MarCom Nuggets – Seabury Consulting

MarCom nuggets

Looking for some MarCom tips and tricks? I delight in sharing helpful ideas and insights I pick up along the way.

How easy it for your families to find financial ai

How easy it for your families to find financial aid information—and feel that it might be within reach❓

On a recent episode of the Mindful School Marketing Podcast 🎙️, @aubrey_bursch and Tara Claeys interviewed Jen Danish, Head of @gracegryphons in Maryland, about the school’s pioneering approach to access and affordability called “Community Tuition.”

As a former Director of Financial Aid, I’m passionate about educational access 🏫 and realistic about its complexity. I was intrigued to learn about Grace’s twist on traditional financial aid 💡 that seeks to decrease the stigma often attached to need-based aid, increase access to tuition assistance, and enhance a sense of belonging for all.

My ears especially perked up when a topic I’ve repeatedly presented on 👩‍🏫—how to redesign your school’s tuition page to effectively demonstrate your school’s value and enroll more mission-aligned families—came up! The conversation turned to the importance of the location, name, and design of the tuition page when it comes to making financial aid information readily accessible ✨. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!

Are you ready to redesign your tuition and financial aid pages to make some of the most visited pages on your site 🖥️ some of the most effective marketing tools❓

#webcontent #contentstrategy #schoolmarketing #independentschools #independentschool #schoolcommunications #marketingtips #marketingstrategy #educationmarketing #indieschools #privateschools #schoolcommunication #strategiccommunications

Is your school ready for the challenges of 2025❓

Is your school ready for the challenges of 2025❓

@truth_tree_school_marketing’s Predictions for 2025 features insights from industry experts, and I was honored to be asked to contribute 🤓 to the conversation.

I see it every day: schools are expected to achieve big results 📈 with small teams and limited budgets 📉. A misunderstanding of the essence of marketing—viewing it cost, rather than a strategic investment—is often the culprit. MarCom offices can’t be expected 🚫 to drive growth and incite audiences to action without adequate resources.

Well-resourced marketing and communication teams are at the heart ❤️ of schools’ success, but they’re often underfunded or stretched too thin.

Those schools that invest in people, tools, and strategies that allow MarCom teams to do their best work will have a significant edge 🌟 as the landscape becomes even more competitive in 2025.

My impressive colleagues share insightful predictions 💡 in the piece. Which strikes a chord with you most❓

➡️ Check out the full article: bit.ly/3BnUe72

#educationmarketing #schoolmarketing #independentschools #privateschools #strategiccommunications #marketingstrategy #enrollmentgrowth #datadrivenmarketing #contentmarketing

What do you tend to take for granted❓ As G.K. C

What do you tend to take for granted❓

As G.K. Chesterton reminds us, “The critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.”

This season of thanksgiving, I’m deeply grateful for my incredible clients—thank you for your trust and partnership. It’s an honor and privilege to support your vital work in education.

My gratitude also overflows for the phenomenal mentors, colleagues, friends, and family who empower and inspire my work. You know who you are 🧡.

#gratitude #thanksgiving #schoolmarketing #independentschools #independentschool #schoolcommunications #marketingtips #marketingstrategy #educationmarketing #indieschools #privateschools #schoolcommunication #strategiccommunications

I’m honored to again be presenting 🧑🏼‍🏫 at the 2025 Small School Leaders Conference! This virtual conference will occur February 4-7 and feature 33+ sessions delving into the specific challenges small private schools face—including marketing, admission, development, and leadership.

I’m excited to talk about how you can whip your 🖥️ website’s content into shape for a seamless redesign or summer refresh ✨.

Through Dec. 19, tickets are 25% off. 🥳 Use code LEADERS25 at checkout.

Register now and take your school to the next level 👉 bit.ly/492gOPc

I look forward to seeing you there!

🌐 smallschoolsconference.com

#SmallSchoolsConference2025 #SchoolSupport #SmallSchoolSolutions #MarketingHelp #EducationConsulting #smallschools #privateschools #independentschools #schoolmarketing #professionaldevelopment #marketingtips #marketingstrategy #educationmarketing #indieschools #schoolcommunication #strategiccommunications

Do you look at marketing as a cost…or a growth d

Do you look at marketing as a cost…or a growth driver❓

In 2022, @enrollmentorg, @naisnetwork, and NBOA released the Independent School Cost-Per-Enrollment Study. It brings together research, data 📊, and best practices to help schools make more informed decisions around funding and support for enrollment efforts.

For an industry that has struggled with bad data, and with roughly 50% of independent schools in the US apparently being under their enrollment goals, it’s critical that schools understand that tuition 💲 represents, on average, 70% of their revenue.

