Boarding and Day School strategy
What’s the plan?
Marketing is a conversation between schools and families. It helps schools share what’s unique and special about them. Videos are a powerful megaphone in this conversation. They help schools show, not just tell, what they are all about. We’ll dive into how Independent Day Schools and Boarding Schools use marketing, especially videos, to share their stories and attract families.
Talking Points
Understanding the Audience: Day schools often find their students from nearby neighborhoods. Families looking at day schools usually want a good school close to home – close to work, family and friends. When day schools create videos, showing local events and stories from local families can strike a chord. We can introduce a future family to the morals and ethics of their child’s peers. It helps to show that the school is a part of the local community, understanding and sharing the same values.
On the flip side, boarding schools have students from different cities, states, or even countries. They offer a home away from home. When boarding schools create videos, showing a mix of cultures and the unique experiences they offer can be very appealing. Videos that show dorm life, campus activities, and interactions among a diverse student body help to paint a picture of a rich, global community.
In a nutshell, understanding the audience helps schools tailor their videos. We get a strong hold on a school’s audience through our preproduction conversations, and time spent on campus. It ensures that the messages in the videos resonate with the families watching them.
Messaging and Positioning: Day schools can use videos to show their close ties with the local community. They can highlight how they are easily accessible to families living nearby. Videos of school-community events, interviews with local families, and visuals of the neighborhood can help drive this message home. They help to show that the school is a safe, friendly, and convenient place for local families.
Boarding schools, on the other hand, often talk about the unique and enriching experiences they offer. They can use videos to take prospective families on a virtual journey through a day in the life of a student. Showing the academic challenges, fun extracurricular activities, and the close-knit dorm communities can help families see the unique value boarding schools offer.
Nostalgia works for both – a homecoming game, the curtain opening on the first night of the theater production, or graduation – we’ve all been there. And for some, these moments created lasting memories, feelings a parent would give anything to share with their child.
Videos help in showcasing the school’s strengths in a relatable and engaging manner.
Digital Marketing Strategies: Day schools often focus on reaching families in the nearby areas. They can use online tools to ensure their videos reach local people. Keeping the community updated on events, fundraisers, and opportunities to give back are some examples of natural engagement. These videos, when shared on social media or through email, can help create a buzz within the local community.
Boarding schools, on the other hand, aim to reach a wider audience. They can use different online tools to share their videos with people far and wide. Virtual tours, online meetings, and videos showcasing the diversity of the student body can be shared on social media, emails, and the school’s website. This helps to show prospective families from different places the unique experiences the boarding school offers.
For both day and boarding schools, the goal is to get their videos in front of the right people. Using the right online tools to share their videos helps schools reach and connect with families who would be a good fit for their community.
Content Creation: For day schools, videos that show community events, local partnerships, and collaborative projects help to tell a story of community engagement. They help prospective families see how the school interacts with the local community. It can show the school’s culture and student involvement. These videos also show the school’s commitment to creating a supportive, friendly environment for its students.
Boarding schools have a different story to tell. Videos of alumni sharing their success stories, or current students talking about their daily life help to show the long-term benefits and the unique experiences the boarding school offers. They help prospective families see how the boarding school prepares its students for the future while providing a supportive, enriching environment.
In both cases, videos help to bring out the essence of the school’s community. They provide a window for prospective families to see what life at the school is like, and how the school aligns with their values and expectations for their child’s education.
Measuring Success: To know if the marketing efforts are working, schools need to check how well their videos are doing. They can look at things like how many people watched their videos, how many shared them, or even how many new inquiries or applications they received after sharing their videos, or ask families as the inquiries roll in.
Additionally, schools can also see how engaged the community is. Are more people attending school-hosted events? Are people talking about the school in local community groups? This information helps schools understand how well they are connecting with the community, both online and offline.
Lastly, looking at the big picture is important. Did the school see more enrollments? Is the school being talked about more positively in the community? Has their Niche score changed for the better? This helps schools understand the overall impact of their marketing efforts. It also helps them plan better for the future, knowing what worked well and what didn’t.
Marketing, especially through videos, helps schools share what makes them special. By looking at how day schools and boarding schools do it differently, we can learn a lot. It shows us how understanding the audience and creating the right messages in the videos can make a big difference.
We invite you to dive deeper, share your thoughts with us, and learn more about how marketing, especially video marketing, can significantly impact schools. Whether you are a part of a day school or a boarding school, there’s a lot to learn from each other.
