Make your social media a marketing hit

Many businesses start a new year with intentions to commit to doing better with some task, whether budgeting, keeping that inbox number down, or doing better with their social media marketing.

To help you with the latter, I have put together some key ways you can breathe new life into your social media platforms this year, with either limited effort or by enjoying some fun along the way.

It's important to note that an organic (unpaid) social media presence alone probably isn't going to work as a standalone marketing effort. It needs to form a part of a more comprehensive marketing plan and work alongside other digital and non-digital marketing. That might be open days, referral offers or loyalty schemes; all of these should also have a social media campaign to bolster your efforts. Read on if you are wondering how best to approach your social media marketing now because we all know how changeable it is.

Facebook

Facebook is still the number-one place to be for nurseries and playgroups. It has a significant community aspect, with people often eager to recommend businesses they love. However, first you need to prime your page for success.

1. Ensure your ‘About Us’ section is populated with as much information as you can fill it with. If it is already full, check it is up to date.
2. Ensure your profile and cover images are the correct sizes and not obscured or cut off. It is a good idea to have your logo as the profile image.
3. Check that the button at the top right of your profile is enabled to whichever option suits you best. Often this is the Message option or the one that sends people to your website.

It is crucial to post regularly. That doesn't mean you need to post every day or multiple times a day. It means you should post three to four times a week at regular intervals and not bombard the page with posts when you remember and then share nothing for weeks.

The number-one type of content to post is pictures of what is happening at the nursery with text to accompany them. Examples of this are activities you have set, photos of the children enjoying them and any benefits to their learning or social skills. Before and after photos work well; a tuff tray set up beautifully for the day and how it ended. Don't forget staff birthdays or work anniversaries; your families love an excuse to wish their key workers well and show their appreciation.

Another post idea is to share positive reviews of your setting. This shows what is called ‘social proof’, and if you can share these in their original form, it looks more authentic and is, of course, genuine. This could be a screenshot of a review, a picture of a thank you card or a bunch of flowers. You can also use sections from your Ofsted report and reviews from DayNurseries.co.uk – wherever you have great feedback, share it with your audience.

You will need to use an eye-catching image to help your posts stand out. If you are using pictures of the children or an activity, then use your strongest as the first image. Think about what would make you stop scrolling if you were browsing through a social media feed. It has to be pretty striking now to make people stop. If you are using an image including text designed on a design tool such as Canva, then make sure you use catchy words. It is also a good idea to use your brand colours for a professional look.

As I mentioned earlier, use community groups on Facebook to your advantage. Most of them have one specific day a week when you can advertise. On the other days, you need to keep an eye on them for posts asking for nursery recommendations.

Instagram

Instagram is the second most popular social media platform for childcare settings to use. Here are the top three things you can do on Instagram to increase your reach or the number of users who view your posts.

1. Use Stories. These photos and videos appear across the top of the app, and they expire in 24 hours. You can share your grid posts here and add additional text, emojis, polls, etc. You can also take pictures and videos and upload them to your stories alone. A recent survey found that many users head to stories before they look at any other area on Instagram.
2. Carousel Posts. These are the posts you place on your grid with more than one image included, and they are the top-performing post on Instagram right now. These offer an additional bonus if the first image doesn't resonate with the user; they serve the same post in the feed again but with the following image to see if it hits the spot. For example, say if there are five images attached to a post, if a user is scrolling through their feed, they will see the initial picture first. If they don't pause, expand the comment or like it, when they go back to their Instagram feed later, it will show them the next image in the group.
3. Reels. Reels are essential if you want to go for growth on your pages. Reels are the name for all video content on Instagram, and the best way to learn about them is to watch them. You will find Reels under the middle icon at the bottom of the page, which looks like a clapper board with a play button.

A little bit more on Reels because they are important. You can make Reels as easy or extravagant as you want, but ideally, keep them to less than 30 seconds and use trending audio where possible. You can find out if audio is trending by watching Reels, and if there is an arrow pointing up next to the audio name in the bottom left corner, then it is trending. To have fun with Reels, get your staff members involved; you are bound to have some who will see this as an enjoyable part of their job. However, if you are struggling and can't get any volunteers, sharing pictures and video footage of an activity, outdoor play, sports day, cookery, and so much more, can be a real hit.

Some final words to set you up for success. When was the last time you told your families you had a Facebook page and that it would be good for them to follow it for updates? Mention it now and again in your newsletters. It is also effective to tag local businesses if you use any; the butcher, the local church and gardeners. It is always positive to support local. Do any groups or specialists come into the nursery to deliver classes such as yoga, dance or language lessons? Make sure you share this and ask them to post about their visits to your setting/s on their social media too, and tag you, of course.

Childcare settings are in a unique position; your followers actually want to see updates from you, and they look forward to them. There are not many businesses with that kind of sentiment on their side.

LinkedIn

You might not have considered LinkedIn as a platform for your nursery marketing, but don't rule it out. As well as it having personal profile pages for individuals, it also has a company page option which works in a similar way to a Facebook page, and if any of your employees are on LinkedIn, they can link themselves to the page too.

LinkedIn is particularly busy during office hours, and lunchtime can be a good time to post as people catch up. You can post the same information to it as you would another platform, and using three well-thought-out hashtags helps the post perform well.

LinkedIn pages don't perform as well generally as a personal profile does on this platform, but I have a top tip for you. Using your personal profile page, use the search options on LinkedIn to find professionals who live and work in the same area as your nursery and invite them to connect with you. Use LinkedIn as any social media platform is meant to be used; be engaging and get involved. Comment on people's statuses, post your own and build relationships. Now, this is the masterstroke: once a month you will get the opportunity to invite 100 of your connections to like your page. Do this, and the ones that are interested will follow your page and see your updates.

With a detailed and strategic content plan, your page will grow anyway; this gives you an added boost, and boom, your page is being followed by professionals in your area who just might need your services now or in the future.

Nicola Read is content director at Childcare Marketing, www.childcaremarketing.co.uk