*UPDATE* – this conference has been canceled
I am so excited to share the keynote address at the Strengthening Christian Schools Conference in Ontario, California (just outside of LA) on June 18-29, 2015. The title of my address is “The Impact of Social Media for Christian Schools.”
This is more than just how to use Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to market your school. This is a “bigger picture” address, hopefully allowing me to speak about how social media has transformed our families, our students and our schools. The following is the outline of my address:
1. Historical Rise in Changing Communication
- How parents participate and how it has changed their family
- How students have contributed to the rise and fall of different platforms
- How schools are missing the opportunity to influence, inspire and inform
2. The Dangers of Social Media
- How students’ obsession with likes/followers can be harmful to their identity
- How parents’ oblivion to social media damages their home discipleship
- How schools’ overt self-promotion ruins the organic nature of social networking
3. The Opportunities of Social Media
- How students communicate now and how they likely will communicate in their post-secondary future as graduates/donors
- How parents need to be inspired before they are informed
- How schools tell stories, communicate their unique brand, and how social media fits in your marketing plan
Register to attend a number of practical sessions on the following tracks:
- Board Governance Track
- Development Track
- Leadership & Innovation Track
- Marketing & Enrollment Track
- School Improvement Track
- Teaching & Learning Track
- Technology Track
REGISTER NOW! (*UPDATE* – this conference has been canceled)
[Scroll to bottom to listen to interview and to visit shownotes of this post for links to items mentioned in this episode]
In this episode of the School Marketing Podcast, I interview Rudi Gesch, Director of Marketing and Enrollment at Eastern Christian School in New Jersey. Eastern Christian School recently launched their Do Life Big video. Like most “school community videos,” and Lip Dubs, Do Life Big features hundreds of smiling, singing, and dancing students from and faculty as they showcase their school’s programs, culture, and facilities, but this has a unique twist that has generated so many comments, social shares, and general “buzz” around the video.
WATCH THE VIDEO
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Hey Ingrid!
We made it to 600 likes on our Facebook page . . . it’s because of you! You’re awesome . . . thank you!
Now, it’s our time to return the favor. Fill out the form below and let us give you a gift. I promise it’s not a trick, ploy or scam. It’s just our way of saying “Thank you!”
There are 3 options that you can pick from for your gift:
- 60-MIN PHONE CONSULT – we always give schools a no-obligation, 30-minute complimentary phone consultation. And from time-to-time, we have extended that to 45 minutes if we are in a good mood! 🙂 But honestly, this just seems right to give you a full hour of my time – no charge. We can talk about anything marketing-related at your school. We can hit several things or concentrate on one area. If you choose this option, we can email about how we can spend the time. You set the agenda, not me. I listen and offer ideas and counsel. There is NO hard sales pitch. (If you want to know more about how we can help your school on a long-term basis, we will share that with you – but only upon request!)
- WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT – we write up a report about your website – we can give you our opinion on design, experience, navigation, and the overall feel of it as a prospective family might. Sometimes it’s good to have fresh eyes look at your site. We can do the same audit of your social channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or others you have. You tell us what channels you want us to review and we will give you our opinion on what it might look like from a prospective family’s perspective . . . and if we see any area of improvement, we will give you our ideas.
- STARBUCKS – if you would rather just sip some coffee with a friend on our dime, we understand that, too! We will mail you a $25 Starbucks gift card to your school address (assuming you don’t care to give your home address to strangers, ha!) I promise not to be offended if you choose this option; I might do the same thing!
So now, go ahead and pick your gift!
If there’s one topic that ignites our email signup list or our Facebook page engagement, it is word-of-mouth marketing! In this post, I wanted to share with you 23 easy-to-implement word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing ideas that any private Christian school can work on starting today:
- Stories are WOM fuel – curate them and create them and showcase them!
- Treat families like kings and queens – they will tell their friends about it.
- Engage your fans – especially on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.
- Give families reasons to talk – take queues from bigger brands who offer memorable customer service.
- Empower them to share – put videos on YouTube or Vimeo, post them on Facebook and invite families to share.
- Explain how families can refer – map out a system and exactly the procedure for referring (and outline any incentives)
- Educate families about any perks or bonuses – referral incentives should be simple to understand, not so complex no one does it. (more…)
Your school is never at a loss for events to post about on social media. Just keeping up with posting these events will keep your social media team on their toes!
Here are 5 tips to marketing your school events more efficiently and with the greatest social impact:
- Use Hashtags – whether it is Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or especially Instagram, (more…)
