If your centre has empty places, another marketing activity is only useful if it addresses the reason families are not enrolling. Start with the places you need to fill, the families you can serve and the next step you want them to take.
This childcare marketing checklist helps you set priorities before committing more time or budget.
Start with your available places and the families you need to reach
Break down availability by room, days and likely starting dates. A broad campaign can generate enquiries that your centre cannot accommodate. Give your marketing team an accurate picture of what is available and update it as places change.
Look at the questions prospective families ask during calls and tours. Use these to identify what your website and advertising need to explain, from opening hours and orientation to your educational approach.
Make your centre’s differences clear
List the reasons a family might choose you and the evidence that supports each one. Show the actual learning environments, introduce your educators and explain how your programs work. Replace broad claims such as “the best care” with details a parent can understand and verify.
Keep your website, Google Business Profile and directory listings accurate. Use our practical childcare local SEO guide to check your profile, centre pages and enquiry journey. For groups, make it easy to find the right location and contact its team.
Give each marketing channel a job
- Local search: help families looking for nearby care find a useful centre page.
- Social media: show your centre’s people, environment and approach. Use our childcare social media dos and don’ts to plan practical content.
- Advertising: direct suitable families to a page that answers their questions and makes the next step clear. Measure enquiries and tours rather than judging success on clicks alone.
- Community activity: build relevant local relationships and give interested families a way to meet your team.
You do not need to launch every channel at once. Choose the work that addresses your largest current gap and make sure someone owns it.
Plan the enquiry and tour process before increasing promotion
Decide who receives enquiries, who covers absences and how follow-up is recorded. Explain the tour process on your website. Check that forms work on a phone and reach the right person.
If enquiries are already arriving but occupancy remains low, use our childcare occupancy guide to review the steps between an enquiry, a tour and an enrolment.
Use a simple monthly plan
For each activity, record its purpose, owner, due date and measure of success. At the end of the month, review what it produced and what needs attention. Keep a record of enquiries, suitable enquiries, tours booked, tours attended and enrolments, allowing for the time families take to decide.
For an example of how several activities fit together, read our Your ELC marketing case study. Its results relate to that engagement and should not be treated as a forecast for another centre.
Get help with the work your centre needs
Our childcare marketing services bring strategy, websites, SEO and advertising together. Talk to our team about your available places and where your current approach is falling short.
