A guest post from Brendan Schneider, Director of Advancement at Sewickley Academy.
Suddenly, video marketing is at the forefront of everyone’s minds. This year, all of the leading social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, are heavily focused on a video-first strategy, and this won’t be slowing down anytime soon. But if coming up with creative, share-worthy video content has you at a loss for ideas, here are some video marketing ideas to propel your school forward, letting you ramp up your video marketing strategy without racking your brain for new ideas.
- Share an overview of your school. A video overview gives your audience an understanding of what makes your school unique. Video is one of the best ways to tell your school’s story. Even though the goal of the video is marketing, use both professional and in-house video vignettes to help your video feel genuine. Want a fresh, new approach to your school overview video? Check out the podcast “Your Old School Video is Dead with James Pizarro.”
- Record teachers sharing why they love their job. Teachers love to talk about their job; parents and students love hearing why teachers do what they do. It’s a win-win-win for everyone!
- Record your principal giving a weekly recognition shout-out to an outstanding student. When students know their achievement is valued, it motivates them to continue to excel and motivates other students to improve.
- Record students telling a joke. Who doesn’t love watching kids telling jokes? Infuse humor into your marketing, and you’ll have tons of exposure for your school.
- Behind the scenes. Parents love behind-the-scenes videos. Does your band want to recruit more members? Maybe the drama club could use a few more actors? Record a “behind the scenes” video showing what the group is all about and then share that video on your social media channels.
- Teacher and staff highlights. Why not showcase your faculty and staff’s hard work and achievements? Every week or month, focus on a different teacher. Record them in action and then get interviews from colleagues and students about what makes them great.
- Live stream graduation ceremonies. Graduation is a special time for graduates, their families, and everyone that helped the student achieve their goal. Graduation marks the end of a long journey, an incredible effort, and a turning point in life. Often, not everyone who would like to attend the graduation ceremony is able. That’s why knowing how to stream graduation ceremonies live is a game changer! Live streaming can ensure no one misses out on the big day.
- Principal/Headmaster’s holiday greeting. Parents are often skeptical of the headmaster, especially if they don’t know him or her. Recording your headmaster giving a holiday greeting can help to foster trust and realize he or she has the best interests of their children at heart.
- Common Core Standards. Parents are interested in Common Core Standards and how they will impact their children. They will want to know what your school is doing to implement the standards and support teachers. They will want to learn how the Common Core was developed, what’s different about them from previous standards, understand the facts about Common Core, and understand why they are important.
- Food and nutrition in the school. Kids learn better eating habits when schools provide healthy meals. Engaged parents help guide their children and can help support healthy school nutrition.
What subjects have been successful video topics for your school? Please share with the school marketing community in the comments below.
Brendan Schneider is the Director of Advancement at Sewickley Academy. He is one of the leaders in the field for teaching on and knowledge about inbound marketing for schools. Brendan presents and consults on inbound marketing, social media, and marketing technology at the regional and national levels. With his workshops, the SchneiderB Media blog, his SchneiderB.FM podcast, his SchneiderB Virtual Conferences, he continues to advance the abilities of the school admission, communication, and marketing professional. His latest creation is The MarCom Society – a community of support, resources, and training created expressly for marketing and communication professionals at schools.
