What the Best Television Show of All Time Can Teach Us About School PR

The Wire, which aired on HBO, is hands down my favorite television show of all time.  The gritty drama that told the story of the streets of Baltimore felt so real.  A textured portrait of an American city in decline, told many stories, and taught us many lessons.

Reexamining the show many years later, I realized it not only taught us lessons on life, but it also taught lessons we can use in School Public Relations and School Marketing.

Here are my thoughts as I use quotes from the shows most interesting characters:

“Where’s it all go?  The money, where’s it go?”

- D’Angelo Barksdale

The higher ups never look at marketing and public relations as an investment.  They always want to put an expense on our work. It is hard for them to realize that what we do makes the district a better place for our staff, students, parents and the community.

The best way to prove your worth is to show them a return on their investment.  Show how your work is making an impact on your district.  Learn and be able to prove how your work is making a difference.

“You cannot lose if you don’t play.”

- Marla Daniels

The way our profession operates is changing all of the time.  It can be very scary to try the newest communication or marketing tool on the market.  But just remember, if you are not trying new things, you might not lose, but you are certainly not going to win.

You need to examine the trends. Try the new tools.  Today’s  “never in a million years” idea, could be you main "Go To" tool tomorrow.  Anyone remember when your district blocked Facebook for your students and employees, including your department? Don't knock it until you try it. That's my motto.

“Them days are gone…”

- Horseface Pakusa

“They use to make steel there, no?”

- Spiros Vondas

“Don’t matter how many times you get burnt, you just keep doin’ the same.”

- Bodie

School PR and School Marketing are more than just putting together a weekly newsletter.  We must be pros in social media, content marketing, web design, branding, graphic design, video, analytics, publishing, email marketing, and much, much more.

Some people in our profession are fine with doing what they are comfortable with.  That is the quickest way to get destroyed by the competition.

Expand you tools.  Learn everything.  We are the voice of the district.  We are the storytellers.

“What they need is a union.”

- Russell

“Just cause they’re in the street don’t mean the lack for opinion.”

- Haynes

We might be the experts, but we need strong partners in our quest to tell our district’s story.

It is vital we partner with our parents. It is vital we partner with our community.  In our district we call them Ambassadors.  They are the trusted voice of the district.

People don’t believe salespeople anymore.  They will, however, trust other customers.  It is very important to establish a community the spreads the good things that are happening in your district. And that community needs to be the people have children or have an investment in our schools.

“You play in dirt, you get dirty.”

- McNulty

You have to get dirty.  It is very important to get in the sandbox to know about all the new toys.

That means we must live in the schools to know what is going on in modern education.  We can’t pretend to know.  We need to tour classrooms.  We need watch our teachers interact with our students.  We need to see what our parents are saying at the PTA meetings.

There is no way to win if you sit on the sidelines.  The best way to tell a story is to know what your story is about. Visit your schools.  The stories will be there.

“Buyer’s market out there." 
- Templeton

If you are not telling your story, someone else is.  Parents and potential parents have so much information at their fingertips.  People can Google pretty much anything they want to know about these days.  That is not good for the seller.

Before parents even step foot inside your schools, they already know so much about the building and its employees.

This is why it is very important to tell your district’s story. You must provide accurate information on your website and social media so the community knows the real story.  Be the trusted expert before your competitors do.

“They don’t teach it in law school.”

- Pearlman

In conclusion, remember this.  Unless you graduated from college today, your studies probably did not prepare you for today’s marketing and public relations.  You must educate yourself on the trends and most current tools on the market on a daily basis.

That means you need to read articles and journals, listen to podcasts on the industry, read leading blogs on marketing and school PR… do whatever you can to stay current.  Always continue your education, so you are not left in the dust.