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THE MARKETING MEMO

Host a virtual Open House to showcase your school and community!

4/30/2020

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by Dawn Doerr, Marketing Consultant

We’ve learned a lot during these difficult times about how much can be accomplished “virtually” when we are intentional about our presence online. Take some time to strengthen your digital home. Tips for creating a Virtual Open House to use on your website and social media:
 
Create a Virtual Open House Video
A sure way to help showcase your school is to create a video "open house," giving visitors to your website a tour of our building and a chance to "meet" your teachers and staff. But how to do this when the building is closed and your staff is not working together? Here's how:

  1. ​Send an email to your entire school community, asking for photos and short clips that people might have on their phones. Suggest anything that shows the inside of your school — the hallways and classrooms — along with videos and photos from your current school year.
  2. Give your community an easy way to upload their photos and clips, such as to Dropbox, WeTransfer, or an iPhoto shared folder.
  3. Write a script that answers the most frequently asked questions from parents’ perspective. Practice reading it aloud so you can gauge how long it will be. Shoot for no longer than three minutes of narration. Consider having a teacher and/or student record the script (then upload as with photos and video).
  4. Use iMovie or a similar program to create your video. SHOW what makes your school special! Highlight events, traditions, and community. Mix photos of teachers, students, activities and smiling parents. (Don't know how to edit video? Ask a student for help!)
  5. Keep it short and include contact information.
  6. Post your Open House Video to the front page of your Website and to all of your social media platforms. Send the link to your school community so they can share it, as well!

Host a Virtual “Live” Open House
Don't let the circumstances of the crisis keep you from bringing prospective families together with your teachers, staff, and students to learn more about your school. Invite prospects to a live virtual open house! Here's how:
  1. Decide on your platform — Facebook Live, Zoom, GoToMeeting, etc. Create your event links. Then, set up a simple landing page with times, dates and a way to sign-up online. This is crucial because you'll want to collect emails and contact information.
  2. Plan the format for your live event. Include the principal, a teacher, a parent, and a few students. Provide each speaker with talking points or a script.
  3. Advertise your open house dates on your website, social media, through email, in the parish electronic bulletin, parish e-news, community newspaper websites, etc.
  4. During the live event, show your school video, answer FAQ’s, open for questions.
  5. If the size of the group permits, ask visitor families to introduce their school-age children. Make them feel welcome to your school community!

Virtual Open House Follow-up
Marketing actives such as creating a virtual open house are meant to generate leads. The key to "making the sale" — enrolling new families! — is ongoing communication. Be sure to read all the way to the bottom of this list — it's the key to success in recruitment marketing! :)
  1. Create a contact webform or pop-up on the virtual open house page.  
  2. Collect email addresses and phone numbers. Let them know that “We will contact you.” Have either the principal, teachers or an ambassador contact interested families as soon as possible. 
  3. Make it easy for parents to send you their information.
  4. Use a shared Google spreadsheet to keep track of those are interested.
  5. Follow up via email/phone until they say no.​

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Is your school's response to the covid crisis a marketing message?

4/29/2020

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by Marybeth Hicks, Director of Marketing

In a normal school year, early March ushers in the spring break season. This year, due to the outbreak of coronavirus across the country, more than 50 million public and private school students learned that the 2019-20 school year would be upended by St. Patrick's Day. With no alternative but to close school buildings for the academic year, Catholic schools across the country drew on their dedicated teachers, smaller class sizes, and tight-knit family communities to pivot quickly to distance learning programs that have allowed them to keep teaching and to finish out the school year.

Usually, the primary marketing messages that compel parents to seek out information about Catholic education focus on faith-based education, overall excellence, a safe and nurturing Christian environment, and affordability. But is there a way to capitalize on your school's response to the COVID crisis in your marketing efforts? Consider how your school has responded and whether you can tout your success to prospective families:

Your school's response to the crisis...
creates this marketing message:
Your teachers responded to the crisis with creativity and commitment...
We're passionate about teaching here...there...everywhere!
Your distance learning program is successfully allowing you to complete the school year...
We bridged the distance from school to success!
Your school community has rallied to be even more engaged and involved...
Our community closed the gap.
Your students have exhibited a deep understanding of their Catholic faith during the crisis...
Our faith keeps us together.
As you consider how you'll frame your marketing messages in the coming weeks, start by making a list of all the ways your school and community have rallied together and demonstrated the strength of your educational program, your faith-based environment, and the competence and commitment of your teachers. Be sure to include any creative and inspiring ways in which your students have responded, too. Then, write a corresponding message that conveys the essence of each response.

