Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.

 

Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.

This past week I conducted a podcast interview with Randy Vaughn for his School Marketing Podcast about how we use webinars in our marketing efforts at Sewickley Academy. I had a great time talking to Randy (the show will be released in a couple of weeks) but the reason I'm bringing it up is the one recommendation that I shared during the show needs to be repeated again and again to anyone involved with school marketing – you have to experiment, try new things, and expect to learn from your failures, because you will have them.

I used to be scared to experiment with our marketing.

I thought that I there was the potential for me to “screw something up” and I didn't want to hurt my school's name.  The realization is that you won't screw anything up. The reality is that the worse case scenario is that no one will pay attention. You need to learn from that lack of attention and try something else.

I encourage you to try something new this week with your marketing. To that end, I'm conducting a free webinar (or actually a brainstorming session) about how to create a content calendar on Monday, April 6 at 1pm EST. If you are interested in joining me please register here. (Full Disclaimer: I don't have all the answers but am willing to share what I know. Additionally, I'm testing a new webinar platform so please expect a few technical difficulties.)

Hope you have a great Holiday Weekend!

Required Reading

The selfish truth about word of mouth (why referrals don't happen)

Of course you will be eagerly and often referring your friends and neighbors to your dentist, insurance broker, lawn mowing guy and that book you just read.

Actually, not so much.

But I thought you liked it?

The Science of a Great TED Talk: What Makes a Speech Go Viral

Getting chosen to speak at a TED conference is no easy feat. Attending a TED conference — as in, sit in the audience — is a little like applying for college, with a short essay-style application with questions like “What are you passionate about?” But to speak at a conference is even harder. TED's content director Kelly Stoetzel and her team review thousands of candidates and whittle them down to 60-70 speakers for the twice-a-year, week-long conferences.

5 Ways to Use Location Data for Better Social Listening

Does your social listening ignore location data? Here are 5 ways to use location tagging to make sure you're hearing the whole conversation.

Want to Teach Yourself Design? 8 Tips & Tricks for Beginners

When I was in high school, I was always doodling in my notebooks. Hand-drawn letters and little pictograms covered my homework, tests, and papers. I would get lost in creating new ways to write out my name or drawing cartoon representations of my friends. Teachers were constantly telling me to to “knock it off” and focus on my studies. Eventually, I did knock it off — mostly because I realized I wasn't that good at drawing on paper.

13 Types of Blog Headlines That Will Get You More Traffic

Fewer people read your blog posts than you think. More people read your headline than you think, too. On average, only 20% of those who read your headline will click through to read your article. That means good headlines lose 80% of your audience. Great headlines, though, can make a dramatic impact in the opposite direction. You can increase the traffic to your articles by as much as 500%, based solely on the headline.

How Demian Farnworth Will Make You Read Every Single Line of This Article

Quite a challenge, right? Especially since Rough Draft with Demian Farnworth is a podcast. Trust Demian on this one. Demian’s daughter and her strand of pink hair. The first-ever triple BMX backflip. A throbbing finger. Strange way to begin a podcast about getting people to read every single line you write. 

Suggested Listening

Branding for Schools with Liza Fisher Norman and Rob Norman

If you're interested in branding your school I highly encourage you to check out this interview with Rob and Liza from Turnaround Marketing and InspirED School Marketers. This power couple is who I turn to when I have any questions about branding.

Oldie But A Goodie

Independent Schools shouldn't brand…they should blog!

Branding in independent schools is an interesting proposition. Facebook launched in February 2004, before its launch branding work was relevant and necessary after its launch branding work, for the most part, has become frivolous and wasteful. Why? Because independent schools don’t define their brand anymore, the public does.

Heard on the SBU Forum

A member of SBU is looking for recommendations for an Admission Application System. Please offer your advice here.

I'm looking for recommendations for your favorite marketing and or social media books. Please post them here.

About the author 

Brendan Schneider

Hey, I’m Brendan, and this is my blog. After 28 years working in private, independent schools in mostly admissions, enrollment, marketing, communications, and fundraising roles, I decided to make SchneiderB Media my full-time job, where I help schools get more inquiries through my Fractional Digital Marketer program. I also started the MarCom Society, a membership created expressly to help, support, and train marketing and communications professionals at schools.