by Trevor Waddington, Founder & Principal, Truth Tree
If your school lacks a comprehensive marketing plan, you’re not alone. 28% of school marketers who took our free digital marketing assessment said their school didn’t have one either.
But have no fear; a quick, comprehensive AI chatbot-produced fix is here.
That’s right, in 20 minutes or less, Gemini Advanced will have you ready to copy, cut, paste, and send our brand-spanking new marketing plan to all the stakeholders at your school.
Before we jump in…
Supply list:
- Gemini Advanced—I will use Gemini Advanced for this activity because it’s a Google product and provides the most access to real-time information.
Ground rules:
- Use the same chat funnel–click New Chat. This will ensure that the responses encompass all of your questions and prompts.
- Do not dismiss prompt answers unless they are factually incorrect.
- Most importantly, Do not use this blog as a substitute for real humans who do this work for schools.
Okay, let’s go!
Prompt 1: Tell me about [Your School].
You may need to include qualifying information like your location if your school’s name is not solely unique. E.g., Tell me about Truth Tree Academy in Washington, DC.
As you read through the results, remember, don’t disqualify information unless it’s factually inaccurate. Strong academics, a robust arts program, and weak teachers are not facts.
Prompt 2: What are the strengths and weaknesses of [Your School]? Put the responses in a table.
Gemini’s responses typically include a school’s academics, class size, cost, community, teacher quality, and extracurriculars. Any of the above and more could fall on either side of the table.
As you look at the table, you’re going to ask yourself where the AI got its information. That’s a great question and one you should ask in a separate chat funnel. For now, keep moving forward.
Prompt 3: What are [Your School] ‘s primary competitors, and what are their strengths and weaknesses? Put this information in a table.
Look at the results carefully. In my experience, Gemini and other chatbots list one or two schools outside the market or schools you genuinely do not compete with (e.g., K-8 and you’re a high school).
If you are certain, here’s prompt 3A: Recreate the table. Add [School X and Y] and take out [School Z].
Here is an example sans the school names I ran for one of our clients.
Prompt 4: Compared to the schools listed above, what is or are [Your School] ‘s top differentiators or, to put it another way, what makes [Your School] unique in comparison to those schools listed above?
This is my favorite response because it really puts the chatbot’s “brain to work.” It also puts schools on notice that, unfortunately, they are not as unique as thought. Regarding the second point, I usually agree with the bot.
I’ve written on the subject and contend that, for most schools, 95% of what they do is not unique.
So, to skip ahead just a bit, here’s what I recommend schools do.
- Market the $%#! out of the 5%, that puts you in the category of one
- Of the remaining 95%, tell prospects how your school does it better than the rest (without denigrating any other school).
Prompt 5: Based on the differentiators listed above, what are the benefits for students that would be attractive to their parents? Include specific data and cite sources.
The reason I ask for specific data and sources is that this is where you can let the research do the selling for you.
According to a 2014 Harvard University Study, positive personal interactions with teachers are a significant factor in a student’s long-term success. At Truth Tree Academy, our program is designed to ensure your child has at least 21 interactions, which exceeds the recommended amount.
Feel free to use that one 🙂
Prompt 6a: Provide persona data for affluent parents living in [town/city/region/your sphere of influence].
Prompt 6b: Provide persona data for affluent parents searching for a private school and living in [town/city/region/your sphere of influence].
When you run these prompts, your hair will get blown back.
I just ran this for West Chester, PA, a town I grew up near outside of Philadelphia, so I know the area well.
The response included demographics (expected), but it also spit back lists of priorities, values, concerns, challenges, pain points, what they value in education, and specific questions they may ask an admission director.
Prompt 7: Based on all of the information provided, a valued proposition for [Your School] and supporting statements that appeal to personas that would be most attracted to our differentiators and uniqueness.
I’ve asked this prompt in several different ways to get what I felt was the best response. While a bit wonky, the above prompt produced some very cool value props I haven’t seen associated with any school. Plus, Gemini told me they were original terms and statements.
Here are some examples, and if you think any match your ethos, feel free to borrow them 🙂.
- Uncompromising Academic Rigor
- A tradition of testing what is traditional and what is best for student success
- We empower each student to be better for themselves and our community
Prompt 8: Create a marketing plan for [Your School] based on all the information above. Include messaging specific to each persona that would attract them to the school. Additionally, include what digital, traditional, and outside-the-box tactics to use to attract and engage best-fit families and students. Finally, please provide specific information that the top marketing firm in the world would put in their clients’ marketing plan.
What you’ll get:
- Personas
- Messaging pillars
- General and specific strategies
- Tactics attached to those strategies
- KPIs to measure
- Metrics to track
…And, time!
Did it take you more or less than 20 minutes?
What questions produced responses that made you 💡😃🤗 and which ones made you think 🥱🫤😬?
So, the next time you’re in a marketing, admission, or enrollment management meeting, consider inviting Gemini, a junior member of your team to collaborate with you, bounce ideas off of you, and help you and your team be the best school marketers possible.
