Examining College Marketing to Help with Your School PR

In my marketing studies I try to examine all industries as I develop the best course of action for our School PR and marketing for CFBISD.  I have been very impressed with the college marketing targeting high school students in our district. Colleges and universities in the United States have begun to embrace modern marketing including two of my favorites, Inbound and Content Marketing.

In the following post, I will break down the components of a mail campaign by Baylor University in Texas.  Many of the top universities have similar personalized mailers going to millions of high school seniors.

The letter below is a great use of Inbound and Content Marketing. At the end of my article I will post a better view of the letter.

1. College Logo

College and universities always have to be thinking of their brand.  Students and alumni are very passionate about their schools.  Word of mouth and family traditions can play a big role in the decision making process.  However, branding (and how well your football team plays on Saturday) can be a big factor as well.  Make sure to develop a logo and brand that sets you apart from the competition.

2. Advertise Your Lead Magnet

Content marketing is not just for big corporations with 20 blog writers.  College use it, and so does our district.  In Baylor's letter, they waste no time introducing their piece of content.  Baylor's contents is called, "5 Strategies for Choosing a Major".  What a great piece of useful content for high school seniors and juniors.  How does a 17 year old kid really know what they want to do in life.  Baylor is attempting to help them. And help is all what Content Marketing is about.

3. Personalized Greeting

This is not 1978.  Computers and computer programs have made it very easy to personalize your letters. A generic form letter is not going to cut it. Always, always make sure you address the letter to the student. And make sure to spell their name right.

4. Landing Page - Get Their Email

The key to Inbound Marketing is to get their permission to send them more stuff.  Baylor does a great job setting up a simple "Landing Page" website for students to get their Major Guide, and at the same time collecting information about interested students in their school.  We use LeadPages in our district to create slick micro-content websites to build our email database.

5. Personalized Password - Make them Feel Special

This is a great way to add more exclusivity to your marketing.  Giving each student their own password makes them feel special like they our in a secret, exclusive club.

6. Strong Introductory Sentence

You need to spend a great deal of time developing your opening sentence of your letter.  many students won't read pass your first couple of lines. Make sure they are strong to keep them reading.  Tell them how you are going to help them.

7. Formally Introduce the Lead Magnet

Baylor teased the "Free Prize" earlier in the the letter.  Now it is time to expand on what you can offer them to make the best choice when choosing a college.  You must tell them why your content marketing piece is so useful.  How is it going to change their lives?

8. Discuss Your Benefits

Hopefully Baylor sold their recipients on the benefits of downloading their lead magnet.  Now it is their opportunity to sell the students on their university without getting long winded.  It is a great idea to tie-in the lead magnet you are offering.  Baylor uses two paragraphs with a couple of sentences each to sell their school.  This is not a dissertation. The whole point is to get them to take the next step, and then send them additional content in the future.

9. Close with Your Lead Magnet

Just like a good English paper, always restate your opening paragraph to close your letter.  Baylor uses the last paragraphs to once again remind the reader about their awesome college major guide.  Hopefully, one more reminder will encourage the readers to take advantage of the free content.

10. Personalized Signature

Take the time for someone important to offer a signature.  It doesn't have to be fresh ink, but it better look that way.  If students think the Senior Director of Admissions at Baylor took the time approve this message, it might feel a bit more important to the student. Have your superintendent or principal sign your letters.  They are more important than you... haha.

11.  P.S. Remind them How Great You Are

Baylor takes the opportunity to remind the reader how great they are and reminds them of the "Lead Magnet".  And to tell you the truth, the post script might be read first by some students.  Make it strong, and sell your program.

12. Contact Info

Make sure you give them some contact information for your program.  It won't be read much, but some of your more anal students will take advantage of knowing your address.

Colleges and universities are starting to spend big bucks to market to high school students.  It is a great source of inspiration for K-12 School Public Relations and Marketing.

Here is a closer look at the Baylor letter:

5 Things I Do to Start my Day to be Successful

I am a morning person.  I like to get to the office by 6:00 a.m. each morning.

Getting to the office this early allows me to get things done before most of my staff arrives to start the day.  The quiet time with no disturbances from co-workers means I can get a lot done.

Here is my morning ritual during the first two hours when I arrive at work.

1. Energy Boost for the Day

I do not dive into my work when I first walk into the office. I have to have my morning coffee.  Walking to the break room allows me turn on all the lights around the administration building while I take a deep breath before I dig into the day.

I always fix my pecan-flavored coffee with no sugar and a bit of cream.  After my levels are correct, I crack open my laptop and begin my workday.

2. Current Events and my Love of Marketing

I am obsessed with news.   I want to be in the know.  This is why each morning I read the headlines and jump over to my favorite blogs to see what is trending in marketing and social media.  It is crucial to stay current with your industry and see what is hot. 

