School Open House Ideas: The Ultimate guide open day marketing
A school open house (or open day in the UK) is a pivotal event in any private school's calendar. It's not just an opportunity to showcase the educational environment and foster community connections but also a crucial touchpoint to boost enrollment and engagement. Here are our top school open house ideas to ensure your event is both memorable and effective.
Planning and Marketing your Private School Open House
Success starts with thorough preparation and targeted marketing. Most successful school marketers have their events calendar prepped at the start of the academic year and begin working on an open house event at least a couple of months in advance of the big day to allow enough time for a considered approach. Here are our top tips to keep you organised and drive attendance:
- Define your open day objectives - Are you looking to increase enrollment at specific entry points? Perhaps you’re introducing new programs? Or looking to build your school's reputation? Once your goals are set, organizing tasks and responsibilities becomes more straightforward. You’ll also be in a better position to segment your audiences effectively.
- Designing compelling promotional material - Ensure your school open house flyers, banners, and digital ads are visually appealing and designed to drive conversion. And don’t forget to update your school’s website with all the necessary event details.
- Advertise online - Leverage the power of digital advertising and social media to reach your target audience effectively. Open day advertisement is especially important for younger entry points where parents might not be familiar with open house events or your school. With proper segmentation, a little ad spend can go a long way.
- Driving attendance with multiple touchpoints - Reminders and follow-ups are critical, especially right before the big day. Utilize more intimate channels like emails, text messages, and even personal phone calls to remind and encourage registrants to attend and build hype.
- Make your open house accessible to everyone - This is particularly important if you’re an international school or offer boarding. To help accommodate as many prospective families as possible, why not offer virtual tours and personal information sessions, or consider hosting live Q&A with prospective parents, making recordings available post-event.
During the School Open House
Create a Lasting First Impression
It goes without saying that the school should be clean and tidy for an open event, but above that, think about what else you can do to get the atmosphere and ethos of your school across during a first visit.
If you have specific teaching methods, how can you showcase them? Is your school particularly strong in the arts, why not put up a display of pupil work?
Besides ensuring the school values shine through, don't forget that most visitors will never have been on the premesis before. That means wayfinding with clear signage is important. You could also provide campus maps to help families navigate the space if you have larger grounds.
Experience Matters
Make it interactive
To make your event memorable - try to engage attendees with interactive experiences like hands-on workshops, student performances, and classroom visits to simulate a day in the life of your students.
Staff and faculty should be well-prepared with key talking points to communicate your school’s value effectively. Personalize interactions as much as possible; for example, if a prospective student is interested in athletics, arrange for them to meet with a coach.
Utilise Social Media
Why not engage older children to create communities and build hype about joining your school using social media. It could be by creating custom Snapchat filters or perhaps creating a competition/raffle involving an Instagram hashtag. Not only will it help build online visibility - you'll get students talking about your school and potentially excited about a reward/competition too.
Utilizing Parent and Pupil Ambassadors
Engaging parent and pupil ambassadors during the open house can significantly enhance the experience for prospective families. These ambassadors can share personal stories and experiences, giving attendees a genuine insight into the community and school culture. They can also help answer questions from a first-hand perspective, making the information more relatable and trustworthy.
Post-Event Follow-Up
The relationship doesn’t end when the open house does. Follow up with personalized thank-you emails, incorporating high-quality visuals from the event to remind attendees of their visit. Use this opportunity to invite them for further engagement, such as private tours or special program introductions.
Finally, gather feedback through surveys to refine and improve future open houses. Analyze the data to understand better what worked and what didn’t, and adjust your strategies accordingly.
By blending effective pre-event marketing with engaging on-site experiences and thoughtful post-event follow-up, your school’s open house can significantly impact prospective and current families, driving both enrollment and retention.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an open house in school? |
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A school open house (also referred to as an open day in the United Kingdom) is an event where an educational establishment allows prospective students and their families to visit the school, look around its facilities, and learn more about how the school is run. It’s often only held once or twice a year, with the aim of increasing enrollment. |
When are school open houses typically held? |
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In the USA, school open houses are usually held in the first quarter of the year, on evenings or weekends to ensure prospective parents can attend. That being said, many schools choose to hold more than one, if they have |
How long should a school open house last? |
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Most open houses are run for around 2 hours, it varies. Larger all-through schools in particular might stagger times for different age ranges, or choose to put on performances/displays and more. |
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