Implementing a February WOM Campaign for Your School

February, the month symbolizing love, is an ideal time for private schools to launch a campaign that showcases the heartfelt connection between the school and its community. This Valentine’s-themed campaign is not just an opportunity to express appreciation but also a strategic move to enhance word-of-mouth marketing.

Based on what I have seen implemented in schools, here’s how you can craft and implement this campaign with a focus on community sharing and online engagement.

“Why We Love Our School” Content Series: Develop a thematic series, featuring testimonials from students, parents, alumni, and faculty. Each day could focus on different aspects like academic environment, community spirit, and success stories. The posts could feature individuals from your community sharing why they love your school.

Social Media Engagement: Utilize platforms like Instagram and Facebook, to share these stories. Encourage your community to participate by posting why they love the school, using a unique hashtag. This user-generated content serves as authentic testimonials, enhancing your school’s online presence. Ask younger students to write or draw out their response to why they love your school and then post a picture of the child holding their board with their reason. Be creative in how you post on social media.

Post to Share: Give your parents a graphic to share on their social media channel of choice. This graphic should focus on why they love your school or how your school has made a difference in their child’s education. This could even be focused on a specific day of sharing – similar in concept to the “Day of Giving.”

Interactive Wall of Appreciation: Create a physical or digital space, such as a dedicated webpage or a social media page, where the school community can share messages, photos, and videos. This “Virtual Love Wall” becomes a dynamic testament to the school’s positive impact.

Personal “Valentine’s” Notes: Inspire the faculty, staff, and administration to send personal, handwritten notes expressing why they love having a family enrolled in the school. You could even develop a Valentine’s card that is sent from the school’s leadership to share that our families are loved.

Individualized Picture Campaign: Take an up-close and personal picture of each child in your school and drop this picture into a branded frame that you can create on Canva. This frame can use the headline, “We love [Name of your School].” Then, send the individual picture of each child to their parent, thanking them for enrolling their child in your school, and asking them to share it on their social media channel of choice with the reason why they love your school.

Email Marketing with a Personal Touch: Send weekly newsletters featuring various campaign highlights, including standout posts and stories from the community. This keeps the entire school community involved and amplifies the reach of your campaign.

Show Parent and Student Appreciation: Find a way to show your appreciation and love to your families enrolled in your school. You could hand out a muffin and a mug of coffee one week during carline, or a school-branded Valentine’s cookie another week. Use your creativity to show your appreciation to your parents and students.

Online Reviews Encouragement: Prompt parents, students, faculty, and alumni to write online reviews about their positive experiences. These reviews serve as powerful endorsements for prospective families exploring educational options and will tie in perfectly to the campaign theme this month.

Alumni Involvement: Involve alumni in sharing their success stories and reflections on how the school contributed to their life journey. This not only highlights the long-term value of the school but also fosters a strong alumni network.

Feedback and Engagement Initiatives: Organize Q&A sessions with your community and encourage interactive discussions about what members love about the school. This active engagement fosters a sense of belonging and community. These sessions could be presented in a series of live interviews on social media.

Use this campaign as a launchpad for ongoing word-of-mouth marketing efforts. Encourage families to continue sharing their positive experiences and stories beyond February, turning them into year-round ambassadors for your school.

A February campaign centered around love and appreciation for your school can be a powerful tool in enhancing community spirit and boosting word-of-mouth marketing. By providing avenues for online sharing and creating engaging content, you can turn affection for your school into a robust word-of-mouth marketing strategy that resonates well beyond the school gates.

Will you take the challenge to implement this campaign in February?

Please share your success story with me as I would love to hear how you implemented this campaign at your school: Rick.Newberry@enrollmentcatalyst.com.