It's likely you have many positive stories to tell about how your teachers, students and families are adapting to the new reality of the 2019-20 school year. Be sure to tell those stories on your website and share them on social media!

Many Catholic schools have not only survived the transition to distance learning, but are thriving despite all the challenges. Strength in adversity is a marketing message you can and should employ!
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Enrollment management begins with retention

4/22/2020

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by Marybeth Hicks, Director of Marketing

While the coronavirus pandemic began to effect our communities in drastic ways, Catholic schools already were in the midst of enrollment campaigns for the 2020-21 school year. Now, many schools will face lost enrollment due to new financial hardships for their school families. Retention now may be your most important enrollment priority. Fortunately, there are effective things you can do to promote retention for next year:
Assess your school's enrollment status for 2020-21 and the toll of the crisis on families.
  • "Take the temperature" of your school community with an online survey (you can use Survey Monkey for free) to determine their plans for the coming year. DOWNLOAD a free three-question survey to send to school families.
  • Have teachers call every current student's family for a "wellness check." Find out how they're faring through the crisis, as well as what their plans are for the coming school year.
  • If possible, waive the enrollment fee for those who have not yet re-enrolled. For those that have already paid the fee, deduct it from next year's tuition.
  • When you learn of families that have experienced job losses, reach out. Encourage them to re-enroll and let them know you will work together to make it financially possible.
  • Consider launching a special scholarship campaign to underwrite tuition for families who have experienced job loss. Make it easy for people to give via GoFundMe or Venmo. Reach out to the parishioners as well as school families and ask those who have not been affected adversely to help support others.
  • Have teachers call the students who will be in their grade next year to tell them how excited they are about the coming year.
Use social media to build excitement for next year.
  • Launch an "I can't wait to go back!" social media campaign. Invite school children to submit videos telling why they can't wait to go back to school next year. Post and promote on your social media accounts. DOWNLOAD free "I can't wait to go back!" ads for your social platforms.
  • Post weekly "We can't wait to go back!" videos on social media from the principal and faculty members. Talk about all the successes the school has had during distance learning.
  • Post a School-at-home Guide for Catholic families on your website. Use social posts to drive traffic to the articles. DOWNLOAD the free guide and social posts.

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Free marketing materials

4/15/2020

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by Marybeth Hicks, Director of Marketing

In addition to obvious and tragic public health concerns, the COVID-19 crisis has created many other challenges. For Catholic school administrators, one of those is the challenge of enrollment and retention for 2020-21 at a time when many families are facing economic hardship and uncertainty.

Catholic school marketing already is a difficult task without the added weight of a post-pandemic economy. However, many Catholic schools have excelled through the crisis in ways that other educational institutions have not. The ability to be facile and responsive, to tap into the power of the Catholic school community, and to mobilize families who already view themselves as educational partners of the school has made a tremendous difference. These successes offer great opportunities for positive and appropriate messaging despite the current circumstances. 

We've created free resources for Catholic schools to achieve two goals: getting parishioners to fulfill their obligation to support their parishes, thus supporting their parish schools; and encouraging families to enroll and look forward to the coming school year. Check out what's on our COVID-19 Resource page and feel free to download the content there. We hope it's helpful!

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For more information, please contact
Marybeth Hicks

517.853-7697
​mhicks@faithcatholic.com
​
FAITH Catholic • 1500 E. Saginaw St. Lansing, MI 48906
Main: 517.853.7600 • Fax: 517.853.7616
Learn more about Catholic communications on our blog, ContentEvangelist.com
Learn more about our company at faithcatholic.com
  • Home
  • FREE covID-19 RESOURCES
  • Services
    • Diocesan School Marketing
    • Websites for Diocesan School Systems
    • Custom School Magazines
  • MARKETING MEMO
  • Case Study
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  • Contact