Marketing Your School to Millennial Parents

As a millennial, it is common for our generation to get stereotyped with a long list of qualities like; phone addict, lazy, social media-obsessed, materialistic, immature, and many more like that. I try to exclude myself from these stereotypes – but people will always believe what they want. 

Being a millennial means you are a young parent, which is what we are going to be talking about here – marketing truths about millennial parents.

If you say marketing to millennial parents is difficult than any other generation, you are right. The attention span of a millennial parent is short-lived, and their expectations are always high. Some of the stereotypes are right, being a phone and social media obsessed. But this is because they rely on their online audience/friends to help them shop, locate places, and even research for schools.

Marketing to millennial parents is different from when you market to the older generations. This is why it is essential to adapt your marketing strategies to reach them effectively. As you decide to do that, there are 5 truths about millennials parents you should consider.

1.   They Google for everything. Because of the internet, how people search for products has changed, so also is the search for schools. No matter what the question is, they turn to the internet to look for answers, because we know the answers are there. (Including a private school for our kids.)

When looking for a new product or service, the majority of millennials turn to Google first, while others would opt for the official website of the brand. The same thing applies to your school, rather than search directly for a particular school, they will do a google search like “top private schools in Lagos” or “Abuja private schools.”

The competition is stronger, you optimize your schools’ website for search terms that will make your rank higher. Or make use of third-party marketing platforms like SchoolsCompass to help put your school out there for parents

2.   They use Word Of Mouth Marketing (WOMM), but it is different. WOMM has been a big part of how schools were marketed, schools then believed in their academic achievements and WOMM to help them increase enrollment and retain prospects. But social media marketing has changed how WOMM works.   

2 out of 10 millennials will turn to others for advice – which is normal. It is in human nature to consult before making a decision. The interesting thing is that millennials make use of their social media networks to get the advice they need from others.  

It is no longer one parents asking another for advice after yoga class – it is one parent asking hundreds or thousands on the internet via the groups/community they are online, or their social media accounts.

3.   They consume online video ads. While older generations prefer traditional ads like radio or newspaper, many millennials become aware of brands as a result of their online ads. The majority of millennials become aware of products and services through online media, which is why big brands use online ads to gain brand awareness.  

4.   They trust online reviews more. According to HubSpot, more than 80% of millennials do not trust traditional advertising. They trust real interactions and reviews from their peers. It is said that millennials make purchasing decisions if the product or services has online reviews – and they trust recommendations from friends and family rather than that from the brand itself.

5.   They have weak brand loyalty. While older generations have stronger brand loyalty, millennial parents have weak brand loyalty. And this is because of the availability of a wide range of available choices and comparisons. In industries like fashion, millennials are more loyal to value and competitive prices than the brand. This is why as a school owner, you must ensure the growth of your brand loyalty by making sure that there is constant communication with current families and students.

Take Away:

Your website, online presence, and communication style goes a long way. It is in the past that parents will just make use of whatever they are giving, but the case is different with millennial parents. They have many other places they can get the information they are looking for. 

They are exposed to a large amount of information, focusing on the pictures and videos you share, your social media content, and what reviews your past and current families give concerning you.