Charter School Digital Guide by fivesigma

Digital Marketing for Charter Schools: An Actionable Workbook to Help You Achieve Your Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Goals

Table of Contents Introduction 01. Getting Started

Step 1: Set Your School’s Marketing Goals Step 2: Determine Your Audience Step 3: Know What Sets You Apart Step 4: Messaging and Positioning

02. Digital Marketing Tactics

How to Use Marketing to Accomplish Your School’s Goals 16 Marketing Tactics Grid 18 Your School’s Website 20 Content 23 Search Enging Optimization (SEO) 25 Paid Media 33 Social Media 41 Email 45

03. Non-Digital Marketing Tactics

Events Fliers and Direct Mailers

04. Sample Marketing Campaign

05. Plan Your Marketing Campaign

Introduction

Most charter leaders already know that a digital marketing strategy can be important for raising general awareness, fundraising, meeting enrollment targets, and creating a diverse network of champions that will nurture your school over the long term. But right now, diving into digital marketing might feel like yet another daunting task in your already-busy schedule. The marketing team at Charter School Capital knows that digital marketing can feel overwhelming, and that’s exactly why we created this workbook. We want to make it as straightforward as possible for you to build and follow through on a pretty simple digital marketing strategy that will help your school achieve its goals. The truth is, even the most professional marketers are always reinventing how to do their jobs. As technology changes, people change the way they make decisions. Over the past decade, with a seemingly never-ending influx of digital channels, apps, and technologies, we’ve all experienced competition for our time and attention. The goal of digital marketing is to get the right message in front of the right person at the right time—and in a meaningful way. It sounds simple, but it takes a surprising amount of strategy, especially when you consider that most people need to see a message seven times before they remember it.

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Here’s some good news: Most of the marketing activities we discuss in this guide are straightforward in and of themselves and don’t require any specialized skills. They do usually require, at the very least, a solid foundation of good writing and good judgment. The real challenge is to identify specific goals and to pursue them consistently through several marketing channels over a period of months. It requires time, discipline, and a commitment to testing results so you can continuously fine-tune your message to ensure you’re achieving maximum return for your time and money.

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To drive consistent progress, enlist your board members and volunteers who have experience with design, web development, copywriting, and marketing to help your school.

This workbook will guide you through the process of refining your school’s messaging, setting strategic marketing goals, and achieving them through a variety of digital marketing programs.

01. Getting Started

CHAPTER 01 | GETTING STARTED

GETTING STARTED:

Determine Your School’s Goals, Audience, Messaging, and Positioning Before diving into tactics like paid advertising and social media, you’ll need to do a bit of work to lay a solid foundation for your marketing activities. You’ll want to make sure everything is consistent in message and tone and works toward the same goal. Having disjointed marketing programs and tactics will waste your school’s precious money, time, and energy. This section walks you through the steps of setting goals, figuring out what sets you apart, and crafting a message that will resonate with your audiences. These exercises aren’t unique to charter schools; every strong marketing team revisits these steps every year or so to ensure that they are presenting their brands to the world in the best possible way.

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CHAPTER 01 | GETTING STARTED

STEP NO. 1 SET YOUR SCHOOL’S MARKETING GOALS

can reflect your success: the number of people who follow you on social media or sign up for email updates.

The first step is to identify one or two goals for your first marketing campaigns. Your marketing goals will depend on your school’s overall growth strategy, your educational goals, and what you know about your prospective students or supporters.

Increasing enrollment by 20% in the next two years is specific and measurable, and for some schools, it’s also achievable and realistic.

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Start small and don’t bite off more than you can chew—you’ll learn a lot the first time and it will become easier going forward.

Make sure that your goals are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based). That way you’ll be able to tell if your marketing tactics are having the desired effect and if they are worth the time and money you’ve spent on them. You’ll also know what your goal is and when you’ve achieved it. Your goal may be highly ambitious with obvious success criteria, such as raising $10 million for a facilities renovation. It might take you a long time to accomplish that goal, but it’ll be easy to tell when you’ve made it. If your goal is a bit more nebulous and harder to measure—for example, building community awareness—think of benchmarks that

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Being smart about setting a goal will help you communicate strategically and with intention and avoid wasting time and money on marketing efforts that don’t directly support your goals. GOAL CONSIDERATIONS

Example Goal

Reach target enrollment for new kindergarten and third grade classes (23 students each) for next September.

Your School’s Goal 2

Your School’s Goal

CHAPTER 01 | GETTING STARTED

STEP NO. 2 DETERMINE YOUR AUDIENCE

SO, WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE FOR THE GOALS YOU’VE SET?

Knowing your audience is probably the most important step in creating an effective marketing plan. Every marketing activity must speak to the individual you are trying to reach.

If you are a high school with a goal of achieving target enrollment, your audience is middle school kids’ parents as well as the students themselves.

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The more specific you can be in defining your audience, the more effective your messaging and ad targeting will be.

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If you’re a K-5 school, your audience is more likely to be parents (and sometimes grandparents), who are more apt to make the schooling decisions for their children. If you’ve set a fundraising goal, your audience will probably be board members, local business leaders, and philanthropists, in addition to your students’ families. Don’t forget local press—a well-placed news story is a great way to raise awareness about your school.

CHAPTER 01 | GETTING STARTED

When considering audience specifics, remember that age matters. Research has shown that Millennial parents want to find schools that deeply understand them as parents. They are also more likely to do most of their research online, whereas Gen X parents are also likely to ask their friends and neighbors for recommendations or to pick up the phone if they can’t find information on a website. Millennial parents want to be able to find every last detail online, including address, teacher bios, dress code requirements, and school supply lists.

Of course, other demographic factors matter, too. If your target population includes a lot of families whose first languages are Spanish and Cantonese, for example, you’ll want to ensure that your website and other marketing materials are in those languages.

This interesting study by BabyCenter shows some of the generational differences in how Gen X and Millennial moms make decisions.

Here’s a good rule of thumb: Always assume you’re talking to people who are smart, capable—and (likely) really tired.

