matter if you are blogging, making organic posts, or building a paid media campaign, the message should be values based, personalized, and student focused. Researching your school should be easy to navigate, quick to read, and visually engaging with clear calls to action and ways to get in contact along the way.
