Enrollment Reimagined: A Digital Campaign That Delivered
A Strategic, Multichannel Campaign That Turned Enrollment Challenges into Growth Opportunities
Company & Industry Overview
Our client is a reputable nonprofit educational institution that oversees 19 public charter schools and programs across the county. Their mission focuses on transforming schools in under-resourced areas into A-rated institutions, with each school offering unique attributes tailored to their communities. The nonprofit
employs various social media and streaming platforms to engage with potential new students, particularly those from urban areas such as Detroit and Indianapolis.
As this organization navigates the ever-changing landscape of the public charter school sector, it is crucial to not only improve the quality of education offered at the schools but also to draw in new students. This influx is essential for generating the revenue needed to sustain their initiatives.
Challenge
The nonprofit educational organization encountered considerable challenges with enrollment for 14 of its 19 schools as the new school year approached. This situation necessitated the need for external assistance in student recruitment to ensure budget coverage and maintain the operational viability of the schools.
- Target: Increase enrollment across 14 schools located in 4 different states.
- Development: Launch a paid social media advertising campaign, apply for and implement the Google Grant for Nonprofits, enhance landing pages, and provide conversion support.
- Integration: Leverage analytics to optimize conversions through filled-out website interest forms, aiming for maximum enrollment growth at each school.
Pain Points
- Enrollment: The nonprofit faced a decrease in applicants during the school’s lottery seasons, resulting in challenges in meeting enrollment targets and impacting financial sustainability.
- Messaging: The schools encountered difficulties in effectively communicating their attributes to the community, which limited their appeal as a viable educational option.
- Conversions: There was an absence of effective strategies for reaching and gathering information from families interested in the schools.
Think’s Approach
The primary objectives of this engagement were to effectively showcase the schools’ attributes through well-crafted paid advertisements in multiple languages, accompanied by high-quality visuals. Ads were deployed on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, in addition to retargeting ads on Google and free advertisements via Google Grants for nonprofits. The initial ads were launched in mid to late July, followed by new campaigns in August featuring more urgent messaging and a September follow-up tailored for the post-school start period, encouraging viewers to fill out a contact form on enhanced landing pages.
Performance was tracked via a live dashboard for real-time adjustments. Despite a late start and limited budget, the goal was to achieve 100 conversions by the end of August, which represented an average revenue of $17,277 per student for the public charter school.
Results
The paid advertising and brand enhancement campaign proved to be highly effective, despite facing challenges such as a late start, limited budget, and some technical difficulties.
Over a six-week period, the campaign achieved 318 conversions, with each submitted website form indicating potential for additional funding for the schools. Collectively, the estimated number of potential students could generate up to $5,494,086 for the nonprofit organization.
As the engagement continues, ongoing evaluation and adjustments will be essential to maximize effectiveness and maintain budget efficiency for increasing enrollment in these public charter schools. Higher enrollment levels directly translate to increased funding, which can enhance resources, support the retention of current staff and students, and facilitate the future recruitment of both staff and students.
Think’s Playbook
- Initial Evaluation — Assess the current enrollment status and existing strategies, providing recommendations for improvement.
- Solution — Update the brand identity and landing pages, while launching high-quality paid advertising campaigns.
- Next Phase — Maintain the implementation of paid advertising to encourage mid-year enrollment among prospective students.
- Final Phase — Maintain the paid ad campaign year-round, refresh the brand, and develop new websites to boost next year’s enrollment efforts, aiming to exceed this year’s last-minute campaign results.