Communications 101: Telling Your Story

NYASIS April 2006

     Purpose Audience Message Leverage Points Various Approaches:        Publicity Advertising Direct Mail Email Print Material Video/DVD Web

Outline

Process of effective communications:



Establish your school’s identity and position;



Know your audience;



Influence behavior of your constituents

Compulsory Floor Exercise…

    Pair up One person faces this screen Other person faces away from screen Person facing screen describes word until other person names it

Chair

Salsa

Loyalty

Nurturing

Our cultures are:

 Difficult to articulate, especially with limited time.

 Key to selling, distinguishing and differentiating our schools.

Know your audience

 Who: students, parents, local community, other educators, alumni, key influencer  How: by listening, both formal and informal

Example:

“A man walks into your shirt shop…” What’s the first question you should ask him?

Example of Formal Listening: Average Parent Satisfaction Ratings @ re. Communication & Involvement

Written Advisor Letters and Grade Reports The Parents' Post Family Weekends The Thacher Notes Administrator Responsiveness to Your Concerns Promptness of Faculty Replies to Calls or Emails Faculty Responsiveness to Your Concerns Overall Communication and Involvement Off-Campus Gatherings in Your Area Amount of Contact Initiated by School

1

Very Poor

2 Pacific Consulting Group, Inc.

5.12

3

6.36

6.17

6.13

6.08

6.08

6.03

5.89

5.78

5.44

4 5 6 7

Excellent

11

Know your message

“A weekday edition of the NewYorkTimes contains more information than the average person came across in a lifetime in 17th century England” -- Richard Wurman, Information Anxiety

 Increased competition for people’s attention  Know what differentiates you  Use consistent talking points/identity symbols  Support your points with stories

Choose your leverage points

 Evaluate your admissions funnel  Decide where you want to affect behavior  Determine where your materials no longer represent your identity or support your desired positioning --- adjust or get rid of them!

Advertising/Direct Mail Print Video Personal Correspondence Personal Testimonial Web?

Publicity

       Positive (press releases and community service events) and Negative (damage control).

Publicity harder to control, but more effective than advertising (media relations person).

Advertorials and “paid influence” can be effective (Hoosac School ads in New Yorker).

Circulate news articles – copy and send with permission, put up for all to view, use web.

Spend time with the editors of local papers, if possible.

Like advertising, publicity can be lots of work for little gain.

Promote those stories which support your message statement.

Advertising

         The medium and location are essential for effective advertising.

What is the purpose of the ad? Announcement or pure marketing? (Open House date/time vs. self promotional piece) Repetition, Repetition, Repetition….approximately 6 exposures necessary for awareness...12 exposures necessary to reach comprehension.

Other than announcements, “go big or don’t go at all.” As much as possible, track the responses to ads.

Specialty publications are often more effective and less expensive (education sections, camp/schools sections, key directories) Radio is not as expensive as you might think.

T.V. ads are expensive & tricky but perhaps the most effective. If you can’t go big here…think cable access channels.

Billboards work for some schools.

Direct Mail

   Direct mail is only as good as the accurate targeting of the mailing list (region, socio-economic, other demographic).

Mailing to students is more effective…but much trickier.

Mailing lists are available in a frighteningly wide array of variety, with significant specific detail.

    Direct mail can be effective due to sheer volume...but be sure you can manage the volume.

Keep direct mail inquiries separate from other existing inquires…they are very soft. Using a mailing house is generally more cost effective than trying to do this in house.

Dupe check.

E-mail – Proactive or Reactive?

         Get permission first Write descriptive subject in header Personalize content Send during off hours Dupe check Not too frequent Short without attachments Option to opt out Be prepared to respond in a timely manner

Viewbooks and Brochures

      Use market research to inform your viewbook production.

Ensure that level of “slick” matches culture of your school.

Do we produce it in house…or hire a firm?

Viewbooks are, and will remain for some time, one of the most important communications for admission. The web will not kill the viewbook for a long while.

Balance the data with the pulling of heart strings.

Avoid things that will date the piece in order to maximize the investment return.

Video/DVD

  The advantage of video…EMOTIONAL content and showing is always better then telling.

Put your video on the web…bandwidth is coming and streaming video is already here.   Market test with current students.  Try to avoid too much slang and current culture references..it will date the video too soon.

Generally…don’t try to do this in house. However, some student-made videos can be effective when used correctly.

 Think carefully about the timing of sending the video.

Websites

 Websites make information available rather than present information.

 Good websites require intimate knowledge of user preference…their attention span is limited. Average stay…less than six minutes.

 Websites are non-linear...unlike advertising, brochures, videos, etc.

 Inquiries down due to pre-screening schools on web.

Who’s Surfing the Web?

55 to 64 yr. Olds 65 or older 4% 2 to 11 yr. Olds 8% 7% 50 to 54 yr. Olds 12 to 17 yr. Olds 13% 9% 35 to 49 yr olds 21% 18 to 24 yr olds 17% 25 to 34 yr. Olds 21%

Websites

  

1st Generation

: Static, no dynamic content, little interactivity, often outdated information.

2nd Generation

: Some interactive features, can download information, some audio and video features, content more current (less than a month old on average) and more detailed.

3rd Generation

: The content of the site is personalized based on the interests and profile of each individual user…Portal/Calendar model. Site is not only a promotional tool, but is being used as a daily operational tool for students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni.

Chat groups

and site broadcasting. Content changes hourly as large community of users constantly changes and builds content.

Websites

     Make sure your site is properly submitted to search engines.

Put URL on all printed materials.

User-ability…surfers have no tolerance for frustration. Avoid broken links or dead-ends (“site under construction”).

Track the traffic and statistics of your site and change accordingly.

Read Marketing Independent Schools in the 21 NAIS, “The Web and Beyond: Marketing Tools and Tactics.” st Century,

Our challenge:

Communicating the Intangible

 Can’t be pre-tested or experienced by the senses.

 Everything becomes a metaphor for reality.

 Avoid dissonance.

 Relationships and testimonials.  Stories: our most powerful tool.

Final advice:

Coordinate and Align Your Efforts….

 Your communications efforts are most powerful if they come out of a school-wide comprehensive marketing plan.

 Apply Measurement.

 Practice Accountability .

 Originated by Monique DeVane; adapted by Pam Safford 2004, 2005, 2006