For schools not meeting their enrollment goals, the Cost-Per-Enrollment Study is prescriptive: you need to spend money 💸 to make money 💰. And the ROI on marketing efforts would make the private sector green with envy: on average, $7 in tuition is generated by every dollar spent to enroll a new student.

School leadership can’t fall into the trap 🚫 of simply controlling expenditures. Schools need to spend strategically, i.e., spend in the right places to hit enrollment goals, feed operating revenue, and keep the institution healthy.

Thank you to Kevin MacNeil of @metricmarketing for geeking out on this topic and providing countless insights 💡 on the Cost-Per-Enrollment Study on @inspiredschoolmarketers SparkCast’s most recent podcast episode.

Kevin’s final 2 final takeaways for private schools:

1️⃣ Understand your software costs and get the most out of these expenditures as possible, including getting help on implementation to ensure utilization is strategic

2️⃣ Increase your marketing and advertising budgets (separate from communications) since the data show that most schools don’t spend enough and therefore risk not meeting their enrollment goals

#datadrivenmarketing #datadrivendecisions #schoolmarketing #independentschools #independentschool #schoolcommunications #marketingtips #marketingstrategy #educationmarketing #indieschools #privateschools #schoolcommunication #strategiccommunications

Is marketing to prospective employees part of your

Is marketing to prospective employees part of your work❓

It should be.

According to recent research 📊, in the fall of 2023, 15.5% of independent schools were reporting unfilled teaching positions at the start of the school year.

In fact, schools around the country have been experiencing faculty hiring and retention challenges 😩 for several years.

While the causes are complex, one thing is clear 💡: the teacher pipeline is narrowing. Surveys show common reasons for high school and college students not pursuing teaching as a career include:

➡️ Low pay

➡️ Lack of opportunity for career growth

➡️ Lack of respect for teachers

➡️ Too little flexibility for teaching styles

Certainly, MarCom team members can’t singlehandedly solve this complex issue 🚫, but we can absolutely move the needle.

For starters, is your marketing messaging dynamically highlighting the financial benefits, opportunities for growth and individuality, and teacher-elevating culture at your school❓

Try enhancing ✨ your careers/employment webpage, and move on from there!

#teachershortage #employeemarketing #schoolmarketing #independentschools #independentschool #schoolcommunications #marketingtips #marketingstrategy #educationmarketing #indieschools #privateschools #schoolcommunication #strategiccommunications

What keeps you going in your work❓

For me, it’s working with students 🌟.

I find interacting beyond the surface level with students invigorating, fun, and endlessly fascinating 🎉. When I worked at an independent school, I was an Upper School advisor for roughly a decade, having the privilege of walking alongside a small group of students and their families during their high school years. I’m honored to keep in touch with several of them.

Now that I’m a consultant, I get my student fix by doing limited work with an admission counseling firm that works with applicants to independent K-12s 🏫 and colleges. These student interactions powerfully remind me of the transformative effect 💫 of a best-fit school.

It’s college app season, and with early deadlines looming, I’ve got admission essays ✍️ on my mind. Just like in previous years, the tremendous variety of essay topics—appropriate for the authentic singularity of each student—didn’t disappoint. Topics ranged from learning to talk to strangers to a dream of starting a marine biology camp for kids with special needs. (Side note: these kids are WAY more interesting and inspired than I was at their age 😯!)

How do you reinvigorate your sense of professional purpose❓

#purposedriven #whatsyourwhy #schoolmarketing #independentschools #independentschool #schoolcommunications #marketingtips #marketingstrategy #educationmarketing #indieschools #privateschools #schoolcommunication #strategiccommunications

Do in-person connections energize you❓ As soon

Do in-person connections energize you❓

As soon as I left a bustling 1,100+ student independent school 🏫 and started my own business, I discovered that I do my best creative work in solitude and silence.

As far as deep thinking and content creation go, remote work is my sweet spot 🌟. This surprised me 😯—and many who know me well!—given my extroverted tendencies, interest in people, and appreciation for being in community.

While I achieve professional “flow” 🌊 in my quiet home office far more often than in a busy marketing and communications office, gathering with colleagues in person now takes on a higher purpose: it buoys my sense of purpose and sparks joy ✨ for weeks.

As a result, professional meet-ups and masterminds are regular occurrences on my calendar 📆. But, given the geographic reach that remote work facilitates, meeting in person with clients has become a rare treat.

Last week, I had the pleasure of such a client gathering 🍽️ with Heather Burchfield, Jen Cleary, and Melissa Webber.

We celebrated projects completed—including an award-winning 🏆 new website and their latest magazine issue, discussed ways to improve our process, and encouraged each other in the face of industry challenges. And there wasn’t a screen in sight 👏. I returned to my solo office reinvigorated.

