10 Must-haves for School Marketing
Imagine this scene:
You are starting a new position teaching 1st grade this year. Today you get to see your classroom for the first time. After you pick up your keys in the office, you make your way down the freshly-waxed hallway until you find your room number. You fumble with the keys as you work to open the door, excited to see the room where you’ll spend so much of your time. When you finally unlock the door, your heart drops to your stomach. There is nothing inside the classroom.
No desks, no chairs, no bookshelves. No furniture of any kind. No technology of any kind. No supplies, no books, no whiteboard. Not a scrap of paper. Not one pencil. Nothing at all.
How are you supposed to teach a group of seventeen 1st graders here?
While this scene may feel a little far-fetched, it’s often what faces educational leaders, marketing teams, and outreach committees when they are tasked with another important duty: reaching more families in their community through marketing.
If someone asked you to teach a classroom full of first grade students to read with no supplies or books or desks, you’d know exactly how challenging it would be. Too often this is the situation leaders or marketing committees face when trying to grow their schools: a big job with little-to-no resources.
Even in schools with designated outreach committees and marketing budgets, a lack of resources exists because many schools and boards don’t have a clear and comprehensive list of necessary marketing resources. They don’t realize they don’t have what they need to market their school well.
This August, as many parents click off their yearly school supply lists, tossing crayons and glue sticks and graphing calculators (ouch!) into their shopping carts, here is a “Marketing Supply List.” Check out and click off these must-have items to equip your school to market effectively and efficiently all-year long:
A Leader & Team - Marketing your school is not a one-person job; it’s a team effort, especially if your school has big growth goals or needs. This marketing committee or outreach team will also need a leader to make decisions, report to your board, and ensure the team moves forward together.
Budget & Time - While each school will have its own unique investment to meet its own unique needs, there is no way around it: marketing (just like equipping classrooms and teaching children) costs both time and money. A good rule of thumb? If you have a low budget, expect to put in extra time to make up for it. If you are low on time, expect to pay someone else to do it. Most schools fall somewhere in-between, investing time into efforts they can manage themselves and paying professionals to complete the tasks they cannot.
Marketing Strategy/Strategic Growth Plan - Most schools that contact me for help with their marketing and enrollment efforts are frustrated. Many teams have tried different marketing tactics like social media advertising, mailers, or outreach events. The problem is they don’t know if they are doing the right things OR if any of the things they are doing are effective. They are worried their marketing is a waste of time (and money). When teams feel like this, it is usually because they are lacking a marketing strategy or strategic growth plan. They haven’t chosen a target audience, done any community research, created an enrollment funnel, aligned programs to needs, or set specific goals. Without a marketing strategy, it is nearly impossible to make good decisions and investments!
Annual Marketing Plan - Once a school has a marketing strategy in place, the next step is to create an annual marketing plan. This lays out the specific actions you’ll take to reach your marketing goals and your target audience. It unites the team and ensures your efforts are consistent, not just flash-in-the-pan efforts during enrollment season or last ditch efforts the month before school starts.
Visitor-focused Website - Your school website is a crucial hub for your marketing efforts and often the first place families go to learn about your school. It’s critical that your website engages, informs, and connects with prospective families. Too often school websites are dominated by internal communication, lack a clear call-to-action, and don’t work to welcome prospective families. (More about school websites here.)
Online Presence - Very few parents cruise their neighborhoods looking for new schools. Instead, the search for a new school starts ONLINE by searching “schools in my area” or “top schools in (city name).” If your school doesn’t show up on that list, new parents probably won’t find you. That’s why it’s crucial for your school to have a trust-building and accurate online presence.
High-quality Media - Since most school searches start online, what parents SEE online helps them decide whether or not to take the next step with your school. High-quality photography and videography help prospective parents imagine your school and start building trust in you and your program. However, the opposite is true, as well. Low-quality photos (or no photos at all) can erode trust and halt their relationship with you before it even begins.
Brand Guide - What makes trust-building marketing materials? Having a consistent and professional brand behind them. When your school invests in a brand guide, your team has a guidebook for creating all its communications, marketing, materials, giveaways, flyers, etc. Consistency in the use fonts, colors, and logos builds both recognition of your materials and professionalism overall. Remember, professionalism isn’t about “showing off”; it’s about building trust with prospective parents.
Brand Message - A brand message is the consistent way you describe your school program to others, whether current parents or prospective parents. It shares how your school is unique to all other schools in your area. Almost every school that I’ve begun to work with is missing a brand message. The reason this is SO VERY SHOCKING is because the most effective form of marketing for faith-based schools is word-of-mouth. Having a clear, consistent brand message fuels word-of-mouth marketing - and makes producing your communications and marketing so much easier!
Marketing Tracking - “So what if we do invest in all this marketing? How will we know it’s working?” This is one of the most frequent questions I hear from school boards and leaders. And it’s the question they SHOULD be asking! You should know if your marketing is working or not. You should know if the money you’re investing is helping you reach more people. Every school team needs to track their marketing, record results, and evaluate over time.
NEXT STEPS:
How is your school doing with its “Marketing Supply List?”
If you’re missing items, use this article to start a conversation with your leaders and your school board.
Discuss how your ministry can designate resources to fill in gaps so that your enrollment goals are realistic and your team is equipped to market effectively–especially if your school is trying to reach more families.
First semester is a great time to work on this list so that your team is prepared to market when enrollment season hits in January.
Blueprint Schools loves helping schools reach more families in their communities. If you feel stuck, we’ll listen to your unique situation, answer your questions, and share how we can help your school thrive.
Take the first step by scheduling a Zoom consultation with us.
