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On average, parents spend over 9 hours per day with screen media between professional and personal use. Over the course of the pandemic, screen usage increased more than it had in the four years prior. Connecting digitally, from email to social media, has become a primary form of communication for both personal and professional settings. Getting parents involved with your school's digital communications platforms enables them to more readily and quickly receive information for resources available to their family. We've put together some tips for how you can get parents more involved utilizing digital engagement techniques.
Tip #1: Replace Paper Communication with Emails
Replacing paper communication with emails is an easy and effective way to encourage parents to engage in a digital atmosphere. By switching from paper to email, information can be distributed instantly and in one, concise message rather than parents needing to rummage through paper handouts when children get home. Additionally, parents prefer email notifications, as they want to stay actively involved in their child's learning experience and this allows them to be in the loop without having to search for information.
In order to switch to email-first communications, it's important to ensure that your school up is set up for success! A great way to do this is by utilizing online student registration. Most student information systems offer their own or you can create a form with a free tool like Google Forms. If you already have online registration, ensure that email is a required field. Another great resource for email addresses are your teachers. Teachers often have parent email addresses, but more often than not, those emails never make it into the SIS. Communicate with teachers the importance of these emails, and allow a path for them to easily submit those to their school office for inclusion in your district's SIS. For more information on collecting parent email addresses, check out this blog post.
Tip #2: Move Registration & Payment Online
Online registration for programs and events is complementary to your digital engagement plan. Paper registration may require a parent to print your form and then mail it with a check. Many of the items required for that transaction no longer exist in households. For example, printers, mailing supplies, and checkbooks are all becoming things of the past. There are other benefits to online registration as it reduces human error and administrative burden, plus it's proven to increase sign-ups and payment amounts! If you don't have your own online registration, try Popsicle's online platform.
Tip #3: Highlight Opportunities on your Website
Now that you have your online registration, share it! Your website is a great place to showcase parent contributions as a way to encourage more parents to participate. Share success stories and include upcoming events with a link to register. Most importantly, make all of this information easy to find—parents won't dig too deep to find your events. If you aren't able to have them on your homepage, include a link to your events from the homepage.
Tip #4: Engage on Social Media
The majority of parents use social media but don't always consider it the most effective source of information. This could be due to information not always being easy to find depending on the social channel and how their personal usage impacts their feeds. Nevertheless, engaging on social media is important! While it might not be the best primary source of sharing updates and important information, it's a great secondary source for sharing updates and events. Another great way to boost your social media engagement is to post fun, interactive content such as facts, celebratory days, and other fun content. By posting relevant, engaging content on a regular basis, you can help increase the views on your posts, reaching more parents and followers. Additionally, interact with parents as much as possible. Commenting and liking their posts and responding to their inquiries will go a long way in how parents view your school's interest in them as individuals. If you're looking for way your school could use social media to connect with your community, check out this blog.
Tip #5: Refine your Emails
Mass emails are great for reaching a large group, but make sure you are also sending more personalized emails for more specific asks. For example, send a personal email to someone who volunteered for a previous event, compliment his or her previous contributions, then ask about interest for an upcoming event. Also consider how you can pair a parent's expertise with opportunities, such as asking a parent who works in marketing to help out with the newsletter.
Tip #6: Digitize Marketing Materials
This is where Peachjar can help! If you aren't already using our digital flyer management system, consider making the switch—pairing your digital registration with digital flyers will increase your chances of getting parents to take action. When sending a digital flyer through Peachjar, you can include call to action buttons and see metrics for them after emails have been sent. This makes it even easier for parents to get involved, since they can simply click to take action directly from the email.
Tip #7: Survey Parents
The best way to figure out if you are offering opportunities of interest is to ask! You can use a free online tool like Survey Monkey, and include questions like: “Rate the following volunteer opportunities from highest to lowest interest” and “Which volunteer activities would you like to see in your school?” Share the results with your parents and make sure you implement their suggestions! Your parents will feel more connected to your school and its mission when their comments and suggestions are listened to and acted upon.
The takeaway? Create multiple touch points where you can ask parents for their participation in school activities. By implementing online registrations, you can drive parents to events on your website, social media pages, via email and by digital flyer. Contact us if you're interested in learning more.