Sunday, June 26, 2016

5 Awesome Marketing Books You Should be Reading this Summer

I love to read marketing books.  There are so many smart people out there that are publishing some great books.  When you get time this summer, check out my list of great marketing books.


Here are my 5 favorite from the past year:

1. Momentum: How to Propel Your Marketing and Transform Your Brand in the Digital Age

Offering five essential principles that crack the code on marketing successfully in today’s ecosystem, Momentum: How to Propel Your Marketing and Transform Your Brand in the Digital Age will help you not only regain your sanity, but learn how to spot opportunities to grow your organization and brand in the midst of marketplace chaos.
 

In Momentum, Shama Hyder draws on her experience guiding clients ranging from small businesses to Fortune 100s to demystify the marketing landscape and provide you with the digital foresight you need to operate effectively in an increasingly digital world. Using key principles, she demonstrates how to transform your current approach into an effective, struggle-free, ROI-driven strategy.

2.  Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content

Everybody Writes is a go-to guide to attracting and retaining customers through stellar online communication, because in our content-driven world, every one of us is, in fact, a writer.

If you have a web site, you are a publisher. If you are on social media, you are in marketing. And that means that we are all relying on our words to carry our marketing messages. We are all writers.

In Everybody Writes, top marketing veteran Ann Handley gives expert guidance and insight into the process and strategy of content creation, production and publishing, with actionable how-to advice designed to get results.

These lessons and rules apply across all of your online assets — like web pages, home page, landing pages, blogs, email, marketing offers, and on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media. Ann deconstructs the strategy and delivers a practical approach to create ridiculously compelling and competent content.

3. #AskGaryVee: One Entrepreneur's Take on Leadership, Social Media, and Self-Awareness

The New York Times bestselling author draws from his popular show #AskGaryVee to offer surprising, often outrageous, and imminently useful and honest answers to everything you’ve ever wanted to know—and more—about navigating the new world.

Gary Vaynerchuk—the inspiring and unconventional entrepreneur who introduced us to the concept of crush it—knows how to get things done, have fun, and be massively successful. A marketing and business genius, Gary had the foresight to go beyond traditional methods and use social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to reach an untapped audience that continues to grow.

#AskGaryVee showcases the most useful and interesting questions Gary has addressed on his popular show. Distilling and expanding on the podcast’s most urgent and evergreen themes, Gary presents practical, timely, and timeless advice on marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and everything else you’ve been afraid to ask but are dying to know.

4. Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers

Hug Your Haters by Jay Baer shows exactly how to deal with both groups, drawing on meticulously researched case studies from businesses of all types and sizes from around the world. It includes specific play­books and formulas as well as a fold-out poster of “the Hatrix,” which summarizes the best strate­gies for different situations. The book is also filled with poignant and hilarious examples of haters gone wild, and companies gone crazy, as well as inspirational stories of companies responding with speed, compassion, and humanity.

Whether you work for a mom-and-pop store or a global brand, you will have haters—and you can’t afford to ignore them. Baer’s insights and tactics will teach you how to embrace complaints, put haters to work for you, and turn bad news into good outcomes. 


5. Content Inc.: How Entrepreneurs Use Content to Build Massive Audiences and Create Radically Successful Businesses

In Content Inc., one of today's most sought-after content-marketing strategists reveals a new model for entrepreneurial success. Simply put, it's about developing valuable content, building an audience around that content, and then creating a product for that audience.
Notice a shift? 


Author Joe Pulizzi flips the traditional entrepreneurial approach of first creating a product and then trying to find customers. It's a brilliant reverse-engineering of a model that rarely succeeds.

The radical six-step business-building process revealed in this book is smart, simple, practical, and cost-effective. And best of all, it works. It's a strategy Pulizzi used to build his own successful company, Content Marketing Institute, which has landed on Inc. magazine's list of fastest growing private companies for three years straight.  It's also a strategy countless other entrepreneurs use to build their own multi-million dollar companies.  Build an audience and you'll be able to sell pretty much anything you want.

Do you have any favorite marketing books you would like to share? Leave your favorite in the comment section below.

Saturday, June 18, 2016

12 Easy Facebook Live Ideas for Your District


It’s Time to Pivot from Periscope to Facebook Live

Do you feel like your reach and engagement on Periscope is slowly dying? Is the Periscope platform feeling more like Myspace with all the clutter and nonsense?

Have you heard about success stories on Facebook Live and want to make the shift?

In this article you will discover 12 easy ideas for your next Facebook Live broadcast for your school and school district.

Why Facebook Live?

According to Social Media Examiner, Facebook Live allows you to connect with your fans, friends, and followers by sharing real-time video of what you’re seeing and doing.

More key stakeholders are on FB (moms & teachers). FB legit forum while Periscope is spontaneous video. FB is purposeful. – Corey Ryan (@coreyrrisd)

We switched because FB live offers reactions and comments. It keeps the stream alive longer. – Justin Elbert (@kleinISDJustin)

With over 1.5 billion active users on Facebook, it’s probably time to make the shift to the “King of All Social Media”.  Facebook has done so much in the past year to make the platform better for the individual and the business; it is most likely going to hit live video out of the ballpark.

12 Easy Facebook Live Ideas for Your School District

1. Live PSAT Tutorials for Your Community

Parents spend big bucks preparing their students for the PSAT and SAT. Why not build community goodwill and help those parents that can’t afford tutors by hosting live SAT tutorials for your town.

