How "Unlinked" Google and Facebook Pages May Be Reducing Enrollments and Increasing Your Work Load in a Small or Medium-Sized Childcare Center
by Jim Shields
Since last October, we have been surveying small and medium-sized childcare centers across the country. What we've found is that 90% of small and medium-sized childcare centers don't have interactive websites (by interactive, I mean a website that actually does things for the besides simply supplying information i.e. allows parents to apply online, allows parents to update information and, make payments). However a large portion of these centers have Facebook pages and, they rely on referrals from Google searches to generate enrollments.
Although it is beneficial to have a presence on Google and Facebook, the problem that we have witnessed in small and medium-sized childcare centers is that their Google listing and Facebook pages tell users to "Call Now" instead of visiting their website. A "Call Now" button would work if there was someone there to answer the phone at all times but, our data has shown a phone answering rate of about 35% at most small and medium-sized centers.
By now, you may be thinking "What's wrong with having them simply call the center to inquire?" The answer lies in a conversation I had with a childcare professional who was actually expecting a child herself and visited what she described as a "newly built, beautiful" childcare center in her city.
She said that she had heard good things about the center and, that it appeared to very modern and up to date from the outside but, when she went online, she couldn't find out any information about the center from Google or any other site so, she stopped by to inquire.
As she spoke with the center director, she learned that the center did not have any technology at all and, had decided against using technology any because there was "too much technology in childcare." She went on to tell me that, after her conversation with the center director, she promptly decided against going to the center because, although she agreed with and liked the idea of no technology in the classroom, she expected the center to have a modern way to interact with parents and grandparents. And, by interacting with parents, she did not mean digital daily reports, electronic sign-in, etc. She meant a way for parents to make payments, update information, etc. without having to login to some app.
Let's face it. In small and medium-sized centers, the owner/director is strapped for time and, they often cannot answer the phone. So, if they cannot answer the phone, it can be very difficult for them to capture the best enrollments and staff their center. People in need of childcare or a job don't wait around for a single childcare center to call them back or answer the phone. They keep applying other places.
For small and medium-sized centers, it is very important for parents and potential employees to have an efficient gateway to interact with the center. At present, we are seeing that most and medium-sized centers are having a lot of their potential enrollments and staff hires dead end at their telephone.
Google and Facebook pages are great. However, they work best when they are linked to an interactive website.
When your Google listing and Facebook page are linked to an interactive website
When your Google listing and social media pages tell visitors to "Call Now"
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