“Brand is the promise, the big idea, the expectations that reside in each customer’s mind about a product, service or company. Branding is about making an emotional connection.” (Alina Wheeler, Designing Brand Identity)
School owners seem to think that the word ‘Brand’ is a word thrown around by already established giants in the education sector. They wonder why they have to maintain a brand because they never realised they had one to start with. Once you are registered as a school you own a brand, a brand you can make or break.
A brand introduces you before you introduce yourself, like it or not society has a perception about your school. They may not say it to you but they have an ideology about your school thanks to one or two times they have been in contact with a pupil or staff from your school.
They might refer to your school within themselves as :
- “the school with the hummer bus”
- “the school whose students cleaned so&so area”
- “that dirty school”
- “the expensive school”
- “that school that does only maths”
- “that rude school”
- “the school that won so&so competition”
Most times people have certain biased information, it might not be true or whole but they will stick with it and spread the information to their family, friends, and colleagues influencing their opinions about you. As a School Owner your job is to steer them away from their predispositions and towards the idea you want them to have about your school.
Ask Yourself “what is the narrative? What are they (parents and students) saying about me?” Then you proceed to change it if need be.
For instance a school known as the “mathematics school” will lose out on parents who have art and literary inclined children. When a school can perceive societies’ perception of their brand, they can change it. The “mathematics” school mentioned above can show their artistic side as well, they can participate in or organise Literary and Art competitions or simply showoff pupils’ artwork at intervals to show parents that they are more than just a subject/course as they offer a whole and grounded education.
Parents appreciate schoolwork but are also interested in the building of social and communication skills. Plan mini events amongst your students, encourage them to communicate and understand feelings and societal circumstances, share these activities and their positive results on Social Media.
Always Share
Many schools make the mistake of under-sharing, understand that the Parent is the customer and the child is the consumer. Let parents see every milestone, you may think it is little but parents value communication and involvement. As you show your activities and events other members of society also see and form and share their opinions of your school.
Communication Strategy
Create a content plan as every interaction between your school and society must be strategic. Learn to persistently tell a story about positive happenings in your school. Observe and chart your engagement, discern the peak periods and ensure that posts/newsletters are always sent out during such periods.
Stay in Control
Words travel fast so you have to act faster. Always remember that you are the narrator, govern the stories in circulation about your school.
Ensure you (or your chosen 3rd party) creates the path the story takes. Once you govern the story you control the world’s knowledge of your school, ensure you vet every story or engagement concerning your school before it goes out to the world.
Your school must take action to remain visible and relevant to parents and prospective parents some of these methods are free and easy to maintain. Remember that consistency is everything in maintaining a brand.
BRANDING PRACTICES EVERY SCHOOL SHOULD PRACTICE:
- Participate in relevant seminars, conferences and fairs within the educational sector
- Release engaging newsletters concerning issues relevant to parents.
- Initiate and enter awards programs and competitions.
- Personalised voice and style, maintain a unique mode of communicating with your parents. Do you maintain a casual scene at school? Keep communication laid back and casual then, if that is not the case keep communication serious and formal.
Photo Credit: Iconfinder
For instance a Creche or Preschool might be expected by parents to sound Casual and nurturing as they care for toddlers.
- Create & join affiliations with other schools with similar causes, beliefs and vision. You can partner up with other schools on a project, this will enable a larger audience discover your school e.g A breast cancer awareness campaign .
- Strong and persistent social media engagement. As said earlier consistency is key when dealing with a brand.
- Ensure that your posts are relevant, captivating and targeted at the right audience.
ESSENTIAL BRANDING TOOLS EVERY SCHOOL MUST HAVE:
Uniforms
Colors
Crest
School Buses
Social Media Pages
Books and Notepads
Letterheads
Branded Envelopes
Schools can also add these to improve and further spread awareness about their brand:
Bumper Stickers
Coasters and Cups
Brooch Pins
Calendars and many more
Join us next week where we will determine your level of branding, teach you to discern your brand perception and alter negative / biased concepts parents have about your school.
SchoolsCompass, Always bringing you good tidings, branding strategies and enrolment opportunities.
