We know that many of you will be planning on writing your marketing strategy for the year ahead when school is quieter during the summer hols.
We’re keen to help you with this process and so have compiled 3 top tips to aid this:
Tip 1: Define the goals
Grab some paper and a pencil and write down your goals – what are you trying to achieve? This might be 3-5 overall goals. This should be the starting point for writing any strategy as this will determine what you need to do. Plus, it will enable you to CELEBRATE when you reach those goals!
Tip 2: Get the bigger picture ‘right’, THEN fine tune
Next, take another piece of paper and draw a stickman (we love stickmen!) to represent your target audience in the middle. Then draw spider legs off this (we DON’T love spiders so much) with ideas for REACHING that target audience based upon their lifestyle – consider where they hang out online and offline.
Once you’re happy with your ideas, start to fine tune. Map out these activities across a timeline – focus on activities and resources term by term, week by week.
Can you see how your strategy is starting to take shape?
Tip 3: Sense check other key elements
Now it’s all very well knowing what you’re trying to achieve, and mapping out the right marketing activities to achieve this, but it’s also important to check other key elements too, such as – is your school brand up to scratch, are you clear on your key messages, is your photography fresh and dynamic, have you checked out the marketing activities of your key competitors recently, is your admissions team managing enquiries well, and so on.
Ensuring THESE elements are en pointe too will make your efforts in attracting prospective families or engaging current families for example, REALLY pay off.
BONUS TIP – Be smart enough to recognise when help would be beneficial
However simple the above sounds, we know in reality that when you’re in the thick of things at a school, writing a marketing strategy and seeing the ‘wood for the trees’ ain’t always that easy.
If this sounds familiar, we can help by using our fresh and specialist external lens to see how you’re doing and to get an awesome marketing strategy in place. We can do this in 3 different ways:
- Use our expert brains! We can review your marketing strategy once it’s written. You simply send it to us and we’ll use our specialist experience to sense check it and ensure you are focusing on the right thing. This will give you the confidence to present your strategy to your Head and Governors in the knowledge that every aspect is justified and reasoned.
- Get a ‘ready done’ version! After doing our six-week Marketing and Admissions Coaching Course you will have built your own Marketing Plan that will give you a clear way forward and transform the way you promote your school.
- Let us do it for you! We can create a bespoke Marketing & Admissions Strategy on your behalf, tailored to YOUR school’s needs and focused on making the biggest and swiftest difference possible. More details here.
Remember that we can help with any of the above at any time during the school year.
So sharpen that pencil and let’s get started.
The Stickman team help school leaders, bursars, and marketing and admissions managers to boost revenue via powerful and simple marketing strategies.
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Alternatively, if you’d like to talk to us about any aspect of school marketing, admissions and communications we’d love you to get in touch.
Emily & the Stickman Team
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