SocialMedia

Social Media

A brand is not what we tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it is.

Getting our St John’s brand noticed in the world of social media is a complex and ever-changing operation,writes Andy Downie, but it is the most powerful tool we have if we want to expand our business and communicate with a wider marketplace.

A single tweet can prompt far more activity than a thousand printed prospectuses, not to mention being more cost-effective. One post on Facebook or one picture on Instagram has the potential to be seen by an audience comprising of 1.55 billion monthly users.

Whilst word-of-mouth remains a huge factor for the success of our school, share-of-post is now crucial to ensuring our online presence is both relevant and purposeful. Current parents love seeing what their children are getting up to via Facebook; Instagram caters for a younger demographic (including regular interaction with former pupils),whilst Twitter requires immediacy and innovation for instant feedback.

This year our social media audience grew substantially and generated feedback from household names such as Pink,Joe Wicks, Michael Rosen, Paul Heaton, Prof. Benjamin Zephaniah and Malorie Blackman, amongst many others who joined in conversations on our platforms. A music video of our senior choir received more than 200,000 views from more than 550,000 hits which, due to this exposure, culminated in a slot on national radio.

And a beautiful photograph (pictured) of a sunrise taken on school grounds was shared across the world.

In short, our brand has been branching out and making contact with customers that we could never have hoped to reach previously.

The future digital landscape will undoubtedly change and we will need to adapt and respond to trends to ensure we stay fresh and relevant.

One thing that will never change,though, is that everything we post or share will aim to reflect the values of our school.