Maximize Enrollment: Proven Strategies for Promoting Your Tax Preparation School

The best tax preparation school isn't going to be successful unless students know the value your school has to offer and register for your courses. You need to get the word out, but how?

Carlos Lopez, EA, the founder and visionary behind Latino Tax Pro, transformed a single tax office into a thriving network of six offices with over 50 employees. His secret? A strategic cycle of growth fueled by education and opportunity.

Carlos began by training a small team, which allowed him to expand his client base and open new offices. As his business grew, so did his capacity to train more tax professionals. This virtuous cycle of teaching, hiring, and expanding has been a cornerstone of Latino Tax Pro's success.

By investing in his employees and the community, Carlos created a sustainable model that can be replicated by others. His proven Instructor Program empowers aspiring tax professionals to follow in his footsteps, offering a clear path to building a successful tax preparation business.

Carlos and Latino Tax Pro have used a wide variety of marketing strategies to grow his school into the leading provider of tax education to the Latino community.

Here are just a few you can use to promote your tax school effectively to the right audience, boost enrollment and grow your business.

Marketing Basics

Start with the marketing basics. When you choose your marketing strategies, don't forget:

• Target audience: Determine who you're trying to reach (e.g., young adults, career changers, experienced tax preparers)
  
  
• Value proposition (what you offer that differentiates your school)
  
  
• Key messages (what you want to communicate to your target audience)
  
  
• Metrics for measuring the success of your marketing

Coming up with these points does not have to be a long, involved process, but they’re the foundation of any marketing effort.

When choosing your marketing strategies, also keep in mind whether you're trying to reach an online audience if that's how your courses are delivered, or a local audience (if your classes are taught in person).

Leverage Social Media

Social media is essential for promoting your tax school and its programs, engaging with potential students, and establishing your reputation and credibility within the industry. Social media offers opportunities to demonstrate your expertise, promote the experience and thinking of your school’s leadership, highlight student achievements, and connect with a broader audience.

Social media is recognized as a powerful business tool, and the potential rewards can be significant. While most platforms don’t charge a fee, keep in mind that effectively managing social media marketing requires time and resources, like any other marketing effort.

Here are some ways your school can leverage social media platforms:

• Facebook: Share educational content, event updates, and student testimonials to engage prospective students and promote your school's expertise in the tax preparation field. It's OK to have some fun on Facebook. Take advantage of the platform by posting pictures of classes and events, and to allow your instructors and staff to create more personal connections with current and future students.
  
  
• LinkedIn: Network with industry professionals, recruit new students, connect with and leverage students who have taken your course and engage with potential employers who can train their employees with your programs. Share thought leadership content and highlight your school's career services and networking opportunities.
  
  
• X (aka Twitter): Provide quick updates, announce upcoming classes and events, share tax and accounting tips and reminders of filing deadlines, and engage in industry conversations to showcase your school's knowledge and stay relevant.
  
  
• Instagram: Share your school's culture, community, and student achievements through visually appealing posts and stories to attract potential students and build your brand.
  
  
• YouTube: Create and publish educational videos, tutorials, and live streams to demonstrate your school's teaching methods and expertise, reaching a wider audience and providing valuable resources.

Many of these platforms have technology that enables interactive chats. You could hold one of these chats with one of your own experts, or with an outside tax expert.

Free Courses and Presentations

Offering free basic courses to the general public and potential students can establish your school as an expert in tax preparation, creating a positive first impression.

Word of Mouth

Happy students are your best promoters. Encourage your students to share their positive experiences with friends, family, and colleagues. This can be done as a close to a presentation, or in an email or other communications at the completion of a course. You can also ask your connections on social media to share their experiences. You could offer incentives like discounts on future courses for referrals. Ask students who have completed your courses to post a review on Yelp or another appropriate platform.

Promotional Posters in the Office

Office visits by clients present an excellent opportunity for promotion. We encourage instructors to display posters in their offices, particularly during tax season. As tax preparation clients spend time in your office, they’ll see these posters which could lead to conversations about your tax courses. Even if a client isn’t personally interested, they may know someone who is seeking a career change, such as parents discussing options for their dependents. Additionally, these posters enhance the credibility of your tax practice, reinforcing the perception that your expertise in tax preparation is substantial enough to qualify you to run a school on the subject.

Collaborate with Local Schools

Partner with local high schools and community colleges to take advantage of their "funnel" of potential tax preparation professionals. Most schools have vocational guidance centers that help students define their career goals and achieve them. Most students and counselors may be unaware of the benefits of a career in tax preparation.

Your Website

Keep your website fresh by updating the content regularly. Often, you can repurpose content created for other platforms, such as social media or your newsletter if you have one.

Make sure the navigation on your site is simple and functional, and helps potential students quickly find exactly what they're looking for. If you have a promotion on your courses or a deadline to register, put that information prominently on your home page.

Optimize your website SEO to increase your online visibility. Regularly publish blog posts and articles related to tax preparation on your website. This not only improves your SEO ranking but also establishes your school as a thought leader in the field.

Email Marketing

Build an email list and send out regular newsletters with updates about your courses, tax tips, and industry news. Email marketing is a direct line of communication with potential and continuing/returning students and has a high return on investment.

Closing Thoughts on Successful Marketing

As a tax professional, you understand the obligations and liabilities behind giving advice to clients. In your tax school marketing, and in any course materials, be sure to emphasize with a disclaimer that these activities are educational, and that you are not offering specific tax advice.

Also, good marketing will generate leads, but they’re not worth anything without follow-up and conversion to sales. Make sure you have a motivated, well-trained sales team and efficient systems in place to manage the increase in inquiries, answer questions, make the sale, and process transactions swiftly.

Finally, above all, provide high-quality education and customer service . Nothing drives growth faster and more effectively than offering outstanding value that helps students achieve their career objectives.

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