Sculthorpe

School communication and marketing is changing, and whether you like it or not, this means your school marketing will need to change. However, the most significant barrier to your school’s adaptation to this new landscape is not the customers nor the technology, it’s managing the change required. This episode, we discuss how we believe you can lead your school through change effectively, and share some common reasons why school marketing change initiatives falter.

To do great school communication and marketing, some of the most impactful levers you can pull don’t depend on the size of your budget. This episode, we discuss six things you can do that won’t put any strain on your school financially. But we warn you, it’s not going to be easy. Through our experience of working with hundreds of school Heads, we know these ideas can be difficult to action … but not impossible.

There is a problem that is deeply ingrained into the structural fabric of Australia’s independent school sector. Schools need high-level marketing support, but only a few of the largest schools can access this type of talent. A concept borrowed from the commercial world might be the answer. This episode, we discuss the role of the ‘Fractional’ Director of Marketing, how they operate and why this role might be right for your school.

For generations, we’ve been told that logic dictates our decision making. However, a growing body of research suggests that it’s our emotions that drive our decisions, especially when it comes to complex purchase decisions. This episode, we discuss how you can lead your communication and marketing team to limit the logical and elevate the emotional in your quest for increased enrolment enquiries.

In this episode, we dive into the topic of AI and how it can be used in your school marketing. We discuss a Hubspot article surveying over 1,000 marketing professionals to discover trends in AI usage. We share our thoughts on how your school marketing team can use AI to become more efficient and be able to free up your team to focus on the parts of the job they love.

In this special interview episode, we are joined by Tom Olverson, a veteran school head of 27 years across the United States and is now a specialist search consultant, as well as mentoring school Heads. He is also the author of “Leading through strategy – how business principles can help independent schools thrive”. He talks us through strategy and what ‘winning’ looks like for schools, as well as sharing some of the principles from the for-profit world that Heads often overlook, which can help their school thrive.

In the world of independent schools, clear communication isn’t just beneficial — it’s pivotal. The pitfalls of misinterpretations, ambiguous roles and inconsistent messages can profoundly inhibit a school’s growth on all fronts. Schools, like all organisations, face challenges in achieving effective communication. And it’s holding them back. This episode we discuss the significance of communication in school marketing and provide tips on paving a way forward for your school communications.

In this special interview episode, we are joined by Dan Oshinsky, owner of Inbox Collective, an email consultancy that helps brands grow audiences, build relationships and gets results through email. We discuss the future of email marketing and the differences and similarities between brand email marketing and school email marketing. Dan shares how to make your marketing emails feel more personal to establish a connection with your target. Finally, we discuss which metrics are the best for you and how to interpret those metrics.

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” That’s only partially true. Brad and Scully discuss this further in this episode, delving into how – within the school marketing context – your second chance is to iterate and improve before your next opportunity for another first impression. In today’s interconnected world, the battle for enrolment begins online. As prospective parents commence their intricate journey of selecting the best school, their first stop is usually your school’s website. 

In this episode, we are joined by psychologist Dr Matt Pfeiffer to discuss his model TXcel Education, which aims to enhance the educational effectiveness of teachers. TXcel is a professional development model which uses surveys to allow teachers to receive a range of feedback and help them enhance their teaching effectiveness. Matt talks us through the development of the model, as well as how TXcel is used in practice in schools. Finally, we discuss the connection between marketing and communications and quality of teaching and what this means for school Heads.