A prospective family is considering your school, and while they've heard good things, they still want to learn more. So where do they go? Not to a glossy brochure or a carefully worded advertisement. They grab their smartphones and start scrolling.

Digital-first families are tech-savvy researchers who use new tools to find the perfect school for their children. Your school's online presence needs to be dynamic, engaging, and authentic, capturing their attention and answering key questions.

But the catch is that you need to understand how parents research schools like yours. Students and families are active on social media, using AI-powered search tools, and seeking authentic reviews online.

How do parents evaluate and select schools? Think about how families find your school.

Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012, and Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, start their search for a new school online. In fact, 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine, and while Google is dominant, parents use multiple sites and resources to make decisions.

Is your school ready to meet Millennial and Gen Z parents where they are?

Let’s break down the key online research habits of Millennial and Gen Z parents and see how to adapt your school's marketing for success.

1. Social Media Still Matters

Forget traditional advertising—younger parents live on social media. Ninety percent of Gen Z adults aged 18-24 report they use social media, compared to 88% of Millennials aged 25-34. If you want to reach Millennial and Gen Z parents, you need to be where they are, and social media is their go-to source for connecting with brands, news, schools, and each other.

Why Social Media Matters

• It's where they live: Younger parents are highly active on social media. They use it to stay informed, connect with friends and family, and find school information.
   
• It's interactive: Social media is a two-way street, and Gen Z, particularly, is highly interested in social media influencers. Your parents expect to be able to interact with schools, ask questions, find solutions, and get quick responses.
   
• It's visual: Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are all about visual content. High-quality photos and videos, like this Day in the life of video from Walnut Hill, are perfect for capturing attention and showcasing your school's personality.

Understanding the Social Media Landscape

Diversify your platforms: The social networks with the most monthly Gen Z users are Snapchat (44.5 million), TikTok (41.4 million), and Instagram (37.3 million). Millennials lean toward Facebook and YouTube. 

• Facebook: Use Facebook groups to connect with local parents and share updates about your school.
   
• Instagram: Create visually appealing content highlighting your school's qualities and student life.
   
• YouTube: Share video tours, student-created content, and vlogs that give parents a glimpse into your school's culture.
   
• TikTok: Don't underestimate TikTok! Many parents use it to find product reviews and recommendations, including those related to schools.

Content is king

• Show, don't tell: Use high-quality photos and videos to capture exciting moments from classrooms, events, and student life.
   
• Keep it short and sweet: Today’s parents have seriously short attention spans. Gen Z has an attention span of a mere eight seconds—four seconds shorter than Millennials. Create engaging, bite-sized content that gets to the point quickly.

Engage, engage, engage

• Be responsive: Answer questions and respond to comments quickly.
   
• Create a community: Create a welcoming space where parents feel comfortable interacting with your school and each other. Most U.S. adults on TikTok want those connections and opinions, so don’t be afraid to join the conversation and engage.

2. AI Changed the Game

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing how parents find information and research schools. Thanks to AI-powered platforms like Amazon and Netflix, personalized recommendations have become the norm.

Parents increasingly expect this level of personalization in their online experiences, including school research, and tools like voice assistants and AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT are becoming increasingly popular.

Traffic to ChatGPT has recently surpassed Bing, and its referral traffic has been increasing by triple digits. If you haven’t started already, your school needs to adapt to this new reality.

How AI Turned the Tables

Voice search on the rise: Millennial and Gen Z parents are comfortable using voice assistants like Alexa or Google Assistant to find information. Make sure your website is optimized for voice search by using natural language and casual keywords.

In fact, 65% of 25-49-year-olds speak to their voice-enabled devices at least once per day, and 56% of smartphone users rely on voice search to find information about brands and businesses.

• Conversational search: Platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini allow parents to ask complex questions in natural language and receive detailed, personalized answers. So speak their language! Make sure your website uses natural words that people use when they talk, and that can be a significant shift from traditional keyword-based searches.
   
• Direct answers and summaries: Instead of sifting through web pages, AI tools can provide direct answers to questions and summarize lengthy documents or web pages, saving busy parents valuable time. It's been a disrupter in SEO, as recent reports are showing that about only 1% of AI summaries result in a click to a website—yikes!
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• Content creation: Parents may use AI to help them write emails to schools, compare programs, or even draft applications. Schools should be aware of this and consider how AI might influence the content they receive.

What Your School Can Do

• Optimize your content: Today, 75% of households own a smart speaker device, like Alexa, so make sure your website content is clear, concise, and easily understood by AI algorithms. Try writing in clear, shorter ways to stay bot-friendly and boost your chances of being down in AI search results.
   
• Enhance your FAQs: Use AI to create comprehensive and dynamic FAQs that answer common parent questions.
   
• Integrate AI chatbots: Explore integrating AI chatbots on your website to provide instant answers and support to prospective families.

3. Tap into the Power of Online Communities

Don't forget about forums and review sites! Younger parents are all about connecting and sharing information online. They're turning to online communities and review sites to get the inside scoop on schools. This presents a huge opportunity to listen, learn, and engage with potential families.

