Telling the Story of Your School

Whenever I attend an open house or school fair, I always brace myself for an onslaught of facts and figures: blockbuster test scores, impressive college or secondary school enrollment data, or an outrageously high number of extracurricular activities.

Every school has cold hard numbers to show how great they are. While this information is essential for families to understand what your school has to offer, the numbers don’t always have the impact you want.

Families need more than hard data about your school. They also must understand what that data means for them and for their child.

Choosing a school for your child is not like drafting a fantasy football team. Families are searching for a school where they feel welcome, safe, and as if they are giving their child the best shot at future success.

You need to help prospective parents envision their child at your school. And to do that, you need to tell a story.

The Power of Storytelling

Marketing professionals have long understood that the most effective way to motivate a customer to action is through stories. When we hear a story, we put ourselves in the main subject’s shoes and understand the world from their perspective.

Think about how Apple sells iPhones. Does Apple drone on about their processor speeds or the number of megapixels in their cameras? No!

Instead, Apple makes an emotional argument, showing off the amazing photos their customers have taken with their iPhones or demonstrating how customers use their iPhones to stay connected with Mom and Dad across the world.

How Does That Apply to Schools, Though?

Let’s take a hypothetical example of a school that just built a new robotics lab. Obviously, the school will want to tout this robotics lab to prospective families. But what is the most effective way to do this?

All too often, schools employ a dry, technical approach whereby they:

• List the number of computers they have
• Talk about the software students use
• Reaffirm the school’s commitment to STEM

While this approach might sound persuasive on paper, it lacks an emotional punch. A different way to tout a new robotics lab would be to tell the story of a particular student who benefited from it.

Maybe this student never saw herself as a tech person, but after she had a chance to play around with the new computers and software, she joined the robotics team and is competing in a city-wide competition at the end of the month.

The two approaches are describing the same robotics lab, but the difference is that the second approach tells a story.

Your school is likely full of stories, from students, teachers, parents and alumni. Telling these personal stories turns a forgettable laundry list of numbers into small human triumphs which are memorable and relatable.

Stories Allow Prospective Families See Themselves in Your School

Stories can help families see themselves as part of your community.

Going back to the robotics lab example, you can see how a “just the facts” approach might leave a family feeling apprehensive. Sure, your school has a fancy new classroom, but will my child get anything out of it?

The storytelling approach, however, allows a prospective family to put their child in the center of the action.

You want families to see your school as the kind of place that can transform struggling students into success stories and propel successful students into greatness.

Hearing a story about a student who walked in apprehensive and walked out a robotics master allows a family to picture their own child undergoing a similar transformation.

Parents intuitively understand that their child will change and grow at your school. Showing them what their child can become via storytelling or through using student ambassadors is a great way to motivate them to choose your school.

The Elements of Good Stories

Your school has dozens of great stories to tell, each of which can highlight a different selling point you want to communicate to prospective families. You just need to know where to look.

First, look for a story with a clear “hero.” Whether it’s an outstanding student, a star athlete, a famous alumnus, or a beloved teacher, remember that compelling stories are about human beings, not institutions or events.

Once you've identified the hero, here is a simple three-step framework you can use to craft your school story:

1. Challenge: What challenge did the hero of your story face?

Your famous alumnus wasn’t always famous. What did that individual have to overcome to get where they are today?

2. Choice: Once facing that challenge, what did the hero do?

Heroes aren’t passive observers. Heroes are active participants who make the decision to take a challenge head on.

3. Outcome: What was the outcome for the hero and your school?

In our robotics example, the reluctant student didn’t just learn to love robotics — she’s now on the robotics team. The history of the school, albeit in a very small way, was changed by the hero’s choice.

Making Stories a Central Part of Your School Communication Strategy

This formulation (challenge, choice, outcome) can be used in all sorts of communications with prospective families.

For example, as you fine tune your website to make it a school marketing asset, use stories to make an emotional connection with families:

• Don’t just put up pictures of your baseball team. Tell prospective families how they came back to win their division.
• Don’t just list the AP classes you offer. Tell prospective families about the teachers who put together the program.
• Don’t just list the academic credentials of your principal. Tell prospective families why your principal decided to pursue a career in education.

And write it in language that the common person understands. No education jargon or acronyms.

One particularly effective story to tell is a day in the life of a particular student. There’s no better way to show off the combination of academics, community, and extra-curricular activities your school offers than to do it through the eyes of one of your pupils.

Whether this story is told on your website, in an email, or through a video, it allows prospective families to experience your school in a way that just can’t be captured by a list of your course offerings and activities.

Even better, by seeing it all from the point of view of a student instead of an administrator, it makes it much easier for families to take the leap and picture their own child at your school — helping them see themselves in the stories of others who have gone down the path to enrollment before.

Get More Students with Expert School Marketing and Enrollment Consulting

For over a decade, K-12 schools and districts have trusted SchoolMint to navigate their biggest enrollment challenges.

Through our professional school marketing and consulting services, our friendly consultants provide:

• Enrollment Marketing Assessments: Identify the key factors influencing your enrollment trends.
• School Secret Shopper Reports: Gain insights into the real experience of prospective families.
• Professional Training: Equip your team with the skills to attract and retain more students.

Let’s work together to strengthen your school’s enrollment strategy. Learn more today!