SchneiderB.FM

SBfm23 – Your Old School School Video is Dead with James Pizarro

Brendan Schneider — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 08:00:00 -0500

Welcome to Episode 23 where my guest today is James Pizarro. James is the Creative Director at Red Bicycle Media, a video production company located in northeast Ohio. I was first introduced to James through a mutual friend, and then when I checked out the sample videos on his website I was completely blown away.

I was really struck by a video they launched recently for a local school, and we talk about that in this episode. The big question that we tackle in this episode is: “Is your old-school school video dead?” and why we both believe that it is. We offer and share where school video development is going, what you should look for and what you should think about.

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover

Discussion about a recent video Red Bicycle Media completed for Lawrence School
Video is about a journey of a child that has had unidentifiable struggles in school
Film focuses on both the child’s and the mother’s journey, especially wondering why her child is falling behind, i.e. is he just lazy or does he not “get” school?
Story tracks the child’s progress as he enrolls in a new school and how he comes to succeed in the new school environment
How the film helps support children who don’t have funds for tutoring
Why old-school videos are dead
Why you should integrate a great story and character into your school videos
What you should spend most of your time on when developing your video
Who should get involved when developing your videos
The most important question you should ask yourself when developing your video (hint: hot button)
Benefits vs. features
Why you need to be clear about the target persona
Why schools aren’t embracing storytelling videos
How to get started creating a new video for your school
How long it takes to turn around a good quality video
How to prepare to make a new video
The ideal length for a school video
Different types of school videos
Positive results when you “get it right”

Links and resources mentioned in this episode

Lawrence School Video

How to find today’s guest:

James Pizarro, Principal, Director & Director of Photography, Red Bicycle Media

Email: jamespizarro@mac.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-pizarro-97491bb8/

James’ bio:

James Pizarro started Red Bicycle Media in 2008 and has worked with Flexjet and Westin Hotels. His main focus has been on creating contest that is emotion based and story driven. He Non-Profit work has included MedWish, NEOPAT, Good Samaritan Hunger Center and Organizations that work with Dyslexia. He also has worked on several feature films.

James is married and has three boys and currently lives in North East Ohio.

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SBfm22 – The LionShare Enrollment Podcast with Paul Warner

Brendan Schneider — Tue, 12 Feb 2019 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome to Episode 22 where my guest today is Paul Warner. Paul is the Communications Director at the Lawrence School, located in northeast Ohio. The reason I invited him on the show today is because he’s the main force behind their podcast, which is The LionShare Podcast.

In episode 21 we talked about an alumni podcast. In this episode, I wanted to highlight a podcast that is focused on enrollment and retention, and this podcast fits the bill. I’m very excited for you to listen to this show; I think you’ll have a lot of takeaways from it.

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover

When and why Paul started the podcast
How focus groups played an inspirational role
What makes Lawrence School unique and how that played into the development of the podcast
Why a podcast is a good way to reach parents
How The LionShare Podcast stands out
Paul’s favorite podcasts
The goals for the podcast
How the podcast dovetails with Lawrence School’s Enrollment Management Team
How the podcast motivated a donor to engage with the school and increase his annual donation
The intended audience of the podcast
How an alumnus participates in the podcast production
The critical role the school’s Advancement Director plays in the podcast
How the topics for the show are chosen
Criteria used to determine if a topic is worth delving into
An anecdotal story about how the podcast is working
Production “Behind-the-Scenes”
How long the process takes from the time a topic is decided on until the episode is published

How to find today’s guest:

Paul Warner, Communications Director, Lawrence School

Email: pwarner@lawrenceschool.org

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-warner-6a3a90b/

Paul’s bio:

Paul Warner is currently the Director of Communications at Lawrence School, a coeducational day school for K-12 students with language-based learning differences and attention deficits near Cleveland, Ohio.

Paul joined the Lawrence community in 2014 after spending the previous eight years at The University of Akron where he was the Associate Director for Athletics Communications. During his time with the Zips, he helped manage the publicity efforts for all 19 of the university’s sports teams with a primary focus on the 2010 NCAA national championship men’s soccer program.

A 1999 graduate from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, Paul began his professional career as a newspaper reporter and won two Ohio Associated Press awards for his work at the Chillicothe Gazette in 2001. Additionally, Paul received Master’s degrees in Business Administration and Sports Administration from Ohio University in 2004 and 2005, respectively.

Paul resides in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, with his wife, Sara, and two daughters, Claire (5) and Audrey (1).