Here are some of my favorite blogs to read in the morning:

Social Media Examiner

CMO by Adobe

Content Marketing Institute

Hubspot Marketing Blog

I highly recommend bookmarking these pages to get your daily dose of marketing and social media tips. They are great reads by industry professionals.

3. Moneyball my School Marketing

My second obsession is data.  I love numbers and I love spreadsheets.  That is why I always check my website and social media analytics each morning.  My big three are Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, and Twitter Analytics.

Google Analytics is my go to analytics platform for my website visitor data.  I use Google for both our main district website and our School-A-Hoop parenting blog.

My favorite dashboards and numbers to look at are:

• Content Analysis- what were the most popular sections of my website
• Referral Traffic- how did people get to my website
• Bounce Rate- are they exploring more of my site, or one and done?
• Location of Visitors- where do my visitors come from? Local?
• Navigation Summary- what did they do once they made it to our site?

Most of our parents are on Facebook. This is their social media platform of choice.  That is why it is crucial that I check Facebook Insights each morning.  It gives me a great breakdown of how people are engaging with my content.  It also lets us know what content is working and what is not working.

My favorite insights are:

• People- who was my audience for the last seven days?
• Reach- how far did my content go? Did it go beyond my fans?
• Engagement- did my post cause the audience to take an action
• Competitor Analysis- always check to see what other districts are doing

Although Twitter is not as powerful when it comes to audience engagement for our district, I still like to analyze the numbers to see what content is working for us.

Here are the statistics I look at:

• Tweet Impressions- how many people saw my post
• Follower Count- check to see how my content pulled in new audiences
• Engagements- see how people are interacting with my posts and my CTA’s

Remember, numbers are your friends.  They can help prove the effectiveness of your campaigns and social media content.

4. Social Media for the Carpool Crowd

Every morning during the school week, I plan a Facebook post and a tweet to be delivered during our morningcarpool.  It’s a great way to target a captivated audience as they wait for the school doors to open.  

My morning ritual for social media is to find engaging content that is most likely going to be shared, and then write a eye-catching headline for the post.  An awesome visual is a must for my posts.  I never post on social media without a visual.

The content always determines what time I schedule my post.  If it is an elementary school story I post during their carpool.  If it is a middle school story I post during their drop-off.  If the morning story has to do with one of our high schools, I will post about 15 minutes before the first period bell rings.  High school students love to hang with their friends and their smartphones before school starts.

Another great time to schedule a social media post is during the afternoon pick-up times.  Parents typically have to wait in front of the school much longer waiting on their child.

5. Exercise While I Podcast

The last fifteen minutes before my team arrives for the day is my daily walk around the board room.  This allows for me to get some steps on my Fitbit before I start my morning meetings.  It also allows for me to listen to marketing podcasts while I exercise.  Most of the time I finish a podcast that was not quite finished during my morning commute.

I love catching up on all the industry and marketing trends while I walk.  The majority of the time I listen to marketing or social media content, but occasionally I will listen to some MLB podcasts to get he latest headlines for my favorite sport.

*Creating Content Marketing Gold

The above rituals are the norm four of the five days of the week.  Wednesday is a tad bit different.  On Wednesday I put on my publisher hat and edit blog posts for our School-a-Hoop parenting blog.

Every Wednesday I will take an expertly written piece of content from teachers and administrators in our district and I will prepare it to be published on our blog.

Here the editorial steps I take to get it ready to be published:

• Read for Grammar- I always read for typos and grammatical mistakes
• SEO Optimization- I write my headline and create SEO tags for the post
• Photshop my Visuals- I always prepare visual content for my posts
• Prepare a Social Media Post- I create a separate visual and engaging copy

Writing the article is only the first step when you write for a blog.  You must prep your article to be seen by the masses.

My First Morning is Now Complete

The stuff above is usually accomplished before my co-workers hit the office.  I am tired by the end of the week, but I always feel accomplished. Luckily I have my own key and alarm code for the building.  It would be pretty lonely waiting in the parking lot trying to find a WiFi signal.

In 20 Years… A School District Will Buy a Local Newspaper

Don’t laugh. This is not too far out of left field.  Over the past three years there has been a resurgence of the journalism occupation.  Not necessarily in the form of a traditional newspaper, but the need for people who can tell your story has become very important.  With the increasing popularity of blogs and content marketing, we will need these storytellers more than ever.  And we need someone who can do it at the local level.

For example, Red Bull, the energy drink company, is more of a publishing house than a drink company.  It has its own record company, magazine unit, video production studio, and a slew of content journalist covering extreme sports.

