Are you looking to take your skills as a private school marketing communications professional to the next level this summer?
We’ve compiled a list of resources to help you!
Your school’s marketing and communications departments are filled with creative individuals—all of whom likely enjoy telling the story of the school to attract families.
These eight resources (following a creative theme, of course) will appeal to every type of artist at your school: graphic designers, marketers, advancement staff, writers, and web designers. We hope these suggestions spark the inspiration and new ideas that your creative team craves!
The Enrollment Spectrum podcast hosted by Peter Baron and Hans Mundahl
Peter and Hans discuss relevant and timely topics that independent schools are facing. They frequently interview school leaders, authors, and other experts on ways to navigate school marketing and enrollment management.
The Next Big Idea podcast hosted by Rufus Griscom
This weekly podcast produced by LinkedIn is curated by Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Susan Cain, and Daniel Pink. The variety of topics and interviews reframe how you see the world. Each episode is entertaining and inspirational as the hosts and guests explore topics like psychology, management, sociology, technology, and education.
HBR’s IdeaCast hosted by Alison Beard and Curt Nickisch
This HBR podcast offers short and informational advice on workplace related issues. Episode titles include “3 Strategies for Dealing with Procrastination”, “Filmmaker Ken Burns on Lessons in Innovation and Collaboration”, and “Why Some Companies Thrived During the Pandemic.”
A major responsibility of the admissions department is to share the story of the school, and everyone who works there is a part of that responsibility.
This idea is not meant to be taken literally because it's clear the facilities manager is not in the admissions department. But by the nature of the work at your school, everyone contributes to admissions and recruitment. Story Dash teaches the reader to craft their story and in turn, they will be more prepared to share the story of their school.
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Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans
This is not your typical self-help book. The authors bring their experience from Stanford’s design program on how to apply design thinking to our everyday lives. One of the most intriguing ideas in the book is the “prototyping” concept.
Just as a designer would build a prototype as a trial, you can also prototype a new experience before fully taking it on. Keep this book on your bookshelf for those times you need to design something new for your life.
Seth Godin’s blog posts cover a variety of topics. His writing is intended to help readers level up and “turn on the light.” His work is especially popular in the marketing and advertising arena. It has been said that this blog is one of the most popular in the world. Enjoy diving into his writing!
This recommendation is not about a particular book, but rather, all of his books, especially Drive and A Whole New Mind. These books apply to almost all workplace settings. However, his research and insights are particularly key for the school environment where everyone works together for the development of young people.
It is hard to choose just one of Malcolm Gladwell’s books for this list. However, Blink is especially ideal for marketing and communications professionals. Blink explores how decisions are made effectively and how to help your readers/clients come to decisions that benefit them.
As a marketing or communications professional, what else would you add to this list? If collaboration is feasible, have your team pick one of the books or podcasts mentioned and start a weekly “lunch bunch” discussion. Make it fun and rotate through everyone’s favorite lunch spot. We’re confident these resources will benefit your school’s mission.
