Rick Newberry
President and Founder
Enrollment Catalyst
Originally posted at Rick's Blog
It’s hard to believe that graduation will soon be here.
I remember a group of seniors one year when I was head of school.
They decided that their senior prank would consist of putting dead fish
on top of our school building as well as toilet papering the trees. The
problem came when the neighbors called the police. Not only did four
squad cars come to the campus, but they also sent a helicopter to chase
down the students. They rounded up half of the senior class and took
them to jail. I remember getting the phone call at 3:30am when I was
deep in sleep. The parents weren’t too happy picking them up at jail and
dealing with an arrest record (I did work to get this expunged from
their record). Needless to say, this wasn’t one of the best PR
opportunities I had as a school head!
While your graduates will likely do some type of prank, this is a
great time of year for your students, parents and your school community.
This is the culmination of your school’s experience. This is where
you are able to see first-hand the fruits of your labor and your
student’s successful achievements.
This is also a great time of year to showcase your graduates in your
marketing effort by telling their stories (and I know that my seniors
that I shared in the opening story will always have a story to tell!).
How are you highlighting your graduates and telling their stories?
The following are eight ways that you can tell stories of your graduates and market your school’s graduating class:
1. Picture of Graduating Class
– This week I was on the campus of Alverno High School in Sierra Madre,
CA, conducting focus groups. As an all-girl’s high school, the students
are anticipating graduation in a few weeks. In order to highlight their
graduates, a picture of their seniors was taken wearing the sweatshirt
of the college they are planning to attend. This picture was posted on Facebook. If your school ends in another grade, such as 5th or 8th,
you could apply the same approach but you will want to have them wear a
shirt from the school they will be attending next. I have also seen
schools use this picture as an ad in a local newspaper as a way to
congratulate the graduating class.
2. Graduating Student Stories – Every student
graduating from your school has a story to tell. By sending your
students a short survey, you can capture what they loved about your
school, the impact of a favorite teacher, and their plans for college.
These responses can be published on your website and shared on social
media.
3. Facebook Posts – One of the best types of posts
to feature on your Facebook page are pictures and stories of your
students. This is a great place to showcase the stories you have
collected. After you have included them on your website, you can post
them on your Facebook page during the next month. You could also have
fun with this by including a baby picture along with their senior
picture. Riverside Christian School, in Yakima, WA, has begun posting senior pictures and a caption that shares where the student will be attending college.
4. Countdown to Graduation – Everyone loves a good
countdown, especially your graduates. You could profile a graduate every
day on Facebook and/or Instagram with a picture of the student holding a
sign with the remaining number of days until graduation. This could be
your countdown to graduation which could feature your graduates.
5. Infographic – Stats from your graduating class
can be impressive. You could develop an infographic that showcases key
stats from your graduating class. For seniors, these stats could include
college acceptances, financial aid/scholarships awarded, service hours
completed, as well as other fun numbers such as total class hours,
number of sports practices, homework assignments and more.
6. “After Your School” Website Section – As you work
to collect stories and stats, you will want to create a section on your
website to showcase the results of an education at your school. This
should use stories, infographics and college/high school acceptances to
highlight what happens after students graduate from your school. This
will help to focus on your produce and your school’s results, and it
will bring your school to life.
7. Video – Not only can pictures and words tell a
story, a video can be a powerful way to profile your graduates. Several
years ago, I remember the advancement director of St. Stephen’s
Episcopal School in Bradenton, FL, took a quick video of their graduates
getting ready for an event. The director went down the line of
graduates with the video camera asking the seniors where they were going
for college. With the end of year events, you will want to videotape
special assemblies, ceremonies, trips, projects and speeches. You should
even interview some of your graduates on video to capture their stories
“in their own words.” These provide great opportunities to promote your
product–your graduates.
8. “Through the Eyes of a Graduate” on Instagram –
Just as some school marketing directors have turned over their Instagram
account to a student or faculty member for a day, why not take the same
approach with your graduates. By asking several select graduates to
take pictures throughout a day, you can have them showcase their school
experiences in a day. You could even have some fun with this by having
your seniors chronicle their senior skip day or prank (as long as they
don’t end up in jail!).
How are you telling stories of your graduates this year?
Please share any of your ideas or strategies of how you are telling stories of your graduates this year.