Knowing your audience affects the information you communicate and the channels you use, but it shouldn’t affect the voice and tone you use to talk to them. Be clear, informative, and respectful but don’t overtax their attention spans.

AUDIENCE CONSIDERATIONS

Example Audience

Families of children on the autism spectrum who live within a 5-mile radius of the school; includes many families whose first language is Vietnamese.

Audience Type 1 Audience Type 2

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CHAPTER 01 | GETTING STARTED

STEP NO. 3 KNOW WHAT SETS YOU APART Charter schools are all about giving students and their families educational choice—and that means that often, parents will be deciding between your school and a few others. Make it very obvious how your school will stand out to their children—whether you focus on STEM, college prep, or French immersion—and make sure parents know what your school stands for. If one of your goals is related to fundraising, keep in mind that many worthy causes are vying for the attention and funds of business leaders and philanthropists. Your job is to help them understand why they should contribute to your school in addition to all the other donations they’re making. Tell great stories. Don’t be afraid to stand out in the fundraising game by timing your fundraising efforts in April (vs. December), if you can. If you’re trying to capture attention, build trust among prospective families, or grow enrollment, it’s important to know how other schools are positioning themselves and what sets you apart. If a nearby school features a brand-new performing arts center on their website, don’t feel like you need to compete with that particular feature—just highlight different features that emphasize your school’s strengths. Use the following competitor grid to get a better sense of how you compare to other schools that parents and families will be considering. You can also use this grid to analyze other local organizations with successful fundraising campaigns such as Make-a-Wish Foundation or a children’s hospital.

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CHAPTER 01 | GETTING STARTED

COMPETITOR GRID

DI F F ER ENTIATORS

COM P E T I N G S C H OOL

C OM PE T I N G S C H O O L

COMPETING SCHOOL

What is their core message?

Curriculum

Population served

Facility standouts - Gym - Science Lab - Soccer Field

Programs

Student success rates

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CHAPTER 01 | GETTING STARTED

STEP NO. 4 MESSAGING AND POSITIONING When it comes to defining your message, charter schools are at an advantage: you already have a worthy mission and vision. If you’ve had a charter approved, you likely have a firm understanding of your school’s promise to the community and why it’s different than that of other schools in the area. So revisit your charter; talk to your students, parents, and staff; and take some time to think through what your school is all about and what sets it apart. This following exercise, more than any other in this section, will guide your marketing efforts. Your website, ads, social media, events, and content should all be consistent with your messaging and positioning statements. This is a living document—you can always adjust your messaging down the road.

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CHAPTER 01 | GETTING STARTED

MESSAGING EXERCISE

Your School’s Promise

What benefit do you provide that makes your school one of a kind? Look at examples from other schools and from businesses and brands that you admire, and translate that to your school.

“The largest and most diverse private arts and media college in the nation.” — Columbia College in Chicago

Positioning Statement

The positioning statement says what your school does, who your students are, and why parents should care.

“For families in the greater Smallville area that value Mandarin immersion for their children, Smallville Chinese School provides a rigorous and well-rounded educaction

Target Students & Families

Who are the students and families who can most benefit from your school?

1. Kids who struggle in the local traditional public schools 2. Middle schoolers with a strong interest in art, design, and/or engineering 3. Parents who want their children to be educated in the family’s first language

Mission

Revisit your charter and finish this sentence— be literal and keep it short.

Our mission is to .

Tone of Voice

It’s important that your website and materials “speak” to your students and families consistently and reflect your school accurately. It can help to define your tone in terms of “X but not Y.”

The tone of Main Street Charter School is: friendly but not condescending professional but not corporate humorous but not cheesy smart but not arrogant

Use plain language and avoid jargon. Keep it under 10 seconds.

The Metropolitan Arts School provides a rigorous academic curriculum for a diverse population of students who all have one thing in common: a commitment to pursuing excellence in fine, applied, or performing arts.

Elevator Pitch

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“Go forth unafraid.” — The Dalton School

CHAPTER 01 | GETTING STARTED

POSITIONING EXERCISE What makes you different? Think about what you offer that none of your competitors do—a great playground, a fantastic drama program, the most experienced teachers, the most engaged PTA.

EXA MPL E B E N E FI T

Headline Benefits What value do your students and their families obtain from each of these differentiators.

BE N E FI T

BENEFIT

Valley Charter has the best physical education program in the metro area

Supporting Examples

Our students receive six hours of PE instruction per week.

3-4 specific proof points that back up your claims.

We employ three fulltime PE teachers.

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Our student body scores in the 98th percentile for physical fitness

02. D igital Marketing Tactics 15 | DIGITAL MARKETING FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

How to Use Marketing to Accomplish Your Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Goals

The Marketing Funnel CHARTER SCHOOL EDITION

These days, we have access to lots of data on how most people tend to make decisions. This is important for marketing because we want to make sure that our programs are meeting the target audience where they are. We know that, when it comes to making important decisions, most people tend to do research over time. That means that marketing programs also need to happen over time, with some tactics addressing people who are early on in the process and others that speak to people who are just on the verge of making a decision. Marketers refer to this as the Marketing Funnel. Earlier, you identified at least one marketing goal and a corresponding audience. The Marketing Funnel is a great way of visualizing how your audience will work through their decisionmaking process. It also shows us that, in order to achieve an identified goal, we need to have marketing tactics that address the target audience in at least each of the first three stages: awareness, engagement, and conversion.

Awareness

Engagement

Conversion

Loyalty

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ÂŠ2018 CHARTER SCHOOL CAPITAL

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

HOW TO USE MARKETING | CONTINUED

MARKETING EFFORTS FALL INTO FOUR MAIN CATEGORIES:

Awareness

This is all about helping the target audience you identified earlier understand what you do, what grades you serve, how you contribute to the community, and why you’re worthy of their time and attention. Your school’s website and social media accounts are good examples of awareness tactics.

