How to Market Your School

Johanna M. Lockhart

doi:10.5771/9781607097709

Summary

Increased competition, declining resources, changing demographics, news media scrutiny, and the importance of public perceptions are reasons why schools and school districts need an effective marketing program. However, even school and district administrators who recognize the importance of marketing often feel unprepared to initiate and maintain a strategic marketing effort. How to Market Your School is a comprehensive guide that provides school administrators with tools to help them create, implement, and maintain a successful marketing program. Topics covered include developing a marketing strategy, marketing research, communications, media relations, building beneficial partnerships, public relations, and fund raising. Although written for public school administrators, the book is equally applicable to private and charter schools.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2010
ISBN-Print: 978-1-60709-768-6
ISBN-Online: 978-1-60709-770-9
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 245
Product type: Book Titles

1. Table of Contents No access
2. Acknowledgments No access
3. Preface No access
4. Introduction No access
1. What School Marketing Is and What It is Not No access
2. Why is Marketing Your School Important? No access
1. Develop the Best Product or Service You Can No access
2. Building a Winning Marketing Team No access
3. Goals, Objectives, and Strategies No access
4. Smart Goals No access
5. Know Thyself No access
6. Who is Your Competition? No access
7. Being Different Makes a Difference No access
8. Take a Position No access
9. What's Your Mission? No access
10. Words to Live By No access
11. Always Have a Plan No access
12. A Case Study: Riverside High School No access
Success Story: John J. Herrera Elementary: Marketing Makes a Difference No access Pages 43 - 48
1. Who Are Your Constituencies and What Are They Thinking? No access
2. Setting Research Objectives No access
3. What You Need May be a Click Away No access
4. Use Interviews and Focus Groups for Depth and Discovery No access
5. Use Surveys to Reach Larger Groups No access
6. Ask the Right Questions in the Right Way No access
7. Creating Good Instruments No access
8. Pre-survey Communication No access
9. Timing May Not be Everything, But It Is Important No access
10. Is It Legal? No access
11. Survey Warnings No access
12. When to Get Help No access
13. Data-driven Marketing No access
1. Understanding the Communication Process No access
2. Choose Your Words Carefully No access
3. It's All about the Receiver No access
4. Effective Communication Is Two-way No access
5. The Ostrich Syndrome No access
6. Mixed Messages, Mixed Results No access
7. The Value of One-on-One Communication No access
8. Clearing the Hurdles to Effective Communication No access
9. Logos—Pathos—Ethos No access
10. Let Your Audience Fill in the Blanks No access
11. Making an Impression No access
12. Something is Not Always Better than Nothing No access
13. Tempt Readers to Look Inside No access
14. Wifm? No access
15. Keep the Reader Moving No access
16. Give Audiences a Reason to Take Action, Then Tell Them How No access
17. Imagery Creates Interest No access
18. The Language of Color No access
19. Repetition Creates Unity No access
20. Contrast Creates Interest No access
21. Repeat Your Message in Multiple Ways No access
22. Collect the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly No access
23. Taglines and Slogans No access
24. Creating a Logo No access
25. Annual Reports No access
26. Testimonials Are Marketing Gold No access
27. Fax More than Just a Cover Sheet No access
28. Newsletters Should be Newsy No access
29. Are You Sure They Are Reading It? No access
30. Be "Presentable" in the Community No access
31. Dispelling Public School Myths No access
32. All Points of Contact Should be Positive No access
33. Key Communicators Are Key Channels No access
1. Internet Benefits to Communication Strategy No access
2. Using the Internet in the Communication Process No access
3. Building a Website to Improve Two-way Communication No access
4. Steps to Building a Website No access
5. Useful Website Tools No access
6. Promoting the School Website No access
7. Using E-mail to Inform and Respond No access
8. Using E-mail Effectively No access
9. Building a User List No access
10. Permission-Based Communication No access
11. Designing an E-mail Message No access
12. Integrating E-mail with Offline Communications No access
13. FAQs can Reduce Redundant E-mail No access
14. Promote Interest Group Subscriptions No access
15. Electronic Newsletters No access
16. Online Surveys and Polls No access
17. Social Media No access
Success Story: Colorado Springs School District 11: Electronic Dialogue—A Means to Greater Community Loyalty No access Pages 151 - 154
1. Getting the News Out No access
2. Get to Know the Neighborhood Newspaper No access
3. Utilize Your District Communication Office No access
4. Press Releases No access
5. Use Key Communicators to Dispel Unfair Press Coverage No access
6. Crisis Situations Require a Plan No access
7. Effective Crisis Communication is Critical No access
8. Giving an Interview No access
1. What Makes a Good Partnership? No access
2. Making Your First Meeting a Success No access
3. Your Partners Deserve Accountability No access
4. Time Is Money No access
5. Can You Make a Commitment? No access
6. Never Stop Saying Thank You No access
7. Making Your Partners Feel Special No access
8. Do Not Prejudge No access
9. Case Study: Lincoln Middle School No access
Success Story: Community Connections for All Students: Arts Education Matters No access Pages 195 - 200
1. Got Curb Appeal? No access
2. Supportive Alumni Speak Volumes No access
3. Celebrate Cultural Diversity No access
4. Welcome All No access
5. Reach Out to New Parents No access
6. Visitor Parking Says "Welcome" No access
7. When a Note from the Principal's Office Is a Good Thing No access
8. Doughnuts, Coffee, and a "Good Morning" No access
9. Videos for Fun and Promotion No access
10. Videos for Absent Parents No access
11. Collaborating to Maximize Your Marketing Effort No access
12. A Bookmark can do More than Mark a Book No access
13. Spend Some Time at the Mall No access
14. Remember that Everyone Is in Marketing No access
15. If the School Culture is Toxic, Detox No access
16. How's Your Customer Service? No access
17. Twenty-four-hour Response Time for Telephone Calls or E-mails No access
18. Dealing with Difficult People Diplomatically No access
19. Goodwill Begins within the School No access
20. The Butterfly Effect No access
21. School Tours No access
22. Vips No access
23. Volunteering is Two-way No access
24. Placemats as Promotion No access
25. Making Sure Everyone Gets the Picture No access
26. Making Your Appreciation Public No access
27. Be Entertaining No access
28. Putting Hold Time to Good Use No access
29. Cost-free Consulting No access
30. Set Out the Welcome Mat for Community Groups No access
31. Good Friends to Have No access
32. Recognizing Special Dates No access
33. A Daily Reminder No access
34. Night School No access
35. Making the Most of Community Events No access
1. Naming Rights and Corporate Sponsorships No access
2. Advertising No access
Summary No access Pages 241 - 242
Notes No access Pages 243 - 244
About the Author No access Pages 245 - 245