How to get more reviews for your private school

When parents search the internet for the best private school for their children, most will read firsthand accounts about each institution they come across. Reviews are the easiest, most accessible way to learn about other parents’ experiences with their child’s private school. If your site doesn’t have enough reviews, it may prevent parents from learning more about your school. Keep reading to learn how to encourage parents to share their thoughts and experiences of your program online.

Ask your students’ parents to write a review

You can start by sending home a note or email asking parents to write a review for your school. Most parents will be happy to comply. Ask for honest feedback, and don’t pressure parents to respond, as this may produce unwanted results.

Feel free to include a request for reviews on newsletters, announcements, and emails with every correspondence. Sharing this request across multiple outlets will help you find parents willing to share their thoughts.

Make it fun

Try holding a fun contest to encourage reviews! For example, a simple giveaway for a school t-shirt, tumbler, or another small item can go to the 100th review or 10th review. Encouraging people to leave a review by offering a nice incentive will get people more involved in reviewing the school. Extending this event to be year-round will also set a precedent that you are genuinely interested in improving your program.

Keep it honest

Reviews should be honest, and they should come from actual parents of students or students. Don’t hire people to write, don’t buy bots, and don’t encourage staff members to post reviews. It is best to get authentic accounts about how parents currently feel about your school, what their child’s experience is, and what improvements they wish to see. This way, families searching for the best private school in their area online can see tangible evidence that you are dedicated to providing quality educational experiences for your students.

Firsthand accounts of your school are important for recruitment purposes. Parents are technically consumers of education services. According to Search Engine Journal (2015), about 88% of consumers will read online reviews to consider a business’s quality. The same applies to educational institutions, professional practices like law firms, doctor’s offices, and more. Also, it doesn’t hurt that reviews improve your ranking in search engines, which means more parents will be able to find your private school.

To learn more about increasing your private school’s online visibility, reach out to IBIS today! We’d love to provide you with our extensive range of high-quality services that help families find your excellent program!