Many schools are facing uncertain times and need to be able to promote themselves more effectively than ever before. David Limb, managing director of Blue Apple Education, offers some advice.

Creating a marketing plan and the role of social media

Budgets are tightening whilst competition is growing with Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) and free schools popping up all over the place. But in this tough environment, independent schools still have to recruit and retain pupils and attract good staff.

There is a plethora of marketing channels available and

forming a plan around which channels to select and how to

use them can often be a little daunting.

Before I set about explaining how to create a marketing

plan, let’s briefl y address what a marketing plan is.

A good marketing plan spells out the approach, tools and

tactics that a school will deploy to achieve an agreed set of

goals. It’s a plan of action − what you want to achieve and

how, where and when you’ll promote your school and

to whom.

Marketing Socially active

Marketing goals should be speci� c and measurable

Develop a pro� le of your target audience

Adjust your marketing plan in line with success rates

How to create a marketing planThere are six recommended steps to creating a marketing

plan that works:

1. Defi ne objectives:

The fi rst thing to do is determine what you want to

achieve, so ask yourself why you need a marketing plan

and think about what would happen if you didn’t have

one. This usually helps to understand how essential the

task is.

Your objectives should relate to the school’s overall

goals. Write a short list of marketing objectives in relation

to those goals, which should be as specifi c and measurable

as possible. For example, if the school needs to increase its

income, then the marketing objective might be to increase

enrolment by fi ve percent within the next 12 months.

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‘From one recording of a school’s event, you can maximise the reach by broadcasting it across multiple platforms’

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2. Defi ne your school’s target audience:

The golden rule of marketing is to centre your planning

around the target audience and their needs, because

without a clear understanding of your target audience,

there will be no conversions, whether that is attendees at an

event, sign-ups to a newsletter or pupil enrolments.

Develop a simple profi le of your

target audience. Describe

your audience in terms of

demographics − age, sex,

family composition,

In the tough environment that schools currently fi nd themselves it is evident that a plan is needed to promote what sets your school apart from the competition

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55@the_isba Autumn 2017

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earnings and geographic location, as well as lifestyle. This

will help you to establish your target audience’s drivers.

Consider what media channels they consume and at what

time of the year/month/day they will be most receptive to

your message. Examining this in detail will enable you to

build up a clear understanding of your target audience and

to reach them with marketing messages that will resonate

with them at the right time and on the right channels.

3. Establish your unique selling proposition

(core strengths):

In an increasingly competitive market place, schools have to

battle hard for parents’ attention and loyalty. It’s essential

that you clearly communicate what sets you apart from

competitor schools.

To determine this, start by listing your school’s core

strengths. Base it on various stakeholder perspectives −

fi rstly, the perspective of staff and what they deem to be the

very best bits about your school. Next, gauge the perspective

of parents and pupils and you will start to see commonalities

emerging between the groups. Finally, pick the top three to

fi ve strengths from those commonalities to form your

key messages.

4. Outline marketing activities – channels

and timings:

This section outlines the nuts and bolts of your marketing

plan enabling you to detail the marketing activities that will

reach your target audience effi ciently and effectively.

To identify your ideal marketing mix of channels, fi rstly

refer to the information gathered on your target audience to

see which media they consume. No doubt it will show there

is a keen appetite for social media.

Essential platformsSchools understand that social media offers a low-cost (or

free) and effective marketing channel. Gone are the days

when schools spent regularly on expensive newspaper

advertising without seeing return on investment. Times have

changed. Target parents consume social media and this

represents a cost-effective opportunity that cannot

be ignored.

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are popular channels for

schools to employ. Facebook continues to rule supreme as

the most popular social media platform in the world. With

over 1,870 million active users it is certain that the majority

of your school’s community will be on Facebook…making it

an essential platform for schools.

YouTube is a giant; it is the second largest search engine

in the world (second only to Google...who own it) and

Twitter is excellent at building key communities – from

internal staff and governors to existing and prospective

parents, school suppliers and community stakeholders.

Social media is all about great content and schools just so

happen to be brimming with potentially brilliant ‘stories’ that

can showcase those moments that differentiate your school.

Examples of how schools are using social media effectively

are shown here:

Video – from pupil-generated content e.g. videos or vlogs

(video blogs) from a school trip, to voxpops capturing parent

and pupil testimonials and professional videos showcasing

the school’s USP.

Live streaming − Facebook Live or Periscope on Twitter

– are great tools for your school to consider. Posting is

easy and just requires a mobile device or tablet and a WiFi

connection and because the video is live, followers don’t

expect high quality or resolution. Live streaming is great

for schools with small budgets and who don’t have the

equipment to produce their own marketing videos.

Facebook Live posts are automatically favoured by

Facebook’s algorithms too and fi gures show that people

spend three times longer watching live video compared to

other types of video.

Photos – ‘a picture paints a thousand words’. Tell stories

and grab the attention of existing and prospective parents

with action shots, photos of interactions between teachers

and pupils and commemorative occasions. You should aim

to elicit a “Wow!” or “What a great idea!” or ideally, “I

want my child to be part of that.”

Make the channels work together. For example, if your

school is putting on a concert, live-stream the event (using

Facebook LIVE or Periscope on Twitter) to reach more

parents. After the concert, upload the video to YouTube

where it can be shared again on your social networks, your

blog or on your e-newsletter. Therefore, from one recording

you can maximise the reach by broadcasting across

multiple platforms.

5. Consider budgets

In order to show the impact of marketing it’s really important

to have a clear budget for each tactic. You also need a

contingency of extra time and funds to allocate in case

things don’t go immediately to plan.

6. Evaluate success

Check and adjust your marketing plan regularly in line with

success rates. It’s a good idea to set time aside each month

to look at how each activity is working. Pay attention to the

areas that have done well, similarly, acknowledge the areas

that underperformed and learn how to improve

subsequent efforts.

There’s no doubt about it, a good marketing plan takes

time and effort to get right. In the tough environment

that schools currently fi nd themselves in, it is evident that

a plan is needed to promote what sets your school apart

from the competition. So, embrace the plan and set about

communicating just how wonderful your school really is.

AuthorDavid Limbmanaging director of Blue Apple Education

 www.blueappleeducation.com

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