Engagement

This is the educational part of the funnel. Here you need to help your audience understand why you are uniquely positioned to meet their educational goals or why donating to your school will be a great investment in the community. You may also hear this stage referred to as “Consideration” or “Nurturing.” Webinars, blog articles, and downloadable guides like the one you’re reading now are good examples of engagement tactics.

Conversion

Loyalty By providing the best possible education, communicating simply and well, being sincere, saying thank you, and giving back to your community, you’ll create a network of champions—students and parents who will recommend your school to all their neighbors and friends as well as donors who won’t hesitate to write you a check at this time next year. Loyalty tactics are all about making people feel appreciated and valued, so they can vary widely. For donors, it could mean presenting them with an award or placing a special Facebook post about their commitment to the school to thank them. For students, it could mean putting them on a recruitment committee and giving them the honor and responsibility of meeting with prospective students and parents. The goal here is to retain and refer. You want students, teachers, and donors to stay engaged and involved in your school. And you want those students, parents, teachers, and donors to suggest others do the same.

Conversion tactics tend to be more focused and labor intensive and can include things like one-on-one meetings with families and school tours. If your goal is to achieve new enrollment goals, this is the point just before families enroll their kids in your school. If you have a fundraising goal, conversion tactics cause them to write the check.

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CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

MARKETING TACTICS GRID

CATEGORY

D E S C R I P T I ON

This is also called “goal completion.” This could be when a student enrolls in your school or a donor writes a check.

Conversion

Loyalty

C OMMON MA R K E TI N G PROG R AM S Case studies of current students One-on-one meetings with current families, students, and staff

EXAMPLE

Online video case study showing how your school helped a student

School and classroom tours

Loyalty happens when you have provided such excellent services or such a great relationship that your audience goes out and spreads the word on your behalf.

Holiday Cards & Thank You Letters/Emails Student & Family Awards

Quarterly family nights Creative events including concerts and plays

Regular meetings with teachers and staff

Having sincere, enthusiastic fans is the most cost-effective marketing tactic available.

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CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

Your School’s Website Your school’s website is your school in digital form, open 24x7 to address curious parents and students. Once you’ve done your homework on your school’s messaging, and know whom you’re talking to, it only takes a few days to launch (even a single page) site that has your school’s focus, the grades you serve, enrollment dates, office hours, and how parents can arrange for a visit. A website is technically never “done,” so don’t wait till it’s perfect to launch!

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Consider putting your phone number, email address, and other critical information in the footer of your site so it appears on every page.

Make regular updates on a schedule and consider adding additional pages for teacher bios, dress code, meal programs, in-depth curriculum information, and all the other information that those research-oriented Millennial parents will want to see. EVERY SO OFTEN, LOOK AT YOUR WEBSITE WITH “NEW-PARENT EYES”: How does your site appear to a someone who doesn’t know anything about your school? Do people have to hunt to find your office hours, phone number, or other critical information? Ask parents or your friends for feedback What would make the site easier to navigate? What were they expecting to find that they didn’t? And what did they find particularly delightful or compelling?

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YOUR SCHOOL’S WEBSITE | CONTINUED

MOST VISITORS TO YOUR WEBSITE ARE LOOKING FOR INFORMATION: What is your school’s focus? What grades do you serve? When do you start enrolling? How can they arrange a visit?

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Note plainly and prominently that your charter school is free. A common misconception among parents is that charter schools cost money!

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Website maintenance and logistics There’s a good chance that you have at least a few volunteers, board members, or parents who have solid design and web development skills. If you don’t have an existing site, enlist those people to get you started. BrandGenie and Squarespace are both user-friendly platforms designed for people who aren’t coding experts. Wordpress has more robust capabilities, but it requires a little more skill. In any case, it’s helpful to have somebody with experience do the initial setup, including site layout and architecture. They will ensure that your site upholds the conventions that people are used to seeing in a website. They can also review website templates to make sure the one you choose works just as well on a mobile phone or tablet as it does on a laptop. Most modern website tools do this automatically. Make sure your website’s appearance reflects your school. For example, if your focus is STEAM, feature student art or engineering projects. If your school is dedicated to science, have plenty of pictures of your equipment and lab rooms. Showing your students having fun and living out your school’s mission is the best visual element you can have on your site (just make sure to get permission from parents and guardians before posting photos of students’ faces). One last word of website advice: Make sure your site layout includes a blog or resources section or both. These components are necessary for the next two tactics we’ll discuss: content and search engine optimization.

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CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

Charter School Website Checklist 1

ESTABLISH YOUR DESIGN

PICK YOUR TECHNOLOGY

BUILD IT (with mobile in mind)

Enlist volunteer experts to help

DEVELOP YOUR CONTENT Create valuable blog articles and downloadable content that provide information people are looking for

MAP THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE What actions do you want people to take on your site? Make it as easy as possible for people to enroll, download content, or get your phone number, depending on your goal

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Choose a platform that makes it easy for you to update the site often

Most modern website templates support both mobile and desktop sites (this is also called responsive design)

TEST, AND TEST, AND TEST Review your visitor flows and other metrics in Google Analytics so you can see where you need to improve

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

Content After your website, content is your school’s most important marketing tool. All the tactics we discuss from here on out are far more effective if they are based on content that will solve a problem or build trust for any parent or student—even if they don’t choose your charter school. This workbook is a good example of what we consider valuable marketing content. It provides effective, real-world marketing advice that any school could use, whether or not they choose to partner with Charter School Capital. This workbook doesn’t try to sell Charter School Capital’s services—its only purpose is to educate charter school teams on digital marketing. We are committed to providing trustworthy advice, and we hope this guide will help you to view us as a trustworthy charter school partner.

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Providing topical, high-quality information that solves a problem is one of the best ways to build trust among your target audience. It also serves as the cornerstone of social media and targeted ads that we’ll discuss later.

CONTENT | CONTINUED

So what does valuable content look like for your charter school? Go back to the work you’ve done above and think about what sets you apart. What valuable information can you provide to parents or students? If you’re a language immersion elementary school, maybe it’s a downloadable eBook on letters and numbers, or a video tutorial on conjugating verbs. If you’re a high school, maybe it’s a checklist for activities and classes a student should master before applying for college.

