Online/Digital Marketing for Schools February 14, 2018
Keys to Success Remember Your Marketing PITCH: - Pride Constantly remind people – including yourself – what an amazing place this is. - - Intentionality Move from “All Are Welcome” to “All Are Invited” - - Teamwork Delegation is the only way to make your plan happen. - Creativity - - Just like students, every parent is different . - Honesty - Talk about what a blessing this role is for you. Your enthusiasm is infectious !
Qualities of an Effective Website
Basic Elements of a Website Contact Information 1. School Information 2. Directories 3. News & Announcements 4. Resources 5. Calendar 6.
Basic Information Most Elements: All 11 Elements: ● St. Anne ● St. Mary of the Woods http://stanneschoolbarrington.org/ http://smowschool.org/ ● St. Barnabas ● St. Thomas the Apostle http://www.stbarnabasparish.org/sc http://stapostleschool.com/ hools/stbarnabas/ ● St. Joan of Arc http://www.sjasaints.org/ ● St. Theresa http://www.sttheresaschool.com/
Website Content What should you write on your website? Stuck for content? See the following suggestions for help: • Share ideas • Tell your schools story • Re-purpose a popular article that • Share the experiences of the students, is significant to your school staff, volunteers, parents and/or education • Discuss a current trend (Google Trends • Summarize your schools events – find a hook to connect your school to • Let your headline be your guide – that trend people search for) catchy article headlines is key • Teach others something you want to • Share your favorite products learn related to teaching, classroom, • Detail your learning journey on a new fundraisers, programs, etc. subject – new teaching tool, new • Write a reflection post – fundraiser, new program, etc. Important lessons learned since • Ask parents, friends and industry peers becoming a teacher, principal, for advice and share it online marketer, etc. • Provide a lot information and/or Source: www.ragan.com resources
Optimal Elements of a Website 1. Parish Information 2. Profile, Volunteer, Programs, Tours 3. Teams, Clubs, Departments 4. Newsletters 5. Events
Content for School Websites Checklist here: https://goo.gl/aVfdOA Printable .pdf version here: http://bit.ly/2BrS44T
Other Good to Notes ● Involve Local Catholic Schools ● Provide App for Mobile devices ● Common Sense Education (Digital Citizenship) ● AoC/OCS Initiatives ● Spiritual Life ● QuickLinks/FAQ ● Short URL w/ .org & easy to recognize ● Ease of Use (on mobile device)
Look and Feel ● Clean and Clear ● Drop Down Menus ● No Deep Diving ● Images Properly Placed ● Minimal Distractions ● Homepage is Main Stage ● Update Regularly
Additional OCS Website Recommendations • It is best practice for every school to have their tuition rates posted on their sites. • It is best practice for every school to have their admissions requirements and procedures on their sites. • It is best practice for every school to have financial aid availability and procedures on their sites. It is also important that financial aid availability be communicated in all flyers, ads, and external communications. • It is recommended, particularly in lower income areas, that a rough percentage of students receiving aid also be listed on the site.
Website Content Examples There are several different media formats to share your schools information. Try: • Teacher Blog pages • Videos • Teacher Websites • Photos • Podcast • Calendar of events • Social Media links
Online Interest Forms and Registration • Google forms is a great way to create a free online interest form • Saves time, money and resources and allows all authorized staff members to access and add information • Keep an eye on interest form, update information, and reach out to parents • Link your Smart Tuition or Facts account to the end of the application so parents can pay the registration fee • Your MEM can provide you with an interest form template • Example of an Online Interest Form/Application • Note that PowerSchool now offers online re-registration for all returning families and siblings of returning students • The OCS is evaluating options for taking online registrations for new families
Track Your Data If you use Google Forms, this is how data is collected and stored in a Google Sheet once a parent has completed an interest form. You may add columns such as “Notes” so that you can track follow -up with families.
List of OCS Websites https://goo.gl/WNzUea Time to Browse
Website Workshopping Take time to take a look at other schools’ websites. • First, open the website checklist: https://goo.gl/aVfdOA • This will allow you to evaluate the site as a marketer • Second, ask yourself, “If I were a current parent at this school, would this website meet my needs?” • Third, ask yourself, “If I were a prospective parent , would I send my kids to this school based on what I see on this site?”
