A blog – short for weblog – is simply an online repository of short-form content. These short (ideally 600 or more words) articles are known as blog posts.
Schools That Blog for Marketing
Blogging is a required part of any inbound marketing strategy and is a great way to help reinforce your school's brand, help with search engine optimization (SEO), and, ultimately, attract prospective families to your school.
Some people may think blogging is a thing of the past, but schools that blog are as popular as ever with internet users. According to OptinMonster (updated for 2022), 77 percent of internet users visit blogs, so blogging is definitely something your school should be doing regularly.
Benefits of Schools That Blog for Instructors
Teachers appreciate blogging for their own professional development. They are able to share their teaching experiences or new ideas. In addition, teachers are able to share teaching resources, such as software and educational tools.
Benefits of Schools That Blog for Students
Students love blogging! They love the opportunity to express their own creativity and self-expression. Blogging promotes analytical thinking on the part of the student and improves their writing skills.
What Should My School Blog About?
Before you start blogging, you need to understand the purpose of blogging. Most school that blog are used to sharing news stories, but the idea of a blog is not to focus on school news, but to share information families care about.
Schools that blog are using blogs in an amazing array of ways. I've seen blogs used as:
- a mini-website,
- a classroom enhancement that provides links to resources, assignments, and information,
- a place to create and manage student blogs,
- a showcase for student work,
- a professional educator blog,
- a library blog,
- to facilitate group collaboration and projects,
- for the educator's digital portfolio,
- educator's professional development,
- educational thought leadership,
- for inbound marketing, among others.
Once you identify who your target audience is and what they care about, it’s easy to come up with potential blog topics. Prospective families care about their children’s education and they want to make the best decision possible for their child and family. Typical inquiries include “Why should my child attend private school?” and “Is private school worth the investment?” and “What is the difference between a private school and a public school?”
A good source of blog topics can come from your admissions team, who likely field a variety of questions every day.
Read more: 50 Captivating Blog Topics for Schools
Back in October 2015 – and more recently in the SchneiderB University Facebook Group – I asked for examples of schools that blog. In the interest of sharing with each other (and hopefully promoting each other) here is a list of the responses from schools that blog that I've received so far.
- Whitby School
- Iowa Mennonite School
- The Cambridge School
- Lakeland Christian School
- Maclay School
- Durham Academy Head of School Blog “Heads Up”
- Fort Bend Christian Academy
- Powhatan School
- Reading Blue Coat School
- Bryanston School
- The Steward School
- Lawrence School
- Hudson Montessori School
- Poughkeepsie Day School
- Deerfield Windsor School
- Cornerstone Prep
- Spartanburg Day School
- The Philadelphia School
- Lowell School
- Princeton Montessori School
- Summit School
- Westminster Academy
- Loudoun School for the Gifted
- Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School
- Odyssey Day School
- Sparhawk School
- Sage Hill School
- The Miami Valley School
- Mission Hills Christian School
- Grand River Academy
- Calvin Christian School
- The American School in Switzerland (TASIS)
- Kingsway College School
- Trinity Episcopal School
- Friends’ Central School
- Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy
- Fort Worth Academy
- Oostburg School District
- Liberty Christian School
- Wardlaw-Hartridge School
- Sewickley Academy
Originally published January 4, 2017, 6:00 AM, updated February 15, 2022