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SBfm21 – McDonogh Works Alumni Podcast with Jason Schwartzberg

Brendan Schneider — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome to Episode 21! Today’s guest is Jason Schwartzberg. Jason wears many hats, which you’ll hear about during the episode. The hat he wears on today’s episode is the host of his own podcast, McDonogh Works Podcast. Jason is an alumnus of the McDonogh School, a private school located just outside of Baltimore that was founded in 1873.

Jason owns an energy company located in Baltimore, Maryland that is focused on reducing operating expenses for commercial real estate owners. He is also the President of the Alumni Association for McDonogh School. In that capacity, he hosts a podcast where he interviews other alumni of McDonogh. He gets their stories, life lessons and asks a lot of great questions.

I’m very impressed with the content of the McDonogh Works Podcast and super interested in this idea, so I knew I had to share it with the school marketing community. I know you’re really going to enjoy this conversation.

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover

How the McDonogh Works Alumni Podcast began
The concept and goals behind McDonogh Works Alumni Podcast
How the McDonogh Works Alumni program links with entrepreneurship
How often Jason publishes the McDonogh Works Alumni Podcast
How the podcast removes barriers and casts a wide net to as many people as possible
How the McDonogh Works Alumni Podcast helps to re-engage alumni with the school and familiarize them with what the school is like now in 2019
How the podcast has helped the school in other ways besides connecting alumni and promoting philanthropy
The basic outline of the podcast episodes
How the power of the podcast is in learning from each other
The importance of having a catalog, a known and repeatable release pattern and working the kinks out before doing a huge promotional push
How Jason finds the guests for the podcast
Behind-the-scenes technical details (editing, length, etc.)
The very first app Jason used to record the podcast
The best way to find someone to manage a podcast
Future goals for the podcast

Items mentioned in this episode include

Links and resources mentioned in this episode

How to find today’s guest

Jason Schwartzberg, President of Alumni, McDonogh School

Jason Schwartzberg LinkedIn

McDonogh Works Alumni Podcast Soundcloud

Jason’s Bio

For the past 13 years, Jason has played an integral role in making energy marketing, real estate development and economic endeavors successful. Having spent a decade in the banking and real estate industries, Jason identified the need for an energy company that could help the real estate community reduce energy spend to maximize profitability. He is the visionary and co-founder behind MD Energy Advisors and PointClickSwitch.com.

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SBfm20 – Listener Questions Volume 1

Brendan Schneider — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome to Episode 20 where the guests today are actually listeners of this podcast. I asked in my Facebook Group for listener questions they wanted me to answer, and I’m going to answer them in this podcast.

In this episode, here are the questions I’ll cover

What is the best way to spend a small ad budget ($1,000) when you are just starting out and have no history to learn from?
What ad structure needs to be in place before you start spending money?
Is it better to use a landing page that is not a part of your website (i.e. Leadpages) or a landing page on your school website as a destination for online ads?
What social media tools do I use and what specific data do I collect to improve my work?
How to track event registrations by source using Google analytics goals.
How I use Hubspot for development and recruitment purposes.
How to balance the needs of search engine optimization while not using too much text on your website.
How to evaluate an outside vendor for market research and data analysis for prospective families.
What is a reasonable cost and time frame for a new school website?
Guidance on the creative aspects of starting an inbound marketing program from scratch.
Should school marketers get involved in product or is that the domain of the Head of School?
How do other schools use Pinterest?
What private and collaborative media management platform is out there to assist our MarComms Department to centralize, organize and share memories.
What percent of a school’s budget should be dedicated to marketing?
What one MarComms / Admission professional would I hire if I could hire only one?

Items mentioned in this episode include

Links and resources mentioned in this episode

How to find me:

Brendan Schneider, SchneiderB.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanschneider/

Facebook Business Page: https://www.facebook.com/schneiderbmedia/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/schneiderb/

Twitter: @schneiderb

Email: brendan@schneiderb.com

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Disclaimer: I am an affiliate for some of these resources which means that, at no cost additional to you, I make a commission if you purchase via my link below.

SBfm19 – Project Management for Schools with Risa Engel

Brendan Schneider — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome to Episode 19 where my guest is Risa Engel. Risa is the Director of Communications at the Stuart Country Day School, an independent day girls school for preschool through 12th grade in Princeton, NJ.

Today’s topic is about project management and office organization for independent schools. Project management is about much more than time management – it unites teams and creates a vision for success. As important as project management is for schools, this topic came about when Risa and I were having a conversation about Risa’s LEAD LIKE A GIRL initiative, so I want to take a moment to have Risa tell us more about this exceptional campaign.