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

future emails from you. This is one of the best ways to build a solid email list quickly. We’ve talked about how important content is in building trust, but good content serves another purpose too: It makes for effective online ads and social media messages that engage your audience. People are savvy, and we’ve all been trained to ignore ads that seem like they’re “selling” us something. But good content may turn eyes toward you and your school. We’ll discuss online ads and social media later in this workbook.

If you have a strong music curriculum, maybe you can provide video tutorials on music arranging or ear training. If many of your students are on the autism spectrum or have sensory issues, consider providing downloadable social stories or video tutorials on circumventing overwhelming situations. Creating blog posts on a regular basis can provide excellent content that keeps parents, students, and the community aware of neighborhood/school event promotion and recaps, relevant legislation, ways to get involved, handy parenting tips, student activities and achievements, etc. Make sure your content provides useful information—even if it’s to somebody in a different state. Content is not about selling, it’s about highlighting your school’s expertise and building trust. Once you have a video or downloadable guide ready to publish to your website, use your website software or email marketing platform to set up a lead capture form (see image to the right) on a “landing page,” which is a web page set up specifically for downloading content. In exchange for their name and email address, people will be able to download your content and opt in to receiving

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CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Search engine optimization is a long way of saying your website is easy to find via web search. When done right, SEO leads to lots of “organic” traffic to your site. That means if a parent in your city is looking for a school like yours (traditional public or public charter), your school will appear high up in their search results. SEO is so important because it’s how most people find answers to their questions. The search bar is where it all begins. (Actually, voice search is on the rise, but until we get regular SEO under control, we’re not going to explore voice search just yet.) The upside: Optimizing your website to provide good search results doesn’t cost money. The downside: It can cost time, energy, and

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effort to get the search rankings you’d like. The goal is to get on the first page of search engine results, but don’t expect it to happen right away. It can actually take months. But the more often you refresh content on your site with new blog articles and web pages, the more search engine algorithms will look at your site and index the content that’s there. Remember how we mentioned that your site layout needs to include a blog component? This is why. If, for example, you want to be known as the STEM charter high school in your town, plan on publishing at least 10 distinct blog articles in six weeks all about your STEM curriculum, your STEM students (with their permission), your STEM teachers, and the STEM “extras” your school provides. All of this content will teach Google, Bing, and other search engines that your website is for high schoolers in your area and focuses on STEM.

SEO | CONTINUED

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

Think about what parents and students might be searching for when they are looking for a school like yours. Put yourself in your prospective parents’ shoes and think about the questions they are Googling; then write blog articles that answer those questions. Ask new parents how they found your school and what they searched for online.

SEO can get complicated but even a simple strategy can provide big results. There are a few steps you can take for every page and blog post to make sure they’re SEO friendly, and there are tools out there that take a lot of the guesswork out of it.

A blog is an important SEO tool, but every page of your site should be optimized for search. For example, if you are a STEM charter in Sacramento, make sure you put the phrase “Sacramento STEM charter high school” on your homepage, and have a page dedicated to your STEM program on your site.

Let’s use our example from above—you are a STEM charter school in Sacramento. First, we’ll need to pick the keywords to optimize for. There are several ways to research which keywords are optimal, including Google’s own Keyword Planner and Moz’s Keyword Explorer. These tools provide information regarding the frequency of search for a particular keyword as well as options for different variations of a keyword.

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Register your school with Google My Business. It’s free, and it has so much impact—it tells Google and the world that you are a legitimate school will display your school photo, location, website and any ratings at the top of your search results page. And it can literally put your school “on the map” and in front of people in your area.

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HOW TO CHOOSE A KEYWORD

So, for our example, these might be some options you could consider: Charter schools (“short-tail” keyword, broad appeal) Charter schools Sacramento Sacramento charter schools STEM schools Sacramento STEM charter schools STEM charter high school Sacramento (“long-tail” keyword, more specific appeal)

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

The goal for keyword optimization is to enable people to easily find exactly what it is they’re looking for. If you choose to optimize your website around the less-specific keyword “charter school,” it’s possible that anybody looking for a charter school anywhere could click on your search result. But you don’t just want anybody—you want people in your area who are looking for your type of charter school. And you want to make it easy for your target audience to find you. Plus, if a parent from Arizona or Los Angeles lands on your site, the odds are that they’ll bounce right off to go find what they are really looking for.

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So, the “long-tail” keyword—“STEM charter high school Sacramento”—would be the better choice to reach the people who are specifically interested in what you’re offering. Yes, you may sacrifice the volume of clicks you’d get for the more vague “shorttail” keyword “charter schools,” but the bonus is that you’ll be trading clicks for quality. Google likes to see that you have quality, engaged visitors who don’t immediately bounce from your site. They want to see you live up to your content promise, and when you do, the algorithm will reward you with a higher page rank.

SEO | CONTINUED

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

The six places your keyword should live Once you’ve selected your highly relevant, long-tail keyword (eg, “STEM charter high school Sacramento”), you’ll want to put it to work. You should generally include your keyword in at least six key places on every webpage that addresses the concept in your keyword.

In our example, this would definitely include the homepage, several blog posts, and a curriculum page. You likely wouldn’t include it on a page dedicated to your dress code or the music teacher’s bio.

Note: Keywords can be added in when you are in the backend of your website either creating or editing your pages.

