It's easy to get overwhelmed by the massive scale of big projects, especially when smaller, easier tasks give us those immediate and gratifying results.
And going from a “reactive” approach, where you’re constantly putting out fires, to a proactive mindset, where every minute invested in marketing ideas for your school is a step toward a better future, is no small feat.
Like planting a garden, the initial effort requires patience, but the beauty it provides in the years to come is worth the labor.
What are those projects? Let’s pause and take a moment or two to consider how we can invest our time now to reduce stress and make long-term gains—which makes every effort today completely worth it.
1. School Blogging
Why It Takes Time: Crafting a great blog means digging deep, and regularly posting and writing isn't a quick task! Even with the help of generative AI, writing a blog post requires research to ensure the content is both accurate and relevant. It’s even more challenging to write on a regular weekly or (even monthly) basis.
Why It's Worth It: Despite the effort, blogging as part of your inbound marketing is one of the best marketing strategies for schools. Proctor Academy’s “The Buzz” is a great example of the regular posts that can establish your school as a leader in education and provide a ton of valuable content that can be referenced for years.
Moreover, blogs draw organic traffic to your school's website, elevating its visibility and reach because they create mountains of content to fuel your search engine optimization strategy, social media posts, newsletters, and more.
2. Email Drip Campaigns
Why It Takes Time: Emails need to feel personal, and creating effective and intricate email campaigns requires a deep understanding of your audience. This means segmenting the email workflows to ensure the content is personalized and resonates with the recipient's specific needs and interests at the right time.
Creating a grouping of email workflows can take time at first, and this involves designing compelling content and encouraging calls to action, like attending an event or making a donation, just as The Woods Academy has done so well.
Why It's Worth It: The return on investment for this project is huge because once the workflows are set live, it all happens automatically in the background. Regular communication keeps your school top-of-mind for families or alumni, and over time, this nurtures these relationships.
For prospective families, it can lead to new enrollment — for alumni and your current parents, it can mean more engagement.
3. Optimizing Your School's SEO
Why It Takes Time: Search engine optimization (SEO) is technically an ongoing, never-ending process. You should always tweak your website, update content, and keep tabs on what topics folks are searching for to make sure your school reaches the top of those important search results.
The commitment to an SEO strategy is not just about drawing traffic but about ensuring your school appears prominently when local parents search for options.
It starts with comprehensive keyword research and an analysis of what competitors are doing. Ongoing adjustments to your school’s website, like updating meta-tags, headers, and internal links, are always needed to keep up with the ever-evolving search algorithms.
Why It's Worth It: Being on top of search results means more local families find you when they're looking for schools. The first result in Google’s organic search results has a click-through rate of 27.6%, on average, and the number one organic result is ten times more likely to receive a click than a page in the tenth spot.
Keeping content fresh and updated not only provides a better user experience, but fresh content gives users the best impression of who you are, and that builds trust and interest, especially in the eyes of Google's algorithms.
4. Retargeting Ad Campaigns
Why It Takes Time: One-time interactions rarely lead to immediate conversions, and that's where retargeting steps in. Retargeting is all about subtle reminders, but getting these ads just right takes effort. The design and monitoring of these campaigns demand time and expertise, but the payoff is HUGE.
Why It's Worth It: By segmenting audiences based on their persona and crafting ads tailored to these behaviors, your school can re-engage those who've shown interest. These little reminders are powerful, and retargeted ads ensure your school stays top-of-mind for potential students or parents. That can ultimately lead to increasing enrollment rates, promoting your school, or just staying connected. More so, it ensures a higher return on advertising spend, making the most of every marketing channel and dollar.
5. Collecting Testimonials and Profiles
Why It Takes Time: Collecting and presenting testimonials and case studies is a lengthy process. It means spending time conducting in-depth interviews, gathering nuanced information, and then organizing and presenting these stories in your marketing materials in a way that feels both authentic and engaging.
Why It's Worth It: Nothing sells your school better than real success stories. These testimonials show prospective families the magic you create every day.
As seen on La Salle College High School’s profiles page, these stories cement the reputation as a place where students thrive. When they’re done well, they can have a long shelf life and provide tangible evidence of your school's impact.
6. Starting a School Podcast
Why It Takes Time: Podcasting involves planning topics, recording clear sound, and, often, bringing in exciting guests for a meaningful conversation. Each episode is a mini-project of its own. However, creating a quality podcast involves extensive planning, from deciding episode content to the actual recording and post-production processes. Promoting episodes to ensure they reach the desired audience is another time-consuming layer.
Why It's Worth It: Podcasts let our voices travel far and wide, and they position your school or district as a knowledge hub and create a loyal band of listeners. By offering insights and varied perspectives, your school can position itself as a thought leader.
Just like Lipscomb Academy has done with its "Mustangs Unbridled" podcast over time, this draws a dedicated listener base with the school at its epicenter.
7. Redesigning Your School's Website
Why It Takes Time: Redesigning a website isn't just about slapping on a new coat of digital paint. It's a thorough process, from understanding user needs to creating wireframing layouts and creating a great user experience that tells a compelling story.
You'll spend hours ensuring every button, image, and piece of text aligns with your school's brand and mission. And that's before you dive into the complexities of the feedback, user training, and preparing new content.
Keep Reading: How to Calculate the ROI of a School Website Redesign
Why It's Worth It: Your website often gives prospective students and parents the first impression of your school and is one of the best investments your school could make. A beautiful, intuitive, and informative website not only elevates your school's image but also simplifies user journeys, leading to more inquiries, visits, or enrollments.
It was a ten-month process, but since the launch of Canford School's award-winning website, the school has seen 400 Open Morning bookings, as well as some impressive site analytics within the first six months, including,
- 186,000 page views, some 5,000 higher than before
- There was a surge in web traffic to the Admissions page, with 29,000 direct entries
- A consistent 93% engagement with organic and direct search traffic
In the long run, a well-structured website becomes a dependable and efficient platform that showcases the best your school offers.
Key Takeaways
The hardest part is starting, but by comparison, the time your school and districts spent on these tasks can lay the groundwork for long-term success. Think of these ideas as an investment, and like nurturing a garden, the efforts put in today blossom into results you'll enjoy again and again.
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.