Stuart Country Day School is currently accepting proposals from young women in high school, educators and experts for the LEAD LIKE A GIRL CAMPAIGN 2019. The campaign started out as a branding initiative. #LEADLIKEAGIRL includes a conference for risk-takers and change-makers. The event is a free conference that is held on the Stuart Day School campus; it is designed to showcase and inspire girls’ confidence, creativity, STEM, entrepreneurship and leadership. Stuart has offered the conference for 2 years – the event in April will be the 3rd. In the last 2 years over 2,000 participants have attended the conference, including K-12 students, parents, teachers and mentors on campus from across the country. For more information, see the link below in the Links & Resources section of this page.

Risa is really smart and very good at what she does. I’m sure you will enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed interviewing her!

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover

Tools and skills to help you stay organized even if you are a creative-thinker that can easily get distracted
How to stay organized even if you have a huge volume of work
Why you should consider a project management tool like Asana or Trello (free versions available)
Tracking project management metrics
How a project management tool can change the way you approach your job
How work processes can augment a project management system
An example of a project is organized using systems and a project management tool
One way a project management tool is so powerful is that archived projects can be copied and updated, making it easy to reuse a past campaign that is already built in your tool
How a project management tool can save lots of time for you and your team
How to get started with project management
Benefits of using Asana
Ideas of ways to tailor your project management tool for you and your team
Ideas for using Slack messaging app
Ideas for using ThankView video email marketing tool
Two alternatives to ThankView – Bonjoro and BombBomb

Items mentioned in this episode include

Links and resources mentioned in this episode

How to find today’s guest:

Risa Engel, Director of Communications, Stuart Country Day School Girls’ Private School

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/risaengel/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stuartschool/

Twitter: @RisaEngel @StuartCDSchool

Email: rengel@stuartschool.org

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SBfm18 – Communication Plans with James Collins

Brendan Schneider — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 08:00:00 -0500

Welcome to Episode 17 where my guest is James Collins. James is a Regional Director at School Admin, where for the last 7 years he’s worked with a variety of admissions offices. James has managed anywhere from 10+ admissions offices to one-person shows. He is a leader in best practices as they relate to enrollment management.

Our topic today is communication plans. A communication plan is a plan from first inquiry to enrollment, and the touchpoints along the way. The communication plan is how you communicate with families to move them from Point A to Point B. Also, we talk about the technology.

Today’s podcast topic is near and dear to my heart, something I’ve talked about for years. I really enjoyed my conversation with James; I know you’re going to enjoy what he has to say and the information he has to share.

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover

Other names for a Communications Plan, such as an Inquiry Path or Prospective Student or Family Journey
An in-depth focus on inquiries and applicants in your school’s funnel
How to send the right message to the right person at the right time
How to develop a plan from the first time a family is aware of your school until they enroll
Why having a communication plan is so important
Why having pre-defined steps that are easily set and communicated with the family will help your school
Why taking the time to have a pre-fined plan is worth the time and effort
Is a communications plan more than lead nurturing emails?
How specific you should be with a communications plan
What types of communication are most effective
The difference between informational and interest-based communication
Why EVERY school should be developing these types of communications plans
How to create a plan – next steps
How – and why – to use a variety of media for your communications plan
How to use a video in your communications plan
An example of a communication plan
How technology supports a communication plan
How technology has trickled down to K-12 admissions offices
How automation can play a role for marketing your school
Why automation is not cold and impersonal
The importance of setting triggers throughout the sales funnel process
How to leverage technology to maintain personal interactions with families
How to leverage technology to get more done
A positive impact of this process is getting people from different departments on the same page and communicating about the marketing process
Why you should start with a simple process at first
How to keep your process simple
Why you should blend different types of messages
Why you shouldn’t compare your school’s reality today to another school’s reality today.
Why you should just get started with a communication plan
Why new technology can be very helpful for your school

Items mentioned in this episode include

Exclusive FREE Bonus: Download the Communication Plans Resources to reference in the future and/or share with colleagues at your school.

How to find today’s guest:

James Collins, Regional Director, SchoolAdmin

Twitter: @jmcollins

Email: james@schooladmin.com

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Podcast: Crisis Communication Planning with Brian Kaplan

Brendan Schneider — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 08:00:00 -0500

Welcome to Episode 17 where my guest today is Brian Kaplan. Brian is a New York City-based marketing and communications consultant who operates a practice called BrainKap Communications. He’s a former MarCom director of independent schools and, prior to that, he ran a marketing and public relations firm called Impression PR.

In today’s episode, we are going to talk about all that is entailed in crisis communication planning. Brian’s going to share elements of a plan when you should create your plan, things you should do, and things you shouldn’t do. Brian is going to wrap up with what to do after the plan.