Regardless of the type of page, put your keyword in action in these six spots:

URL

A URL should include your keyword; this is one of the most essential elements for improving your search rankings. This may not work for the homepage, as your URL will likely be yourschoolname.edu. But for blog posts, this is a must. For example, one URL could be: yourschoolname.edu/stem-charter-high-school-sacramento another could be: yourschoolname.edu/best-practices-for-stem-charter-high-schools Example shown using WordPress page editor

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SEO | CONTINUED

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

PAGE TITLE/TITLE TAG

The title tag of a webpage determines the title that appears on the search engine results page and is meant to be an accurate and concise description of a page’s content. Be sure that each page’s title tag uses your most important keywords (as long as it makes sense). Example shown using Yoast SEO WordPress Plugin

META DESCRIPTION

The description just below the title tag on the search engine results page is the meta description—it’s the chunk of text underneath the link. When writing your meta description, it’s important to be concise and incorporate your keywords right up front in your description. The meta description is the place you get to “advertise” your school and show how you provide value. The goal here is to drive people to click and visit your site. Search engines generally only look at the first 150 characters of a meta description, so you only have a limited window in which to get your keywords in. (Note that meta descriptions for social media sharing can be much longer and more in-depth.) Example shown using Yoast SEO WordPress Plugin

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SEO | CONTINUED

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

BODY COPY

The content of a given webpage should naturally incorporate your keywords. Use them as often as makes sense, but be very careful not to overdo it. “Keyword stuffing” is a poor practice because it comes across as forced and unnatural, and search engines may lower your rankings if it seems that you’re overusing keywords. It’s important to always write for your reader, never for search engines, so natural speech will always be your best bet. Example shown using WordPress page editor

HEADINGS AND SUBHEADINGS

Using keywords in headings and subheadings not only emphasizes the content below, but it increases readability for people scanning through a page quickly. Just make sure to keep your headings clear, concise, and relevant.

Example shown using WordPress page editor

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SEO | CONTINUED

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

IMAGE ALT TEXT

Image alt text is a brief description of the image—it’s crucial for Internet accessibility for people who have visual impairments. As an added bonus, it can enhance your SEO. When you load an image to your website, there will be a box or field for alt text. Keep the text relevant to the image, but incorporate your keywords to add a certain amount of SEO juice to your page. Example shown using WordPress media editor

Inbound Links Inbound links or ‘back links’ are links from other (third-party) web pages that direct search engines and your audiences to your web pages. They are sort of like ‘votes’ for your web page, and as long as they come from reputable online sources, are very valuable. The more you have, the more highly search engines will rank your web pages. The best inbound links will come from other people writing/blogging about your school on their web pages, press releases, social bookmarking, or being listed on reputable industry directories, etc. See a comprehensive list of ways to get great inbound links here. Google’s Webmaster Tools can help you see how your site is performing including the number of inbound links that are promoting your site.

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A helpful SEO tool At Charter School Capital, we use a plugin called Yoast that integrates with our Wordpress site. It’s one of many tools that are easy to use and helps you improve your search rankings with smart content efforts. It will analyze your keyword success and remind you to place those keywords in the appropriate places. It will also analyze your content for readability.

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

SEO Checklist 1

PROVIDE AN EXCELLENT USER EXPERIENCE

CREATE INBOUND LINKS TO PROMOTE YOUR WEBSITE

Easy site navigation

Set your school up in Google My Business

Fast site load time

et your parents, staff, and students to G endorse your school online

elevant content, including videos R and blog articles Mobile/responsive website

ist your school in directory listing sites L such as niche.com, greatschools.net, and nextdoor.com

KEYWORD OPTIMIZATION I dentify the keywords being used by your target audience Use this information to create relevant content

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CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

Paid Media Paid media is a catch-all term that can refer to a lot of different awareness and enrollment tactics, including paid search, retargeting, and display ads. We’ll look at each of these tactics and how you can use them to promote your school and achieve your goals. Even though paid media does cost money, this is an area where even a tiny budget can sometimes make a big impact.

TEST, TEST, TEST Don’t be afraid to test keywords and ad text. We recommend creating two ad versions (with slight variations in the text) and test which one performs better. For example, one headline my use a question and the other may use a statement. You can always shut off an ad campaign that isn’t performing or add a new one when you decide to expand your services. Whatever you do, don’t set it and forget it.

Paid media programs can include: Paid online advertising on websites and social media Google or Bing ads Branded content and display ads on community sites Print advertisements There are a couple of things to keep in mind for any paid media effort: HAVE A CLEAR CALL-TO-ACTION It’s extremely important to have a clear call-to-action in your paid search ads, such as “Download Now,” “Watch Now,” or “Get Started.” It’s a best practice to send people to a “landing page” with a lead capture form where they can download your content for free in exchange for providing their name and email address. This way, when someone clicks on your ad they won’t get lost on your homepage. You’ll build trust, grow your email list, and make it easy for them to take the next step in contacting you or downloading your content.

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CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

The Difference between an Enrollment Ad and an Engagement Ad ENROLLMENT AD

ENGAGEMENT AD

MAIN STREET ART & MUSIC CHARTER SCHOOL

EXPERT MUSIC EDUCATION FOR GRADES K-5

K-5, now accepting new students

Main Street Art & Music Charter School

Enroll Today!

If you’re a parent who’s actively looking to enroll a child in an art and music school, the first ad will be really compelling. But it’s likely that most of our hypothetical school’s target parents haven’t seriously considered an art and music charter school for their children. By watching a video, they can witness the warmth, energy, and enthusiasm of a teacher, and they may even learn a few ear training skills to take home to their kids. Building advertisements around content provides the opportunity to build trust over time, rather

34 | DIGITAL MARKETING FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS

Watch a video tutorial on ear training ⊲

than hoping that parents are ready to enroll their kids in your school today. Once you’re ready to try enrollment advertising, consider offering families an Enrollment Checklist that includes dates for immunization records, school uniform orders, you school calendar, etc. Sharing practical advice and the process they can expect is likely to set your school up for success.

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

Paid Search Search engine marketing can go a long way toward increasing your website’s visibility. It’s really a form of paid advertising where the goal is to move your website to the top of a search results page. For example, when you use Google to search for “Amazon,” the result at the top of the page is a search engine marketing ad for amazon. com; the next result (often below Google’s 3-Pack Map and listings for physical places like schools) is a normal search result for amazon. com that Amazon did not pay for. You’ve got to pay to play if you want to be at the top, and paid search is the most effective tactic to get in front of people who are searching for your school. Paid search markets are online auctions, so you can determine how much you’re willing to pay upfront. Here’s how it works: Organizations bid in on search terms (keywords) that their audience is likely to use to find their school. Keywords can include terms like “science charter school” or “charter schools in Phoenix.”

