Which video format is better in 2019? Traditional horizontal video (16:9) or vertical video (9:16); the latter having found its feet in the last few years largely because of social media and Stories (Instagram Stories, Snapchat Stories, Facebook Stories and so on).

It’s been an interesting argument to watch unfold. Video professionals are holding tight to the values of horizontal, old habits die hard after all, and marketing professionals are now shifting to vertical to reflect changing content consumption habits.

Having a successful marketing strategy largely starts and ends with content. If your content is good, then you are far more likely to get the engagement and reach you desire. If your content is bad, it will inevitably end up being a waste of time. With good content, the question simply becomes when/where should it be posted.

Of course, “good content” is a relatively vague term:

• “Good content” can differ massively from school to school; community to community.

• “Good content” can become bad content very quickly, as trends shift.

• “Good content” can be on Facebook; or Twitter; or Instagram; or Snapchat; or YouTube; or Pinterest; or any other platform, meaning the medium and type of content is not defined.

• “Good content” can be measured in different ways, meaning that knowing what works better is not always so black and white.

With this in mind, it makes sense to be open to as many different forms of content as possible. It does not necessitate using each and every one, that would be close to impossible and almost certainly ineffective, but instead being experimental and ambitious. Trial and error will win out.

The School Radio Station

So how about this for an exciting and most likely to be engaging endeavour...a radio station for the school?

A school radio station can have lots of useful benefits, especially for pupils:

• Inclusion: Radio is a tool for communication. Having a radio run by pupils, for pupils and a wider community, can help build an air of inclusion around the school.

• Confidence: Not everyone is great at being in front of the camera. While video content has its place in school marketing (very much so in fact) it is always beneficial to have #SchoolStories involving all types of pupils from across your school. A radio can be far less intimidating, some kids are natural talkers but can feel stifled by the camera. Even if they are not natural talkers many pupils will still have a view they can express on radio, which can help build their confidence speaking in a more public forum.

• Speaking & Listening: Radio can be a fantastic tool for developing these skills. Working on a radio does require good speaking and listening skills after all!

• Student Voice: The Student Voice is often a very important aspect of a school; having that forum where pupils can have opinions and a say on their education. The school radio can be a perfect place to facilitate this.

• Teamwork: Running a school radio will require dedication and teamwork - valuable traits for pupils to learn at school!

It goes without saying that everyone and their aunt has the ability to start taking good quality pictures, thanks to smartphones. The vast majority of recent smartphone models (for example: Apple iPhone Xs; Samsung Galaxy S9; Huawei Mate 20 Pro; Google Pixel 3 and many more) have fantastic, high quality cameras. Older models still have good cameras too!

This makes it very possible to capture great snaps on the go. Anyone can try their luck as an amateur photographer without the need to lug around an expensive digital camera and an array of lenses.

For schools this means great #SchoolStories can be recorded; to be shared with communities on social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or on websites and parent comms.

But it takes a little knowhow and practice to turn the average pic into a great, highly engaging pic. Here are a few tips to take the perfect photo on your smartphone.

We have already spoken about the impact of podcasts and their continual rise in popularity as highly consumable content. In a previous blog we even looked at education podcasts that would be perfect for school staff to begin listening to and the Top 8 education podcasts around.

But what about schools starting their own podcasts? A school podcast:

• Is relatively easy to do, requiring minimal equipment and a little editing experience.

• Is proven to be a leading form of content, with more people tuning in then ever before.

• Can lead to desirable skills being learnt by pupils at the school, such as project management, confidence, working in a team, and media skills.

• Can help lead CPD experiences for staff at the school.

• Aligns neatly with the fact that more people are tuning into podcasts as a format for learning.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC) are likely to be two terms you have heard a lot of when it comes down to digital marketing. They are both methods you can employ within your content and marketing strategies to drive better reach for your website and online presence.

SEO is how you can get more traffic to your website from “natural” search results on search engines. It requires an understanding of how you can optimise your website, and the content on it, as well as the algorithms popular search engines use, to help your website rank higher on search results. The ultimate goal is for your site to rank number one on Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.

PPC is how you can get more traffic to your website by running ads, which show on search engines, but only pay for if they are clicked. It requires an understanding of keywords (the words and terms people are likely to use when searching for your school, or schools in your area) and how to set up and optimise your adverts.

Both SEO and PPC have an incredibly relevant place within your school marketing, but which one is better? Which one yields a greater return of your investment in both time and money? Let’s review.

SEO

With Instagram’s continual (and considerable) growth, influencer marketing is a current hot topic. In short, influencer marketing is where focus is placed on an influencer or influential people who have an influence over a certain demographic, instead of targeting the demographic itself.

For example, a small fashion chain might look to the likes of Kim Kardashian or Justin Bieber to promote their clothing on Instagram (or other social channels), which will generate incredible traction versus tailored marketing campaigns that simply target a specific demographic. Knowing that a large part of the fashion chain’s core demographic may be fans of Kim or Justin makes this a sensible and effective undertaking.

I’m old enough to remember when hashtags were called pound signs, and we played tic-tac-toe on top of them. ~ Anon

We love #SocialMedia! It is a wonderful representation of the ebbs and flows of the tech-led world in which we live. Right now, it does not feel like there could be any limitations to where it can go and how it can further connect us all.

It has been fascinating to watch how social media has developed in a particularly short period of time, and what trends have stuck since the early days. One such trend that most, if not all, readers here will recognise is the #hashtag.

For years we have witnessed hashtags appearing all across our feeds on our favourite social media platforms, even becoming an accepted part of language today.

With more and more data available to marketers, and the continued refinement of how this data is analysed and sorted (especially with AI), it is becoming easier to understand audiences.

• Who they are.

• What they like.

• Where they live.

• What they do.

But what should schools do with this data? It deserves to be used for marketing and admissions, so how best can we achieve this? We found an interesting article around personalised marketing, and identified key takeaways which form an interesting topic for school marketers to explore.