Not only are you helping your community, but you are also creating some awesome content marketing for your district. Parents and students will appreciate the help.

2. Redzone Plays and Two-Minute Drills

Football is king in Texas, and I am sure athletics play a big role in your district.  Why not drive engagement to your district’s athletics Facebook page by broadcasting all of your football teams goal line plays.  NFL Network has created a whole channel dedicated to this and it is doing very well.

You can also broadcast live the last two minutes of your basketball games.  It builds the same excitement and will surely drive engagement on your athletics page or individual team pages.

3.  Positive District Announcements

Pick a day of the week and have your district leadership deliver positive announcements and bright spots for your district each week. 

Call it Friday Afternoon Live and your parents, students, staff and community can feel proud about their district as they go into the weekend.  They also might be more likely to share what they saw at their child’s weekend activities.

4. Graduation Day

We all know this is a huge event.  And we know not everyone can attend.  Broadcasting your graduation on Facebook Live can be very special for people that can’t attend the event.

We went live backstage of graduation and during. 4 videos combined for over 400 shares, 60k reach. One HS town. – John Tarrant (@jtarrant25)

Start planning now to think of “Behind the Scene” ideas your district can incorporate into your broadcast.

5. Fine Arts Halftime Performances

Just like the game itself, halftime performances draw big crowds to your football games.  Broadcast the performances for your district Fine Arts Facebook Page.  It would be cool if you could strap a smart phone on one of your students in the marching band. Give your viewers an on-field perspective of what it is like to march at halftime.

6. Virtual School Tours

Kindergarten roundups or tours are big for our district.  Why not provide potential parents a glimpse into your programs by offering virtual live tours of your programs or schools?  This day and age it is very difficult for parents to attend every event.  Make it easy for them by providing video tours.

7. Ribbon Cuttings of New School Buildings

Do you have new buildings or upgrades to your schools? Show your community how their investment in their school district is paying off by offering ribbon cuttings and tours of new buildings.

8. Athlete Signings

Show your community the talent that makes up your district’s athletics programs.  Broadcast live your athletes signing with colleges and universities.

9. Live Q/A Tutorials and Exam Reviews

Just like the PSAT broadcasts, have your teachers broadcast their after-school tutorials and exam reviews for students who can’t attend the reviews.

10.  Bad Weather Reports

Your students and parents are always chomping at the bit to know when their schools are closed for major weather events.  Give them up-to-date coverage just like your local news stations using Facebook Live.  Facebook also archives the video on your timeline, so there is no need post another announcement on Facebook.

11. Collaboration Between Schools

Why not host a joint-lesson between schools in your district using Facebook Live?  High school students can mentor elementary school students, or like classes can collaborate on a lesson using live video.

12. Teacher Lesson for Sick Days

This might be something to implement after practicing with Facebook Live for a while, but teachers can start broadcasting their classes to their private classroom Facebook pages for students that are sick. Each lesson can be watched live or watched at ta later date on the Facebook timeline. Always be mindful of students that can’t be photographed or recorded.

Has your district been successful on Facebook Live? Put your success in the comment section below.

Monday, June 6, 2016

23 Easy Things You Can Do This Summer to Improve Your District Marketing


In school communications, there is no summer break. It is vital you keep spreading the great stories that make your district great. 

Summer is also a great time to do small things to make your marketing and communications better in your district.  It can be hard to get motivated during the lazy months of summer.

Here are 23 very random and very easy things you can do to improve your marketing, communications, and school public relations for your district this summer:

  1. Change Your Cover Photo on Facebook
  2. Retweet Five Influencers on Twitter
  3. Profile an Alumni that is Making a Difference
  4. Spend $5 on Facebook Advertising for Back to School
  5. Write a Blog Post about Great Books Students Can Read Over the summer
  6. Secure Your District Name on SnapChat
  7. Start Spreading Your Back to School Hashtag
  8. Check Your Website for Typos
  9. Post Pictures of Your District Working During the summer
  10. Create a Video of Your Principals Welcoming Back Students
  11. Review and Update Your About Section on Facebook and Twitter
  12. Participate in #k12prchat on Twitter
  13. Post on Facebook and Tweet at Least Once a Day
  14. Facebook Live a Summer Message from Your Superintendent
  15. Verify All Your School’s School Supply Lists are posted
  16. Send a Quick Survey to Your Parents
  17. Post pictures on Social Media of All Your New Principals
  18. Notify Your Followers When There Are 30 Days Before First Football Game
  19. Create A Call to Action Button on Facebook
  20. Develop Five Audience Personas for Your District
  21. Learn Five Concepts about Video Editing
  22. If You Don’t Have One – Create an Instagram Account
  23. Take Exterior Pictures of Each One of Your Schools
These are just a few things you can do this summer to improve your district's communications and marketing. They are easy and take very little effort.

After doing some of these simple things, I would suggest experimenting with Content Marketing, Social Media Advertising, LinkedIn Development, and Video Production.

Do you have other easy ideas? Are you doing anything special this summer? Leave them in the comment section below.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

My Thoughts on Social Media and Marketing in the Public School Arena with SCN

 "School marketing expert Jason Wheeler urges communicators to use social media constantly in the public school arena."

Here is my interview with School Communicators Network during their SCNLunchinar: