why is school branding important?
Recruitment season is approaching and schools should be utilizing various forms of media and communication resources to attract potential students for the upcoming year. Amongst other things, enrollment impacts the amount of funding schools receive. It is imperative that schools' take time to create branding that reflects their school culture as well as their achievements. A potential families' first point of contact is the school website and many schools do not take the time to update websites or social media platforms to portray their schools as THE place parents or guardians would want to send their children.
In the hullabaloos of the school year it is easy to neglect and forget aesthetics is a precursor to academics when it comes to CHOOSING a school simply because it is what people experience first before they ever walk into your school. Most schools that rank high academically reflect that level of excellence on the platforms they are REPRESENTED on. This is something that can be leveraged at whatever level your school is performing at academically and serves the purposes of not only marketing your school but creating buy-in for your school's culture.
One of our PSM schools, McMeen coined the slogan "Our School, Our Way." We wanted the students, faculty and community to believe and understand that they have ownership in the school because it is THEIR school and they should be invested in and take ownership of it. From something as simple as keeping the school clean to how we deal with the whole child socially, emotionally and physically, we encourage educators and families to do the work together. That is the culture PSM aims to create but it didn't start that way. #ThisIsMyMcMeen is important because it reminds everyone that this is a TEAM effort and it reflects how we want everyone to behave and treat others. When you're thinking about how you want to brand your school, include the vision and the things you want to see or need to happen in your school and come up with catchy ways to phrase and share those things.
As families are shopping for schools, they will not just be attracted to proximity factors but the overall package. Below I have offered some tips to get your school brand going:
-Keep the school website up to date and relevant. The worse thing is having someone visit your website but leave because its difficult to navigate, plugins are expired or there is incorrect or wrong information.
-Utilize social media to brag on your school! Everyone uses social media to highlight what's going on their lives. Individual schools should do this as well. Keep it fun and keep it consistent to the overall vision of the school. (School colors, logos, themes...etc)
-Create school swag. People love to represent what they are a part of. Nothing says I love my school more than rocking the gear. It also provides free promo for your school to the outside world.
Cohesion across every platform in language, graphics, and theme, makes your school memorable. Strive to present a united front in themes with every item that comes from your school.
Within your school district there are many schools and I believe they should be highlighted to share their uniqueness and specialties so that children and families have the opportunity to be in a learning community where they share values and goals. Research the district resources available to you to keep your sites updated as well as free graphic creation content like Canva or other apps for social media. Branding matters even on the school level and we should be invested in every families complete experience of our schools.