Create a family-focused editorial calendar of content that drives enrollment

There are a lot of reasons to communicate with families, many of which tie back to your departmental and institutional goals. But it’s also what’s expected these days. In fact, 88% of families want communication from the institutions their student is considering at least weekly.  

If you aren’t doing a lot to engage prospective families yet — during our recent webinar we polled our attendees and found out about 37% of them were doing little to nothing — leveling up to that frequency can feel overwhelming. That’s why we broke getting started down into a simple process. 

In 30 minutes we shared some key moments to engage, the topics that should resonate, and guidance on how to turn those ideas into real content that influences your enrollment outcomes. Go through the process live with us by skipping ahead and watching the webinar recording, or check out the highlights of how to build your own editorial calendar now.

How to create a calendar to ensure communication to families at key moments

Editorial calendars aren’t complicated — they are simply a form of organization that can help you think forward into the future, take advantage of things that are happening on a seasonal basis, and give you a project plan to get important content out.

No matter how small or busy your team is, a plan will help you make forward movement. As you get started, keep these things in mind:

• DON’T be afraid to start small or stay simple. A start is a start!

• DON’T reinvent the wheel. You already have more content at your disposal than you may realize. Reuse, don’t always recreate.

• DON’T try to do it all alone. There are teams across campus that can and will help you.

• DO put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Think about sending your child off to college. Think about those emotions. 

• DO set goals for your outcomes. A step holds more weight when you’re invested in its outcome. Are you trying to get more students to accept? Improve yield? Reduce melt? Set a concrete goal.

So grab a piece of paper or open a spreadsheet and get started. First things first…

3 critical times to engage prospective families

There are three different stages that occur between the Fall when applications start coming in and the end of the enrollment cycle when you are forming your next class. As you consider each of these time periods, think about what's going on in your office and what might be going on at home with a student, and identify at least two topics you should be communicating about.

#1

Applications are being received. And that means you're probably getting some parent information through a field on that application. You have the ability now to start a dialogue with families. There's obviously some practical pieces of information that the families need to know about the application process itself. How soon will their student hear a decision? Are there other ancillary documents they need to complete? You also may want to help parents help their student manage the stress of waiting to hear back. This is a key time to build a relationship with families.

#2

The student has been admitted. This is a time full of excitement and possibility for students and their families, so start there! It also can be overwhelming as there's a lot of steps to take. What are the deadlines? How soon is tuition due? Are there events for admitted students? Balance celebratory outreach with helpful content that clearly defines the next steps you need them to take (think driving deposits). 

#3

Their deposit has been received. Families may think they are “done,” but you have a whole summer ahead of you to build excitement and trust. Merchandise, housing options, meal plans, and orientation registration all create momentum and community. Tie both the student and the family back to the campus and you’ll see an impact on your anti-melt efforts.

Start communicating with families to increase student yield rates

Time to turn some of these ideas into a plan.

• For each of the three time periods above, make sure you have written down at least two topics you want to communicate with families about.

• Next to each topic, write down who owns that information on campus – remembering it may not be your department. But odds are Housing or Academic Advisement or Financial Aid will want to help you get that information out.

• Next to each identified resource, write down when parents will need this information by, and then go back about 2 weeks to create a buffer. That’s your content deadline.

Pat yourself on the back — you now have a plan to engage prospective families! Simply sending emails on these topics at these times to your new parent contacts is a major step forward in creating family engagement. It’s also one with major impact — thoughtful family engagement strategies increase yield.

Looking to dive deeper? Watch the full webinar below.

Want to learn how we can help you do even more (like provide 90% of the content)?