Four random thoughts about School Marketing

How do you feel about books that are not a single story, but rather a collection of short stories?

If you don't really like them, then today's newsletter is not for you.

Otherwise, enjoy this quick read that hopefully gives you food for thought...

1. The value of marketing in schools.

How do you know if your school truly values marketing?

Here’s a few questions to help you find the answer:

1. There’s a marketing department - even if just one person. (1 point)
2. There is more than one person in the marketing team. (1 point per team member)
3. The head of the marketing team is on the Leadership Team. (10 points)
4. You are paid a decent salary in line with your talent, experience, responsibilities and workload. (1 million points)

Ok, so that was really just a bit of fun and the reality is that there are many factors influencing the size of a marketing team in schools.

However, I would argue that some schools can't afford to not have a strong marketing team.

At the end of the day, enrolments mean students and students mean jobs - for everyone at a school.

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2.?Give us a seat at the Leadership Table.

I was not a member of Leadership at my first school, nor my second one for that matter.

I just believed that marketing just didn’t belong at that level for some time.

It was a colleague who took me aside when I was leaving my first school and told me that my next role should be at Director level.

The thought hadn’t even occurred to me at the time.

The next role I took on (school number three) was indeed as a Director and a member of the Leadership Team.

It was there that I truly understood how valuable marketing can be at the Leadership Table.

So, I leave you with these thoughts:

1. Marketing deserves a seat at the Leadership Table in schools.
2. You are likely already a leader at your school, even if you’re not in an official leadership position.
3. If you are already in a leadership position, then be like my former colleague and help lift up the younger generations coming through. People like that are rockstars!

I'll be talking more about this at the Educate Plus VIC/TAS Summit in Melbourne on Friday 14 July. Hope to see some Victorian and Tasmanian friends there!

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3. What's your crazy backup plan?

If, for some reason, you could never work in Marcomms (in any industry) again, what would you do?

A friend asked me this question long before I started working in schools and it’s something I like to revisit from time to time.

Personally, I would be lost - I really do love what I do.

But over the years, when the workload has been unmanageable or there’s been a significant challenge or I’m just dragging myself over the finish line at the end of a difficult term, I have occasionally thought, “How good would it be to pack it in and go sell clothes at Witchery?”

I think we all have these thoughts from time to time.

Schools are hectic places to work in and it can get overwhelming at times.

It’s important to know that you’re not alone and we all have the occasional desire to throw it all in and become a landscape gardener.

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4. What we do isn't cute.

When I was a kid, I spent most of my weekends at Pony Club.

That sounds cute, doesn’t it?

Pony Club.

It suggests we sat around playing with and talking about ponies.

But the reality was far different.

While Pony Club was lots of fun, it was also extremely competitive, political and high stakes.

In fact, I would attribute my competitive drive and ability to thrive under pressure to my Pony Club days (still sounds kind of cute, doesn’t it?).

In much the same way, I think people who have never worked in school marketing, particularly those who have never worked in marketing at all, regard what we do as being a bit cute and, dare I say it, easy.

But it’s not, is it?

It’s extremely competitive, political and high stakes.

If we aren’t successful in our roles and enrolments drop as a result, that has a devastating impact on our school’s bottom line.

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So, there are my four random thoughts about school marketing for today.

If some of them seemed familiar, that's because you're a subscriber to my fortnightly emails, Wisdom and Mischief. Thank you!

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1. Repurposing content is a good way to make your work go further.
2. Email deliverability is always a challenge...don't get me started on open rates in email marketing.

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Bianca Coleborn is the Director of Marketing at Faith Lutheran College, Plainland and the Founder and Director of School Marketing Manifesto, home of the Strategic School Marketing Framework and Strategic School Marketing Retreat.