Have you noticed that unannounced Twitter security updates are causing your account/s to be suspended? This can be very frustrating, especially in a time where communication and community engagement is more important than ever. We have put together steps on how to unlock your suspended Twitter accounts. It may not be initially apparent that your account is suspended, until you try to carry out an action, like following another account, Tweeting, or even accessing your personal information!

…and as always, Interactive Schools is on the ball with bringing you an annual set of exciting challenges to get involved in.

This year, #SocialAdvent has been rebranded! Thank you for all of your lovely feedback over the past few years - it’s great to hear about all of the fun that you have taking part in this annual event. However, we also recognise that 25 challenges requires a lot of attention over a busy period. With that in mind, we are introducing the all new…

… drumroll please ...

Part 1 of our 2-part blog post showed how to spot the differences between the Millennials, Gen Z, and Generation Alpha.

Now, let’s see how one school - Pine Crest, the Pre-K-12th-grade school in Florida - reaches different age groups where they are.

Schools are targeting Millennials and Generation Z more and more. Makes sense, right? They’re parents and older students!

But right behind them is Generation Alpha, born starting in 2010.

This emerging generation will soon outnumber the Baby Boomers. Many of them will live into the 22nd century.

What does this mean for schools?

Well, the Alpha Gen is growing up with smart-everything. So even if these children are not in your marketing sights right now, they can reveal coming trends.

Studies show that new technology is first adopted by the youngest generations. Then, their elders jump aboard.

Teens were the early adopters of photo filters and social media stories. Now adults use both - much to their kids’ occasional embarrassment! Schools do, too, of course, in their digital storytelling.

And, take note: these children already have more influence in the admissions process.

Although the oldest AlphaGener is no older than 11, we can already spot how they differ from their parents and older siblings - the Millennials and Gen Z.

Before schools can engage with the Alpha Gen, we must understand them. And the ways marketing and communications are shifting with their ascendancy.

So, let's spot the differences between these three generations. Then, let's explore ways to attract this fully-digitized generation’s attention.

Finally, we'll see how one school - Pine Crest, the PK-12 day school in Florida - embraces a future-thinking model that creates an atmosphere of innovation in the classroom and in their marketing.

At Interactive Schools we promote telling your #SchoolStories in as many ways as possible, to share both accomplishments and daily life at your school with existing and prospective families. These #SchoolStories can be told in so many different ways: a school podcast, a blog, a video or even just a simple tweet. These awards celebrate this storytelling from schools, and how well they are able to promote their authenticity and school values within them, whilst also sparking an emotional connection.

We received almost 1000 entries from schools across the globe (highlighted below!) so our judging panel had their work cut out. Eventually the winners were decided on, and you can see these award-winning #SchoolStories below!

Changes are coming to the Google Algorithm and Interactive Schools are on hand with a plan to address these! 

We’re also here to offer a brief explanation as to what’s changing and how your website will be impacted. The key areas to be noted are:

Google Badging

Google has stated that by next year, they will introduce a visual indicator to show within search results which pages meet their page experience specifications. These will include Accelerated Mobile Page (AMP) icons as well as slow and mobile-friendly labels. While Google is yet to announce the shape, size, and position of such indicators, there is a good chance that users will choose to view sites with positive icons over others. It’s also a mark of how seriously Google are taking their forthcoming page experience guidelines. 

Mobile-first design

Google will be indexing and grading from mobile sites exclusively. This means website layout should be fairly simple and the site navigation optimized for a mobile user experience. Both of these are features Interactive Schools strives to provide on all client sites.

SEM / Ads

Ads will now appear as a regular search result.

Mixed sentence length

The most effective webpage content will consist of a mix of long sentences and short sentences in text.

Long tail keywords

Search results will focus on a batch of keywords in one sentence rather than a single keyword in order to provide the most relevant information to users. It’s important to remain cautious and not spam keywords as this has the opposite effect and negatively affects SEO.

Consistent publication of engaging content

Google tests new content to see if it responds well to the search intent of the keywords inputted. If the searchers’ behaviour indicates that they’re getting their questions answered through your content, your page will be promoted in the search results list. As a general rule, Google’s AI prizes thought leadership content produced at least twice per week.

Niche expertise

Being a niche expert means having a hub of 10+ authoritative pages revolving around the same “nucleus” keyword. For example, the keyword “crm software” could be the nucleus keyword for a CRM company which has industry landing pages targeting “crm software for small business” “crm software for real estate” and “crm software for manufacturing”; and FAQ landing pages targeting “crm software pricing” “crm software advantages” and “best crm software 2021”. The consistency of the nucleus keyword across the pages of the website creates a kind of magnetism: the site attracts traffic from any Google search containing the nucleus keyword. 

Meta tags

Consistent and relevant keyword batch usage in your title tag should contain relevant multiple keywords. Adjectives around a keyword are important for readability.

YouTube and video

YouTube is the 2nd most popular search engine globally. Increasing the quantity of video footage in relation to your school and exposure on the platform is ideal for boosting SEO.

Dwell time

Google also values the amount of time users spend on your pages, prioritising sites with higher usage time in search results. For this reason it’s important to look at increasing the amount of time users spend on your website.

SHOWING OFF YOUR SCHOOL IS A MULTI-CHANNEL AFFAIR

Long gone are the days of focusing on your website to do the hard selling work in the hope that it alone will encourage your parents onto the school campus. Promptly followed by them signing on the dotted line and committing 1000's upon 1000’s of their well earned money to your school for the pleasure of educating their bundle of joy.

Channels and humans (or parents as we like to call them) have become far more complicated and varied, evolving far beyond our hopes that a simple website and a visit will seal the deal.

Parents need to be nurtured and reminded every step of their journey before they finally part with their cash (and even after that they want incredible experiences that reassure them the investment they made in your school was a winner!).

Budgeting

When clients ask how much they should be spending on paid social campaigns, the answer is that there are no set results that any budget can guarantee, and campaigns will consist of trial and error. That being said, after you start running campaigns you will be able to see how many results you are achieving depending on spend. You can then start to work on creating personalised benchmarks which you can use to inform future campaigns.

In the beginning, it is best to work with a lower budget so that you can see what copy and creative assets give the best response. Once you have started to see results, you can invest more budget into optimised campaigns so that you can ensure you are spending money most effectively.

YOUR WEBSITE SHOULD REFLECT YOUR BRAND…

You know this, right? Of course, you do!

Then why does your website look like everyone else’s? Where is your brand message that jumps off the screen confidently showing why you are different and better than the rest?

If you start just by looking at a school website homepage, it’s surprising how many of you fall into one of two user flow traps.

Welcome to the first instalment of our ‘How to Run a Successful Social Ad Campaign’ blog series where we provide a whistle stop tour of the most crucial information you need to know before you can start advertising on social media.

Social ad campaigns aren’t an exact science. What will work amazingly for some schools will provide few results for others, so it’s hugely important to base your initial decisions off of detailed data analysis, and ensure you are constantly optimising your campaign through ongoing results analysis. The first part of this blog series focuses on selecting which platform to run your activity on and what your campaign objectives should be.