Reddit: A Hub of Authentic Conversations

With more than 340 million weekly active users and 100K communities, Reddit offers depth and engagement that few other platforms can match. About 97 million daily active users spend an average of 25 to 30 minutes on the platform, and nearly 64% of desktop visits to Reddit come from organic searches. As a result, its content often ranks high in Google’s “Discussions and Forums” sections.

But Reddit’s influence has become a cultural force in recent years, with its content shaping trends and dominating search results, especially since the $60 million agreement with Google and OpenAI to integrate Reddit’s content into AI training models.

Reddit, with its millions of active users and thousands of communities, is a goldmine of authentic parent perspectives. Ninety percent of Reddit users trust the platform to learn about new products and brands—that’s higher than Google, Amazon, X, Instagram, and Snapchat.

Here's why Reddit is so influential:

• Real talk: Parents want honest, unfiltered discussions about schools, and Reddit provides a space for unfiltered discussions and reviews. Users share their experiences, ask questions, and offer advice, which can give you valuable insight into what matters most to them.
   
• Targeted reach: Reddit has dedicated communities (subreddits) for topics like education and parenting. By monitoring these communities, you can proactively understand and address parent concerns.
   
• Influence and engagement: Reddit users are highly engaged, spending significant time on the platform and influencing trends. Its content often ranks high in search results, making it a key source of information for parents.

School Review Sites

More than 90 percent of consumers say online reviews impact their purchasing decisions, and sites like Niche and GreatSchools are helpful tools for data-driven parents. These sites allow parents to compare multiple schools side-by-side easily, so your school needs to double-check its profiles on these sites are accurate and highlight your strengths and offerings, including class sizes, test scores, and how it compares to local school districts.

Here's how to make the most of school review sites:

• Claim your profile: Make sure your school has a complete and accurate profile on these sites. Highlight your unique strengths and programs right up front.
   
• Embrace the data: These sites provide detailed information on academics, demographics, and parent satisfaction. Use this data to understand how your school compares to others and identify areas for improvement.
   
• Encourage reviews: Positive reviews from current parents can be incredibly influential. Encourage your families to share their experiences on these platforms.

Don't Forget the Basics

No matter which platform you're focusing on, remember these principles:

• Listen and learn: Listen to what parents say about your school online. This is a great way to understand their needs and concerns better.
   
• Reputation Management: If you see negative comments or reviews on these platforms, don't ignore them. Good or bad comments can impact your school's reputation, so actively monitor them and respond politely and professionally, showing that you care about parent feedback.
   
• Be proactive: Make sure your school's information is accurate and up-to-date, and don't just wait for prospective parents to find you. Actively participate in online communities and share valuable content that showcases your school's strengths.

4. Make it Mobile-Friendly

When you have a question or need to look something up, what's the first thing you reach for? Your phone, right? Well, it's the same for today's parents. They're busy juggling work, family, and everything else life throws their way.

When they have a few spare minutes to research schools, Gen Zers are probably doing it on their smartphones. Today, 75% of Gen Zers chose a mobile phone or smartphone as their preferred device over laptops and desktop computers. If your website isn't mobile-friendly, you're missing out on a huge opportunity to connect with them.

Here's how to make sure your website is ready for mobile:

• Test, test, test! Don't just assume your website works well on phones. Grab a few different devices (iPhones, Androids, and even a tablet) and browse your site. Pay attention to loading speed, text size, navigation, and your forms.
   
• Simplify your design: A cluttered website is a nightmare on a small screen. Stick to a clean, uncluttered design with plenty of white space.
   
• Prioritize key information: What do parents need to know first? Make sure that information is front and center on your mobile site. Think about things like contact information and location, and highlight your most popular programs.

5. Nail the First Impression

Your school's website is often the very first encounter prospective families have with your school and its brand. As we like to say, it's your digital front door, and first impressions matter a lot.

A well-designed, user-friendly website, like Little Rock Christian Academy, can make the difference between a family exploring further or moving on to the next school. Here's how they pull it all together, and here's what to keep in mind:

• Visual Appeal: A clean, modern design with high-quality images and easy-to-read fonts is essential. Your website should be visually appealing and reflect your school's brand identity.
   
• Easy Navigation: Parents should be able to find the information they need quickly and easily. A clear menu structure, intuitive search function, and prominent calls to action are crucial.
   
• Mobile Optimization: Most parents will be accessing your website on their smartphones. Make sure it's fully responsive and looks great on any device.
   
• Compelling Content: Use your website to tell your school's story, highlight your unique strengths, and showcase what makes your community special.

Key Takeaway

Follow these tips so you can connect with Millennial and Gen Z parents and help them discover why your school is the perfect fit for their family. Understanding the expectations and needs of today’s parents is key to understanding how your school needs to adapt its outreach and communications. Now, how do you start planning for Generation Alpha? That’s a whole other blog for another day…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Connor has spent the last decade within the field of marketing and communications, working with independent schools and colleges throughout New England. At Finalsite, Connor plans and executes marketing strategies and digital content across the web. A former photojournalist, he has a passion for digital media, storytelling, coffee, and creating content that connects.