Most recruitment and enrollment staff understand how crucial their efforts are to maintain a healthy organization. They eagerly throw their energy into creating recruitment collateral, running ads, and connecting with the community every opportunity they get. The problem is they typically bypass the most foundational step in creating an effective recruitment campaign: clarifying their message.

If you don’t have a clear message that resonates with families, you are wasting your marketing resources.

The Problem with Most School’s Messages

As a StoryBrand Certified Guide, I’m trained to filter messages through a story framework. Why? Because stories are efficient. Most books, movies, and tv shows can be boiled down to the same plotline because our brains love the structure. When your messaging uses the same structure, your audience will latch on to what you are communicating.

The problem is not that schools aren’t using a “story” structure to market themselves. The problem is that school leaders ARE using a story structure, but have positioned themselves as the hero of the story.

When school leaders attempt to be the main character saving the day, they inadvertently assign their prospective parents and students a remaining role - the victim. Relegating your prospective families to the role of the victim is damaging in a number of ways. First, many parents who are seeking a better life for themselves and their children will ignore your message. By just talking about your program, your results, your history, and your mission, you have left little room for other’s imaginations to get involved and take action. Second, your school will attract parents with a “victim” mindset. These are mindsets that don’t want to partner with your school to make life better for their children. Instead, they want you to fix all the problems. We have all experienced people with this mindset and have been these people at times. These families can still have a place to learn at your school. But wouldn’t you rather have the majority of your parents truly bought in who will do whatever it takes for their child to succeed?

We need to create a narrative that allows our families to be the hero of their stories. Then what role are we meant to play?

Show Them the Way

In Don Miller’s best-selling book Building a Storybrand, he highlights the most authoritative and most trusted character in every story: the guide. Some classic examples of this character in books and films are the beloved Yoda, Gandalf, and Professor Dumbledore. They help develop the hero’s skills and give them the tools to overcome adversity and win the day. Is this not what your school does every day for your students and families? Once you reposition yourself as the guide, you get out of the way and encourage families to take action to make their own lives better.

A Simple Way to Get Your Message Right

Switching roles from the hero to the guide will most likely have a huge impact on your website, collateral, and advertisements. The number of edits that need to be made can feel overwhelming. I find it helpful to start by creating a one-liner that sums up what you do. When you distill your mission into a couple of sentences, you can easily copy and paste this message on all platforms giving you a great first step. A compelling one-liner contains three elements.

First, it drives home the problem that your families (heroes) are experiencing. The more your families can feel this problem, the more compelling your message will be. In my experience, most school leaders are uncomfortable talking about the problems families are facing. They assume that families can articulate the problem and that spelling it out is negative. Yet you founded a school because there was a problem worth overcoming! You can speak to the issues families are facing without being negative.

Second, a one-liner shares how your school provides a solution for families to overcome that problem. What elements of your program combat the main issue families face?

Third, describe what the results will look like for the hero. What does the hero gain through working with you? Notice that these are not your program results, but more what your hero is able to do or be because of your program.

Let’s Do an Example

Let’s say that you have an elementary school in Detroit called Lit Academy that has a huge focus on literacy. 

Problem: The problem is that 55% of third-graders in Michigan are not proficient in reading. 

We’ll write: 

Over half of students will fail reading exams by the time they reach third grade. 

Solution: You have a school with reading intervention, highly trained teachers, and technology to track student’s results.

We’ll write:

Lit Academy offers reading intervention classes, expert literacy coaches, and the tech to track results

Results: Because of the program, students are able to read on grade level, access texts across all subjects, and be prepared for a life of learning.

We’ll write:

So that your student can read proficiently and access a life of learning.

Let’s put it together:

Over half of students will fail reading exams by the time they reach third grade. Lit Academy offers reading intervention classes, expert literacy coaches, and the tech to track results so that your student can read proficiently and access a life of learning.

Our example one-liner states the problem, positions our school as a solution, and foreshadows the success our families will experience. It’s short. It’s compelling.

The Impacts of a Clear Message

When you take time to clarify your message before jumping into a recruitment campaign, you will save marketing resources and get better results. More parents will click on your ads. More parents will dial the number on your postcard. More families will want to learn more on your website. You’ll also experience secondary bonuses. You’ll attract the type of parents your school was made for. Your recruitment staff will be energized and focused on their phone calls. You’ll spend less time trying to figure out what to write on your next recruitment card or email. 

When you make this message consistent across all of your platforms (website, social media, print) your brand will start making sense to people. Your marketing will tap into the efficiency and effectiveness that only comes through Story. So take the time to get your message right before you launch your next campaign!

Bonus!

I mentioned the book Building a Storybrand as a great resource to learn the story framework. If you are interested in reading it, just send me an email and I will be happy to send it to you for free. The book definitely changed my perspective on marketing and I trust it will do the same for you.

Sawyer Schafbuch is a StoryBrand Certified Guide and founder of Everydesk, helping quality schools recruit students. He recently moved to Des Moines, IA with his wife and daughter.