The non-marketer’s guide to marketing a yearbook
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Marketing a yearbook matters because it spreads the word, boosts interest and excitement, and increases sales.
What is marketing? Marketing is the process of increasing awareness about a product or service so target audiences are motivated to take a desired action. For yearbook advisers and their teams of students, marketing can feel like uncharted territory. The process can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Even if you don’t have training in marketing, you still can be successful yearbook marketers. One of the first steps to successful marketing is to determine audience. When marketing a yearbook, you have two key audiences: students and parents. Knowing this, you can now determine various strategies to reach your targets and deliver your message. It’s also important to determine who on staff will own the marketing role. This could be a marketing manager or the business manager. Of course everyone on the yearbook staff should help get the word out, but it’s important to have one or two people who can lead the charge. With some smart planning, marketing your yearbook is simple and surprisingly fun. Plus, the experts at Lifetouch are available to help every step of the way.
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How to stay organized Marketing a yearbook works best when you have a plan and stick to it. Staying organized helps reduce stress while ensuring you never miss an important opportunity. The world’s leading companies have detailed marketing plans that direct their annual outreach. While you don’t need an extensive plan to market the yearbook, you can streamline your efforts and eliminate chaos by using a communication calendar. A communication calendar is a month-by-month plan of how you will market the yearbook. Some important elements of a strong yearbook communication calendar include: • • • • •
Detailed timelines with start and end dates for each marketing strategy Planning and production deadlines Target audiences for each effort to ensure a strategic approach and holistic plan Person or people responsible for executing the effort Color-coding for easy organization and referencing
When creating an effective communication calendar, remember seasonal considerations. Holidays, school events, vacations and more can impact the best times to implement or hold certain marketing efforts.
INSIDER TIP:
Reference your ladder diagrams and leverage coverage checklists to stay organized while creating the communication calendar.
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Marketing to the student body Creating buzz at school about the yearbook is essential. It’s something that should begin before the school year starts and go all the way until (ideally) the last yearbook is sold. Your basic message is the yearbook is a must-have. You can communicate this message and boost interest in the yearbook through traditional marketing methods, such as posters in high-traffic areas, all-school morning announcements and take-home flyers. Special events are also a good marketing tactic that gets students jazzed about the yearbook. Plan promotions during spirit weeks like homecoming and dances like prom. On distribution day, host a big party for the whole school. Keep in mind, today’s students are technologically savvy. Digital marketing that includes social media is important — especially Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, which are popular with teens. Remember to keep posts fun, thoughtful and frequent.
Smart social media tactics • Set up school yearbook social media pages and ideally post daily • Hold contests to encourage engagement, such as voting on themes • Provide sneak peeks of pictures and page layouts • Create a custom hashtag, such as #jeffersonyearbooksrule • Create an image of the day or image of the week for people to follow • Request submissions for candid photos for a chance at yearbook inclusion • Have sales or mention incremental price increases • Count down how many yearbooks are left when the number gets low • Create fun videos of yearbook staff or school events • From sports games to Teacher of the Year, report news to build school spirit
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Marketing to parents and caregivers Within 10 seconds of arriving at campus, parents should be aware of yearbook sales, whether that’s advertisements in the front office or the pickup lane. Visit your school and see how long it takes to notice yearbook messaging. Posters, printouts and forms sent home continue to be effective for reaching parents. These forms must include essential information such as price, deadlines, submission instructions and contact information. If the school uses a voice messaging system, you might send an alert via a recorded message, too.
school e-newsletter and add social media posts to school pages and the website. Additionally, create targeted emails to pique parents’ interest and communicate important yearbook information. If you’re creating copy to target parents, play on the nostalgic factor of yearbooks. When parents think back to their own time at school and pull their yearbooks out to reminisce, they’ll realize how important it is to order one for their child. You might even display old yearbooks at holiday concerts, conferences or senior nights.
Remember, the rise of digital marketing includes parents also. Reach out via the
• Leverage a catchy subject line
Email marketing best practices:
• Keep it short and sweet • Provide critical information • Think through the call to action
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Top 10 must-know yearbook marketing terms Call to action: Typically at the end of marketing copy, this is the action you’d like the person to take, such as visiting a website or placing an order.
Communication calendar: The month-by-month plan of how you will market the yearbook that helps you stay organized and maximize outreach. Copy: These are the written words you develop for marketing efforts. This
content conveys your key messages in a meaningful manner.
Digital marketing: Refers to all efforts that happen online, including email, e-newsletters, blogging, website content and social media. Event marketing: Using a special occasion as a marketing tool in order to
engage target audiences and spread key messages.
Hashtag: A way to connect audiences on social media using the # symbol.
This also makes it easy to search for and track posts.
Key message: The main information you want people to understand through your marketing efforts. Social media: Platforms where people are social and interact online, such as
Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram.
Target audience: Also called target market, these are the groups of people you would most like to reach with your key message. Traditional marketing: Tried-and-true strategies that have been used for a long time, such as printed materials and voice reminders.
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