Marketing – School PR 365

A couple of weeks ago my new NSPRA pal Sabrina Kapp shared a GREAT idea for a back to school “Top 10” for parents to prepare for the new year. Admittedly, hers were a lot cuter than mine, but in a pinch (and to make them shareable for you!) Google Drawings worked just fine. Feel free to File > Make a Copy to create your own versions!

Click here for the Google Folder with all of the files you need!

2019-2020 Brenham ISD Top 10 Back-to-School Parent Tips (posted on social media in reverse order!)

Remember that students quickly learn and adapt to their new settings, and we have wonderful staff to help them every step of the way! Don’t worry – they’re in good hands! #IChooseBrenham #GreatThingsBrenham
The first day of classes is Wednesday, August 14! Every minute counts, even in the first days of school, so please plan ahead and make sure you’re on time. #IChooseBrenham #GreatThingsBrenham
Pick-up and drop-off always takes a little longer the first few days of school. Please be patient with staff, students and other parents. #IChooseBrenham #GreatThingsBrenham
Routines matter! Start adjusting sleep schedules now, a few minutes at a time, for an easy transition back to those early mornings. #IChooseBrenham #GreatThingsBrenham
Our cafeterias serve healthy breakfast and lunch choices daily. Don’t forget to add money to your child’s lunch account here: brenham.healtheliving.net. #IChooseBrenham #GreatThingsBrenham
Download our mobile app for all of the latest news and information. Look for Brenham Public Schools in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. #IChooseBrenham #GreatThingsBrenham
Mark your calendars for our campus open house events! New student orientation for parents of all kindergarten through fourth-grade students will be held on Thursday, August 1 from 6-7pm at all elementary campuses. #IChooseBrenham #GreatThingsBrenham
Make sure your child clearly understands your family’s system for transportation to and from school. You can sign up for bus transportation here: http://www.brenhamisd.net/page/trans.busreg. #IChooseBrenham #GreatThingsBrenham
Need after school care for your K-6th grader? Brenham ISD has a BRAND NEW after school program, Club Zenith. Register today at http://www.zenithlearning.org. #IChooseBrenham #GreatThingsBrenham
Find everything you need for back-to-school, including school supplies, on our district website under Parent Resources. Have questions? Give us a call at 979-277-3700! #IChooseBrenham #GreatThingsBrenham

Branding, Communication, Google, Marketing, Productivity, Tools, TSPRA

Are you new to school PR or building a new school PR program? These 5 documents can help you get started!

June 2, 2019 Jessica Johnston

I was recently contacted by a newly hired school PR professional who is building a brand new PR program in her district. Having done that very thing 3 years ago, I was happy to offer my input and share my resources. With the help of MANY veteran school PR pros (thank you CASPRA, TSPRA, and NSPRA!), I’ve filled my toolbox and developed some documents that anyone can use to get a school PR program off the ground. I’m so happy to share those documents with you!

Please feel free to make copies of any of these documents and use them to develop your school PR program or share them with someone who can benefit! They’re all in Google Doc format, so you just have to go to File > Make a Copy to create your own version. Sharing is caring! We’re better together! 🙂

Communications and Community Relations Plan – having a road map to guide communications efforts is incredibly helpful in beginning a new program, keeping it on track, and evaluating it annually for effectiveness.
Annual School PR Tasks Checklist – I find that having a sort of “dashboard” for my annual and monthly tasks is helpful for big picture planning, prioritizing and making sure nothing slips through the cracks.
Branding and Style Guide – I looked at dozens of style guides, some simple and some very in depth, before developing this one for our district. I settled on a simple and straightforward version, leaving room for the addition of details in the future, if needed.
Communications Scorecard – each month I send this communications scorecard to my superintendent and our board of trustees. This is a great way for me to analyze our content and locate trends, as well as illustrate our growth and top efforts.
Stay Connected with our ISD – this is a great publication for parents and the community to see all of the many ways they can stay connected with your schools!

In addition to the documents above, I also want to offer two presentations that I shared at TSPRA last year that may also be of interest/help. One contains ways in which we have engaged various stakeholder groups and the other is a presentation I also use internally to start a dialogue about branding and public education.

C4 Yourself! Cultivate Community, Communication & Culture – bit.ly/bisdc4tspra
Are you BrandED? – bit.ly/tsprabranded

Advertising, Communication, Google, Marketing, Productivity, Social Media

Social media content planning made easy with this collaborative Google Sheets template (great for one man schoolPR shops!)