Prices for keywords will fluctuate depending on time of year and how many schools are competing for popular keywords. In July and August, popular enrollment search terms will probably be more expensive. In February and March, the same terms will likely cost less and you’ll attract families who are planning well in advance. Paid search works on a “pay per click” basis, so you only pay for your ad when somebody clicks on it. Paid search is a great way to show up in search results without having to wait for search engines to catch up with your organic content. But keep it simple, especially when you’re first starting out. This workbook doesn’t walk you through the process of setting up your account set-by-step; for that you can use resources such as Wordstream and Trendblog. PAY-PER-CLICK AD PLANNING EXERCISE

Headline 1 up to 30 characters

Headline 2 up to 30 characters

Description up to 80 characters

URL no limit

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CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

Display & Banner Ads Banner ads are a visually engaging way to promote your school and attract potential families on local news and community sites. Display ads appear next to content on various websites in text, image, or video format. They don’t have the highest conversion rates, but even if nobody clicks on one, when constructed nicely, banner ads can be an effective way to create “brand” awareness about your school. Make sure to stick with a simple design and feature your logo and school colors prominently.

Expert music education for grades K-5

Display ad campaigns can be set up to target audiences in a variety of ways, including visitors to specific websites, time of day, and zip codes. Banner ads tend to have higher conversion rates when they promote content on your site, such as a great downloadable piece of content, rather than for making a hard sell to “Enroll Today!”

LEARN MORE ⊲

Expert music education for grades K-5

LEARN MORE ⊲

E X P ERT T IP

Be very selective regarding the sites on which you choose to place banner ads. You want a cost-effective option, but you also want to make sure you advertise on sites that you know your audience is visiting frequently.

Expert music education for grades K-5

LEARN MORE ⊲

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CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

Retargeting Ads Have you ever looked at, say, a new pair of shoes on a website—and then seen ads for the same product on every other site you visit? This is retargeting in action. If a prospective parent or donor visits your website, you know that there’s a high likelihood that they are at least somewhat interested in your school. So you want them to remember you. Retargeting ads can highlight some of the content—a blog article or a video tutorial—that they may not have seen the first time they came to your site. We know that people often take a few months to research and decide on a school for their kids, so retargeting can ensure that your school stays top of mind.

RETARGETING AD PLANNING EXERCISE

Headline 1 up to 75 characters

Headline 2 up to 75 characters

Call to Action up to 30 characters

Make sure your retargeting ads use the same colors and fonts as your website, and that your logo is displayed prominently. Even if somebody doesn’t click on an ad, it’s still a great branding opportunity. Consider the magic number: Parents and students will need to hear or see your message at least seven times before they remember it— consistency is key!

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CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

Alternate Paid Media One great way to build trust and spread your message is through sponsored articles. These pieces read like a regular article, and they are typically authored (or by-lined) by your principal or another member of your staff. The best sponsored articles provide good information, including tips or advice, for your target audience. Then, you can pay to place this article on a website or in a print newspaper or magazine that you know your audience is reading. For transparency, these types of articles are typically flagged with a “sponsored” tag. Sponsored articles can be an efficient way to drive awareness about your school and highlight your staff.

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Newsletter sponsorships are another awareness tactic. If your local performing arts center, farmer’s market, or neighborhood association sends out a monthly newsletter, you can pay to sponsor an issue in exchange for display ads splashed all over the issue. You may even be able to negotiate placing a sponsored article in the newsletter as well. In addition, sites like Nextdoor and LinkedIn also provide the opportunity for sponsoring content, such as an information-filled blog post on your website. This can be a good way to drive new people to your site with great content and establish a trusting relationship right away.

SOCIAL MEDIA | CONTINUED

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

Social Media Advertising Social media accounts are free, but you can also buy ads on the social media platforms you’re already using. Social media ads aren’t an enrollment tactic, but a way for people to connect with you. This is a great way to broaden your audience because social media sites know so much about their users. Social media ads can be especially targeted. Facebook and Instagram allow you to select by age range, interests, and geography, so you can advertise only to women, ages 25-34, who like [kids activities], within 5 miles of your school. These types of ads can be very affordable and visually engaging. They can appear like regular content in an update stream, or they can appear as a display ad. Remember to build your ads around valuable content that you have on your school’s website—a blog article, a downloadable checklist, or a video tutorial—and give people plenty of opportunities to give you their email address in exchange for something valuable to them.

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CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

Paid Media Checklist 1

IDENTIFY YOUR BUDGET ased on your audience/goals, select the B paid outlets you think will get the most attention

TEST AND OPTIMIZE oes a different headline or layout work D better than another? Try different words and images to see what works best

ATTRACT YOUR AUDIENCE uild relevant content to engage the B audience, with thought to the outlet you’re using lways include a great photo or visual to A capture interest, but stay on brand

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CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

Social Media

E X PE RT T IP

Once you have your target audience identified, engage with them on the social media platforms they frequent. Think about where your audience is—if it’s mostly Millennial parents or teen students, they most probably spend a lot of time on social media. But if they’re spending a lot of time on Instagram, don’t spend your time and money on LinkedIn, and vice versa. And, when posting, remember that it’s quality over quantity that counts. The goal is always to provide value. If you decide to build a profile on more than one platform, there are affordable tools that can help you quickly share your message on each site. Check out Engage Social, Hootsuite, and TweetDeck for an idea of how these services can help you be more strategic and save time. POSTING FREQUENCY QUICK GUIDE

TWITTE R

Make sure you include information on how to contact your school directly in each social media profile. Don’t assume that just because someone likes your Facebook page that they know your website or phone number. Make it easy for people to find you by including this information in as many places as you can!