In your work, what’s the ideal balance between focused solitude and social connection❓

#deepwork #inpersonconnection #schoolmarketing #independentschools #independentschool #schoolcommunications #marketingtips #marketingstrategy #educationmarketing #indieschools #privateschools #schoolcommunication #strategiccommunications

Are you telling stories or reporting news❓ Or,

Are you telling stories or reporting news❓

Or, perhaps the deeper question is ➡️

What is the work of MarCom…our “why”❓

One answer 💡: to motivate stakeholders toward certain engagement behaviors.

We have our why…but how❓

Through stories ✨.

For marketing to be successful, we need to change or incite attitudes and actions. Stories activate complex information processing in the listener 🧠 to do just that.

Newsy reporting doesn’t.

Let’s think through the “how” of stories related to two main stakeholder groups for independent schools:

1️⃣ Prospective families: ✨ Short-form stories, better known as brief testimonials, have been shown to be very powerful in motivating enrollment behaviors.

2️⃣ Alums/donors: ✨Narratives focusing on long-time, beloved faculty or any story that builds loyalty and long-term connection with the school have been shown to increase engagement with the institution.

How can you shift your mindset from reporter to storyteller this week❓

#StorytellingInMarketing #MarketingNarratives #BrandStorytelling #schoolmarketing #independentschools #independentschool #schoolcommunications #marketingtips #marketingstrategy #educationmarketing #indieschools #privateschools #schoolcommunication #strategiccommunications

What’s the easiest way to identify and partner w

What’s the easiest way to identify and partner with a consultant or specialist to get a big project done❓

When I was a Director of Marketing and Communications at a K-12, the process of identifying high-quality and well-matched external partners was intimidating and time-consuming 😵‍.

That’s why I’m pleased and honored to have joined School Partner Connect ✨. It’s a network of school consultants, freelancers, firms, and experts curated by LeadTeam Partners, the only firm 💡 built for school leaders to easily engage external school partners.

Simply put, this is how independent schools can easily engage external school partners and ensure that the big projects get done ✅.

School leaders can now submit 💻 their challenges and projects in the following areas and easily connect 🤝 with experienced professionals within each area of expertise:

➡️ Advancement
➡️ Business office
➡️ Coaching & mentoring
➡️ Culture & community
➡️ Enrollment management
➡️ Governance
➡️ Innovation & strategy
➡️ Leadership search
➡️ Marketing & communications
➡️ Professional development
➡️ Strategic planning
➡️ Tech, Data & AI
➡️ Other

Access the form to start the streamlined process 🎉: https://bit.ly/4exGSDr

#leadteampartners #schoolpartnerconnect #schoolpartnersearch #schoolmarketing #independentschools #independentschool #schoolcommunications #marketingtips #marketingstrategy #educationmarketing #indieschools #privateschools #schoolcommunication #strategiccommunications

Does your marketing truly differentiate you from y

Does your marketing truly differentiate you from your competition❓

It’s a question worth considering because…confused customers don’t buy 🚫.

This old business adage has come to mind recently when I’ve been talking with families applying to independent schools (it’s fall 🍁, y’all, which means it’s application season).

Often, neither kids nor their parents are clear on what makes one school 🏫 meaningfully different from the next 🏫🏫🏫. This lack of clarity would concern @brenebrown, who has popularized the aphorism “clear is kind.”

It also sells 💰.

In a sea of institutions 🏫🏫🏫 offering challenging academics, low student-to-teacher ratios, plentiful extracurriculars, and impressive college acceptances, are you being clear about what sets your institution apart? Are you stuck on the hamster wheel of trying to be all things to all people?

Assuming you’re with Brené 👍 on clear being kind…exactly how do we get clear on what sets us apart?

Listen 👂. Listen long and listen well—to the experiences and priorities of your current community, as well as the observations and desires of prospective families. There just isn’t any substitute for listening.

What you hear 👂 might just be the kindest clarity your customers need.

#strategiclistening #distinctivecompetence #cleariskind #schoolmarketing #independentschools #independentschool #schoolcommunications #marketingtips #marketingstrategy #educationmarketing #indieschools #privateschools #schoolcommunication #strategiccommunications

How do you stay abreast of industry trends❓ For

How do you stay abreast of industry trends❓

For me, a combination of attending conferences ✅, participating in networking events ✅, listening to podcasts ✅, reading articles ✅, and regularly reviewing social media ✅ is a must.

Thanks to Chris Pryor at LeadTeam Partners (what a treat to receive snail mail!), I’m adding a hard copy of the 2024-2025 @naisnetwork Trendbook 📘 to my list of resources.

Here’s to looking ahead 👀 and planning for the future to better serve schools in transforming 💫 lives.

#educationtrends #futureofeducation #schoolmarketing #independentschools #independentschool #schoolcommunications #marketingtips #marketingstrategy #educationmarketing #indieschools #privateschools #schoolcommunication #strategiccommunications

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