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4 Steps to Align Marketing with Your District's Strategic Plan
Connor Gleason

Strategic plans often end up as thick binders gathering dust on a shelf, full of lofty goals, spreadsheets, and detailed timelines that few remember to follow.

Instead, what if your district’s strategic plan was a tool to connect with your community, boost district enrollment, and showcase everything your schools have to offer?

A strategic plan outlines where your school district wants to go, but without effective marketing, that plan might not reach the people who can help make it a reality.

Marketing plays a crucial role in promoting your school district's strategic plan to the community so that everyone understands your goals, like boosting enrollment and supporting community engagement.

Furthermore, marketing tells your district’s story in a way that resonates with those who matter most—your students, parents, staff, and community members—can bring your school district's strategic planning process to life, making sure it doesn’t just exist on paper but becomes a roadmap for success.

Here are four tips to get your marketing efforts aligned with your district’s strategic plan.

Step 1: Identify Your Key Audiences

Where are those key audiences in your strategic priorities?

Understanding who you need to communicate with is essential. Traditionally, these groups include current students and their families, staff, and local community members. However, there is another audience to consider: prospective families—parents who are thinking about enrolling their children but haven't yet decided. This group has grown, particularly after the enrollment declines many districts experienced during the pandemic.

Start by asking yourself: 

  • Who makes up our audience? 
  • How are we defining them? 
  • How do we want to reach them?

Once you’ve identified these audiences, you need to understand their needs, preferences, and communication habits. For example, prospective parents may look at factors like academic performance, after-school activities, and the school environment when choosing a school.

  • How do you rank these key audiences? 
  • Who do you want to speak to/reach the most?

Determine the most effective ways to reach these different stakeholder groups. Emails and newsletters might be ideal for current parents and students, but to attract new families, platforms like social media and a well-optimized website can highlight your school's strengths, student achievements, and unique programs.

Also, consider timing. Different campaigns may be more effective at specific times of the year. Marketing efforts targeting prospective parents might increase before enrollment periods and major school events.

Ask yourself, "What audiences are we trying to reach with each part of our strategic plan?" Make sure you have at least one of those key audiences for each piece of your strategic plan to tailor your work to the people that you're really trying to reach.

sample strategic plan and key audiences

Step 2: Identify SMART Ways to Market Your Strategic Plan to Your Key Audiences

SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. It’s a framework that can help you and your team create clear, carefully planned, and easy-to-track marketing goals.

  • Specific: Goals should be clear and specific, so there’s no room for multiple interpretations. For instance, rather than saying "improve digital engagement," specify "increase social media engagement by 20% over six months."
  • Measurable: Define how success will be measured so you can track progress, see what's working, and adjust as needed. Use metrics like website traffic, social media engagement, or enrollment inquiries.
  • Achievable: Set challenging but achievable goals. Consider your team’s skills, available resources, and other responsibilities.
  • Relevant: Ensure your goals align with your district's mission, vision, and strategic plan.
  • Timely: Set deadlines for your goals to create a sense of urgency and keep your team on track.

Example Goal:

  • Enhance digital marketing strategies to increase local student enrollment by 3% by May 31st of the next school year.
     
  • This can be supported by revamping the district website by the start of the school year, launching monthly social media campaigns featuring student and teacher success stories, and hosting a bi-monthly virtual speaker series.
     
  • Progress will be measured through website analytics, social media metrics, and enrollment inquiries, with quarterly reviews to make adjustments based on performance data.

district marketing 101 ebook

More SMART Goal Examples:

  • Update district website content at least five times per month to ensure refreshed and updated content is available for the community.
  • Highlight increasing academic successes at high schools, including graduation rates and college acceptance rates. 
  • Feature 2-year or vocational post-high school pathways through the website or social media at least once every quarter.
  • Increase transparency on district community functions, such as Board Meetings and Bond and Levy proceedings, by posting on website and social media monthly.
  • [Internal Goal] All Communications Department employees will complete 5+ hours of professional development directly related to their job each school year.

Crafting these goals might feel overwhelming, but they don’t have to be set all at once. District communication offices often just need to be more proactive than reactive. Start small and build gradually, understanding that the "T" in SMART—timely—is essential.

Community Consolidated School District 15 plan

Community Consolidated School District 15 clearly outlines its strategic plan’s goal with a comprehensive page that includes its priorities by 2027.

Step 3: Align Marketing Goals with Broader Strategic Objectives

Make sure they’re connected!

Every marketing goal should relate to the broader objectives of your strategic plan. If a goal doesn’t align, consider whether it should be a priority. Stay focused on goals that support the strategic plan and shift the efforts that would be wasted on projects that don’t contribute to the district's long-term vision.

Use the strategic plan to guide your team’s work and set boundaries for your workload. Create a spreadsheet listing every major project, and review these with your team to double-check that it aligns with your strategic goal. Then, prioritize tasks and make sure every effort supports your district’s larger mission.

sample strategic plan and goals

Once you have created a series of SMART marketing goals for your district, using a check chart like this one is a great way to visually confirm that your goals are aligned with the broader plan and serve as a reference point for your team.

Step 4: Use the Strategic Plan to Guide All of Your Work

The strategic plan should be a guide for what you do, but it’s also a tool to define what you won’t do. Creating boundaries on your team's workload ensures you're not overwhelmed by tasks that don’t contribute to your larger objectives.

When facing decisions about new projects or initiatives, return to your strategic plan. Ask if the project supports the district's goals. If it doesn’t, consider whether it’s worth the time and effort.
By ensuring that every project and task directly ties back to the strategic planning, your school district can stay focused, use resources wisely, and contribute to the shared vision.

Key Takeaway

Start by identifying your key audiences, setting SMART goals, aligning those goals with broader objectives, and using your strategic plan as a guide for all your work. With that, you create a clear path forward that resonates with your community. Remember, effective marketing keeps everyone focused on what matters most—achieving the district’s vision. As you put these tips into practice, you’ll inspire action, support, and commitment from all those involved in your district's success.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Connor has spent the last decade within the field of marketing and communications, working with independent schools and colleges throughout New England. As Finalsite’s Senior Content Marketing Manager, Connor plans and executes marketing strategies and digital content across the web. A former photojournalist, he has a passion for digital media, storytelling, coffee, and creating content that connects.


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