I learned a number of things from our conversation, and I’m sure you will as well, so I hope you enjoy our conversation!

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

The goal and objective of a crisis communications plan
The difference between a problem and a crisis
The importance of preparation and teamwork when it comes to a crisis communications plan
How a crisis communications plan will accomplish the intended outcome(s)
Why a crisis communications plan must be specific and detailed
How a school’s Board of Trustees should be involved in planning a crisis communication plan
The financial implications of a crisis communication plan
The difference between a crisis management plan and a crisis communications plan
How social media can support a crisis communications plan
The importance of monitoring and identifying the online communications that are taking place about your school
Why you should engage and dialog with followers in your social networks
Why you should consider hiring a consultant that specializes in crisis communications planning
The core team that should be involved in crisis communication planning for your school
The importance of having parents on your crisis communications team
What should be included in a “crisis communications playbook”
Crisis communication materials that should be prepared in advance
The best approach to take when planning for a crisis – and why
What to do once your crisis plan is completed to make it accessible and usable
What to include in a contingency plan
Why you shouldn’t use a boilerplate template
The most overlooked areas of preparation
Who the lead person should be on crisis communication planning
The importance of continually updating your plan
How often you should practice your crisis communication plan
Discussion about the importance of monitoring social media (see recommended monitoring tools below)
Why you should take the time to listen, be understanding and empathetic in dealing with people – especially children and young people – during a crisis
How to work with the community to help your school heal after a crisis

Items mentioned in this episode include:

Links and resources mentioned in this episode

Reddit – The Keyword Monitor Pro

Hootsuite – Reputology

Crisis Response Pro

How to find today’s guest:

Brian Kaplan, Founder and Consultant-in-Chief

BrainKap Communications

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-kaplan-5863b242/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brainkap/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrainKap

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user69854729

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Podcast: How To Use Data To Create Custom Personas with Dana Nelson-Isaacs

Brendan Schneider — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 08:00:00 -0500

Today’s guest today is Dana Nelson-Isaacs, who is the Founder and President of DNI Consulting. Dana is a former school marketer who went out on her own five years ago. Dana says that she is the product of independent schools and started in admissions right out of college. She is committed to making an independent school education available to as many students as possible, so this is a “soul” job for her. She worked in enrollment and marketing for 15 years and then five years ago started her own consulting company. As part of her work, Dana is the coordinator of the Bay Area Directors of Admission Group, which is a consortium of 75 schools in the San Francisco area. She understands that enrollment managers are typically overwhelmed, so her company focuses on helping enrollment teams create data-driven strategies.

In today’s episode, we talk about using data in your admission office. Specifically, we discuss using demographic and psychographic data to form personas and audience targets. You can also use data to create targeted messages to attract the people to your school that you need and want to attract.

Today’s topic came out of two questions that were submitted in the SchneiderB Media University Facebook Group. The questions were:

Do you think data science has big impacts on new student recruitment?
How do you apply data science in the admission office?

In this episode here’s what we’ll cover

The difference between demographics and psychographics
How demographics and psychographics can help schools create specific, nuanced, targeted strategy to attract the most mission-appropriate families
How to apply qualitative data to quantitative data to augment the data
How to hone your messages to attract targeted audiences
How data can add to existing markets as well as open up new markets, which is so exciting!
Ways to reach out to specific targeted audiences (i.e., events, applications)
The value of focusing on a deep, specific strategy as opposed to a broad strategy
The positive impact of using data to inform marketing strategy (i.e., PPC advertising costs are reduced)
How to source free and paid-for demographic and psychographic data
How to use demographic and psychographic data to create personas
Risks involved in doing this yourself
How a professional can help you identify the right strategy and message
One thing a school can do to get started if you’re not ready to hire a professional
How to use data for planning purposes such as staffing changes, tuition assistance messaging, cost-size planning, etc.
Results Dana has seen from investing in this process
Positions besides Admission Officers that find Dana’s work useful
Where you can hear more about this topic (hint: Dana will be presenting at Vircon6)

Items mentioned in this episode include

Census data
National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)
Environics
Claritas
Dana’s website is DNIConsulting.biz
Dana’s Twitter handle is @dnelsonisaacs

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Podcast: The Brilliance Awards with Liza and Rob Norman

Brendan Schneider — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 08:00:00 -0500

Today’s guests are Rob and Liza Norman from InspirED School Marketers. Rob and Liza are a married couple that have been business partners for 27 years. They were in business for 25 years as Turnaround Marketing exclusively working with independent schools doing brand development, enrollment marketing as well as other types of development marketing. About four years ago Liza came up with Inspired School Marketers because there really wasn’t a resource targeted to independent schools for marketing and communications (MarCom). Inspired School Marketers offers a podcast, blog, daily e-newsletter with one idea being shared every day and other resources targeted to the independent school MarCom community.

