With the first semester coming to a close, it
is time to start thinking about what strategy we will have in place for 2017.
Last year saw quite a few changes in the why and the how school districts are
marketing to their parents, students, employees and community. Marketing is an
investment all of education will have to adopt going into the new year.
Here are my first five thoughts of where school districts should
concentrate their marketing in 2017:
1. Tell Your District
Stories
You have to stand out.
You have to differentiate. What
makes you stand out from all the other school districts, charter schools, and
private schools are your stories.
Your audience wants to feel an emotional connection to the
content you’re publishing. Since the
dawn of time, people have communicated with stories. People remember a good story. People remember stories that make a
connection or they can relate to. This is why it is important to treat your
department like a newsroom.
Your team must track down the emotional stories that will
make your district rise above the rest.
And when you do find these impactful stories, you will see engagement
with your content go through the roof.
2. Unlock Your
Education Influencers
Your department is no longer the public relations department
or the District Communications Department. Your department is the whole
district. Use the experts in your
district to tell your stories and create your content.
We are not all experts of everything in education, but I do
know there is someone in your district that can make you look like you are.
Influencers are a huge talking point for the future of marketing. Lucky for us we have a whole district full of
them.
We have educators, administrators, parents, senior citizens,
students, voters, and many different community members that can tell a much
better story about their niche than we can.
Use them… and don’t hide that you are using them. People tend to trust
outsiders rather than listen to a paid spokesperson.
Make a list of all of you influencers and start tapping into
their expertise. Have them write a blog
post, or maybe give a testimonial.
Utilize their power to make your district standout.
3. Paid Social to
Engage
The dreaded algorithm… Facebook has it. Instagram has
it. Twitter is developing one. Sooner than later we are not going to be able
to reach everyone we want to reach. It is going to eventually lead us to paying
to play on social media.
Yes, you are going to have your moments of a stellar organic
vial post, but that is not the norm anymore.
Social media advertising is going to be key in reaching what we want to
reach.
The beauty of social media advertising is that can pinpoint
a niche that we want to target with our promotions or ads. Did you know on Facebook you could send an ad
to mothers who have two kids that have researched private schools in a certain
zip code? You can even narrow it down to if they watch General Hospital in the
last week. Niche targeting is a very powerful tool. Use it to your advantage.
4. You Must Have
Video
Video is a must! What was once a nice to have in school
districts due to the large cost and massive undertaking is now vital tool to
communicate with your community.
Video does not have to be a Hollywood production. Your
smartphone is a powerful tool that allows you to plan, film, edit, and publish
your video masterpiece. Story is key,
with good sound quality a close second. You image is not as important as you might think.
Read my post: Camera Basics to Tell a Better Story
So many people are use to smart phone videos that having an
expensive camera for your productions is a thing of the past. Nobody cares if
you are Steven Spielberg, as long as you tell a compelling story they can
understand and hear.
Live streaming video
on your social platforms is a must in 2017.
Facebook, Twitter, and now Instagram all have some form of a live video
component. Live video is becoming so
important that for the first time, Facebook has invested millions in television
commercials to promote Facebook Live.
5. Develop a Strategy
Around Your Analytics
There is no excuse not to study your analytics while making
decisions about your school district’s marketing. There are so many powerful tools that are
free and easy to use. Data is a very powerful mechanism that should drive your
strategy.
Your districts first step is to make sure your website is
connected with Google Analytics. It does not matter if you did not create your
own website. Apply this free tool from Google on all of your sites.
Your second task is to make sure you are using your insights
and analytics within your social media platforms. It is vital that you know
which posts and tweets are having the biggest impact with your followers.
Once you have mastered some of the free analytic reports, it
might be a good idea to use some pay services that dig deeper into your data.
Sprout Social,
HootSuite and
Buffer are some tools you might consider. The key
is not to be afraid of data, but embrace your data.
Part Two Coming Soon
These are my first five trends in school marketing for 2017. Make sure to check back next week when I reveal my next five trends. Have a safe and relaxing winter break.
Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
