What is your school’s identity? What are its unique features and benefits? Most importantly, how would the various constituents in your community answer the above questions? With rising tuitions and increased competition, schools need to present a concise, compelling, and consistent message. Examine both traditional and new marketing tools, including social media, that will help you hone and project an accurate, positive image.

A presentation at the American Montessori Society 2010 Annual Conference by Andrea Naddaff, Partner and VP of Business Development.

Keynote presentation by Chris Klaehn in Nashville at the 2010 UCDA Design Summit

What is the value of social media to your organization and to your brand? There are many types of brands–personal brands, commercial brands, experiential brands. Every brand makes a promise and sometimes a brand is severely damaged when the promise is an over promise (insert Tiger Woods). And sometimes, with much advice and diligence and patience, a brand, over time, rebounds and regains trust and admiration from its audiences (insert Martha Stewart). These brands, however, are made of one voice. An educational institution is made up of a chorus of voices.

We challenge the timidity that exists around social media and explore the nature of an educational brand — its strengths, challenges, and opportunities. The goal will be to create new ideas and approaches to create something much richer than communication: engagement.

Stratospheric tuition. Escalating costs. Shifting demography. Expanding choice. These and other numerous external factors can potentially damage, or even deplete, the new student prospect pool, so schools must pay more attention than ever before to marketing concerns. While many equate marketing with advertising and promotion, making the most of external initiatives begins with a cohesive and collaborative internal effort. The most effective school marketers recognize the power of partnerships among key internal stakeholders, including faculty, admissions, development and finance staff. Integrating departmental functions is not only good leadership and management — it’s great marketing. By listening carefully to those you seek to serve, making sure all stakeholders understand their roles, and putting the right technology infrastructure in place to support communication, schools can foster strong internal collaboration that helps to advance their missions.