Using Your Website To Promote Vocational School Student Life

Imagine sitting down with your soon-to-be graduating high school senior, sorting through stacks of college brochures, pamphlets, and folders.

How do you help them make the decision about which school is the BEST choice?

What do you look for?

What turns you off about certain schools? Does your college-bound young adult seek out a name when choosing a school or a typical “college experience,” or is there a more practical component involved in the decision making process?

Do you encourage your kid to check out the local trade or vocational school, or do you pass on those options in lieu of something bigger?

Vocational and Trade schools often have a reputation of not keeping up with all that major colleges and universities have to offer for current and upcoming students. The stigma is too often an unfair comparison of apples-to-oranges, as both types of schools have key advantages and disadvantages for their students.

Don’t let potential students pass over your school simply because you don’t have the typical campus life structure that most major universities proudly feature. By strategically using your website to promote student life at your school, you can open up new and enticing doors, and introduce potential students to the tremendous benefits of a vocational school education.

As a trade or vocational school, you probably highlight the quick, affordable education and future career opportunities that you provide your students. If you are looking for another opportunity to increase student enrollment, put the spotlight on what your students are doing in their free time around campus.

• Community Involvement: Because your school focuses on offering select educational training opportunities, those trades can often be highlighted within the community. Is your school offering an upcoming free event where your students and teaching staff are providing free or discounted services to the community? Did your school sponsor a team or individual in a community fundraiser? Showcase these opportunities for potential students to see.
• Campus News: What’s happening outside of the classroom that’s important for your students, and those potentially interested in attending, to know? Are there guest speakers from within your industry coming to campus for a special presentation? Is your school being featured for an upcoming news piece for the locale television news station? Whatever is happening on campus, talk about it. Don’t just use your website as a calendar of events. Blog about it and give each event the attention it deserves.
• Classroom Experience: Sure, the focused, field-specific education offers a highly practical, affordable, and fast-paced learning experience for students. But the small class-size, hands-on experience also allows students to form bonds with other students with whom they may continue to work with professionally after their education is finished. Take time to highlight your students on a regular basis, and what they are gaining for their experience both in and out of the classroom.
• Hands-On Training: As a vocational school, your students don’t have to waste their time spending countless hours sitting in pre-requisite classes to meet university degree requirements. Use this to your advantage, and put a spotlight on how your students are spending those valuable classroom hours. There is a world of excitement, valuable learning, and laughter that happens in your classes. A vocational school educational experience provides every student with the knowledge and foundation they’ll need for a real-world career. Use your website as a central tool to highlight what each student will expect to experience on their journey.

Do you need help transforming your website into a relevant, fresh, and highly effective tool to market your vocational or trade school? Whether you are designing a completely new website from scratch or revamping an old style that simply isn’t performing well, here at Neon Goldfish, we can help. Our team of web marketing professionals wants to connect with you and help you turn your website into a tool that boldly showcases your school and produces the results that you want and need. Call today to learn more.

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By Ken Franzen

President / Co-Founder of Neon Goldfish