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The process of marketing in our day schools is an evolving and fluid process that is influenced by the context and issues of a particular region. All schools strive to find and measure that which provides immediate and sustainable return on investment and distinguishes the school from its peers. This can often be a process of trial and error, but more often is now an outcome of meaningful data analysis. To identify a best practice for any one school requires that the desired outcomes be well defined, and must take into consideration that what works best in one school may not be suitable for another due to size, composition, mission or market differences.

Take Advantage of Technology:

• Rely more on online vs. print ads (they are more effective)
• Google alerts for schools
• Conduct a virtual school fair
• Develop videos of interviews on campus; put on your website
• Maintain Special website used for newly-accepted families (before matriculation)

 Take Advantage of Social Media:

• Tweet deck for open house promotion, campus news, etc.
• Find others on campus (students) to take ownership of Twitter
• Get current students involved (blog, etc.) with candidates or potential ones
• Have tour guides market school through Facebook
• Place ads on Facebook

 Utilize Parents, Alumni, and Current Students:

• Gather interested families in homes of current students; in-home, soft sell approach
• Advertise through a regional mother’s clubs
• Send student groups out to do community service wearing a school t-shirt
• Offer an incentive program for current students to bring new applicants
• Advertise on lawn signs for open houses; have current families place signs on their lawns
• Institute a “bring a friend/guest to school” day
• Have students write articles for printing in local publications
• Develop marketing statement (elevator speech) denoting value of independent school education; give to parents on cards to distribute through their networks
• Develop robust school orientation program for parent ambassadors
• Address gender issues by having grade 6 & 7 boy/girl classes separate (English)

Increase Word-of-Mouth:

• Go where the kids are
• Place open house invitations in public places
• Place ads in community newsletters; place ads in grocery carts; buy a billboard
• Offer scholarships to students in public schools
• Conduct an athletic tournament to get families to your campus
• Offer school facilities for community events
• Sponsor special seminars and presentations for parents in your community; focus on issues such as college guidance, child rearing, etc.
• Sponsor community play groups/story time
• Print lawn leaf bags with school logo; magnetic bands on school vehicles to promote school events; “Silly bands”
• Produce separate publications just for students
• Personalize acceptance letters with TSB and message
• Offer Saturday classes taught by school’s faculty
• Send mailings to summer camp families
• Place TV ads based on demographics with video of campus; place quality radio ads that create a picture in the mind and be sure to own the piece
• Feature bilingual admission office staff

RELATED RESOURCES

Design your facebook posts to market as much to your internal audiences (as your external) – remind them why they chose your school.

Try to get your private school or your private school association added to school options websites in your city. This is an interesting website for parents but has no information about private schools that offer financial aid: http://www.bostonschooloptions.org/ 

Lakeside School (WA) has endowed scholarships that are awarded to financial aid recipients.   Their experience has been positive, and the program has been successful in attracting some high-flying, financial aid recipients.

St. Mark’s School of Texas offer three types of on-campus events, each operating at a slightly different level of engagement: 1) student-led monthly tours followed by Q&A with Assistant Director; 2) three fall Morning Coffee Programs – lasting no more than an hour – consisting of informal conversation with members of the Administrative Team, a guest speaker, and an optional campus tour; and 3) a combination of all these efforts into one all-school open house. A copy of the 2010 Open House program is attached.  

Word of Mouth Marketing Comes of Age,  Currents (November/December 2005), Council for Advancement and Support of Education.   

Parent Views on Independent Schools Given the Current Economic Situation (NAIS, April 2009). To better understand the impact of the economy on individual families and on the general K-12 independent school landscape, NAIS surveyed education consultants, prospective families, and current parents. This research offers a glimpse into the minds of parents – their plans for their children, their hopes and concerns, and their feelings about independent education as they face a time of unprecedented financial uncertainty. 

Looney, Scott. “Finding Opportunity in a Crisis.” Independent School magazine, Summer 2009.

Fernandez, Kim. “How to Manage and Protect Your Institution’s Online Image.”  Currents (October 2009), Council for Advancement and Support of Education. 

Mark Neustadt, principal of Neustadt Creative Marketing, co-founder of Door No. 2 and professor of marketing in the Klingenstein Center for Independent School Leadership at Columbia University, discusses an effective marketing plan for independent schools including “chucking the viewbook” and “developing social media marketing strategies.” 

Agnes Irwin School (PA) runs a lecture series of experts in the field that sell what they are trying to highlight about the school. They hire 2-3 speakers per year and create a theme around which they will talk. Both current and prospective families are invited. LINK TO PDF.