Our topic today is The Brilliance Awards, which are MarCom awards for the independent school community.

I want to get the word out about this award opportunity. This is the third year of the awards; Rob and Liza are starting to gain momentum. The Brilliance Awards are a great way to receive recognition as well as a great professional development opportunity. Past winners of the awards are listed on the website, which provides an opening to see what other schools are doing to get ideas and inspiration.

I’ve known Rob and Liza for a long time and we always have a good time when we get together. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did!

In this episode here’s what we’ll cover

Background of The Brilliance Awards
Who is eligible to apply for The Brilliance Awards
Why The Brilliance Awards are great for professional development
The goals of The Brilliance Awards
What judges think of The Brilliance Awards
How to use past Brilliance Awards to learn more about creative approaches to MarCom
Discussion about new categories this year (there are 29 total categories)
- Small Doesn’t Mean Limited (discounted price)
- In-house vs Outsourced
- New advertising category
- Still photography (campus and architecture, people, sports, performing arts, etc.)
- Branded webpage
- Viewbook writing
- Magazine feature article design
The inclusion of international schools
About Steppingstones Scholars, awards beneficiary
Early bird special through September 14th, final deadline October 19th
Winners announced December 28, 2018
Previous winners and why they stand out
In-depth case studies completed on gold winners
A stand out video you won’t want to miss
How the judges are chosen
How schools can participate
How The Brilliance Awards can provide valuable feedback to participants

Items mentioned in this episode include

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Getting the Parent Value Proposition Right Using Data and Analytics with Trevor Waddington

Brendan Schneider — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 03:20:00 -0500

Today’s guest on the podcast is Trevor Waddington, CEO of TYW Education Group. Trevor has many years of experience in the role of director for school admissions, communications, marketing and financial aid.

The topic for this episode originated in the SchneiderB University Facebook Group, where someone asked for an example of a parent decision journey map. Trevor jumped in with a comment about his business model of value management and how it is being transformed and used by private schools.

There was so much interest from the group on this topic that it made sense for us to discuss this topic on the podcast.

In today’s discussion, you’re going to hear how Trevor has developed a parent value proposition data system that helps inform the messaging and process used to market to the parents who are most likely to value the educational experience your school is offering.

In this episode here’s what we’ll cover:

How to create a data-based quadrant parent value prediction system
The role that geo-behavioral and psychographic data play in tailoring the system to your school’s needs
Using data to create mission-appropriate messaging that will compel parents to take action
Creating powerful and sharp enrollment predictions
Using data and analytics to inform the parent valuation decision process
Understanding how the value management system affects how we market to families
Using a data-informed value proposition system to retain families by utilizing all aspects of the school
A 3-pronged process for gathering feedback from families
How to use online advertising, especially Google Ads, to build your value proposition campaigns
Why you should test and build on the performance of your online advertising

Items mentioned in this episode include:

Wealth Engine

Nielsen

Claritas

General census information

How to Find Today’s Guest:

Trevor Waddington, CEO TYW Education Group

Website: www.truthtreeconsulting.com

DC School Hub

NYC School Hub

LinkedIn.com/TrevorWaddington

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What tool(s) do you use to predict the value parents and students will have for your school? Please share with the school marketing community in the comments below!

Word of Mouth Marketing for Your School with Rick Newberry

Brendan Schneider — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:52:27 -0500

When most parents are asked how they first heard about their children’s private school the overwhelming response is through word of mouth. The troubling fact about this response is that most schools don’t have a specific strategy in order to harness the power of word of mouth marketing for their school and simply leave it to chance.

In this episode of the Internet Marketing for Schools podcast I interview Rick Newberry of Enrollment Catalyst. Rick has become my word of mouth marketing expert and in this episode Rick discusses how schools can and should think intentionally about word of mouth marketing for their school.

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

How long Rick has been involved with enrollment at schools
How Rick became so focused upon Word of Mouth marketing
Whether schools have a specific plan to drive word of mouth marketing
The term WOMBound
How a school can implement and/or harness word of mouth marketing
The 8 drivers of word of mouth marketing
The 5 “T’s” of Word of Mouth Marketing
The Net Promoter Score

Items mentioned in this episode include:

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If you enjoyed this episode of the Internet Marketing for Schools podcast, please head over to iTunes, leave a rating, write a review and subscribe. And if you listen on Stitcher, please click here to rate and review this show.