FAC E BOOK

L I N KE D I N

I N S TAG RA M

Post Frequency

2-4x/day

3-5x/week

2-4x/day

3-5x/week

Hashtags

Yes (1-2)

Yes (3-5)

Yes (up to 11 max)

Photos

Yes

Join Forums

Yes

Note: The post frequency guide is just that, a guide. If you only have the bandwidth to post 1-2x/week that’s just fine. Best advice is just to be consistent and post only things of value. Post every Monday, or every Friday. Or Monday/Wednesday/Friday, whatever works for you and when and where your audience will see it! 41 | DIGITAL MARKETING FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

SOCIAL MEDIA | CONTINUED

The 6:3:1 Rule Are you adding value by sharing the right information? Follow the 6:3:1 rule for success! This means that for every 10 posts you create, six are educational posts that include general information that is relevant to your industry. Three are posts that you or your organization authored, and one post is promotional about your services or products. SEE THE EXAMPLES BELOW:

EDUCATIONAL POSTS

AUTHORED POSTS

PROMOTIONAL POST

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CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

SOCIAL MEDIA | CONTINUED

RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS?

HASHTAGS

Find inspiration from your peers and competitors!

We are particularly fond of #welovecharterschools—join us in using that one!

Set up lists in Twitter to monitor what other schools are doing— you’ll get good ideas by checking out the competition. When you “like” someone else’s post, consider what drew you to it and how you might be able to incorporate that into your own posts. It’s okay to go off topic sometimes. Did your school just complete a volunteer event or win a prize at a science fair? Post about it!

Make one for your school that you can use all the time that you use regularly Add others that speak to your area or specialty (#FrenchImmersionSchool, #SacramentoCharterSchools, #STEAMteens)

No matter what channel you are using, all posts should include: IMAGES Visual content gets shared more. Tools like Canva and Adobe Spark can make it inexpensive (under $10/month) and easy for nondesigners to create simple, branded, shareable graphics.

CALLS TO ACTION Include links to learn more about your school (website, video tutorial blog article, etc).

KEYWORDS These are key terms that your audience will notice. Think about what they might be searching for when looking for a product or service like yours.

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CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

Social Media Checklist 1

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

POST ENGAGING CONTENT

ind out where your best audience hangs F out—Instagram? Twitter? Facebook?

ost lots of photos—make sure to get P permission from staff and parents

on’t forget—you’re making your school D appeal to both parents and students

Use relevant hashtags and links

4 POST OFTEN & CONSISTENTLY ick one or two and post every day if you P can—use a sharing tool

PRACTICE SOCIAL MEDIA ETIQUETTE hen in doubt, don’t—if you’re at all worried W whether something is appropriate to post, err on the side of caution

Follow the 6:3:1 Rule

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CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

Email Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to keep in touch with your existing and prospective parents, students, and supporters. That’s why we keep recommending that you offer content of value in exchange for an email address. For many schools, email is the main method of communications among all groups. You can create personalized messages and a variety of newsletters: for your students, for parents, for potential parents, and for donors. Email is cost effective and relatively easy to implement. If you haven’t looked into an email marketing tool, it may be worth the investment. There are lots of affordable options out there; some subscriptions start as low as $15 per month. A few examples you may want to look at are the email service providers (ESPs) MailChimp or ConstantContact. Regardless of the email tool you select, most email platforms charge by the size of your list. If you have 1,000 names on your list, you’ll spend less than someone with 10,000 names on their list.

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Look for options that have built-in, mobile-friendly templates that can help you get up and running fast. Email marketing software also comes with unsubscribe links automatically built in, which makes it simple for your school to comply with the federal CAN-SPAM law. It may sound obvious, but the biggest challenge with email is getting email addresses—and not just any email address, but those from people who are truly interested in supporting your mission. Make it easy for people to sign up for updates on your website, and require people to give you their name and email before downloading content. And don’t forget the tried-and-true old-school method of paper (or tablet) sign-up forms at your school’s events and open houses. Never miss an opportunity!

E X PE RT T IP

You want to make sure you have the option to control the look and feel of your emails, but sometimes simpler is better. Depending on your audience, a plain-text email may be just as effective as a welldesigned one. Test to find out!

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

EMAIL | CONTINUED

Email your audience on a regular schedule (say, the first and third Thursday of every month) and always provide valuable content and a clear call-to-action. This is essential for building trust and increasing open rates. Your emails can include information about upcoming events and open houses, downloadable guides for students (share those school supplies lists!), facilities updates, and exciting developments at your school. Once you have an email marketing tool in place, there are four things to keep in mind:

TELL PEOPLE WHAT TO EXPECT

The first email people receive from you is almost always the one that gets the highest open rates. Give people a clear understanding in that email of what they can expect to see from you and provide links to more information or content. It’s always nice to be told up front how often an organization will email you—and always give them an option to unsubscribe (it’s required by law, and email service providers have it built in).

TIMING

The time of day that an email is sent can make a big difference. Research has shown that the highest open rates and click-through rates tend to be on Tuesday (with Thursday being a close second), with 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. being the most successful times for open rates. Your audience may vary, so don’t be afraid to test sending email at different times.

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SPEND TIME ON YOUR SUBJECT LINE

It’s easy to spend 90% of your time on the content of an email and leave the subject line as an afterthought. However, the subject line is THE single most important factor in determining whether people actually read an email. Make sure you can follow up the subject line with great email content, and avoid these pitfalls: Generic subject lines (March Newsletter, Main Street Charter Update, etc.) Lengthy subject lines (keep your subject lines around 50 characters) Avoid ALL CAPS, exclamation points, or words that will get caught by spam filters—words like “Free” or symbols like $.

E X PE RT T IP

Often emails with question marks tend to perform better (e.g., “Do you have these questions?” “Is your child looking at middle school options?”). Don’t be afraid to test different variations and see what works for your audience.

EMAIL | CONTINUED

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

WHO IS THE EMAIL FROM?

Emails that come from a person perform much better than emails that come from an organization. If you check your inbox, you’ll see that we often send emails from our CEO, Stuart Ellis, rather than from Charter School Capital. Unsurprisingly, people are more interested in hearing from a human than an organization.

