SMC: School Marketing and Communications

In this episode, Charlie and Rita discuss the implications of Elon Musk buying Twitter and what the impact might be for school marketers. They Deep Dive into an article that considers whether the death knell has sounded for fortnightly school newsletters, then have a Rant about a piece in The Educator : 'Schools need dedicated social media staff — principals' … but not for the reasons you might th...

This week Charlie is joined in the studio by special guest and former SMC host, Scully, to discuss SMJ podcast's latest milestone. They consider ways that schools can maximise their own anniversaries and give some tips for school marketers to manage their Heads! In the Deep Dive, the pair get right into brand positioning and how to tell if your school has a positioning problem. Finally, in Rants a...

Charlie and Rita go sonic! In this episode, they get and give the lowdown on sonic branding and discuss whether schools are (or should be) ready for it. They share their insights on the optimum length of blogs to maximise your school's SEO before heading into Rants and Raves, discussing the meaning, psychology and use of colours. Got more questions? Ask them via smc@imageseven.com.au or imageseven...

Charlie and Rita get straight into Making News, unpacking updates to Google Analytics and what school marketers need to do to avoid losing their website data. In an interview with Stephen Wruck, Head of Marketing and Enrolments at Queensland's King's Christian College, they discuss his experience of CAASie, a new platform that allows you to make low-cost bookings for out-of-home media. Finally, in...

Charlie and Rita begin this episode with a review of the Oscars of Advertising, the Super Bowl LVI advertisements. They choose their favourites and unpack what school marketers can learn from the multi-million dollar spots. In the Deep Dive, the pair discuss marketing guru Seth Godin's 'Purple Cow' theory and its role in an attention deficit society. Finally, in the Question of the Month, they ans...

This episode, Charlie and Rita get stuck into all things media by starting with a review of the Global Ad Spend trends for 2021-22. They then discuss the important role that mobile can play in enhancing out of home advertising before discussing what could perhaps be the next big social media platform for schools – Nextdoor.   Got more questions? Ask them via smc@imageseven.com.au or imageseven.typ...

This episode, Charlie and Rita review the top marketing trends for 2022, as presented by HubSpot. They review which trends make the cut and which should be left behind in 2021. From experiential marketing to influencer marketing and chatbots, our hosts cover off a year's worth of content in one episode! Got more questions? Ask them via smc@imageseven.com.au or imageseven.typeform.com/to/VQIz0PXK E...

This episode, Charlie and Rita start the episode in Making News by discussing a contentious media lawsuit brewing in London over ad placements. They Deep Dive into negative online reviews and how to use them as a force for good, then answer a listener's question about newsletter platforms. Finally, in Rants and Raves, the pair have a rant (and a laugh!) about Facebook's rebrand. Got more questions...

This episode, Charlie and Rita are joined by imageseven's resident social media expert Alissa to discuss TikTok … should it now have a place in a school's communications plan or is it still too much of a risk? In Making News they consider the future of managing Facebook comments after a recent High Court ruling, then answer a listener question about how to develop school marketing skills. Got more...

This episode, Charlie and Rita take a look at how school marketers can measure and maximise their return on investment (ROI). They discuss the top ten KPIs every marketing team should be tracking, before taking a deep dive into some mind-blowing digital marketing ROI statistics. The discussion then turns to the Visa rebrand … tune in to find out if it's a rant or a rave! Episode links: The Marcom...

In this special Q&A episode, Charlie and Rita answer the questions you and your fellow listeners have sent them. Topics range from successful LinkedIn strategies to addressing student retention issues, whether search volume is more important than search traffic and much more! Episode links: The Marcom Society

With Apple's recent security updates top of mind, we start this episode by discussing its impact and how marketers will need to adapt their paid Facebook strategies in light of these changes. Charlie and Rita then get into the nitty gritty of how to execute the perfect Open Day in this month's Deep Dive, before raving about a potential future of personalised digital executions of school tours.   E...

