How to maximise your school marketing with targeted advertising

Social Media gives you the ability to not only continually promote your school in a positive light, it also presents the opportunity to target specific audiences to maximise your school marketing budget. With over 80% of the UK population using a social platform, it is a powerful tool in your marketing strategy. By implementing a paid advertising campaign you also have the ability to target specific areas and demographics, attracting the right audience to your website.

Here is an overview of some things to consider:

Paid advertising

Paid advertising is an effective way to attract new people to your school. Unlike organic posts which are only viewed by your existing followers, paid campaigns can target followers from outside of your social network. This can be based on location, job roles, interests, age and more, expanding your reach and increasing engagement to new audiences.

Consider the appropriate platform for your paid campaign, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, BlueSky and X all offer advertising opportunities. If you are looking to boost staff recruitment, LinkedIn would be the best place to start, whereas if you want to promote a sixth form open event then Instagram could potentially be more widely used. By using paid advertising, you can firstly set a maximum budget and the duration of how long the campaign will run. Most social platforms have in-built tools which will provide accurate estimates of how many people the advert will reach, based on your spend allowance, budget and how precise you have been with the demographics to which it is aimed. There are also a number of great tracking tools which give clear feedback on how many times your advert has been seen and, subsequently, how many people have clicked through. 

Regularity of content posting

A key factor to support an increase in your social media engagement is by ensuring your school posts content regularly. Attracting attention to your social platforms across parent groups is only half the battle, keeping them engaged and ensuring they become ambassadors for your school is equally as important.

Consider building a content plan for each month, start small and measure what works, this in turn will help justify the time investment in the regularity of content posting. 

Creating content ideas for your posts can be challenging, so here are some ideas to help when posting online.

• Success stories: Sharing student achievements and exam results, this helps to strengthen your brand reputation in a student-focused way.
• Behind the scenes content: Share event preparations, drama or music rehearsals, sports team training sessions or a day in the life at your school. 
• Educational news: By keeping parents informed with updates on changes to the sector can you begin to increase trust with parents. 

The golden rule of social posting is to always remind ourselves of its purpose: to underline your credibility as a school. Ask yourself when posting “is this content increasing our credibility with our audience?’ – it’s important with all of the potential social media allows to not lose sight of this core purpose. 

Video content

Video content is a fantastic way to bring your school to life through platforms such as Instagram Reels and TikTok, which are popular for video sharing. There are several ways you can capture video content to attract new people to your schools’ website: 

• Student Testimonials: Record interviews with students’ sharing their experiences at your school. Consider asking a scripted question such as ‘What are your career ambitions and how is the school supporting you to achieve them?”.
• Teacher or Headteacher Interviews: Share insights from staff members about your school’s culture and values, increasing the bond between home and school. 
• School Tours: Offer virtual tours to showcase the facilities and environment via the website. 
• Upcoming Events: Capture key moments from school events, activities, and celebrations.

The implementation of video content across social channels is proven to increase engagement. Why not speak to your Cleverbox Account Manager about our School Film & Media service; this includes footage such as student interviews, Heads welcome, drone footage, and virtual school tours.

Social media can have a huge impact on improving the awareness of your school and reinforcing your values and ambitions. By staying active on social media it shows that your school is consistent, engaged with parents and students and up to date on any important news and updates.

If you’re looking for a school branding agency, please contact us at team@cleverbox.co.uk or call us on 0208 466 7222.