Looking for low cost marketing tips for your school? Well you have come to the right place! After all, we all love some free advice, don’t we? Only this week, I’ve turned a few plastic bottles and cotton buds into drip feeders for my plant pots and boiled my wooden spoons to give them a deep clean (yes, they both work) – all from Instagram Reels. I am addicted.

But enough of that. I’ve turned my years of school marketing experience (and with a little help from my School Marketing Matters community) into 15 low cost marketing tips for those who don’t have much budget. So here’s our favourite tips for maximum impact, with minimal cost that you can start using today.

1. Get to know the basics of Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics is the tool for measuring traffic and engagement across your website, but it’s getting a makeover. Google Analytics 4 (or GA4 as it’s known for short) will be a game-changer for for advanced reporting. Data is key to understanding how users are interacting with your website, but do you know the key changes? For a summary of top line changes, read Jane’s blog here. You can also use Google’s own free training. My preference is the Loves Data courses, with Benjamin Mangold. They are cheap-ish (around $225) and he’s so clear and easy to follow. He’s solved many a data headache for me. Check out his YouTube channel here for lots of hints and tips if you want to do a test drive for free.

2. Have a cheerleading group

No, we’re not talking pom-poms and human pyramids. We’re talking about a couple of parental advocates that can extoll the virtues of your school and be on hand to chat through their experience as a parent. Prospective families appreciate honest feedback from those who understand their initial queries or concerns, so it’s vital to have a few contacts up your sleeve.

3. Join local Facebook groups

There’s plenty of local Facebook groups that have been set up to best serve their communities with local news, updates and recommendations. Many of those will be families looking to take the next step in their child’s education. If you are holding an open day or community-based event, make sure you post in the groups and alert them to the event. Just make sure that you read the group rules carefully (some groups restrict business or advertising posts to certain days) and check with the Admins if you’re not sure.

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4. Claim your Google Business Profile and control it via Google My Business Account…

This is probably one of my favourite low cost marketing tips. A Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) is essential for enhancing your school’s online visibility. By creating and optimising your profile, you can display accurate and up-to-date contact information, as well as managing and responding to reviews. Even better news, you can add your open events to it.

5. …and encourage Google reviews while you’re at it.

Positive reviews all help your SEO and it’s common knowledge that referrals are the cheapest way to generate new business. So ask your parents to spend five minutes filling out a Google review for you. Pro tip: you don’t need a Gmail account to leave a review, but you do need a Google profile. Just be sure to include the simple steps that your parents need to follow to post a review (even when they don’t have a Gmail account) to get as many completions as you can. This blog from Deliver tells you how.

6. Use AI tools for the heavy lifting

Chat GPT and Bard have not become overnight sensations for nothing. They are saving marketers hundreds of hours staring at blank pages. No one is saying that it can replace you, but let it become your virtual assistant and create prompts (the term for a sentence or keywords you add to an AI tool to instruct and receive an outcome) for content ideas , headline suggestions, meta descriptions or a bank of social media posts.

7. Try before you buy

There are now SO many tools that have been developed to help streamline your marketing efforts and enable you to work smarter. Better still, many have free trials or access to free tools. It’s a great way of getting to know whether a product is for you. If you just need it for a specific piece of work, then you may not even need to sign up past the trial. Free tools that are great for school marketers include:

Just remember to add a note in your diary to cancel prior to the end of the trial!

8. Review all school communications and marketing materials

Ambleglow have conducted many user experience projects for schools to stress test their admissions processes and tighten up each touchpoint to create a seamless experience. As consumers who can get groceries delivered within the hour or chat online to solve an issue in 5 minutes (usually!), we are often time poor but have high expectations. Prospective families are no different. Review every marketing and admissions touchpoint from the eyes of a prospective family to ensure a seamless and informative journey.

9. Create a series of student stories or proof point videos

Video is still king when it comes to content. If you need further convincing, then read this article by Darren Bolton from Blueprint Film. However, so many schools have no video content at all on their website – the one place where prospective families will be looking. Plus, viewers retain 85% more info from watching a video than by reading text. Create a series of student stories featuring pupils who exemplify your school – not just those with the top grades, but those who have overcome challenges to succeed too. You could also showcase the school’s atmosphere, teaching methods, student activities, and accomplishments. These don’t need to be works of art – a decent smartphone and one of the editing software suggestions above will easily do the job. Better still, invite some willing students with an interest in content creation to help. If sharing on social, don’t forget to add sub-titles as sound is not automatic. You can do this very cheaply at Rev.com. If you need more inspiration on storytelling, then check out our recent blog with some fantastic real life examples from schools.

10. Bridges not fences – embrace your local community

Networking may be time intensive, but it’s a hugely effective way to build advocacy for your school brand. Research shows that schools with reputational issues can really benefit from the power of community. Karamat Iqbal’s blog for Optimus Education says: ‘Strong links with the community can make a particular contribution to the work of schools serving disadvantaged communities. They have been shown to help raise educational standards and close the achievement gap between rich and poor children’. You could invite some well-respected community members (think local MPs or councillors, Imam at the mosque, Rabbi of the synagogue, local charities etc.) to your next school tour and show them why your school is something special.

11. Find your differentiators

In order to stand out from the crowd, you need to know what makes you different and this is probably our most important low-cost school marketing tip. To start this process, audit your competitors and survey parents, staff and pupils on what are the two or three things that make your school special. Look for common themes and start to build stories around these themes. Put these front and centre of your website and marketing materials.

12. Join a professional institute

I’d suggest joining a professional institute such as the CIM or AMCIS (for independent schools) early in your career. As in-house education professionals, you are often working in very small teams and I have always found the wide network, insight and CPD training invaluable. With thanks to Michelle Cant, Marketing and Communications Manager, Cheltenham Bournside School for this tip.

13. Postcode plotting

Plotting postcodes of home addresses and feeder schools from admissions enquiries/registrations/acceptances on google maps – my maps. Use the data to help inform future advertising plans, transport links and areas of opportunity. With thanks to Emily Wordley, Head of Marketing at Reigate Grammar School for this tip.

14. Find experts on TikTok

Find and follow storytelling experts on TikTok. I have picked up some great tips on there for ways to increase reach or help tell a story without spending any money! With thanks to Jo Phillips, Director of External Relations at Crosfields School for this tip.

15. Join the School Marketing Matters community!

If you haven’t already (and we hope you have!), then join our closed Facebook Group School Marketing Matters. We’re got nearly 1,000 school marketing and admissions members from all over the world. So join our community and get involved in the conversation. After all, a problem shared is a problem halved!

By using these budget-friendly marketing tips, we hope to inspire your thinking and planning. Remember, creativity and meaningful engagement are key to capturing the attention and trust of prospective families.

Book a discovery call with us today to find out how we can help.

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