In this special interview episode we are joined by the Principal and Marketing Manager of De La Salle College in Malvern, Victoria — Peter Houlihan and Dee Houlihan (not related!). Our conversation covers COVID-19, remote learning challenges and how to foster great relationships between marketers and your Principal. In our regular segments, we alert listeners to upcoming changes to Facebook Analyt...

We start this episode by considering the impact of the upcoming iOS updates on your social media advertising in Making News. Then it's a Deep Dive into the how and why of aligning your school's visual branding with your storytelling before we answer a listener's question about which audience should be targeted with which social media platform. This month we're raving in Rants and Raves, as we delv...

In the first episode of 2021, Charlie and Rita enjoy a social media special. The pair discuss the recent battle, and subsequent outages, between Facebook and the Australian Government and how schools can navigate the space. In the Deep Dive, the pair discuss the School Marketing and Social Media Survey 2020 and some of the most interesting findings, before Rita shares her Top Tips for preparing a...

In the final episode of 2020, Charlie, Rita and Jose look ahead at the trends that might be emerging for school marketers in 2021. The team discuss what may or may not be relevant for schools compared to higher education trends and how schools can elevate themselves above the competition. In this episode's Top Tips, Charlie shares his tips for identifying your school brand ambassadors whilst in th...

In this bumper social media episode, Charlie, Rita and Jose are joined by Em to discuss how to plan and execute a great social media strategy for your school. The team discuss strategy and planning to support your school's objectives as well as tactics, specific platform recommendations and tips to help time-poor school marketers. In this episode's Top Tips, Jose shares his tips for planning a suc...

In this episode, Charlie and Rita discuss the scary trends on social media and the dangerous 'challenges' that students and adolescents are exposed to on TikTok. In the Deep Dive segment, the team discuss three website copywriting facts that might make school marketers re-think their content strategy and in this episode's Top Tips, Rita shares her tips for choosing a supplier for your school. Fina...

In this episode, Charlie, Rita and Jose get excited for the InspirED 2020 Brilliance Awards and run through their favourite categories. In the Deep Dive segment, the team then debate how school marketers can be brave with their school brand and make steady growth and changes without fear of breaking it. In a new podcast segment Top Tips, the team share some easy and actionable steps to help improv...

In this episode, Charlie and Rita discuss the 2020 Social Media Statistics produced by #SMPerth. In the Deep Dive segment, the team address how schools should be addressing building their brand through a pandemic and whether they should be advertising. Finally, in the Rants and Raves segment, the hosts rave about Swinburne University of Technology's creative solution to remote open days with their...

In this episode, Charlie, Rita and Jose discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in creative solutions and content from school marketers. In the Deep Dive segment, the team are joined by imageseven team member Cas as they discuss why school marketers should get involved with the planning of their school's arts events and how they can ultimately nurture leads through the process. Finally, in...

In this episode, Charlie, Rita and Jose discuss the censorship battles that the major social media networks are currently fighting. In the Deep Dive segment, they talk about Pinterest, whether school marketers should be using it and if so, how it could feature in their school's marketing. In the Rants and Raves segment, the hosts discuss the recent closure of many community newspapers in Australia...

In this episode, Charlie, Rita and Jose discuss how best to navigate the testing times facing school marketers during the current COVID-19 pandemic. In the Deep Dive segment, they discuss virtual tours and how to execute them effectively, while in the Rants and Raves segment the hosts share some fun and easy to produce lockdown content.

In this episode, Charlie, Rita and Jose discuss how to communicate information about COVID-19 to stakeholders, and how important it is to build trust in times like these. In the Deep Dive segment, they talk about communicating with your target audience. In the Rants and Raves segment, the hosts have some fun talking about the challenges of working from home.  Children interrupt BBC News interview...

In this episode, Charlie, Rita and Jose talk about their favourite and least favourite ads from the US Super Bowl. In the Deep Dive segment, the hosts discuss how school marketers can use the Olympic Games to support their own content. The Question of the Week focuses on what the optimum enewsletter subject line length is to maximise opens. In the Rants and Raves segment, the hosts rave about Wesl...