Marketing your School

Marketing your School The more information you can get out to your constituents, parents, church members, pastors and the community, the better educated they will be. The more they know about what is going on, the more they can share with others.

Look for ways to market your school Doing community service like nursing homes, dog shelters, food banks, cleaning church members properties. Participating in these events not only blesses your students and staff, but the community and church members. Invite key leaders to programs or events or honor them at events. Prayer breakfast with all pastors, teachers and administration at the beginning of the year with maybe a singing group or classroom poem as part of the program.

Prayer Breakfast

How to market your School Make your school hard to resist for prospective volunteers, children and families. The children and families you are trying to reach receive hundreds of messages daily. How can your school event stand out? Begin your publicity plan with deep prayer. Work as team, you’ll generate tons more ideas with a group of people than you would doing it by yourself.

Here are 7 publicity principals from experts who make their living in publicity and marketing. Know who you are. Never pretend to be something you’re not. If you’re going to publicize yourself to the community, show your school’s identity – your core values and your authentic personality. a. What are 3 things your school does well? Of those things, what’s the #1 distinguishing characteristic of your school? How is that characteristic reflected in the event you are publicizing?

b. If your school were a person, who would it. be and why. A clown b. If your school were a person, who would it be and why? A clown? Mother Teresa? A cookie-baking grandma? Once you know your school’s personality, how is that reflected in the event you are publicizing? c. If your school has only one message that it’s trying to convey, what is it? How is that reflected in your events and marketing your school?

2. Know your audience a. Publicity is all about getting attention; people will ignore you if you don’t know who they are. Target an audience. Who needs to hear your news? b. Create a target list that identifies who you’re trying to reach with the event you are publicizing by answering these basic questions:

Who are you trying to reach with your event Who are you trying to reach with your event? (children, parents, families, unchurched people, or all of the above.) Where are these people? Where do they hang out, eat out, shop, go to school, play? When do these people need to hear about your event to fit it into their schedule? When is the best time for them to attend your event?

What do these people care about. What do they need from your event What do these people care about? What do they need from your event? There are real needs (relationship with Jesus) and felt needs (entertainment). Your target audience is most interested in knowing how you’ll meet their needs. Why would these people want to come to your event? In order to answer the “why question”, you must tell them what the benefits of attendance are – not just what you’re doing.

3.Create a visual campaign. a. You need a standard image for all of your promotional materials for your event. This involves your logo, fonts, colors, photos and message. Every method, medium, and mode within a campaign must look the same.

4. Choose your media a. The best media is aimed specifically at your target audience. If you post an ad in the newspaper, get it out of the religion section if you’re targeting unchurched people. How about coffee shops, grocery stores, kids’ schools, McDonalds. b. If you are trying to reach the younger generation, text-message them. This would include your parents.

5. Schedule your publicity a. Web page for your school’s web site, 8 weeks before event. b. Posters in public areas 7 weeks before c. Fliers delivered to homes 6 weeks before d. Church members encouraged to invite guests a week before event e. Postcards mailed 3 weeks before f. Text-messaging 2 weeks before g. Phone calls 1 week ahead

6. Be Original A Passing out water at a “cause” event with your school logo displayed speaks louder than yet another mass mailing postcard. Get your team together and think of creative and fun ways to get your message out. b. A dressed-up character holding a sign outside on your school sidewalk catches attention. Ask to hang a banner about your event at your high school sporting events. Think of ways to drive traffic to your event’s web page or your school web site. Perhaps people can download music, enter a contest or find the answer to a silly question by going to your site.

7. Follow up. Ask people how they heard about your event 7. Follow up. Ask people how they heard about your event. If you placed an ad in the paper and no one says they came because of it, rethink your venue or prepare a different ad.

Venues to market your school 1.Church Bulletin Inserts – Once a month a. Include personal interest stories b. School events c. New Staff d. Ministry items students have done, i.e., mission trips, community service

2. Church Bulletins – ALWAYS have your school and principal’s name in all your local church bulletins.

Bulletin Insert

3. Newsletters – You should try to do one once a month 3. Newsletters – You should try to do one once a month. Because you are short staffed, make it quick and simple. Use a standardized page so that all you have to do is just slip in the information. Maybe each teacher puts in something about their classroom or you rotate. This can help not only current information for everyone but those that are looking for future reasons to send their children to your school. Make sure students in your churches that are not going to your school get the newsletter.

Newsletter

4. Marketing is done by everyone 4. Marketing is done by everyone. If you have negative things to say, be careful. Even small comments can be spread far and wide which affects the school and many times is usually taken care of but never clarified with those you shared it with.

5. Do recruiting among all the children in your churches and in the area. Get a list together and invite them personally to every event. Maybe you could do this as one of your class assignments in English or Bible class.

6. We love OUR SCHOOL because…… 6. We love OUR SCHOOL because……. Ask student periodically why they love their school and either do it in a flyer form or as one of the additions in your newsletter or bulletin inserts.

7. Send self-made Thanksgiving Day cards signed by your school staff to every school family at Thanksgiving time telling them why you are thankful that they have entrusted their student(s) with you.

8. Make friendships with your local newspaper religious reporter and see if you can get information about your school or events in the local paper. They are usually always looking for good articles for the community.