We're off to a great start!
- Kidsfirst
- Jan 24
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 24
The 2025 year is underway, and applications are rolling in.
While the kindergarten term is just getting started, our marketing has swung into full gear, with advertising on prominent entranceways at key Christchurch malls and in parent rooms, on our Digital Billboard site in Greymouth, and online.
All of that activity puts the Kidsfirst name in front of prospective families at the time of year they’re most likely to be making decisions about the right ECE solution for tamariki.
It’s a great baseline for kindergartens to ramp up local marketing and get noticed, too. Whether it’s making sure the flags are out and in a prominent place, submitting content to be featured on Facebook, or connecting with local referral sources like schools and healthcare providers, we know that community-based activity makes a real difference and that those who are most active see real results.
2024 Marketing by the numbers
Referrals
Word of mouth remains our strongest source of referrals for prospective families – over the course of 2024 we asked online applicants where they first heard about Kidsfirst, and 45.7% named whānau and friends. Next on the list is Google – just under 30% of applicants told us the search giant sent them to us. Nurturing whānau referrals and encouraging families to leave reviews are two ways to help your kindergarten make the most of these opportunities.
Social Media
Our Facebook page continued to be busy, with posts and albums featuring kaiako and children proving to be winners again in 2024. Our post engagement rate – a measure of how many people liked, commented or shared a piece of content – ranged from 10-17% in 2024, testament to how active and interested our Facebook community is. It’s easy to submit content for inclusion on our pages – head over to https://www.theconnect.co.nz/contact, where you can upload a story and some photos and let us know if you’d like to include a shout-out to supporters, donors or kindy visitors. It’s a great way to showcase your kindergarten and day-to-day happenings.
Kidsfirst Hei Hei, Wakatipu, Hāwea and Sunbeam were the most-featured kindergartens on our Facebook pages last year – it’s great to see such a strong showing from the regions.
The Worlds of Kidsfirst
Our kindergartens continued to be some of the most diverse learning environments around, and this was reflected in our pre-enrolment applications throughout the course of 2022:
Stay & Play is a winner
Our four key website campaign landing pages received more than 50,000 views in 2024, and of those, Stay & Play was the most popular. More than half of our 66 kindergartens now run regular sessions, which are featured on the Kidsfirst website and promoted via Facebook and through online advertising. If you’re looking for a way to keep your waitlist engaged and boost enrolments and you’re not a Stay & Play kindergarten, give it a go! It’s a great way to get new families through the door and connect with your local communities.