Blogging is a great way to inform, educate and add value to your school community and prospective parents. The aim is to respond to the searcher’s intent and build brand awareness by answering the questions the community is asking. Finding new and exciting topics can be challenging, especially as more and more schools have implemented regular blogging to their inbound marketing strategy.
Introducing a variety of blog authors to your school marketing strategy is the ideal way to freshen up your content calendar – something every school should create and religiously refer to when blogging.
Having different voices to author your blog content will give your audience new perspectives on school topics, by offering different insights and providing authority and authenticity on a subject. Here’s how to boost your school blogging with a variety of authors:
Staff spotlight
When it comes to blogging, the calibre and talent of the teaching staff and school admin staff is often an underutilised topic. Why not introduce a spotlight on individual staff members by having them write a biography-style piece on themselves detailing their experiences, subjects taught, typical school day, interests and passions? This offers a completely different approach for the audience to get to know the school community.
Student voice
Having students write blog entries is a popular and easy way to mix up the content. They offer a very real account on topics as they experience them first hand, and their points of view are pivotal. This shows that the school is connected with its students and it is a way to exhibit the excellent writing skills they have gained. Most students will jump at the chance to be mentioned on the website.
Principal’s perspective
From experience, blog analytics show that a Principal’s perspective is highly regarded, with readership increasing when the Principal has authored a blog entry. This can be very easy to accomplish, as Principals often create the bare bones of a successful blog in their newsletter contributions. Repurpose this type of content as a school marketer and pad this information out into blog worthy content for the ultimate authority on a subject.
Guest speaker
If you have a guest speaker to the school, invite them to detail their speech into a blog, or use their presentation to create a blog on their behalf, following their consent and approval of course. This is not only unique, it is also practical. It provides professional advice and opinions from an expert that can be referred to after the event.
Teacher expertise
A teacher’s insight is an obvious but no less significant author contribution that showcases to the school community the level of expertise and knowledge that the school possesses. The topic can range from something they are teaching within the curriculum to their educational views on current news.
Alumni thoughts
Having an Alumni member write a blog is a great way to bring a distinct view point to your blog content. The Alumni community is relatable and can talk from experience to the current school community. Alumni members can touch upon relevant topics like career advice, lessons they learned inside and outside of school and what they have achieved.
Parents’ perceptions
Parents that are actively involved within the school community such as volunteering or on the School Committee can offer another innovative approach to your blog writing. They are committed to the School’s values and engaged with school news, events and activities. Parents can offer a genuine and heartfelt perspective in their writing such as simply explaining what they value about the school.
Whilst having a wide range of authors is central to an engaged blog readership, it can be difficult for your authors to dedicate time to blog writing. Obtain information from your author by asking direct questions, using available resources, and providing blog writing templates so you can formulate their responses into a fluid piece of writing to save them time and to ensure the blog is on brand.
