By: Julia Brolin
Forbes recently published an article highlighting Austin ISD’s $2.1 million PR budget, which paid for an outside PR firm, billboard space, an internal PR team, and other marketing collateral. The goal was to curb the loss in student enrollment. The district declared the effort a success, since it only lost half as many students as it had anticipated.
This got me thinking.
Not every district has the ability to spend millions on education PR strategies and marketing, but every school should have the opportunity to shout their story from the rooftops and share the positive stories happing in the classroom. A recent eSchool News article highlighted the importance of schools telling their story, not selling themselves. A quality public relations and marketing strategy doesn’t always come with a price tag.
Here are four easy ways schools can share their story without spending millions.
- Leverage local media.
Whether your local news coverage comes from a massive daily newspaper and three TV stations or just a website run out of someone’s spare room, local media outlets have the power to shape the way the community views your district. If all they see is negative headlines, then that is how they will think of the district. On the flip side, if people see a plethora of positive stories about innovative teaching, learning, and new technology, the community will have a more positive outlook on the work their local school is doing—which creates an encouraging environment for everyone in the school community.
Here’s a tip to help your education PR strategy: have a media day where you invite local reporters into your school. Introduce them to outstanding teachers and show them the cool technology you’re using and how it has made an impact on student achievement. Your transparency and honesty will create a trusting relationship and increase the likelihood of having your school featured in positive stories. If you aren’t working with reporters to tell your story, you are leaving it up to them to “get it right.”
- Reach out to the community.
Embrace your entire community by inviting them to events and open houses. Host family fun nights, holiday parties, and celebrations. Even invite your friends from the local media! Bringing the community inside your school will make them feel more comfortable and trusting of the district. Additionally, ask your staff, administration, school board, and even your ed tech vendors to participate and donate their time during local events like community celebrations, farmers’ markets, movies in the park, or fundraisers. Showing that your district cares about students in and out of the classroom makes a big impact.
- Get blogging!
Blogging is today’s newsletter, and is a great way to promote what is happening in your school. Blogs free educators to openly share their thoughts, opinions, and wins with parents and the outside community. I’ve worked with a handful of superintendents and educators who regularly post blogs on their school website and believe it’s a great way to show transparency and share new and upcoming information. Don’t have a blog? Ask your technology department to set your school website up with a blog page and identify candidates to chip in with the work…and don’t forget to ask your amazing and innovative educators to pen a guest post! Writing three to four blog posts a month takes very little time, and the rewards can be substantial!
- Make the most of social media.
Social media is hands-down the greatest and most powerful free marketing tool ever. Education PR is all about knowing your audience and meeting them where they already are. About 7 in 10 Americans have some sort of social media account, so it’s a convenient way to reach a wide audience. Another big benefit of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram is that you have complete control over the text, images, and timing of everything you post. Use that space to solidify your brand with your community, parents, and staff and interact with them one-on-one. If you lead the conversation with your audience, you will become a valid source of information that they can count on.
Julia Brolin is a Storyteller on the PRP team.
Thanks for sharing!
