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Back **What We've Learned in 10 Years that Could Save Your Program's Budget: Building a Thriving Online Program Through Effective Grassroots Marketing (Cascade G)** //David Patt, Advanced Academics// //Judi Startzman, Visual Image//

media type="file" key="What Weve learned in 10 Years that c.mp3" width="240" height="20" //With 10 years of experience in online learning, we've learned what to do in order to gain ground in marketing an online program and we've gained successful insights into grassroots efforts that can work for any school. Learn how to market your program through effective grassroots approaches to 2 very distinct audiences: parents and students. We'll share with you the ins and outs of marketing your program to parents and students and how each deserves their own approach.//

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Notes from Marcel Kielkucki, Director of HS Completion Programs, Kirkwood Community College (mkielku@kirkwood.edu)

Marketing must haves—before you begin: -A brand is the connection between you and your target—a relationship—what do they think of? -Your brand must be the foundation of every communications effort—foundation of all decisions -Having a brand can have internal/external benefits—it serves as a frame of reference for your target, and serves as a compass/provides guidelines internally -A brand is also a promise A good branding strategy: -Communicates the values and culture of your organization -Is universal enough to cover all audiences, but specific enough to create reasons to support targets -Can communicate any relevant message -Is equally effective in all marketing communications -Owns a position in the market Judi then showed some logos of companies and gauged how fast the audience responded (Target, Starbucks, etc.) Why did people know these brands/logos? She also then asked what came to mind as you saw each logo.
 * __Breakout Session 3—Building a Thriving Program Through Grassroots Marketing—David Patt from Advanced Academics and Judi Startzman, VI Marketing and Branding__**

Then spent time focusing on Disney—fun, family entertainment is their brand statement but you don’t necessarily see it anywhere. Looking at your own brand, what do you want it to say/mean to your audiences?

Brand Name& Logo Considerations: -Think Long Term—have a name that can reflect possible changes in the future -Be as descriptive as possible -BLAHYOU—Big Long Acronyms Can Hinder Your Objectives Unfortunately -Don’t use words that leads targets astray -Secure all applicable URLs -Think through all possible uses -Maintain Consistency—set brand standards, say the same thing everywhere so you don’t have multiple brands out there When you look at your target audience, identify all stakeholders(parents/adults, students/teens, educators as three examples.) Where are they coming from, and how do you reach them? You need to understand your audience in order to make a connection. Also develop a compelling message that connects with your audience—know what keeps them up at night. Also use what you’ve learned during your research—you need to have everyone on board—parents, students, etc. Students will likely be quick to embrace, but you also need to be ready for potential skeptics, so address concerns front and clear. You also need to make it easy to learn and respond—direct call to action in messaging, clear and concise website with easy navigation, and have staff available to answer questions Question was asked about who to focus marketing on—students or parents? Answer given was to treat them equally. So what are some tactics to use to market your program? -One way is to identify some brand ambassadors—people who can be positive endorsers of your program. It could be students, parents, and school staff. -If you have that “it changed my life” testimonial it can be very effective in marketing -Use your resource at hand. Use an autodialer for marketing, look at your school signage—look at the property your school owns for marketing purposes, work with your communications department, and look at transportation (signs on buses, vans, etc.) -Put a face on your efforts! Hold informational sessions, and you can try to tie them in to school or community events. It allows opportunities for people to ask questions. -Harness the power of the Internet—get social, get networking, do webinars, and look at cost per click advertising (AdWords, or Facebook as two example) -Social media may lead to some questions, but speakers advise to jump in, as it’s here to stay. Since people are online talking about your program, you can pro-actively get your message out there. Statistics were shown on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Create pages/accounts for your program. -Student testimonials uploaded can work great—A Flip Video camera can work great for this. -You can also look at online forums, such as in the homeschool area. This allows you to respond to potential questions—a good way to keep track of these items is to use a tool such as Google Alerts, Collecta.com, or monniter.com (tools allow you to watch for comments about your brand/program in a way that’s easier for you than monitoring sites individually) -Webinars are a cost-efficient way to extend your reach. It provides anonymity for people to ask questions, and can be flexible and convenient for your audience. -CPC (cost per click) advertising does take a lot of set up, but can be cost-effective. Be sure to set your budget, and you can highly target your audience using geo-targeting. It allows you to adjust extremely quickly, and you only pay for clicks to your website. -Harness the power of your community. Identify local businesses, churches, community organizations that cater to your audience and explain how you can help. Also contact your local media sources, and community leaders that can champion your cause.

Keys to Success: 1) Know your audience 2) Use Relevant Messaging 3) Develop an Integrated Approach 4) Provide Clear Opportunities for response 5) Remember what you’re working for—you’re working to change the lives of students.


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