Have you considered using videos in your marketing plan? A video is a more dynamic and personal way for prospective parents to learn about your staff and programs, and a powerful opportunity to engage them. Those who have perused your videos can get a sense they already have met you. It gives a great head start to the Know-Like-Trust-Try cycle of marketing. A video can help them know, like, and trust you all at once and in a short amount of time.
Some staggering statistics speak to the power of using video:
- A website with a video is 53x more likely to land on page one in a Google search.
- Over 1.3 billion people watch almost 5 billion videos each day.
- Facebook has over 8 billion video views a day.
- 6 out of 10 people would rather watch online videos than television.
- Adding videos to your emails can increase click rates by 300%.
Here are some tips on making your videos generate more interest and inquiries:
- Keep them short. A thirty-second video has a 10% dropout rate by the end, and a 2-minute video loses half the audience by the end. The shorter they are, the better.
If you have a lot of content you’re wanting to share, try considering a series of videos that you “drip” out over the course of time, such as one every other week. More videos create more chances to engage with you, and to share information that is pertinent to a prospective family. It’s a way to impart knowledge and create a relationship, all without ever having met.
- Decide where to post your videos. Think of them like a fleet of cars. The wheels of the cars would be social media, which will take your videos all around town. You don’t want to just park your cars in the garage (ie., just wait for your videos to be found on your website). You want to drive these all around and hit the inboxes and Facebook feeds of the target audiences with whom you want to engage.
- Determine what types of videos to create for your website, social media, and email campaigns. Consider these:
- A home-page “gist” piece. This overview video concisely summarizes your company or center. It should be a minute to 90 seconds for maximum impact. It covers primary points and gives viewers a sense of who you are. It’s purpose is to compel them to engage with you further by inviting their inquiries or to schedule a center visit. This can consist of a voiceover narration along with visuals (photos or videos of your site and the staff in action with the children). You may include short one-liner testimonials as well. Remember to get permission from all included parties.
- Testimonial videos. You certainly have many happy parents. Why not get them to say a few words on camera speaking about their satisfaction with your center? They can speak about how much their sons or daughters love being there, what great staff you have, and attest to the quality of your programming. Testimonials are powerful. Again, create a series of shorter videos (a minute or less) as opposed to stringing them all together into one longer one.
- Staff features. Feature a teacher or a staff member: who this person is, his or her experience, and what might be his or her philosophy of teaching. What do they love about working with children? This kind of video creates community and builds trust and credibility towards your staff! The videos could be sent out to existing families via email: one every week for a month, for example, but then archived on your website so that prospective enrollees can check them out and get to know the staff this way. This goes so much further than a photo and text.
- Educational series. Consider creating a dozen or so concise, one-minute tips for parents. These can go into their email inboxes or be targeted to specific audiences on Facebook. Remember to have a call to action at the end! You want them to check out your website, email you, or call you to schedule a visit to your center. This is a great way to reach out to current and prospective families in a way that positions you as the experts you are.
- Case studies. Consider featuring a child who has gone through your program and thrived as a result. Focus on that parent and child and tell their story. Perhaps this child has special needs, and your center does a great job focusing on these types of needs. What is something that you would like to highlight about your center? A case study can bring that to light.
- Center manager welcome video. A video with a simple welcome to parents from the center director or owner creates a sense of connection that would not exist otherwise. Consider sending this to all new parents who enroll throughout the year.
Videos like these will create connections and build trust in your team and your center’s programs and services. Professionally-produced videos, versus DIY videos, work best when you are creating a first impression, continuing the conversation, and incenting contact. Put your best foot forward with a well-done video, and you will create stronger communities and generate more qualified inquiries for enrollment.
For more on producing a video series for your center, visit Starstream Productions at www.starstreamproductions.com or contact Karen Fournier at kfournier@lpbroadband.net or 970-227-0090
Julie Wassom
The Child Care Marketing Expert and Coach
Marketing and Sales Speaker/Consultant/Author
303-910-3083
julie@juliewassom.com
www.juliewassom.com
