Q: I need to be more actively marketing my nursery but have no budget for it. How do other nursery leaders do this with no spare money?
Sian Millar, owner, Polkadot Farm
‘Traditional advertising for nurseries is a bit dead. But you do not need any budget to market through social media. A lot of nursery professionals are scared of social media and think that they have to be a personality and do crazy dances on TikTok. It absolutely does not have to be like that.
‘We realised parents only see the start and end of a day. So we try to showcase what we do in the day with a video. At the same time we can talk about our core values, for example, show children doing a messy play session, and talk over that visual about the activity's benefits.
‘We share videos on our own Facebook, Instagram and TikTok pages, and post on other local groups’ pages too. They help parents get under the skin of what goes on in a nursery. We find each platform needs a slightly different style of video. Facebook is more populated with prospective parents, Instagram tends to be for current parents and local people, while TikTok is more helpful for recruitment.
‘You do not have to be a specialist to edit videos or reels – have a look at what other nurseries are doing. But remember to showcase your unique selling points, to differentiate your setting. If you find editing videos challenging, use photos.’
Helen White, marketing manager, The DEN Nursery Group
‘One of the ways we attack this is focusing on the community. We hold big open days twice a year to give people a look around and meet staff with no obligation, with exciting activities for children.
‘Recently, we did a random acts of kindness day, and some of our children baked homemade cookies and took them to local businesses. Little things like that build community links and reputation.
‘We also try to be visible with our mascot: George the Bear. We have several volunteers who climb inside the costume and walk down the high street, waving at people in the shops and giving stickers to children. It is a fantastic way to get our brand out there for negligible cost–you really cannot miss a nearly six-foot-tall bear!
‘Online, be sure to get your business listed on Google. It is free, and if people search for “nursery near me”, you pop up with your phone number and website.
‘We do an awful lot on social media. It is a way to connect with existing and new parents, and connect the villages where each of our three nurseries are located. We use Facebook and Instagram to post daily updates. We also post on “spotted in” pages on Facebook, which are specific to our locations. Those are a great way to get into the community.
‘Our accounts are open to the public. We ask every parent who registers for permission before including pictures of their child. Staff take photos on the room iPads. A freelance photographer also comes in once a month to do some quality pictures.’
Lorraine Ellis, director, Banana Moon Nursery Bromley
‘The most effective way to attract new families is using free digital platforms and word of mouth. First, find out why parents have chosen you in the first place. We do this through casual conversations, parent surveys and reviews parents leave online. This allows us to tailor our online messages to attract other families with the same priorities or concerns. For example, if parents told us they value our extracurricular activities, approach to learning, or enhanced environment, we highlight those.
‘You need to be consistent and authentic on social media. We post regular content that shows the reality of daily life in the nursery. Practitioners take all the pictures. This builds trust for potential families. We aim to post a mix of daily activities, testimonials from parents and educational content on topics such as oral hygiene.
‘This educational content is posted on our nursery as blogs. Your website can also be a great tool. I blog about topics a parent may be searching for advice on, for example, Tax Free Childcare, or what to do in your local area over half term. Search engines will direct people to content on our site. I include lots of links, which improves your website's search engine optimisation (SEO). If SEO is not something you are familiar with, look it up. Whenever I publish a blog, I also post an update about it on our social media linking back to the article on our website.
‘Another online must is to encourage your parents to review your nursery on Google or Daynurseries.co.uk.’
