School District Marketing

School District Marketing

Joe Donovan


My goals:

1) Provide you with some tools and strategies you can implement immediately.

2) Provide some new perspective that will help you add marketing elements to your future communications.


Please direct questions to…

Email: [email protected]

Text: 414-418-0512


I believe there are generally three types of school district

communications efforts:




1) General engagement





2) Public relations





2) Public relations

3) Marketing


Public relations is strategic, often for goodwill. It generally relies on free

media.

Marketing is done for the purpose of compelling someone to do

something specific. It often includes paid advertising.


I am increasingly of the belief that school districts should have two,

three or in some cases four communications-related plans that

work together.


Marketing has one very specific purpose: to gain market share.

Marketing is targeted. It is focused. It is direct.


Marketing is not for every district.

Don’t do marketing half-way.


The Anytown School District Losing resident students to private

schools and open enrollment. Has a lot of developable land Homes in the community are

affordable and popular with young families.

Has a new charter school


School district marketing is as simple as answering six

questions.


Question 1

What are your specific goals?


Question 2

Who are your targeted stakeholders?


Question 3

What is your value proposition?


Question 4

What tools will you use to deliver your value proposition to your targeted

stakeholders?


Question 5

How will you best use the academic calendar to your advantage?


Question 6

How will you measure your success and improve your return on

investment?


Goals

Be very specific about why you are undertaking this effort.

Determine and find agreement on what success looks like.


Goals

With a great deal of specificity, what do you want to accomplish with you

marketing?

Be aggressive in your goal setting.


Stakeholders

Who are your prospects? Be specific.


Stakeholders

My Mom and Dad are not your prospects. Do not market to them!


Stakeholders

Target your stakeholders like a laser. Know who they are, how they inform themselves, and what is important to

them.


Stakeholders

Take some time to find out more about your very specific marketing

audience.

What characteristics differentiate them from other groups.


Messages

After determining you key audiences, think about what you would say to

individuals in that audience group if you could sit down with each one for

coffee.

What would make them nod in agreement?


Messages

Determine the four or five critical messages that you would like to

communicate to your key audience.


Tools

Select communications tools for delivering your messages to your

stakeholders.


Tools

What is the most effective school district marketing tool?

The school tour.

Make your school tours special.


Tools

Facebook ads and other “pay-per-click” type ads can be very effective

and efficient.


Tools

I find that direct mail and individual contacts with key stakeholders, is

the most effective.

There is a great deal of “overspray” with television and radio.


Timing

Try to determine when “buying decisions” are taking place and time

your marketing accordingly.


Timing

When do your research, make sure to ask those who open enroll out,

“when did you make your decision to leave?”


Metrics

Do not begin a marketing campaign without first determining how you will

measure its success.

Be specific.


Metrics

Break your marketing measuring efforts into two categories: output measures and input measures.


Metrics

The most important metric is your output measure: market share.

For example, the percentage of all school-aged children that attend district schools.


Metrics

Input measures assess the effectiveness of the various

marketing efforts. The combination of these should lead to increased

market share.


Metrics

Determine a number of critical input metrics that align with your output

measure, market share.


Other considerations

Parents increasingly think of themselves as consumers with

choices.

Are you and your staff thinking of them as customers?


Do not become an educational commodity.


Effective marketing relies on your ability to explain why your district is

truly different.

Do not be afraid to tell your brand story.


Joe Donovan

School District Marketing

Education

Transcript of School District Marketing