34 | DIGITAL MARKETING TIPS | INNOVATION
W:
www.ie-today.co.uk
NET GAINS Graham Hodgson suggests some
simple and eff ective ways for schools to enhance their online presence
A school's website is a way of celebrating achievements and marketing your educational faculty to parents of potential students, the students themselves or as a means of at racting the best teaching talent. A recent survey by Edutech found that numerous UK educational establishments had poorly designed websites, with many not optimised to work on smartphones or tablets. Infrequently updated content combined with old designs was common and many also lacked any clear social media strategy. Here are ten tips for improving a school’s digital presence:
STAY FRESH Make sure you update content regularly and notify all updates to your offi cial
social media channels.
BE SOCIAL Keep up-to-date with social media trends and ensure you have a social media
strategy for you and your staff . Try to avoid personal accounts for offi cial comment and ensure students are aware of the risks and opportunities of social media use.
CONTROL Control the message. Make sure you only let approved users access the social media
tools. Post at least a few times each week and make the content relevant and engaging, and use photos and videos if possible. Do not skimp on the frequency or quality of the message.
BE SAFE Use two-factor authentication for all your social media channels
to avoid them being hacked or hijacked for unauthorised publishing.
STAY CONNECTED Collect email addresses and mobile numbers for all students and parents
(if available and willing to provide them). These can be used for personalised updates throughout the term, by email and SMS.
PROMOTE Promote good results, exceptional students and awards as regularly as
possible. Create a community of interest with students, parents and the governors.
Graham Hodgson is founder of ciobureau W:
www.ciobureau.com
VIDEO Establish a YouTube channel for video content. This can be recordings of lectures
or guided tours. Video does not have to be expensive, but it does have to be professional. Professional videos can be recorded, edited and uploaded from an iPAD. What mat ers is the quality of the content, how it is fi lmed and edited, not the tools used to create the content.
FEEL THE HEAT Monitor social media channels to be aware of comments about your
educational faculty, the staff , cyber bullying or other issues. Do not become the only person who is not informed about the real conversations. Bet er to know about concerns, bad comments or other issues and respond accordingly than live in ignorance.
TWEET As a minimum operate a Twit er account (useful for urgent messages to parents
and students, for example during closures due to bad weather, and for general updates) and have an offi cial Facebook page.
BE FLEXIBLE Make sure you have an adaptive website that automatically adjusts to
the many diff erent screen sizes of PCs, Macs, ChromeBooks, tablets and smartphones.
Images © FreeImages
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