Seeking Out PR "Peeps"
Which PR "peeps" could you seek out to help develop news stories at your school and why?
I second this. In a school like the one I work for, we have only a handful of employees and around 140 students. We rely heavily on the students spreading the word about us. In addition, we also ask the students to send up pictures once they get a job so that we can use them in the future for advertising/marketing.
I believe utilizing current & former satisfied students to write or video testimonials for our school would be very helpful in PR, as well as an e-newsletter for current students to let them know about new/upcoming programs they or their friends/family/colleagues may be interested in.
Todd, Current students can definitely help boost PR. However, word of mouth is very strong. What are the steps you would take to make sure the right word is getting out there, and how would you go about using the current students stories for promotion?
Dr. Jean Norris
Surveying current students and having their expressions added to your marketing kit might be one idea.
Edwina ,
Great ideas and both are great resources. What have you done to engage your alumni/students for this role?
Dr. Jean Norris
I think that utilizing students/alumni are a great source of PR. Without students the school wouldn't exist so it is helpful to have their peers hearing about their experiences and using their voice to promote the college. Vendors are not thought of often but can be useful as well. They unlike the other PR peeps are external therefore they have more exposure to other audiences including possibly competition.
Student stories have an amazing impact especially when a student, current or prospective, can relate to the story. How have you engaged your students to be your PR 'agents'?
Dr. Jean Norris
Student can also do PR for your school. In cases like ours, besides faculty and alumni, our students who are adult learners can contribute with stories in their fields or internships. Their stories and challenges can speak out for your organization.
David,
Can you share any examples with us?
Dr. Jean Norris
As mentioned above really any constituents in your organization. I personally think working with non-profits or even for-profit companies that manage youth or adult employment/education/job training are particularly good entities for generating story and pr content.
Mark,
This is a great idea! Thanks for the post!
Dr. Jean Norris
Students could spread the word. Also, members of the faculty could talk about the school in public, but always referring the person to the official school representative for more information.
Robert, that's a great idea. It's a great way to get involved in your community.
Dr. Jean Norris
I suppose it could be helpful to partner with other businesses, and we also work close with our local Chamber of Commerce and participate in their events. I participated in a Street Fair not long ago, and that helped to get our message out, and it was a lot of fun also.
Charlotte, sure that's a great way to get the personal experiences of what a student goes through. I'm curious when you say "working," can you be more specific?
Dr. Jean Norris
I think "working" graduates are the best PR's, it gives the future students something to look look forward to.
Greg, that's an interesting idea. Using your current students as well as graduates to get the good word out about your instituion would be a wonderful addition.
Dr. Jean Norris
It would be great to have students and graduates use social media to get news out.
Connie,
Great ideas! What a great way to appeal to people in a different way. Let me know how it goes.
Shannon Gormley
