3 Marketing Ideas for Private Schools

Education has never been more competitive. Private and independent schools are facing a widespread proliferation of teaching styles and settings, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Even established private institutions with tried-and-true marketing strategies are struggling to deliver the kind of results needed to increase enrollment.

While the tools and tactics may have changed, marketing private schools effectively boils down to the core components of audience, point of contact, and awareness. Get out your number-two pencil and take note: These are the three private school marketing strategies that will get you to the head of the class.

More Demand, More Competition

Marketing your school effectively requires clear, consistent messaging about the benefits of a private education. To use a jargony term, it’s about the value proposition: What advantage does your school offer over public education or enrollment in another independent school system?

Most private school marketing plans focus on some of the traditional advantages of private school education, including:

• Smaller class sizes
• Flexible learning opportunities
• A wider or unique curriculum
• Better career prospects
• Specialties, such as schools designed for athletes, music, or art

These value propositions are as true today as they have ever been, which is a big reason private school enrollment is increasing. 46% of private schools saw enrollment increase from 2022 to 2024. After 57% of schools reported enrollment declines in the pandemic-affected 2020-2021 school year, private schools added students in each of the past three years.

How to Increase Enrollment in Private Schools

Despite widespread growth, not all private and independent schools are full. The same study noted above found 58% of schools did not receive more applications than seats, indicating an enrollment shortfall. Private schools operate on an average operating margin in the 5-10% range, providing little room for empty seats.

To keep classrooms full and energized, follow these back-to-basic marketing strategies to increase school enrollment.

1. Know Your Audience

The biggest mistake we see in digital marketing for independent schools isn’t tactical, it’s strategic. Sound strategy starts with knowing your audience, and private school marketing should address everyone involved in the decision-making process.

It’s Not Just Mom and Dad

Increasing enrollment should address the concerns and values of parents, grandparents, alumni, and the students themselves. Start by developing detailed personas for each audience type and shape the value propositions above to suit each persona.

For example:

• Lacrosse Landon, your student persona, may not care about career prospects, but he’ll definitely want to know how many of the seniors from last year’s championship team earned scholarships to play at the college level.
• Grandpa Gary, an alumnus of your school, would love to picture his granddaughter’s yearbook photo on the same wall as his, 50 years later.

Connect every piece of creative and messaging to an audience to improve efficiency and make a lasting impact on your audiences.

2. Build a Brilliant Website

Students and parents are looking for easy, intuitive access to school information, programs, athletics, and pricing information. Building a user-friendly website is a smart investment to put need-to-know information front and center. Make sure your private school website is responsive and mobile-friendly, and make sure your call-to-action buttons are clear. A good CTA lets a user know exactly what to expect (“Speak With a Counselor”) rather than just telling them what to do (“Click Here”).

Quality Matters

Schools have a fixed number of openings, which means quality matters more than quantity. Gauge website success based on engagement focused metrics like engagement rate, events per user, and average session duration, rather than total sessions. (Check out our SEO glossary for KPI definitions.)

3. Strengthen Your Brand

How would you describe your school? How would community members describe your school? Branding defines what your school stands for and impacts how attractive being associated with the school is for parents and students. The traditional perception of private schools as elite or exclusive may still add prestige, but that’s not why parents send their kids there. According to Morning Consult, the most important reasons are:

• Location
• Safe environment
• Academic quality

Know what attracts students and their families to your school, and invest time and energy in matching those characteristics into your brand.

Get a Gut Check

The best way to evaluate your brand is through qualitative market research. Deliver annual surveys to parents, students, and the community to get unfiltered, real-world feedback on how each audience perceives your brand. These types of surveys are incredibly useful for establishing and improving brand perception and building a stronger, more positive relationship with your audiences.

You’ll Get Straight A’s on Your Marketing with Oneupweb

The marketing of independent schools requires a deep understanding of the private school market, your specific community, and the traits and commonalities of the families you serve.

We work closely with school administrators and in-house marketers to support all your marketing needs, whether it’s a marketing plan for school enrollment or reaching a fundraising goal. has the experience and resources to turn small details into big wins for your institution.

To see what our fully integrated team can do for your school’s marketing efforts, get in touch or call (231) 922-9977 today.