Introduction
2020 was a challenging year for everyone, but especially for those in the education sector. The impact of COVID-19 had forced children out of the classroom, having to study from home with all of the associated elements of school life subsequently interrupted.
As a key member of staff at any school, you will know the importance of open days and how much of a key date in the school calendar they are to showcase your school to prospective parents and students. The impact of COVID-19 forever changed the framework of viewing and attending schools – a solution is needed to replicate the welcoming, warm, and informative experience of an open day, but done so entirely online.
A virtual open day allows parents to explore your school from the comfort of their own homes. It provides an immersive environment in which you can not only show the interior of the school, but also be creative by showing stunning aerial drone footage as well as 360 panoramic views of the school grounds. But with virtual open days for schools being such a new phenomenon, you’re probably wondering where to start. So we have put together a guide on ‘Hosting a virtual open day for schools’ to give you a helping hand.
Create Your Virtual Open Day Itinerary
When planning your virtual open day, the first thing to consider is what content you are going to be sharing with parents and students. Make a complete list of everything you would have been showing at a previous open day and then apply this checklist to your virtual open day and see what is workable.
Examples of a desired itinerary may include:
- Introduction from the Head Teacher
- Tour of the school grounds
- Tour of the school buildings/accommodation
- Feature video on life at your school
- Meet & greet with current students
- Testimonials from former students
- Q/A session with members of the faculty
- Taster sessions of classes
For virtual tours of your school’s grounds, you will need to decide when you will be filming your content. Remember, the beauty of a virtual tour is that you can choose to shoot as much or as little footage as you like and can opt for showcasing the school grounds during whichever season you choose. You can also choose which time of day, or even at night! And of course, for this open day you don’t have to cross your fingers for good weather!
Establish The Resources Required For Your Ideal Virtual Open Day
Next, you need to consider what capacity and resources are required to host this informative, engaging day online. Depending on the core items you would like for your virtual open day, you need to consider how they are going to be delivered and what level of skill and expertise you have in place within your internal teams to make the sessions happen.
Key questions to ask are as follows.
- What equipment do you already have in place to record, store, and edit (if applicable) video?
- What level of technical expertise do you have in-house? (IT Department? Video editors?)
- Are you comfortable with live video, or would your team rather pre-record their sessions?
- Which social media platforms do you want to utilise and what level of expertise do you have for someone to manage/monitor these channels on the day?
Determine Your Platform – Live Or Pre-recorded
There are plenty of options to distribute your content to prospective parents and students. The next step is determining if your event should be ‘live’ or ‘prerecorded’ and then accessible online. Below we have listed more information about each option to help you decide which is best suited to your school.
Live Event
A live event is an exciting and innovative way to showcase your school to prospective parents and students. There are a variety of platforms to consider for hosting a live event, the most obvious coming in the form of scheduling a live broadcast via your social media channels. Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube Live can be excellent and engaging options to host your open day or Q&A session, in a live environment, enabling two-way communication with your team and parents. As long as you have a stable internet connection, there is zero cost involved with this option.
An alternative to using social media is to use online webinar software such as StreamYard, Event Mind Pro and Livestorm. These platforms allow you to host an online event or live stream whilst being able to take questions from viewers throughout the broadcast. All platforms allow multiple participants to be on the screen and can act as a wonderful way to host panel discussions or introduce various members of the faculty. These platforms also allow for you to include your slide deck, video content or imagery to presentations, giving viewers a rich and interactive experience.
For more information about the best webinar software platforms this article from Adam Envoy brilliantly illustrates the options available to you.
Useful benefits of hosting a live event is that the audience can feel more engaged as they can have their questions asked and answered in real-time – which can create great energy and buzz! Additionally, your live broadcast will show up on attendees’ feeds when they are watching – this means your content can be disseminated far beyond your initial viewers. However, keep in mind that as with a traditional open day, you are limiting your viewers to those who are available at a specific time. If you are concerned that many of your prospective parents are working odd hours or may not be available, you might want to explore other options.
Marketing a live event is more challenging than a prerecorded event as you need to ensure all attendees are able to make the exact date and time you have agreed. Undertake a review of your online channels to ascertain areas in which you could promote the live event with the date and time clearly displayed.
Marketing tip from the Cleverbox team
Pre-recorded Virtual Platform
Recording your virtual event in advance has a number of benefits and there are a variety of different options for final delivery. Obvious benefits include the avoidance of dreaded technical glitches or potential mishaps on the day, like your loveable dog gatecrashing your talk to demand his evening treats! In general, taking the time to pre-record your event allows you to structure the event more concisely and include a greater depth to the content in which you are sharing with your audience. Your staff might also feel more comfortable filming their content ahead of time.
With a pre-recorded event you can include as much or as little as you like with parents having the option of engaging with the areas that are most critical to their needs. Popular content for a pre-recorded event includes 360° virtual tours of the school grounds, allowing you to show off the interior of your school as well as stunning HD drone footage from across the school grounds. Hosting a pre-recorded event allows you to carefully consider your production and produce professional video content such as a walkthrough video tour or interview with a key stakeholder at the school. With all of this fabulous content produced the final thing to consider is where are you going to host it? Cleverbox have recently developed a unique bolt on that can be added to your website to professionally present your content. If you have multiple videos, images and additional content you want to share with viewers, our platform neatly amalgamates everything into a clear, concise and easy to navigate offering.
While pre-recorded video might not be quite as engaging as a live event, it does have the enormous benefit that parents can tune in at whatever time is convenient for them. With a pre-recorded event, every day can be an open day!
Marketing tip from the Cleverbox team
Marketing Your Virtual Open Day
The final thing to consider is how are you going to attract attendees to your virtual event? From custom imagery and pop-ups on your school website, to bespoke graphics, online banners and the good old fashioned A5 flyer; there are various techniques available to promote the event.
Working with schools across the country we recommend the following to generate a buzz and raise awareness of your virtual event.
- Banners or pop-ups on your school website
- Social media posts promoting the event
- Targeted paid social media marketing to people in the local area
- Using online remarketing advertising to serve display adverts to previous website visitors
- Hosting a registration form on your website
- External school signage or banners
Follow Up with Attendees
Now that you have organised your itinerary and determined your delivery, the last step is ensuring you have a follow-up plan for your school’s virtual open day. This primarily means making sure you have a plan of how you are collecting the attendees’ information. Ways to obtain attendee information can be through collecting data through a form on your website when parents view the content, asking parents to ‘register’ for the open day ahead of time, using Facebook / Google ‘remarketing’ advertising tools, or using data collected by whichever platform you have chosen. Just don’t forget to ensure everything is GDPR compliant!
Once you have decided what format is best for you, live or pre-recoreded, why not get in touch to see how we can support you with your Virtual Open Day. From promoting a live event to more bespoke pre-recorded video solutions, the Cleverbox team are on-hand to talk you through the service elements we offer that can fit into your plan.
To call us you can dial 0208 466 7222 or email the team at team@cleverbox.co.uk.