Swoopstudios social media for schools corr

Social Media Ideas for Schools

Introduction I bet right now you are thinking, “Urgh...not another article about social media and it’s importance or how it is here to stay”! Trust us, we understand. There are loads of content on social media effectiveness out there, but to prove that we understand how much you are being bombarded by this message, we entered the words “social media benefits” into Google search, and it provided 146,000,000 results in less than 80 seconds. So yes, we do get it.

However, we still believe you should read this guide because it is targeted at you the school head, or you, a marketer in education and you, working in admissions marketing.

OK! You’ve got my attention. What will this guide tell me that I’ve not heard before?

This guide provides you with seven creative ideas to jump start your school’s social media marketing efforts. It is an effortless straight to the point read which will provide you with value and inspirations for your new social media strategies.

The ideas within this booklet have been tried, tested and proven, over a long period of time with our clients. What is so good about these ideas is that no expert guidance is needed for implementing them. It does not matter if your school is just starting out with social media or looking for ways to freshen up its’ campaign. Whichever it is, we are certain that you will find this book very useful. So keep it handy.

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Use LinkedIn to MAKE your EVENTS COUNT Setting up LinkedIn Groups that are centred on events and activities you are hosting, is a good way of creating an online presence for all your school’s offline events.

A great LinkedIn profile should consist of...

• Your School's Contact information and summary • Your Market/Niche Target • Your Schools Values • Shared contacts

You can use LinkedIn Groups to forward slides, hold question & answer sessions and spark off debates. This helps with acquiring data which can then be used for subtle but strategic marketing.

Tips for school events

Create and forward a LinkedIn Group to peers and participants before starting an event.

Add people on your network whom you think would benefit from joining the group.

Create a community by driving content in the group. (Very powerful)

Use your newly created community for generating interests and boosting enquiries rate.

Once they accept your request, write to Show the group to registered attendees them inviting them to the group, ensuring and encourage them to use it. you state what values joining the group would provide to them.

LinkedIn is a good social media marketing tool for you because: • LinkedIn Groups can be used for acquiring real contact information.

• It helps you capture data before or after an event with minimum effort (as most users will have already registered with LinkedIn) • Makes pushing your marketing strategy easier as they now know you.

• Makes events, debates and conferences more valuable and easily accessible.

• Creates authoritative niche for your school as a trusted and reliable source of information

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Use FACEBOOK to MAKE what you OFFER much more VISIBLE When we worked with a client that conducts IQ tests for customers, we had an idea of using Facebook shares, to automatically upload the user’s score if it’s above a certain threshold. This action put the offering into a ‚well-defined peer group’ (20-25 year olds) and it greatly increased its reach. Your school can do the same by targeting parents of pupils with particular demographics. This will make it easier for your school to funnel its marketing content and efforts to the right audience.

Why it is so good....

-t can make your offering much more visible

Automated sharing easily adds visible information to your targets Facebook feed

This action then sparks a reaction across the user’s friends list

More traffic for your School’s website

Try it because…

What can Schools use this for?

• It explodes the visibility of your school’s website within a certain demographic.

• Raises the profile of your school within your chosen targets feeds and online community.

• Increases traffic to your school’s website.

• Encourages users to interact with you on social channels.

• Admissions and Enrolments • School Events and Attendance checks • Online registrations • Revision for educational content • Bookings for school activities

* Provides easily accessible information for audience in their feeds.

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Make your CUSTOMER SERVICE more EFFICIENT A disheartened or upset parent can complain on social media. It is quite easy to complain when no one pays any attention or responds. Use real people to face complaints and solve problems. Parents are happier and will potentially defend your school in the future.

A disheartened client complains on social media

It’s quite easy to complain when no one answers

Use real people to face the complaints and solve problems

Customers are happier and potentially will defend the brand in the future

Employ real people Use real operators with names to deal with unsatisfied complainants. Do NOT have them reply with your brand name or logo! A face in a faceless world is bound to bring a smile.

Private Messages (PMs) Complaints should not be discussed in-depth in the open.

If you must respond, use positive messages, such as: “Please PM us your contact details and we’ll get right back to you.”

