Win the Conversation

Education is the new competitive market. Whether you agree or disagree with the "school choice" movement, in most communities, due to open enrollment public, charter, and private schools, parents today have choices for their child's education. Due to school budgets tied so closely to enrollment, schools have become hyper-competitive as they fight for every student.

Parents are passionate marketers of schools. Logically, people talk about what they love, and there is nothing that parents love more than their children. Because children spend most of their time in school, their school experience is often the topic of parental conversations. People talk to (and listen to) those they trust before making a big decision. Parents trust other parents and deciding on a school is a big decision. The conversation is happening, and in today's competitive educational market, schools need to be talked about ... in the right way!

Oscar Wilde quipped in The Picture of Dorian Gray, "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." 

So how do you make sure you are talked about positively? How can schools win the conversation? With stories!

Stories -- If you tell the stories, you rule the world.

Stories are the most powerful marketing tool for schools ... both for good and ill. When parents share about a teacher who went above and beyond to know/love/care for their child, the message will be powerfully positive. The opposite is true ... if a parent is treated rudely by an administrator, the message spread can be damaging to the reputation of the school.

Plato first noted the importance of stories when he said, "Those who tell the stories, rule society." Andrew Fletcher, a Scottish politician, expanded this notion to wrap in the power of the arts over legislation to impact society, saying, "Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws." Stories (and songs) rule the world!

Storytellers - Word of Mouth (WOM)

The best advertising is always positive word of mouth marketing. In fact, it is said that advertising is for companies who don't have a positive word of mouth presence ... when is the last time you saw a Starbucks advertisement on television? This is true also of schools. Schools with strong WOM, spend very little on marketing ... and WOM marketing is free!

Again, WOM can be positive or negative. When parents select a school, it is most often due to positive word of mouth from other parents, and when families leave (especially multiple families in one year), it is often due to negative word of mouth. 

Of course, a quick WOM strategy is social media. Social media posts are fast and free. Parents notice social media posts, especially about schools. If the posts are positive, the positive reputation of the school grows. Imagine if every parent in your school would post one positive thing about your school each month ... what a positive, free marketing strategy. 

In the 21st Century, schools must have an active social media presence, posting something positive each day. Flourishing companies have "social media influencers" in their marketing department; schools should too. Someone on staff needs to wake up each day with the drive to post something each and every day. You have to "win the day" in your market (this means someone has to watch the social media presence of your competitors); does your social media "win the conversation"? When a school has an active social media presence, it is easy for your parents to like, share, or re-post to all their friends/followers ... in today's world, this is an endorsement.

The best WOM marketing is still face-to-face. Most prospective parents realize that social media will post the "wow" of the day, and they'll want to know the "real story" from a current parent. If a parent is an active promoter on social media, they will probably get a DM about the school ... encourage them to take a phone call or grab a cup of coffee to share about their experience. 

High School & College Note -- today, teenagers are more often making the decision about school, and they discount postings by adults or from the official school account. Consider "hiring" student social media influencers to create student-to-student content to reach this audience.

Raving Fans

Blanchard and Bowles in their book titled, Raving Fans (1993), share that "satisfied customers" is not good enough today, flourishing companies (and schools) need "raving fans." Parents (and sometimes grandparents) are the raving fans for schools. Identify who they are ... find them, thank them, equip them, mobilize them!

Every school administrator can list a handful (hopefully more) of raving fans at their school; they often are the Parent Association officers, the classroom volunteers, the ones who are in the front row of every concert or performance, and the ones who are re-posting on social media. They are not just the satisfied customers; they are the ones oozing with excitement about the great things happening at the school. Identify them and thank them for being positive promoters of the school. Words go a long way, so speak with these fans ... make a phone call, send a note, set up a personal visit, or just have a conversation at an event.

In addition to thanking them, equip them. Help them promote the school by giving them school merchandise (remember, they are saving you in the marketing budget!) and positive stories to share. They won't wear what they don't have; they won't share what they don't know ... but raving fans are eager to do both.

Every school has admissions events that are run primarily by school staff. These events are targeting prospective parents, and, of course, they want to meet the administrators, teachers, and staff that will be closely working with their children; however, prospective parents want to hear from other parents. If you infuse a couple raving fan parents into the event, you will "win the event," and hopefully gain a new family. Each school is different, but can a current raving fan parent be "on call" to join a tour, give a follow-up call, or participate in a parent panel. 

Give 'em something to talk about!

Marketers use the phrase "control the message" and say, "Whoever controls the message, controls the masses." That seems too Orwellian to me, but schools should guide the conversation that parents are having by flooding them with positive things happening at the school. The schools that are "winning" the conversation are the ones who are giving their families something to talk about. 

Here are some thoughts on the message (mostly thinking of social media) ...

• Post Frequently and Regularly ... pick a time of day or day of the week that you consistently post to optimize traffic/views (e.g. general social media - 7:00pm, 3:15pm, and 8:41am daily 2024 Research). Try some different times, and find out what works for your school.
• Keep it Short ... think of a meme rather than a state of the school report. The average attention span of millennials (most k-12 parents today) is 12 seconds ... don't blink, Gen Z parents are coming, and their attention span is 8 seconds. 
• Align the Message to What Your Parents Want to Hear ... what is important to your parent community? Student engagement? Care for students? Active learning? Fun? Rigor? Safe environment?
• Make it Fun ... if you can make them smile, they will remember it, and repost. I still hear about the time that we called a snow day with the three principals making snow angels.
• Turn Heads ... while everyone loves cute pictures of students playing, look for the unique activity that is going to catch someone's eye. 
• Educate ... everyone likes to sound smart, so help your parents "be the expert." Equip your school community with current facts from external research or internal surveys. These are best presented in "Did you know?" or Infographics.

Competition in schools is here to stay. Flourishing schools will win the conversation!