Can you share examples of how your school has harnessed the power of word of mouth marketing?

Using Instagram for Your School with Rebecca Moore

Brendan Schneider — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:48:41 -0500

I can’t remember when I first connected with Rebecca Moore, the Director of Communications at Randolph School located in Huntsville, AL.

What I do know is that when we recently connected she shared a project they were completing at Randolph School involving the school’s Instagram account, students, hashtags, and more.

I became really excited about her project and knew I had to share it with you. I hope you enjoy this show and that it leaves your head full of ideas about how to use Instagram for your school.

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

When Randolph School launched their Instagram account
Why they started their Instagram account
How many people help manage their Instagram account
How they involve students in the management of their Instagram accounts
How frequently they post per day and per week
What tools they use to manage Instagram
IFTTT recipes used by Rebecca
The reason why Rebecca shares photos on Twitter from the school’s Instagram account
The goals of their Instagram account
The Randolph School Viewbook Project
How they involved their current students in the project
Why they made the decision to print the viewbook
What might cause Instagram to fail
How they used hashtags to gain photo permissions
The power of hashtags across social media channels
How they came up with their hashtags
Whether they allow teachers and/or students to use their school’s Instagram account
Tips and tricks that Rebecca offers for using Instagram at a school
New Instagram projects for this year

Items mentioned in this episode include:

Instagram account
IFTTT
Schedugr.am
Camera Plus
Shelley Blake-Plock – “21 Things That Will Become Obsolete in Education by 2020“
#rstories13
Randolph School Viewbook
Screenshot of Twitter feed

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Do you have a question for Rebecca? Ask it in the comments section below.

Whipplehill – Blackbaud Discussion with Travis Warren

Brendan Schneider — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:43:11 -0500

In August 2014 it was announced that Blackbaud had acquired Whipplehill. It was a move that surprised and left those in the independent school community excited, scared, and asking questions about the future of each company.

While I don’t have the answers to those questions I was able to get Travis Warren on the podcast to answer reader questions as well as some of my own.

If you have any additional questions for Travis please ask them in the comments section below.

Enjoy the show!

[powerpress]

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

READER QUESTIONS

1. Amy Schlussel, Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit: I really want to know whether Blackbaud and Whipple Hill will now be able to “talk” to each other. Meaning, when we update records in Blackbaud, can they automatically be uploaded to Whipple Hill (like new students, withdrawn students, graduating students, etc.).

2. Helen Baldwin, The Kildonan School: What does Blackbaud buying Whipplehill mean for schools who currently have/use one or the other, but not both Blackbaud and Whipplehill now. WE currently have Blackbaud and are using Finalsite.

3. Jon Kunz, St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School: With so many competitors moving towards a more user-friendly interface for admission officers, does this acquisition point evidence towards blackbaud also moving in this direction? If so, when do they estimate a new, updated interface might be ready to be revealed?

4. Suzanne Murphy, The Fessenden School: Are there any plans to provide a “SalesForce like” CRM solution for clients?

SCHNEIDERB QUESTIONS

Why Blackbaud?
Are any Whipplehill and/or Blackbaud products going away?
Is Whipplehill a software company, web company, or design company?
What is Travis’s new role in the company?
Is the Whipplehill name going to go away?
Where did the Whipplehill name come from?
What is Travis excited about in the future?

Items mentioned in this episode include:

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Do you have a question for Travis? Ask it in the comments section below.

The Social Media Athletic Director with Jeff Walrich

Brendan Schneider — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:38:35 -0500

Typically when I speak and write about inbound marketing and social media my audience is composed of admission, communications, advancement, and/or marketing people. I usually never find athletic directors in my audience…until now.

I received an email a few months ago from Jeff Walrich, the Athletic Director at Gilmour Academy, and he had some pretty sophisticated questions about the use of social media. He also shared plans he had for a social media campaign for his school.

After a few conversations I knew I had to get the social media athletic director on the podcast to discuss his social media campaign. Enjoy!

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

Jeff explains Gilmour Academy’s (GA) recently launched social media campaign.
He discusses the motivation for launching the social media campaign.
He shares the campaign goals and how they will measure the effectiveness of the campaign.
Jeff discusses Gilmour Academy’s social media channels and the purpose of each channel.
He discusses his team and how he creates and manages all of the content they create for GA.
The idea of using students to help manage Gilmour Academy’s social media channels.
Jeff talks about the motivation behind the launch video for the social media campaign.
While I’m a proponent of having one social media channel for a school we talk about Gilmour Academy’s success having social media channels strictly for athletics.
Jeff discusses the Gilmour Academy Loyalty App.
He share the cost of the Loyalty App.
He discusses what he worries about with regard to social media.
What is next for Jeff and social media at Gilmour Academy.

