Do you regularly Google your school? Do you wonder why your school appears lower down the list than other schools in the area? It’s easy to get lost and be scared of acronyms such as SERP or SEO, but there are some simple steps you could take RIGHT NOW to be on the road to better search rankings.

Let’s start with SERP

SERP is just a fancy acronym for Search Engine Results Page. When you input a keyword or a phrase into a search engine (e.g. Google), the engine searches for the most relevant content that is created just for you, based on your browser history, social setting and location. You will notice two types of content come up; organic and paid results, along with a variety of features such as shopping results, knowledge graphs or reviews.

‘Organic’ results are pages that are shown to you due to the search engine’s algorithm based on your query. On the other hand, paid results are basically advertisements that the website owners have paid for that will only show up if their chosen keywords match your query. The sad reality is that if your school website does not come up on the first page of Google Search, you will receive fewer visitors.

Many schools have been in touch with us about how to improve their marketing efforts in one simple step. The answer is simple: hire a Digital Storyteller. With digital storytelling still being a relatively new concept, you could be forgiven for being a little confused about what it is or how it could benefit your school and your pupils.

However, it has grown in significance as digital technologies have evolved at an incredible rate. Now, as social media impacts most facets of our lives, the ideals and desires of good digital storytelling are larger than ever. Hiring a Digital Storyteller (DS) is something to take under serious consideration.

Social media is an ever-changing world in which trends move on quickly. There is always a danger of being left behind if we do not keep up-to-date with the latest changes in the world of all things social. Make sure to sign up to our #SchoolBytes newsletter and follow us on Twitter to receive your weekly dose of school marketing tips straight to your inbox.

“Posting nice content on social media alone is outdated as the black and white TV, keying into current trends, trending hashtags, searchable keywords and share-ability are the new social currency” - Jerry Oche

Does your school make use of the mighty hashtag (#)? We wrote a blog on the power of the hashtag and are strong believers in this powerful symbol!

Not only do hashtags play a huge role in categorising content, but there are also mighty hashtags out there to include in your #ContentStrategy. These can easily be scheduled in for every day at the start of the week, allowing you to sit back and watch the engagement roll in!

Here are some of the top, easy hashtags to get your school involved with:

So, you’ve set up your fresh social media accounts and you’re ready to go. This easy guide will take you through step 1 of #DigitalJedi training to become a #SocialPadawan.

This fight is set for 5 rounds, our contenders are:

Despite several public backlashes in recent times, Facebook remains to be the world's largest social media platform, with an astounding 2.38 BILLION monthly active users as of 2019.

With that many eyes on Facebook, the advertising opportunities make the platform one of the biggest shop windows in the world.  Using Facebook for paid advertising is not only highly targetable, but is also a cost effective and trackable method to get users onto your website.

Haven’t used Facebook ads as part of your school marketing before? No problem! Let’s start with the what and why...

What is a Facebook ad?

• Posts that a business has paid Facebook to show to a targeted user based on information provided by a user’s Facebook account. 

• A user could be targeted for a number of reasons.  It could be age, gender, location, and even interests. 

Why should my school pay for advertising on Facebook when I can post on my page for free?

• Posting organically (non-paid) is limited to the people that already know about you and their friends. Paid advertising allows you to reach a significant amount of new people, that are targeted specifically by their demographics and interests. 

• Advertising on Facebook doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. It is a much more cost-effective marketing channel than more traditional approaches.  Bare in mind a higher budget will result in higher click-through rates to your website, but a budget of £250-£300 for a four week campaign can be successful. 

What could my school advertise on Facebook? 

• Open days and events 

• Public events

• Staff Vacancies

• Overall awareness campaign of your school

Let’s get started with creating a great Facebook ad campaign in five steps! This example is running a campaign for an Open Day: 

1. Optimise your website for the campaign

Before setting up an ad, there’s a little bit of ground work to optimise your website for the campaign. Humans are naturally impatient and will leave the website if they can’t find what they’re looking for, so ensure the landing page is highly engaging with clear information and calls to action. 

Use the calendar for event itineraries and booking forms. Any booking forms should be as simple as possible, embedded onto your website and redirect to a thankyou page on submission to make completions trackable.

E.g. www.yourschoolwebsite.com/open-day/thank-you

2. Set up your campaign within Facebook ads Manager

Despite several public backlashes in recent times, Facebook remains to be the world's largest social media platform, with an astounding 2.38 BILLION monthly active users as of 2019.