Website Workshopping Example Sites Northside Catholic Academy: Infant Jesus of Prague Parish: www.northsidecatholic.org/ (Edlio) www.ijpparish.org/ St. Mary of the Woods: Pope Francis Global Academy: www.smowschool.org/ (Educational Networks) www.pfgacademy.org/ St. Joseph Parish (Libertyville): St. Theresa School: www.stjoseph-libertyville.org/ (eCatholic) www.sttheresaschool.com/ (Edlio) St. Joseph School (Libertyville): Frassati Catholic Academy: www.sjscatholic.org/ (Edlio) www.frassaticatholicacademy.org/ (Wix) St. Paul of the Cross School: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy: www.spc-school.net/ (Strategically Digital) www.olmca.org/ (Educational Networks) If you would like, please ask your peers to review your site and offer to do the same for them. Even a cursory look from a new set of eyes can be enormously helpful!
Digital Marketing Sara Brown Partner, Browntown Communications St. Benedict School, Blue Island
Get the SCOOP Digital Marketing Building Your School’s Brand Online
WELCOME Meet et The he Brown owns Proud St. Benedict Family, Browntown Communications, My B.I.
PRESENTATION AGENDA Welcome Get the scoop: Digital Marketing as a S Sundae Step 1: The Bowl Step 2: Ice Cream Step 3: Whip Cream Step 4: Toppings Step 5: The Cherry on Top
DIGITAL MARKETING AS AN ICE CREAM SUNDAE Building a successful digital marketing presence is a lot like creating a delicious ice cream sundae. The order in which you build is critical to your success. Website: Just like the bowl is to the sundae, your website is the foundation to your digital marketing efforts. Content & Optimization: Often overlooked, creating and posting regular, optimized content is the ice cream, or the workhorse, or your efforts. Free Online Listings: The whip cream! Even if you aren’t sharing anything about your school online, a host of directories are – tell them what to say. Advertising & Other Activities: Your choices for how you promote your school online are endless, just like your topping choices for your sundae. Purpose: The cherry on top is creating your digital marketing plan with intention and purpose.
THE BOWL: YOUR WEBSITE
WEBSITE ESSENTIALS 80% of Internet Users own a Smart Phone. #1: RESPONSIVE Google penalizes websites that are not mobile- When a website is responsive, it adjusts to the size of the friendly, pushing non-responsive websites lower on user’s screen. search results. FLEXIBLE & WELL SUPPORTED REPORTING Your website should be able to grow and integrate with Google Analytics is free, and gives you information about developing technology. the types of traffic your website is receiving. LEAD CAPTURE & CONTACT INFO MORE THAN ONE PAGE What do you want people to do when they visit your site? Website pages are best optimized for one key term. Having only one page limits the number of search terms for which At minimum, they should be able to contact you and to you can optimize. leave their information for follow-up.
GOOGLE ANALYTICS At minimum, look at web traffic overview and acquisition report monthly. EXAMPLE ANALYTICS
THE ICE CREAM: CONTENT & OPTIMIZATION
CONTENT IS KING Content is royalty in the digital marketing world. Not only does it tell search engines UPDATE CONTENT REGULARLY 01 and consumers what you do, but it also affects how well your online advertising will A good rule of thumb is 300 words of text, with the keyword in the work. headline, first sentence, and elsewhere in the text. Copied content is penalized by Google. INCLUDE PHOTOS 02 Every person digests information differently. Include photography on every page that helps explain the content and compels the user to action. VIDEO TOO 03 Video is another great way to present your product or services. As a bonus, Google loves video, so your site will rank better. OPTIMIZE 04 Select a keyword or phrase for every page of content or blog post you include, as well as for your photo and video assets. Use an SEO plug-in like Yoast. REPEAT!
WHIP CREAM: SEARCH LISTINGS
CLAIM YOUR SEARCH LISTINGS Using website content and photography to claim your free, online search listings. 01 01 GOOGLE PLACES 02 02 GREAT SCHOOLS 03 03 SUPERPAGE GES 04 04 MAPQUEST
SEARCH LISTINGS CAN HELP YOU STAND OUT
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