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T: 020 7700 9999

Use SOCIAL Media CHANNELS to create ONLINE COMMUNITIES Why it works…

• Some user groups just love it.

• Creates a community that is specifically centred around your School as a brand.

• Captures data through mutually beneficial exchange.

• Makes funnelling your content much easier.

• Builds your School’s reputation as an expert in the Education field.

• Generates additional brand reputation.

• All the above is possible because social media allows you to gently court your target audience.

Build a socially-fuelled knowledge bas Social media is a two-way channel that engages directly with audiences. Building an online space specifically meant for this purpose helps greatly in shaping that exchange. If you ask users to register, you can build a real sharing centre that connects you to all sorts of experts in the field.

Tip

Try Google Hangouts.

Google Hangouts can be used to host seminars and discussions that create real debate in the community, and it’s all done in real time.

You have a loosely connected community.

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Create an environment that targets and includes your audience.

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You can now lead the community through your school’s personal connections.

Parents are happier and will potentially defend your school in the future.

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Market Testing through social media Give your parents and prospective parents more control. Use polls or cross-network content for making decisions for your school.

Helpful questions/suggestions like these could help...

“Tell us the favourite colour of P.E kit you want pupils to wear this term.”

“Our new Subject, X, is so popular that we have opened up many classes for it... choose one and we will make it work around your child’s other subjects.”

“Which School’s coat of arms do you prefer?”

It works because…

• Parents and prospective parents are given real influence.

• Their insights can help the decision making process.

• This approach is cost-effective.

• It can increase your school’s exposure.

• In the long run, this will help your school generate sales and drive up revenue.

You have a loosely connected community.

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Create an environment that targets and includes your audience.

www.swoopstudios.co.uk

You can now lead the community through your school’s personal connections.

Parents are happier and potentially, will defend the brand in the future.

T: 020 7700 9999

Create competitions for online communities...

One of our clients once repurposed surplus running shoes for a motivational competition. Users were encouraged to enter by sending in photos of them running for a chance to win.

By choosing a health topic, the competition sparked endorsement from healthcare organisations and created contacts for the brand that proved valuable afterwards.

Schools can benefit by employing the same tactics and may well see endorsement from worldwide educational organisations if they need it.

Competitions work because…

• They generate brand awareness and create a traffic influx.

• They allow reaching new customers/parents and markets.

• They offer the chance (if done correctly) to build contacts and affiliations that further endorse your school’s unique brand.

• Helps in building an online community centred on your school.

One competition sparked a 168% increase of Twitter visits during the competition

A good tip Once, a client’s competition sparked a 168% increase of Twitter visits during the competition.

Competitions are great if they are more than just “retweet for a chance to win”. Give your parents and pupils the chance to be creative and encourage them to share something a bit more personal or relevant to the school.

Got any spare inventory or surplus donations made to your school?

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Create giveaway competitions.

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Create affiliations with other educational organisations and official establishments.

Make your school more prominent and build up awareness.

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SEE our IDEAS in ACTION The success of our ideas and expertise can be seen below. These increases could be your School's success story too. Try them today...!

160% 33%

increase from social sources since social media training

increase in Facebook visits

89%

54%

increase in website visitors through hosting a blog

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increase in blog visitors

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Social media can help you achieve real goals every day, but your school may also need expert guidance from media marketing professionals if you are still new or starting out.

Below are some of the ways we can help you...

Verify your opportunity 6 weeks of brand analysis, including that of your competition and the industry as a whole. We’ll work hard and find the growth opportunity your school is looking for.

Fully-managed campaigns on social media Performance reports, reaching campaign objectives, daily updates and everything else required to make your social media campaigns successful.

Starting out with social media We’ll create a tailor-made social media plan for your school, identifying the most productive marketing channels for you and set metrics using measurable marketing techniques.

Chat with us for free.

If your school would like to learn more about these ideas, call us for a free no-obligation chat on.

169 High Street, Hadley Green Barnet, Herts, EN5 5SU T: 020 7700 9999, F: 020 7700 9998 Skype ID: swoopstudios

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