The Rule of 7 (how to ensure prospective families don’t ignore your marketing)
Emily was recently invited onto John Murphie (ex-ISBA) and Elise Tonnard’s new podcast – ‘The Education Periscope‘ as their very first guest.
(full episode available here).
In the episode, Emily touches on one of marketing’s most enduring principles: the Rule of 7. It’s based on the principle that an audience (e.g., prospective parents) needs to see or hear your message at least 7 times before they are likely to take action. While the number itself isn’t a hard science, the thinking behind it is absolutely spot on.
The Rule reminds us that one open day advert, one Instagram Reel or one email newsletter is rarely enough on its own.
What matters in marketing is consistent, repeated visibility of the same message, over a period of time, and across a beautiful mix (online and offline) of touchpoints.
This is where many schools unintentionally trip up. There is all too often just one push of a message (e.g. promoting an Open event), followed by radio silence. Yet the truth is, parents are busy. And their environments are supremely ‘cluttered’. Making it nigh-on impossible to reach them with said single ‘hit’. Whereas instead, we want a prospective family to receive several ‘hits’ – theymight see a paid social advert, read a blog, watch a short video, receive an email and then spot your school again in search results.
This way, familiarity, trust and awareness are built.
So you see, the Rule of 7 is not about doing more for the sake of it. It is about doing the right things consistently so that when parents are ready to act, your school is already at the front of their mind. That is when marketing starts doing its real job.
Get in touch to discuss more ways you can improve your school’s marketing & admissions.