4 Quick Examples of Content Marketing Ideas for School Districts

The Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District has recently launched a parenting blog called School-A-Hoop. The mission of the blog is to enable and inspire parents to be confident that their child’s educational experience is the best it can be. Hopefully we build confidence in public education, and our district, by showing that we are the experts in K-12 education.

In addition to the blog, content marketing plays a huge role in our communications strategy by building confidence in our district, and the educators that work in our schools.

Here are a FOUR EXAMPLES of CONTENT MARKETING we have used to drive parents and potential parents to our blog and our district website, and ultimately having them signing up for our email list or visiting one of our events:

1. School-A-Hoop Blog

Whether it’s innovative study tips, creative homework solutions, or an invigorating approach to reading, we aim to help you raise a child that is a high-achieving, life-long learner.  The goal of this blog is to enable and inspire you to be confident that your child’s educational experience is the best it can be. Click Here to visit -------> www.schoolahoop.com

2. Bullying SlideShare 

School staff can do a great deal to prevent bullying and protect students, but they cannot do it alone. When your child is being bullied there are steps you can take to resolve the situation. This SlideShare has numerous links to read the full article on our blog and drive people to sign-up for our newsletter.  The SlideShare can be found here ------> Bullying 101: Information for Parents

3. The Scoop Magazine

We created a digital magazine called The Scoop to highlight past articles on schoolahoop.com  The digital magazine is full of visuals which are key in hooking the audience.  The magazine is sent to our email list at the first of each month. It drove tons of traffic to our website and blog.

4. Social Media Posts

Although we don't want to push messages down our community's throats, we do advertise our blog posts on a regular basis.  However, instead of a traditional advertisement, we create content marketing with useful information to drive our audience to our blog and website. This always gets us more sign-ups for our email list.  An example of a post is below.

These are just of a few of our content marketing pieces we have implemented in our district.  Please follow us on Twitter at @cfbisd or our Facebook page /cfbisd for more examples.

Do you have more questions about Content Marketing? Please ask your questions in the comment section below.

8 Classic Basketball Terms that Will Rock Your Marketing

In honor of the NCAA tournament, here are eight basketball terms you can use to transform your marketing.  Follow this advice to score some points for your brand or school district. These will slam dunk your competition.

1. The Layup

The layup is an easy social media post that you know will gain traction. It can revive your engagement numbers by getting your audience to comment or like the post.  This easy shot can be as simple as a cute picture of an elementary student or pictures of an athletic team getting a big win. It’s easy, and it gets you back in the game.

2. The Assist

The assist is a nice blog article or a great social media post that is going to help you score some nice sign-ups for you email list. You have to have quality content to make the big score. Just like The Hoosiers, you might have to pass a couple of times before you can put points on the board.

3. The Free Throw

Sometimes we get fouled by negative comments from our customers and competitors, and then we have to go the line to set the record straight.  Take advantage of these moments, and score some easy points by creating content that will regain the advantage with your audience.

4. The Steal

It’s okay to borrow great ideas. You don’t want to copy something exactly word for word, but it is fine to study what is working on social media and marketing.  Take an idea and make it your own. It’s always sweet to score when you steal.

5. The Timeout

Occasionally you need to evaluate what’s not working and create a new game plan.  Sometimes the greatest ideas don’t work on the court.  Study what’s wrong and make the adjustments.  Marketing is all about constantly refining your strategy.

6. The Instant Replay

Your audience is not always going to see when your company or school district does something special.  That’s why video is such a great tool to showcase your stories.  Upload your videos directly to Facebook for extra engagement.  If your story is engaging, your video is going to get great reach.

7. The Half-Court Shot

Sometimes it is okay to throw up a crazy idea and see if it hits the mark with your audience.   Take some risks.  Be a rebel. It can make you stand out from your competitor who is playing it safe.

8. The Triple Double

It is great when you have content you can use over multiple platforms.  Find ways you can create micro-content from your successful blog posts or videos you have created.  For example, you can create a SlideShare outline of your blog post, or maybe use a quote from the post over a nice picture. Always look for opportunities to repurpose your content.  That way you can score success in multiple categories instead of just one.