Does your district’s brand really have an impact on things like student success or family engagement? Yes, branding has a large influence on the perception of an organization. Consistent branding can create loyalty among staff and families, as well as help you establish your reputation. By creating a strong brand, you can create a stronger sense of community within your school or district.
“I am a believer that consistent branding establishes an organization as professional, credible, and organized. We are now at a point where our style is inherently recognizable.” – Jen Todderud, director of communications for Lebanon Community School Corporation (IN)
Read on for the three steps you can take to establish your district’s brand.
Step 1: Creating the two elements of your brand
There are two key elements to consider when establishing your district’s brand – visual brand and your district’s identity.
When it comes to visual branding, you need style guidelines – what do you want to use for colors, fonts, logos, and slogans? Strong brands have a consistent look.
Beyond colors and fonts, what kind of message are you trying to convey with your brand? Think about what’s important to your community and what your district’s identity should be. For example, what are your school’s strengths and mission? What do you want people to think of when they think of your district or see your brand?
By creating a brand that’s consistent in both its visual aspects and its message, you can build trust and loyalty among stakeholders.
Free download: Click here to access our template you can use to create and share your district or school brand guidelines.
Step 2: Be consistent and persistent
Now that you have created your brand, it needs to be at the top of your mind when generating content – social media posts, signage, website content, presentations, letterheads, etc. should all have consistent branding.
One way to ensure that staff follow your branding guidelines is to create templates. By giving them easy access to the tools they need, it’s more difficult for them to ignore branding guidelines.
You can also help staff to follow guidelines by sharing how and why these choices were established – this encourages staff to be on board with branding because they will understand the importance behind what you’re asking them to do.
Step 3: Use stories to take your brand to the next level
Finally, use real-life stories to evoke emotion and build trust with stakeholders. Here are four tips:
TIP 1: SHOW YOUR AUDIENCE THE AMAZING THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN YOUR CLASSROOMS EACH DAY
A successful brand conveys emotion – find stories in your school community that capture the emotion you want associated with your brand. Think about your audience’s interests, concerns, and passions, and find stories that align with them.
TIP 2: USE POLLS AND SURVEYS TO GATHER VITAL INFORMATION
You can also use polls and surveys to find out exactly what is important to your audience, and how they perceive your brand.
With ParentSquare, polls are built directly into the platform. Not only is it easier for parents to submit answers, there’s no need to spend hours reconciling data to analyze it by school, classroom or student— those details are already validated.
TIP 3: SHARE THOSE STORIES THROUGH AS MANY CHANNELS AS POSSIBLE
Now that you have the stories and emotions you want to convey, think about how you can share them out and ensure that everyone sees them. Use multiple channels of communication and think about which method of communication works best for each stakeholder – you may need to use email, text, newsletters, social media, and more.
TIP 4: ENCOURAGE YOUR TEACHERS TO SHARE THE DAILY GROWTH THEY SEE IN THEIR STUDENTS, NO MATTER HOW SMALL
Even though you might not be in the classroom every day, your teachers are! Encourage them to share stories and growth about their students to build parent involvement.
By following these three steps, you can create a strong brand across your district. You can learn more about establishing your district’s brand in the Complete District Communications Playbook: Part 1. You can also find a free brand template guide inside the playbook.
