This document provides an overview of using modern marketing and social media strategies to advocate for child care. It discusses how to view yourself as an inner marketer and use concepts like the conversion cycle to increase enrollment, fundraising, and recruitment. Specific tactics covered include using stories to connect with people, various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as blogging and creating engaging content. The importance of data collection and search engine optimization to get found online is also covered. Overall it encourages embracing marketing and provides resources for getting started with social media.

1. A Marketing and
Social Media
intervention
Discover Your Inner Marketer:
Advocating for Child Care Using
Modern Marketing Strategies
NACCRRA Annual Policy Symposium
March 9, 2012
Fran Simon | Engagement Strategies, LLC

3. My Inner Marketer/Advocate
Was lurking behind my outter child
care administrator

4. Then, one day…
Convert Awareness
The
(FILL IN THE
Evaluation BLANK) Consideration
Cycle
Interest

5. Apply this to
Convert Awareness •Enrollment
•Fundraising
•Recruitment
Consideration
Evaluation •Marketing
•Selling
•Advocacy
Interest •Engagement
•Romance

6. Lesson 1:Stories Connect
People
People listen to, care about,
and buy from people they
know, like and trust.
AUTHENTIC
stories connect

7. And,YOU?

8. Today’s Plan
1. Working it out!
2. Marketing basics
3. Social media shift
4. Social Media Sites

10. * Outreach * Promotion * Advertising * Positioning *
* Recruiting * Persuading * Convincing * Advocating
*
* Lobbying * Demonstrating * Prospecting *
* Educating *
Whatever you call it,
marketing is not a dirty word

11. Marketing has
everything to with child care
If they can’t find you, they can’t interact
with you or advocate for you.

12. How To Get

13. Do you feel better, yet?

14. Marketing
Marketing is the activity, set
of institutions, and
processes for creating,
communicating, delivering,
and exchanging
offerings that have value for
customers, clients,
partners, and society at
large.
(American Marketing Association)

15. Marketing
• processes
• communicating
• offerings
• target audiences

16. Target
ECE Marketing/Advocacy
ecosystem
Parents Staff Supporters
Partners Funders
Community
Donors
Policymakers

17. Marketing Communication
Evolution
Conventional
Wisdom:
EVOLUTION
Pushing out messages
Social WisdoM
(Before Social media)
Inviting engagement
and
INTERACTION 17

18. Promotion
…the communication link
between sellers and
buyers for the purpose of
- influencing,
-informing, or
-persuading, “buyers”
- Dictionary.com
It’s outbound!

19. Engage(men
• involve people intensely
t)
• attract people
• draw people into
conversation
• to take part or
participate
- World English Dictionary It’s interactive!

20. Getting Found
(Inbound Techniques)
Blogs
SEO Social
media
Free
Content
Data
Conversion 20

21. What works?
PUSH
Fear
Hype
Make the pain stop
-OR-
Pull
Money
Compelling stories
Illustrative data

22. FREE WORKS
White papers, reports, webinars,
newsletters get people into your world…
So, then what?

23. Capture information

24. Collecting
Data
Is not
Necessarily
evil

25. how you use Data
is
what counts

26. Nurture
Needs nutrition.
Needs relationships.
Needs interaction.
Needs stimulation.
So do your new

27. Conversion =
People taking the action you
want them to take
•Enrolling
•Donating
•Advocating
•Volunteering

28. Got Data?
Do good

29. In touch with your inner
marketer, yet?

30. Traditional Engagement
Promotional Toolkit Toolkit
•Ads •Email
•Mail •Web site (SEO)
•Phone Book •Digital Ads (PPC)
•Exhibits •Social Media
•Presentations •Free Content
•PR •Advocacy software
•Lobbying (?)

31. It’s not magic, mysterious, or
mystical, but it’s complicated!

33. Paid
This is where you want your
program to be listed
Organic

34. My Point?
Modern marketing/advocacy:
–depends on SEO
–impacts SEO
–It’s complicated
Hire an expert or buy
Marketing automation software

35. 35

36. Social
Media won’t
work all by
itself
You still need
comprehensive
marketing, PR,
advocacy and
outreach

37. Exhibit A: Traditional + Social

40. Social Media Myths
 It’s easy!
 It’s FREE!
 It’s INSTANT!
 College kids are gr8 at it!
 It’s fun!
 Anyone can do it! 40