May 20, 2019May 20, 2019 Jessica Johnston

If you’re a one man schoolPR shop, you know how important it is to find ways to work smarter, not harder. One of the easiest ways to do that is to collaborate with key staff members who can help you develop great content. Share the love, right?!

Last summer I developed this Google Sheet and employed the help of our district content specialists, instructional specialists and instructional technology specialists to plan social media content for the summer using the themes below. (I try to update the themes regularly, so you’ll see different hashtags in the document linked above.) It was awesome to have a diverse range of posts and it really made my job a lot easier to have quality, targeted content ready to go.

Motivational Monday

Technology Tuesday

Wellness Wednesday

Thinking Thursday

Focus Friday

Safety Saturday

Stay in School Sunday

It’s no secret that I love all things Google, so a Google Sheet felt like the obvious choice for this task. Plus, it’s so easy to give access to staff who can help me and I know the document is always live and up-to-date. I even built in a little character counter to keep our posts “Twitter friendly.” It’s simple and basic, but it works!!

Do you have a social media content planner that is working for you? Share it in the comments below!

Advertising, Communication, Marketing

I find inspiration in the strangest places, and they usually involve food!

February 7, 2019February 6, 2019 Jessica Johnston

No matter where I go, I am always looking for ideas and inspiration. A couple of years ago I used the cover of the Chuy’s menu for typography inspiration for a recruiting postcard.

Last week, I spotted a sign at Whataburger that got me thinking about a social media graphic that could advertise some of our district programs.

I would also like to point out that I do most of these design jobs in Canva! It’s so easy to use, most of the elements I need are free, and the ones that I pay for are only $1. Easy and cheap … can’t beat it!

Where is the last strange place you found design inspiration?

Branding, Culture, Marketing

Thank you, TCWSE, for a wonderful “Are you brandED?” session!

January 26, 2019January 26, 2019 Jessica Johnston

Many thanks to the Texas Council of Women School Executives for a wonderful session at this year’s annual conference! Below are the materials used in today’s “Are you brandED?” session. Please feel free to make a copy to use with your own staff. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations and hope these materials might help you continue the discussions in your own organizations!

Are you brandED? Google Slides presentation

Leadership brand statement foldable inside / outside

Advertising, Marketing, Tools

30 second radio ads in 3 easy steps using 3 great tools

January 15, 2019January 11, 2019 Jessica Johnston

Part of my job is to script, record and schedule radio ads for our district. Last year was my first year to take on this role, as it was previously handled by a campus-based school PR liaison. Historically, the recording of our 30-second spots was outsourced to district or campus administrators; however, this year I took over in an attempt to create better quality, more strategic radio messages.

As a one-man PR office, I am always looking for quick, easy ways to produce quality content and with little (or NO!) financial investment. Now, if you are looking for sophisticated methods for producing fancy, professional quality radio ads, this post probably isn’t for you. But, if you fly solo (like me!) and need to get the job done well, for FREE, and in 5 minutes or less, read on, reader!

Step 1: Write script in Google Docs

Because we are a Google district (and I am a Google Girl), I do all of my scripts (and really everything else!) in Google Docs. I keep a Google Doc with air dates, topics, music used, and scripts for each radio spot. I love Google Docs because I can access it from anywhere, at any time and on any device. Whether I have an idea in my office, at a school function, or at a red light, I can get to my planning doc quickly and easily.

Step 2: Find ad music with FreeAdMusic

IMHO, radio ads with just voice and no music aren’t very pleasing to listen to, so I use FreeAdMusic which offers FREE, ready-to-use music for advertising. They have an awesome collections of clips that have met all of my ad music needs. Be sure to read their license terms before using (which pretty much say you can use it for works under 6 minutes for 1 year as long as it’s not to advertise or do something bad.)

Step 3: Record ad in Soundtrap

I had not used Soundtrap prior to this year, but I am SO GLAD I found it! It’s super easy to use (drag-and-drop) and FREE (for up to 5 projects at a time … I just delete and start over when I need more space). You can record voice & microphone, import audio files, and even make original music (although I do not use it for this purpose). With one click, you can download your final product as an .mp3. They also have an INCREDIBLE collection of tutorials to help you get started!

Category: Marketing