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!

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.

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.

Are you a school marketer who runs campaigns on Facebook but is not sure what all the jargon means? If the answer is yes, then this blog is for you! 

We all know that staying on top of all the new metrics Facebook throws at us on a weekly basis is hard, especially when you come from traditional marketing. This is exactly why we wrote this blog, to help you navigate the world of Facebook Ads Manager.

Amidst the noise of Twitter, it can be difficult to find and analyse the progress of your social channel when it comes to engagement, quality and overall performance of Tweets.

You may be a master of hashtags, the leader of media or the emperor of engagement, but to many people, it boils down to the numbers. This is the only way we can truly learn from our history of Tweets what worked well and what wasn’t perhaps as effective as we thought - all to be able to tell the next best #SchoolStories.

Congratulations to all of our #SocialAdvent 2020 daily winners. It was the biggest and best year we have ever had, and we want to thank all the participants who shared their #SchoolStories to make it such a fun experience!

We can’t think of anything else you would rather be doing throughout December than participating in #SocialAdvent, but if you find yourself a bit too busy to post (or you just want to be super organised!) then these tools will be able to help with scheduling your posts to go out at whatever time you choose.

Luckily we have all the details…

Of all the business processes, marketing has probably changed the most over the last 100 years. The famous 4Ps model of 1960 hardly features on the starting line for the marketers of today who can personalise communications with the click of a button. But evolutions in thought and technology mean nothing if the people sitting behind the desk implementing strategy don’t have the knowledge and desire to improve their own skills.

Without getting back in the classroom themselves, where can #SchoolMarketers go to quench their thirst for knowledge? 

LISTEN TO PODCASTS

Podcasts have become every marketer’s best friend. Not only are they a great channel for marketers to engage audiences, but they’re also a fantastic way to get creative ideas. Better still, you can tune in on the commute, in the bath or even whilst clearing the email inbox on a chilled Friday afternoon.the lowdown on new technology, hear from thought-leaders and be inspired with 

• Method in the Madness

  Delving into design and leadership, Method in the Madness is a favourite of our Creative Director, Tim. Some of the world’s most renowned marketing and creative leaders talk about their creative process in a refreshingly honest and open way - perfect to help your planning for the new school year.
  

• Online Marketing Made Easy

  This straight-talking pod comes highly recommended from our social team. Covering everything from starting a business, increasing email subscribers and developing full-blown digital strategies, this podcast has you covered.
  

• The Interactive Schools Podcast

  Where better to go for #SchoolMarketing than the experts themselves?! Let our team take you through the ins and outs of social media.

READ A BOOK (REMEMBER THOSE?!)

Marketers are busy people, which is why blogs have become the go-to place for strategic and creative insight. However, we shouldn’t overlook the role of books in personal development. A good book can provide detail, tangible examples and even question the reader’s own practice, which is something digital content can often miss. 

• Contagious by Jonah Berger

  Schools thrive on word of mouth recommendations and Contagious really helps the creative juices to flow. Ben, our marketing manager, read Contagious cover-to-cover in a day and still refers to it when trying to solve those problems that need a bit of extra inspiration!
  

• Ogilvy on Advertising

  Our very own Dan Price gave this book five stars, but he wasn’t alone! Most of the team have read this one and, even though it was written nearly 40 years ago, still feels fresh and relevant to the modern marketer.
  

TAKE AN ONLINE COURSE ‍

Online courses and webinars provide a fantastic opportunity to get practical advice on a range of topics. Interactive Schools’ #WednesdayWebinar series attracts a great crowd of committed marketers who are eager to improve their understanding of social media, creative strategy, analytics and everything in between. Whether there’s a certificate on offer or just a pat on the back, engaging with more formal learning is a fantastic way to ensure your school is ahead of the game. 

• Google Digital Garage

  Packed full of fantastic courses, Google’s Digital Garage is a great way for marketers to upskill in digital marketing, leadership and strategy. Members of the Interactive Schools team can regularly be found taking a quick course over lunch to inspire them for the afternoon!
  

• #WednesdayWebinar

  Our #WednesdayWebinar series is a fantastic way for our clients to stay ahead of the game in school marketing. Our clients choose the topics and we do our very best to help out.
  

ATTEND A CONFERENCE

Conferences are a great way to find out what leading marketers are up to in their own organisations. As well as hearing from real experts, it’s a chance to meet like-minded people and meet companies with solutions that can help to make your working life easier. In the lockdown world, conferences have gone digital and the team at Interactive Schools have put together an event on Thursday 25th June for those #SchoolMarketers who need some inspiration ahead of the new school year.

Our #PowerUpConference features experts from leading US enrollment organisations, marketers and Principals from top independent schools on both sides of the Atlantic and Interactive Schools’ very own creative strategists.

• Peter Baron - Chief Member Relations Officer, Enrollment Management Association

• Lauren Castagnola - Director of Communications & Community Relations, Westover School

• Jillian Conway, Associate Director of Marketing Communications, Pine Crest School

• Emily Cretella - Marketing Strategist & Storyteller, Cursive Content

• Gregg Ledbetter - Head of Enrollment, Pulaski Academy

• Vivien Valenzuela Mallick - Director of Admission Operations, Phillips Academy (Andover)

• Rick Newberry - President, Enrollment Catalyst

• Rob Norman - Best Boy, InspirED School Marketers

• David Tuttle - Director of Enrollment Management, Westover School, & President of the Board of Directors, Small Boarding Schools Association

• Chris Wheeler - Principal, Monkton Combe School

The conference is limited to 100 delegates, so sign up now!

Community engagement is one of the most important metrics when measuring success of your #ContentStrategy and one which needs a lot more focus. At a time of distance learning, parent engagement is key to student retention and keeping those important stakeholders as happy as Larry! 

A common complaint from parents is that schools can be too reactive with engagement and comms and not proactive enough, so how can we improve this with some simple community engagement ideas? 

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