When it comes to marketing your school, it’s going to take a little education (pun intended). Every school has a different story, brand, and mission. It’s best to present yourselves in a way that represents your school and showcase it in a way that students, staff, and the community will take pride in.
If your school marketing tactics need a little TLC, keep reading and you’ll become an expert in no time.
1: Build an unstoppable brand.
Big corporations aren’t the only ones with brands. Your school’s brand is the sum of facts and emotions that come to the minds of your audiences – students, parents, faculty, the community – when they hear, read, or talk about your school.
Determining your values and mission as a school is a great way to lay the foundation of your brand. Communicating a clear message will help your school be understood and well-liked by the right group of students and families. It increases the likelihood that they will feel some sort of connection and school pride, creating a sense of brand loyalty.
2: Create a logo that’s representative.
The logo is the face of your brand. It’s one thing to have a good logo, but it’s another to have a strategy behind it. Whether you or someone else designs the logo, it’s important to incorporate the school’s best qualities into it all.
When you see your school’s logo on a baseball jersey, flier, or the gym walls, you want it to embody something spectacular. Similarly to when you see the logo of your favorite brand, it brings you back to certain memories that help you identify with that particular brand and what they stand for. The same thing applies to your school’s logo. You want to create something that individuals are going to recognize, feel proud of, and view in a positive light.
3: Everyone loves great visuals.
This means your website and photos. How well does your website represent your school? Do your photos capture the meaning behind the action? While certain websites may seem eye-catching, well-written and organized content with quality information and photos are what generate value.
Today’s generation looks for content that’s going to give them exactly what they’re looking for. No one likes to read a full website of filler text that isn’t answering their questions or looking at pictures that aren’t representative of the event. Spend extra time perfecting your website and photography. This is an area of marketing that increases website traffic the most, and will without-a-doubt have parents turning to your school versus the one down the street.
4: Engage locals through media.
Connecting and partnering with your local community can result in big benefits when marketing your school. Reach out to different businesses and host events that’ll bring in more of who you hope to attract. There are infinite opportunities to include individuals and students from all over – meaning your school will become widely known by more than just your students and staff.
Set up a Facebook page, write blog posts (like this one), and post them to your website. Or create an Instagram account and post photos of what’s happening throughout the school like baseball games, events, musicals, and anything else you can think of. By engaging your local media, it gives you the chance to market to who you want and how you want. Thanks to technology, you can basically reach anyone, anywhere, and at any time of day. The community is at your fingertips.
5: Be consistent.
Bring your entire brand to life through consistent communication. Brainstorm a list of short phrases that capture your school’s mission and stick with that voice. Having a consistent message is the best way to represent who you really are and what your goal is.
Reinforcing the attributes of your brand across language, action, and images keeps you authentic. Developing a style of communication that reflects your school’s image exposes a high level of honesty and transparency that’s hard to ignore.
So, how are your school’s marketing tactics? Are you being representative of what you hope to accomplish with your audiences? There are many important factors that play into portraying your school well. Need more information? Get in touch.
