Article Source: https://metricmarketing.ca/perspectives/lessons-from-the-pandemic/

If there’s one thing we’ve collectively learned over the last couple of years, it’s that change is inevitable – and that it sometimes yields even better results than we could have imagined. In our 2021 State of Private School Marketing Survey (in partnership with NAIS), we gained insight into private and independent schools across North America and the changes they made to their marketing processes during the pandemic. 

Here are four lessons private school marketers have learned – that are here to stay.

Lesson 1: Make sure your website works for you

While campuses were closed or forced to limit visitors – and families were taking precautions – many prospective parents relied on school websites for most of their early research. 59% of our respondents reported increased website visitors over the past year.

There are a few ways that you can make sure your website is up the task:

• Audit your most frequently visited pages and ensure they are clear and full of rich information for prospective parents. 
• Follow your user paths and make sure they are finding what they need.
• Investigate your high-bounce pages and take the opportunity to improve the content there or add links so you can keep interested visitors on the site.
• Update your website frequently in places where it makes sense (like a new & events page or a blog). This helps your SEO rankings and also shows that there’s a lot happening on campus – and that you are on top of it all.
• Make it a habit to visit websites of your competitors or aspirational schools and identify new ways to present information that’s engaging, helpful, and a great representation of your brand.
• Capitalize on your increased traffic and turn casual researchers into solid prospects by capturing their email addresses through inquiry, registration, or sign-up forms – and keep the conversation going offline.

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