Did you skip doing your back-to-school cleaning this year?
Don’t worry, I doubt you’re alone!
Don’t get me wrong, the idea of heading into a new school year being organized and prepared for the year ahead sounds awesome, but let’s be real, there is never a convenient time to clean and it’s the first thing that gets moved to the bottom of the list.
Now Fall is over and Winter has officially arrived in many areas of the country!
But that doesn’t mean it’s time for your marketing efforts to hibernate!
Working in the early learning industry, I know you did plenty of preparation for the school year during the summer months.
You hosted awesome family fun events, advertised at local fairs, made sure you were fully staffed. You did everything you could to get your center as close to full as possible for the start of the school year!
Doing those things are key to keeping your revenue strong. But you also NEED to set aside time to do some end of the year cleaning at your center before you head into a new year.
I don’t mean sanitizing legos and scrubbing floors (although it’s probably not a bad idea to clean those things too while you’re at it).
I’m talking about cleaning up your digital marketing tools.
Your center’s success revolves around your marketing efforts. They need to be well maintained and up to date so you can attract the best staff members and stay fully enrolled!
This is the time of year that you should be taking a step back and reflecting on these questions regarding your marketing efforts…
- What has been successful this year?
- What didn’t work out quite as expected?
- What new ideas do I want to introduce and how will I make sure they are executed?
- Did my marketing efforts meet my expectations this past year?
- How much improvement would I like to see this upcoming year? (Be realistic with this one)
Once you have had some time to assess your marketing efforts from this year and know what you want to implement for the new year, begin tidying up and getting organized. Think about…
- How are your digital files stored? Are they organized into the proper folders and easily accessible or are they saved all over the place on multiple computers? How many of the files that you have saved are still relevant? Can any of them be archived or deleted? Just like having a messy room, having a messy online storage system will cause a headache and lots of wasted time trying to find what you need.
- Are you and your team happy with the digital systems in place? Think about your CRM, daily parent communication, and team communication systems. Are there any different systems you’ve been thinking about trying out? If so, now is the time to do it! That way you will have time to experiment with them before you make a decision and unveil them to parents and staff.
- Who manages social media at your center? Do you they post consistently? Do you like what you’re seeing? Does generating content for social media take up too much time or sometimes get tossed to the side because it hasn’t been planned out? Create a content schedule that is to be followed and schedule posts ahead of time using a social media management platform (Hootsuite and Content Cal are super inexpensive options for small businesses). Use past photos to create fun and engaging content and weave in new photos when you have time. (Just remember to post relevant content that relates to the time of year/what’s going on currently at your center)
- When was the last time you reviewed your email house list? Has it grown at all in the past year? It should have. Take a look at the systems you have in place and make sure they are still working and actively used. If any of them are broken now is the time to fix them. It’s also the perfect time to brainstorm new ideas to grow your house list.
Whether you put in the elbow grease or you delegate to a member of your team, make sure your new year digital cleaning gets done! You will be amazed at how satisfying it is to quickly access the files you want, be confident that the best systems are in place, know you have a consistent social media presence, and know your house list is growing.