American Express has its own content creation-publishing unit in the form of American Express Open.  Even John Deere publishes it’s own magazine called The Furrow.  It’s actually been in existence for over 100 years.

So I ask you this… Why should education be any different?  Why can’t we stay ahead of the trends? Why do we have to always be two steps behind?

Things will change.  We will adapt.  And in 20 years there will be a school district that purchases a local newspaper.

Why would MY DISTRICT would I need a local newspaper?

Because engagement trumps everything.  You need to deliver a personalized, local experience to your audience.  You need to deliver exciting stories at a consistence pace.  And you need to do it well.

Joe Pulizzi in his book ContentInc. lists 10 content roles a company needs to be successful in content marketing (Content Inc. p. 111 – 114). 

They include:

1. Chief Content Officer - Someone to set the overall editorial and content mission for your company.

2. Managing Editor- Someone to execute the content plan

3. Chief Listening Officer- This person is here to maintain the conversation on your content channels.

4. Director of Audience- Someone to monitor your audience to find their passions.

5. Channel Master- Someone to get the most out of each one of your channels.

6. Chief Technologists- Someone to make sure technology is used in the proper manner.

7. Creative Director- Someone to design the look of your content.

8. Influencer Relations- Someone to maintain relationships with influencers in education.

9. Freelancer Relations- Someone to manage your “Expert” content teams and networks.

10. Content Curation Director- Someone to repackage and re-purpose your content.

Other jobs to consider that a paper has are graphic designers, online specialists, headline writers, editors, sports reporters, photographers… the list of experts you need goes on and on.

Content is going to be king in the future if it is not already.  Your district needs to be prepared for the revolution.  You will need talented content creators who know your local audience.  What better way to fill the jobs above by tapping into the experts who are trained in storytelling and know your local audience?

Who will be the first school district to buy a local newspaper?  Will it be you?

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.

The Death of School PR: Mad Lib Edition

“The sole purpose of marketing is to get more people to buy more of your product, more often, for more money.” – Sergio Zyman

“When you understand that marketing is what you do to sell stuff, then the money you lay out is an investment instead of an expense.” – Sergio Zyman

We were very excited the morning after we had filmed one of our middle school principals being duct taped to the wall.  The video got a lot of views on YouTube, it had close to 100 likes on Facebook, it was at the tipping point of becoming a mini-viral hit within our district. Then we decided not to repost it or Tweet it again.

Why would we pull the brakes on something that was getting us likes, something that was being viewed over and over again?

Because looking closer at the data, and analyzing the analytics, the video was doing nothing to drive more parents, more often to our program and school webpages or getting them to attend informational events.   From a marketing standpoint, it was not bringing in the results.

Does that mean we are never going to film fun events like this?  No way.  They’re fun. They make people laugh.  We are going to keep filming as long as our priniciapls are willing to be daredevils.  However, we are not going to rely on “viral videos” to push our message.

Well… I was going to finish this post with some thoughts on the future of School Public Relations and Marketing, but decided for you guys to finish the article. 

Tweet me, email me, or leave a comment on where you think the future of School PR is heading… Because just like a shark... you have to keep moving or die!

My Six Job Title Predictions for School PR [Updated May 2017]

The landscape of public education is changing. New job titles in the field of School Public Relations are popping up every day.  With changing technology and the increased competition from charter and private schools, I predict School PR to be very different in the next five years.

How will your district prepare for the changing landscape of School PR? 

In this article I will give my thoughts building your School PR team for the 21st Century.

Here are my six job title predictions for School PR in the year 2020:

1. Chief Marketing Officer

I tweeted this thought from Sergio Zyman, former CMO of Coca-Cola, that marketing is not an expense, but should be viewed as an investment.  That thought can be very hard for many people, including board trustees, but it is now a reality for school districts across the country. 

 "...marketing is not an expense, but should be viewed as an investment"

In the past five years my district has seen over 15 charters, Montessori or private schools built inside the boundaries of our district.  Coke and Pepsi had their “Cola Wars”, we are now in the middle of the “School Wars”.  And just like those corporations, you need marketing to stand out from the crowd.  Marketing is vital for public school districts to take part in. Get ahead of the curve now.

2. Data Scientist/Futurist

In God we trust; all others must bring data. That is a very powerful quote.  People want proof that something we are doing is going to make an impact.  We must use analytics and data to drive our decisions, and prove our campaigns are awesome.

We need to constantly look at the trends, and make our decisions based on those predictions and audience insights.  With increased focus on social media and digital marketing, the tools are out there to analyze data and make it work for your school district.  Most of us will need someone smarter than us to gather the data, analyze the data, and make predictions from the data.  Do you have your Data Scientist?