WHAT’S A “GOOD” OPEN RATE? We get this question all the time, and it depends on a variety of factors: the size of your list and how engaged your audience is; email subject lines; and the trust you’ve built among your audience. Open rates can range from 5% to 30%, but the key is to strive for continuous improvement. Pay attention to open rates from your first few email sends and then set realistic improvement goals based on your history. Mailchimp publishes benchmark open rates for different markets all the time. They share these benchmarks freely to build trust with their prospective email communities.

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CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

Email Checklist 1

MAP YOUR CONTENT

emplates will not only keep things simpler T to manage, but also help you retain brand consistency

etermine your audience, objective, D and cadence.

PICK AN EMAIL SERVICE PROVIDER Choose one that is easy for you to work with

ESTABLISH AND SEGMENT YOUR LIST urrent students and parents should get C different content than prospective students and parents

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BUILD YOUR EMAILS IN TEMPLATES

KEEP YOUR DATA CLEAN very month or so, take out people who E haven’t opened or clicked in six months

TEST AND OPTIMIZE Try new layouts, images, and headlines

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

BONUS SECTION

03. Non-Digital Marketing Tactics 49 | DIGITAL MARKETING FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS

CHAPTER 03 | REAL WORLD MARKETING TACTICS

In-Person and Physical Marketing Tactics This workbook focuses on digital marketing because it’s efficient and effective. But in-person and physical marketing tactics are still important especially as you get further down the marketing funnel. After all, students and their families will probably want to visit your school and meet your staff and teachers before enrolling. And some people are just more drawn to an open house than they are to a video.

Events In-person events can be a great opportunity for the community and your potential students and families to understand your school and really picture themselves as part of your community. Events are definitely a “conversion” tactic—one of the last steps a student or family will take before deciding to attend your school. Despite all of the advice we’ve given about digital marketing, events are—by far—the most impactful marketing you can do, especially when it comes to enrollment. They create memories and leave long-lasting impressions in ways that no email or social media post ever could.

50 | DIGITAL MARKETING FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS

Hold regular open houses for your school at scheduled dates and times, and conduct school tours and meet-and-greets with teachers. Open up plays, workshops, and concerts to prospective parents—this is a great reason to send out an email to your list. During the first quarter of the year, hold enrollment events at your school or community spaces to capture the attention of “planner parents.” And make sure your summer months have regular community activities available for prospective parents and students to attend.

EVENT CHECKLIST P ick a great community venues with easy parking G ather volunteer parents to talk to prospective parents T est weekends and evenings P ost your event on your website P ublish your event in Facebook Extra credit! Set up a geofilter in SnapChat

CHAPTER 03 | REAL WORLD MARKETING TACTICS

Direct Mailers & Flyers Every time you move, the U.S. Postal Service sends you a packet of coupons and advertisements—the Welcome Packet. Getting your charter school in the local Welcome Packet can be a great way to get in front of families who are new to your town. And speaking of moving, if there’s a high proportion of rental properties or a lot of turnover in your area, direct mailers or flyers sent out in advance of an open house or informational meeting can be another great awareness tactic. Make sure your flyers have a simple design that includes your school name, purpose, grades, address, phone number, and the dates and times of your regular open houses. If your area includes large populations of non-English speakers, remember to provide information in people’s native language. It can also be a good idea to drop those flyers off at churches, community centers, health clinics, and grocery stores. Think like your prospective parents and get an idea of where they hang out. Can you hang a flyer in the local coffee shop, or library to catch their attention? Would the local dentist be willing to put one of your newsletters in their reception area?

51 | DIGITAL MARKETING FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS

04. Sample Campaign

52 | DIGITAL MARKETING FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS

Example School Campaign MAIN STREET CHARTER SCHOOL (K – 5)

Marketing Goal

Target Audience

Content

Increase semester one enrollment by 25%

Millennial parents of young children; 50% Spanish speakers, 50% English speakers

Video for Spanish-speaking parents: teacher explaining the difference of “connector” words like “because” and “between.” Video for English-speaking parents: teacher giving a tutorial on common classroom vocabulary words (desk, chair, pencil) in English and Spanish. Related blog articles in both English and Spanish.

53 | DIGITAL MARKETING FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS

Example School Campaign MAIN STREET CHARTER SCHOOL (K – 5)

Awareness Activities

Consideration Activities

Conversion Activities

Loyalty Activities

Sponsored article on ESL and inclusion in neighborhood newsletters (English & Spanish) based on existing blog article.

Social media ads on Facebook and Instagram (English & Spanish) that point people to tutorial videos.

Video or webinar on multicultural and language inclusion in your school.

Downloadable guide on vocabulary words in English and Spanish for kindergartners and first-graders.

Open houses

One-on-one tours

Recruit a small group of outgoing fifth-graders to give classroom tours.

Take out an ad in the newspaper to congratulate the honor roll in each grade.

54 | DIGITAL MARKETING FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS

Paid search ads targeting key words in English and Spanish.

Classroom visits

05. Plan Your Next Marketing Campaign 55 | DIGITAL MARKETING FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS

Your School Name

Marketing Goal

Target Audience

Content

56 | DIGITAL MARKETING FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS

Your School Name

Awareness Activities

Consideration Activities

Conversion Activities

Loyalty Activities

57 | DIGITAL MARKETING FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS

CHAPTER 02 | DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS

Charter School Capital helps charter schools obtain access to financing for growth so they can: Enrich education programs

Access new facilities

Expand and open new schools

Enhance facilities - with labs, gyms, etc.

Develop new programs Provide technology in the classroom

Seamlessly address budget shortfalls and delays (deferrals, holdbacks, etc.)

Hire and develop staff

Support increases in enrollment

Improve transportation options

Finance furniture, fixtures, and equipment

For more information, get in touch with us: LIVE CHAT https://charterschoolcapital.org

58 | DIGITAL MARKETING FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS

EMAIL growcharters@charterschoolcapital.org

TOLL FREE 877-272-1001

Charter School Digital Guide

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