Day nurseries urged to concentrate on online marketing

Online marketing has become more and more important for successful day nurseries in the UK, research from daynurseries.co.uk says.

Online directory and industry website daynurseries.co.uk has calculated More and more parents are using the internet as a tool to help them choose a nursery in the UKthat day nurseries, which have an enhanced package on the site receive two to three times more traffic than nurseries who have a basic listing.

The research combined with the site’s increase in monthly traffic indicates an overall rise in the amount of parents searching for nurseries online.

Davina Ludlow director of daynurseries.co.uk said: “It has never been more important to embrace the internet as an excellent outlet to promote your nursery. Our site has seen a marked increase in traffic consistently year on year as more parents ‘get online’ to research their childcare options.

“Of course an enhanced package with us is a good way to increase your online presence, but there are other things you can do in addition, social media for example can be a great way to get your message across to potential new clients and an easy way to keep your current clients in the loop with the day to day running of your nursery and any events you may have.”

The enhanced package just like a decent website can help to catch the eye of prospective parents who can be overwhelmed with the number of nurseries available to them.

Industry research

Research from Ceeda, which conducts surveys on behalf of day nurseries have seen a similar increase in the number of parents using online options to find childcare. Of 4,300 people asked, 20 percent cited ‘internet search’ as their method for finding the nursery their child attends. Only four percent cited local advertising. 39 percent stated word of mouth and 27 percent stated ‘live nearby.’

Ceeda’s research highlights the importance of word of mouth as a source of new business but also the well-known phenomena that a nursery’s top competition is other nurseries in their area. This competition isn’t always evident in a quieter rural area. However in somewhere like the borough of Wandsworth in South East London where there are 85 nurseries, competition can feel very pronounced.

Kiddi Caru is a day nursery group which puts its online presence at the forefront of its thinking.

Caron Moseley marketing manager at Kiddi Caru, said:

“We are committed to driving our online presence through our website and via our Facebook page.

“Whilst there is a rush to embrace Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, the website should always be at the heart of any social media strategy. So for example, social media for us is most effective when used to engage parents and staff whilst also driving traffic to our website.

“Our website was developed in conjunction with our current parents and the results were conclusive. Parents want information accessible 24/7 Kiddi Caru are a nursery group that has embraced online marketing about Kiddi Caru, their nursery that their child attends and what their child has been up to during their time at nursery. The Facebook activity that we undertake is an added extra layer of communication for parents.

“We need to remember that in our industry the childcare product is not one that can be sold online, but a great website supported by an effective social media strategy can help showcase a nursery to new parents, with the additional benefit of being a communication tool to current parents.

“It is also important to think about where a website is listed and in which directories. When we cross-referenced our enquiries in Google Analytics, Day Nurseries is always the top referral site which confirms that Day Nurseries does this very well and that its listing is always up to date.

“We do work hard to ensure that we have a high level of social media integration and that our website and Facebook page work together as an effective communication tool. The website and Facebook used together both help staff at the nurseries by providing another avenue to give parents important information about forthcoming events and activities being held as their own nurseries. Furthermore, the staff can also keep up to date with events that are happening at our other nurseries across the UK.”

Tips to improve your day nursery’s online presence:

Take the time to set up social media platforms. Twitter is an easy place to start but Facebook too can be a simple way to connect with parents.

Make sure your website is up to date and that your potential clients can find you. Daynurseries.co.uk will soon be offering a competitively priced web builder package for day nurseries which need to build a website.

Take out an enhanced package on daynurseries.co.uk