3. Content Manager

Content is king.  One of my first initiatives when I took my role in my district was to shift much of our focus to Content Marketing.  People don’t trust advertising like they use to.  They want content that will help them feel like confident parents making smart decisions about their children’s education. Providing them with that information or content is key to forming a trusting relationship.

"... a large school district will buy its local newspaper to produce and distribute content."

Don’t laugh, but it is my prediction that in the next five years we will see a large school district buy its local newspaper to produceand distribute content.  They will use the journalist and the newspaper’s traditional and digital distribution to provide the community and parents valuable information in a timely manner.

4. Digital Designer

Visual storytelling is a must this day and age.  You cannot post a story, highlight an event, or create a social media post without a picture.  All districts will need an expert to createvisually appealing, digital content that will resonate with their audience, as well as fit the criteria for all things social and digital media.

There is still a small place for traditional, hard copy advertisements and promotions, but digital will be king in the next five years. You need an expert in the field. You need a digital designer.

5. Mobile Webmaster

If your website is not already mobile responsive then you are in trouble.  More and more people are using their smartphone to find information and browse the web.  In next five years the percentage of people ditching their desktop is going to explode.  You need an expert that can make all of your online content and websites jive with smartphone technology.

It is even my prediction that in five years apps will be a thing of the past.  Essentially, your website will be your app.  If done right, a website will flow just like any app in the marketplace.  Find your mobile expert now before they are snatched up by Corporate America.

6. Community and Media Relations Coordinator

And yes, there will still be a need for all you APR’s out there.  Dealing with the media will never go away.  Stuff is going to happen.  However, it will not be the same media we work with today.  It will be fractured, and it will be very niche. 

You will also need someone who can work with the community and business partners.  With more and more school budgets being cut across the nation, we will need community support and corporate sponsorships more than ever.

**BONUS - 7. Video Producer

 

Video is king! If your district is not doing video, you better get on it. Engagement levels for video are through the roof. Most of the social media platforms are now embracing video and making it their top priority. This person should know video rules and techniques, but also needs to be well versed in Live Video.


Telling a story is key. You don't have to fancy equipment to get the job done. Tell an emotional story, and your audience will watch. Hire a storyteller first, and then a video expert.

What are you thoughts on the future of School Public Relations?  Leave me your thoughts in the comment section below.

How Your District Can Benefit from Facebook Audience Optimization

If your district is like ours, Facebook drives much of your social media engagement and audience interaction.  CFBISD has a strong Twitter and Instagram following, but nothing compares to the engagement we receive from our Facebook posts.

Now Facebook has created a new tool to allow your district to select the parents, students, community members, or businesses most likely to interact with your post.

Here is a quick overview of Facebook’s newest feature called Audience Optimization. 

How to Get Started Using Audience Optimization

 

It's actually quite easy to use this tool.  When posting a status on Facebook, there is an option to select audience optimization (reach people who are more likely to engage with your post) before you publish your content.  Simply click on the icon that resembles a gun scope and it will open the optimization menu for your post.

Selecting Preferred Interests for Your Audience

This menu allows you to select certain categories or keywords your audience might be interested in.  For example, if your post is about an awesome Kindergarten program your district offers, you might select interests like "Early Childhood", "Elementary School", or "Preschool".  If it is a post about your football team winning state, you might select interests like "Football", "Athletics", or "High School".

Facebook helps in regard to selecting keywords. Simply type in the first letters of a keyword and Facebook populates a list of keyword ideas.  Once you select your first keyword, Facebook gives suggestions of other words you might use.   

Social Media Examiner makes note that your preferred audience selection will not limit the people who see your post, but rather will tell Facebook that this is your preferred audience to see the post.

Facebook also offers a browse feature that allows you to look at categories of keywords in case you might be stumped on what to include.  Here is a screenshot of that feature below.

 Setting Audience Restrictions for Your Post

The second feature of this new tool is awesome.  This allows you to narrow your audience even further by allow you to select AGE, GENDER, LOCATION and LANGUAGES.

For example, if you want to inform your community members in your of new voting policies, you would want to limit your audience to people over 18.  This feature allows you to post and not "SPAM" your fans who would have no interest in your post.

The Best Part of Audience Optimization

I am a big "Data Geek".  The best part for me about this feature is be able to track certain audiences reactions to your posts.  After using this for a couple months, you should have a better understanding of who interacts with your posts. Knowing this should allow you to target certain audiences that result in the biggest engagement for your posts.

Do you need a more in-depth look at audience optimization?

**Kristi Hines at Social Media Examiner posted an awesome in-depth look at this new tool: Facebook Audience Optimization: What Marketers Need to Know

Do you have any questions about Facebook or Audience Optimization? Leave your questions in the comment section below.