Items mentioned in this episode include:

Gilmour Academy
Gilmour Academy App
Gilmour Academy Social Media Campaign Launch Video
Gilmour Academy Social Media Channels:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
Pinterest
Flickr
SchneiderB Social Media System for Schools eBook
75/25/1 Rule Blog Post
Youtility by Jay Baer
Apple Final Cut Pro

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Do you have a question for Jeff? Ask it in the comments section below.

The End of Chuck’s Corner with Chuck Will

Brendan Schneider — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:30:20 -0500

When I began SchneiderB.com four years ago one of the blogs that I consistently read and modeled was Chuck’s Corner written by Chuck Will.

Although I’m excited for you to hear my conversation with Chuck it’s also bittersweet for me because Chuck’s Corner but will end this year when Chuck retires from Proctor Academy.

For 15 years Chuck has taught us about Proctor Academy, boarding school, blogging, photography, and ultimately, how to tell a great story.

I really enjoyed my conversation with Chuck and know you will as well.

Congratulations Chuck and thank you for all that you’ve done!

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

How did Chuck start blogging before blogging was even a term, especially in the independent school world?
Did Chuck’s Corner start with a mission?
How was Chuck’s Corner first received?
Was this blog designed for entertainment or information?
What voice did Chuck use when writing Chuck’s Corner?
Did Chuck have editorial review for Chuck’s Corner?
What happens when you don’t have editorial review?
Has Chuck’s mission changed with the blog over the 15 years that you’ve done it?
How and why did you start using more photographs?
Hear how Chuck’s background in the admission office helped shape his thinking about content on Chuck’s Corner
Was the shift from words to photos intentional or organic?
How does Chuck think about content?
What is “Bottom-Up” content?
How does Chuck think about branding in Chuck’s Corner?
Was he a photographer before Chuck’s Corner?
What does Chuck do to his photos to give them the Chuck’s Corner look?
Chuck shares some photographic tips
How does Chuck anticipate his next topic
Does he have an editorial calendar?
What Chuck would do if he was starting a blog at a school
What metrics does Chuck use to gauge the success of the blog?
What does his family think of Chuck’s Corner?
What happens to Chuck’s Corner after Chuck retires?
How do you end a blog that has over 75,000 readers?
Is there anything Chuck would change if he had to do it all over again?

Items mentioned in this episode include:

I also encourage you to check out Jay Goulart’s blog post about Chuck’s Corner – 15 Years Observing Life on the Corner

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What would you like to ask Chuck after 15 years of blogging?

Branding for Schools with Liza Fisher Norman and Rob Norman

Brendan Schneider — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:23:02 -0500

A topic that is hugely important to school marketing, and one that I probably haven’t spent enough time discussing, is branding for schools. My opinion is that schools that have a good grasp of their brand have a much better chance of being successful marketing their school than those who don’t.

It’s because of this importance of understanding your school’s brand that I’m so excited to share this interview with Liza Fisher Norman and Rob Norman with you.

Liza and Rob are the husband and wife duo behind Turnaround Marketing Communications and they have been helping schools uncover their brand for years. Liza and Rob are the people I turn to when I have a question about branding and I’m excited to share their expertise with you.

Enjoy!

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

What is branding?
What are the two parts that make up a school’s brand?
How branding is “uncovered” in a school?
What a brand isn’t
What is the difference between a school’s brand and a school’s mission?
Can a school determine a brand internally or do they need external help?
How can a school begin with the brand process?
What should a school do after the brand is delivered?
How often the brand at your school changes?
What actually makes up a brand at a school?
How should schools use their graphic identity on their social media channels?
How a brand will make a school’s marketing job easier.
How you can use a hashtag at your school

Items mentioned in this episode include:

Help Us Spread the Word!

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Please ask your branding for schools question below.

Creating a Systematic School Marketing Plan with Randy Vaughn

Brendan Schneider — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:18:26 -0500

For episode 7 I’m excited to interview Randy Vaughn from Your School Marketing about creating a systematic school marketing plan.

I’m a big fan of Randys and am excited to share this great interview full of actionable tips to help you create your school marketing plan.