41. You have to make something happen
That’s why they call it “interactive”
41

42. Social Media Realities
 It is pervasive
 It is high-impact
 It plays nicely with other tactics

43. Professional Social Media :
is art and science that takes:
• Openness
• Planning
• Policies
• Training
• Persistence

44. Do Not give It to the intern

45. Getting Started: Policies First
What your organization CAN DO and how to
do it. Keep it positive and instructive!

46. How much SOCIAL?
ABOUT
of your overall marketing mix
46

47. Content is King
I’M I’M
TALKING TALKING
TO YOU TO YOU
I’M
What does TALKING I’M TALKING
this mean TO YOU EVERYONE
for my
program?
Everyone generates content

48. Post “Cravable”
Content
• Blog posts
• Videos
• Email newsletters
• Events
• News
• Website content
• Other Flavors

49. Share the right amount of information
BLAH,BLA Is it my turn
H, to talk? How
can I
BLAH!!! respond?
80% 20%
Value Added Promotion
49

50. Jump into the stream
Reacting to and
engaging with
other organizations
and people is as
important as telling
people about
yours.

51. Diving in to social media

52. Blogging
Very deep, robust, & broad

53. What’s a blog?
“Web log”
Conceived as
online journals
156 mil blogs
Blogs in Plain English

54. Why blogs and 03
Blogs websites?
Websites
Less formal Formal
Allow (invite) One to many
comments communication
Immediate Reviewed and edited
Weave in links to Intended to keep the
other sites, blogs visitor on the site
Focused, current, Comprehensive:
and topical products, services,
Updated frequently More static (except
news, sales, press)

55. Increase SEO
Why Blog? 03
Attract people
Engage personally
Provide commentary
Humanize

56. Read B4 blogging
• Birth to Thrive Online: http://birthtothrive.thrivebyfivewa.org/
• Early Ed Watch: http://earlyed.newamerica.net/blogmain/
• Lead from the Start http://circle-time.blogspot.com/
• Early Stories http://earlystories.org/
• Language Castle: http://languagecastle.com/wordpress
• Preschool Matters Today: http://preschoolmatters.org/
•The Grass Stain Guru http://grassstainguru.com/
• Teach Preschool http://www.teachpreschool.org/
• 140+ In The Moment http://fssimon.wordpress.com/
• Early Childhood Investigations
http://earlychildhoodwebinars.com/blog-2

57. Comparing the Platforms
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn
Primary Personal Personal & Professional
purpose Networking Business Networking
Core Personal Profiles Both Types Professional
Profiles
Ease of Complex Very Complex Straight-forward
Use
ECE Depends on Target Moderate, but very Moderate, but
Audiences tight professional
Users 500 M + 80 M + 120 M +
Best for Connecting & Broadcasting Connecting &
Listening to the Listening Building
Public and Networks with
community Influencers 57

58. Fast, Complex, Broad, Not Deep
Twitter

59. #ecetech #earlyed
#earlychildhood #naeyc
#prek #naeycac
#preschool #headstart
#childcare #ece

60. LinkedIn
Slow, Robust, Deep & Broad

61. #1 Misconception
It’s for job searching 61

62. “Propersonal”
• Not anonymous
• Professional
62

63. Core
• Professional Profiles
• Groups
• Status updates
• Company Profiles
63

64. Facebook
Fast, Complex, Broad, Vast

65. 1 thing to remember
Business pages

66. Gr8 Examples of ECE on
Facebook
•NAEYC
• McCormick Cntr 4 Early Childhood Leadership
• National Head Start Association
• Child Care Resource Center, Ohio *
• Children’s Defense Fund *
• Bright Horizons
•Teach Preschool * 23,000 + (WOW!)
• Teaching Strategies
• Language Castle
• The InvestiGator Club
• Erikson Institute
• Early Childhood Investigations

67. Final Points
1. BE PROUD. You must be visible to advocate,
raise funds, provide services.
2. TELL YOUR STORY. People are influenced
by people and organizations they like and
trust.
3. Nothing (good) is easy, instant, or free!
4. Collect data. Focus on SEO.
5. EMBRACE YOUR INNER MARKETER.
Your program or cause depends on it.

68. Thank you!
68

69. People /Sites you should
03
Beth Kanter
know
John Haydon
Mashable, Social Media
Linked Strategies
Hubspot Marketing Resources

70. Additional Resources
Social media resources for getting started
Social Media planning tools on my site
Twitter Tips, Tricks, and Power Tools
LinkedIn Presentations