By: Wendy Cross, National Marketing Manager, FlexPoint

Clear, consistent storytelling helps school districts build family trust and keep students learning in their community schools, even in today’s competitive education landscape.

The education landscape has transformed, and families have more choices than ever, making clear, consistent messaging essential. For school and district leaders, data-driven, story-led marketing is a key way to promote their programs and ensure they stand out in a crowded marketplace.

During a recent K-12 Dive Webinar, Amanda Duitsman, marketing director at FlexPoint, and Ashley Reyes, marketing director at Florida Virtual School, presented a three-step framework to help schools and districts define their value, identify the right families, and guide them toward increased student enrollment.

Step One: Clarity

Before jumping into creating individual marketing tactics, such as flyers or social media posts, schools need a clearly defined goal, such as boosting student enrollment, improving student retention, or promoting a new program.

To start, brainstorm what sets your program, school, or district apart. Utilize the simple one-sentence structure outlined in the webinar to begin putting your message into an impactful statement that is easy for families to understand.

Step Two: Community

Your audience is not everyone. Not all families have the same needs, and not every family is the right fit for your school. During this step, leverage the key questions outlined in the webinar to understand and define your target audience.

Step Three: Conversion

Now that you’re clear on your message and your audience, the final step is deciding where that message should actually go. Effective marketing isn’t about doing everything. It’s about choosing the right channel for your goal and your audience.

Once you choose the channel that best fits your goal and audience, create a simple timeline or communication cadence that you can maintain. This webinar provides examples of how to do this and outlines the ideal cadence.

Begin Marketing Your School Today

You don’t need a big department or years of expertise to start marketing your school effectively. Watch the webinar to outline your framework, hear examples, and craft a one-sentence impact statement that your school or district can leverage to drive your message home.

Have additional questions or looking for more support? Connect with a FlexPoint team member today.

About the Author: Wendy Cross is the Marketing Manager for FlexPoint, where she leads brand strategy and marketing campaign execution for both FlexPoint and FlexPoint Virtual School. When she is not helping schools and districts tell their stories, you can find her reading a book with a cat curled up beside her.