Here is Randy’s bio:

He has occupied the corner cubicle of a Fortune 100 company, raised a family of young kids in a rural African country, and currently enjoys his various entrepreneurial endeavors. Currently Randy loves consulting with K-12 Christian schools around the country on marketing strategy, social media and the “3 Rs of school marketing”: recruitment, retention and referrals. Randy is Dallas-Fort Worth’s only Certified Duct Tape Marketing Consultant. Randy and his wife, Kelly, have been married 18 years and have 4 children (currently 15, 10, 9 and 8 years old) and a 5 lb Yorkie named Hunter. Working alongside his identical twin brother, Donny, they are known as the “Marketing Twins”. Together their team helps develop and install strategic marketing systems for Christian small businesses, nonprofits and private Christian schools. Also they implement creative solutions and perform a variety of graphic design, web, and social media marketing projects. Their latest project is the launch of the School Marketing academy, an online portal of low-cost, self-paced courses to help school professionals learn marketing. Randy also loves to give away free school marketing ideas via their school marketing podcast, on their blog and YouTube channel.

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

Why a school should think about having a systematic marketing plan
Is your current marketing planning characterized as CHAOTIC (led by trendy fads), COPYCAT (doing whatever our competition is doing) or CHRONIC CONFUSION (doing what we have done because we’ve always done it that way)? Randy shares how he defines a marketing plan
Do you really have a marketing plan or simply a document that shares your enrollment goals? What Randy, and I, think a real marketing plan actually should be
The key components of an effective marketing plan
The surprising fact that school marketing is not about your school. We share who your marketing should be about
Enrollment numbers drive the budget of a school (and so much more). In admissions, we fixate on enrollment. Randy suggests schools should have a broader understanding of marketing beyond just enrollment
The number #1 audience your school marketing plan should include and probably doesn’t
What are the most important types of content to produce and where should you publish the content to get the most bang for your buck
What social networks should a school be on to help their marketing efforts
How should a school implement a systematic, year-around, marketing plan that gets results
Should you simply consider online marketing efforts or should you also think about off-line efforts
What is the ideal time frame for your school marketing plan
What personnel should be involved in your school marketing planning
What your physical school marketing plan should look like

Items mentioned in this episode include:

[callout]

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[reminder]Please share your school marketing plan tips and suggestions below. [/reminder]

6 Ways to Use Landing Pages in Your School Marketing

Brendan Schneider — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:13:10 -0500

Using landing pages should be an important part of your school marketing efforts. In this podcast episode I’ll share 6 ways to use landing pages in your school marketing.

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

What is a landing page?
6 ways to use landing pages?
My landing page tool of choice
Reader Question: When is it time for a school to hire a communications person?

Items mentioned in this episode include:

Blog Post: What is a Landing Page and Why You Need One
Leadpages – Landing pages software
Internet Marketing Podcast on iTunes

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Please let your Twitter followers know about this podcast. Simply click here now to post a tweet.

Are you currently using landing pages in your school marketing? If yes, please share a link to your landing page in the comments section below.

Practicing Safe Social Media with Chris Syme

Brendan Schneider — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:07:55 -0500

A topic that I haven’t talked enough about is social media as is relates to privacy and crisis. So I was excited when I connected a few years ago with Chris Syme who focuses on practicing safe social media. She even wrote a book about it called Practice Safe Social: How to Use Social Media Responsibly to Protect Your Reputation and Build Loyalty (which I highly recommend by the way.)

Chris has become my social media expert when it comes to using social media in a crisis. I’ve been a fan of hers for a while and I’m so excited for you to hear our conversation. We cover a lot of ground and Chris shares so many great tips and suggestions. There are even a few that I needed to implement ASAP. Enjoy!

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

Chris shares the crisis story that put her on the path toward becoming a social media crisis and privacy expert.
Chris’s background at the University level
Should school’s fear the ‘negative comment’ on Facebook?
Chris shares a great metaphor for how you should think of your school brand on social media
The difference between a core fan and a troll
What you should be concerned about instead of worrying about the ‘negative comment’
How schools should prepare before a social media crisis
The importance of knowing the capabilities of each social media channel
The cycle of a negative event
The importance of being human on social media
Why you need a social media triage plan
The speed with which you need to respond to a social media crisis
Why you should create a social media response plan before there is a social media crisis
What engagement means
Why you should leave comments open on your social media channels during a social media crisis
Why you should have a social media posting policy
The importance of monitoring and listening on social media
How to get started monitoring and listening on social media
An example of a school that handled a social media crisis correctly
An example of a school that handled a social media crisis poorly
When you should call a social media crisis consultant
5 best practices to prepare for a social media crisis
The blurring of lines between personal and business use of social media
A discussion about whether protected tweets and a private Instagram are truly private
We talk about Chris’s upcoming online social media training

Items mentioned in this episode include:

Help Us Spread the Word!

Please let your Twitter followers know about this podcast. Simply click here now to post a tweet.

Do you have a social media privacy or crisis question? Ask Chris now.