Branding may be the last thing on your mind as you grapple with this disruptive, industry-altering pandemic that promises no clear path forward. But when it comes to recruiting top teaching candidates, you can鈥檛 afford to ignore your school or district鈥檚 image.
Not convinced? Put yourself in the place of a teaching candidate.
If you were researching school districts this hiring season, wouldn鈥檛 you be attracted to those that demonstrated how they pivoted quickly and continued to deliver instruction effectively in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, or those that made it a priority to provide regular updates and resources to their school communities.
Eric Sheninger, a former high school principal-turned-digital expert and advocate, sums it up: 鈥淭eacher candidates are going to want to go to the innovative schools,鈥� he said.
How do you let candidates know that your school is one of them?
We talked to district and school administrators, including former skeptics, about how they have used branding effectively to recruit top talent; some have even turned new employees into brand ambassadors. Plus, we鈥檒l give you some simple strategies toward building your district鈥檚 own brand.
One Principal鈥檚 Conversion
Historically, educators tend not to focus on or see the value in boasting about their schools鈥� achievements. Sheninger, now an associate partner with the International Center for Leadership in Education, used to be in this camp.
Early in his 2007鈥�2014 tenure as principal of New Milford High School in New Milford, N.J., he rebuffed social media. 鈥淚 thought it was a waste of time,鈥� he acknowledged. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 see the value in it from a teaching, learning, and leadership perspective.鈥�
Then came his 180 degree change. By 2009, Sheninger had joined Twitter. Since then, he鈥檚 been dubbed 鈥淧rincipal Twitter,鈥� earned a Digital Principal Award from the National Association of Secondary Principals, and authored the book Digital Leadership.
Sheninger鈥檚 ascent from digital naysayer to leader happened when he recognized the value of communicating and celebrating improvements his high school was making. He went from confiscating students鈥� cell phones to encouraging them to use them to research and problem solve in the classroom, and witnessed them become far more engaged and successful in their school work. He shared students鈥� successes via social media, acquiring more than 152,000 Twitter followers while sticking to this simple branding strategy via social media: improve the work, share it, celebrate it.
His own employees took notice. 鈥淥nce we really strengthened our brand, we found that people weren鈥檛 leaving [the district],鈥� he said.
Job candidates did, too. 鈥淲hen we knew we couldn鈥檛 pay more than surrounding districts, everyone knew what we were doing,鈥� said Sheninger. 鈥淲e were able to use that as a way to find the best candidates for our culture.鈥�
Recent statistics on employee research support this philosophy. In a widespread poll of general job seekers, 84 percent said a company鈥檚 reputation as an employer is important and half reported they wouldn鈥檛 take a job with a company that had a bad reputation, even if it came with a pay increase. Teaching candidates are no different.
Branding: Not Just for Businesses
Teaching applicants, like any other job candidate, want to join a successful 鈥渢eam,鈥� so to speak. But educators too often associate branding as something only businesses鈥攏ot school districts鈥攄o. Martha Salazar-Zamora learned this firsthand.
Three years ago, she became Superintendent at Tomball Independent School District in Tomball, Texas. The district was a high performer in the Houston area, but she says not many people knew it. So she made it a priority to get the word out.
Initially, the district paid an agency to help craft a new logo and branding. But ever since, the district鈥檚 own communications department has shaped and run its marketing plan that includes billboards, social media, and other communication vehicles. Now, everywhere the district鈥檚 logo is displayed, so too is its brand: Destination Excellence.
鈥淓ducation is a business of educating students. We are in competition with perhaps charter schools and other entities,鈥� Salazar-Zamora said. Districts also compete for employees.
New Hires-Turned-Brand Ambassadors
Tomball ISD targets teaching candidates as part of its branding efforts鈥攖hen they take it one step further when new hires accept contracts: They ask them to create a brief onboarding video in which they share why they chose Tomball. Most of them agree readily.
鈥淲hen people embrace and use it, that鈥檚 to me the beauty of when you know your branding has been successful,鈥� said Salazar-Zamora. 鈥淲hen I hear our new hires say 鈥業 wanted to be a part of Destination Excellence,鈥� that just brings me such joy.鈥�
Marketing consultant and instructor Trish Rubin suggests that recruiters evaluate candidates鈥� ability to become brand ambassadors before they hire them by asking the following questions: What kind of communicator are you? Can you manage multiple channels of digital communication and show the story of what you鈥檙e doing in the classroom so that a parent can see it and believe it?
Rubin explains that, particularly for young teaching candidates who grew up as digital natives, these questions shouldn鈥檛 seem unusual. 鈥淭hey live with connectivity.鈥� Rubin said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what a school needs.鈥�
Effective Branding Strategies
While younger employees are more likely to be familiar with social media tools and how to use them for branding purposes, anyone can learn how it鈥檚 done. Experts offer these tips:
- Don鈥檛 overthink it. Branding is really a matter of telling your district鈥檚 story. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 tell your story, someone else will. And guess what? You might not like it,鈥� Sheninger said.
- Think visually. 鈥淚nstagram is where people are. It鈥檚 visual. That鈥檚 what the brain needs right now: quick visual proof to trust a school brand. Posted and shared visuals pack emotion that bonds the community,鈥� Rubin said.
- Strike a balance. 鈥淢y rule of thumb is one to three messages a day, tops,鈥� Sheninger said. 鈥淭here is overkill.鈥�
- Avoid letting budget constraints hold you back. 鈥淵ou may not have a communications department. You just need a micro-plan for taking small, powerful communication steps into one or two digital channels,鈥� Rubin said. Simple videos or messages posted to social media that celebrate an effective classroom management tactic or 鈥渁ha鈥� moment, for instance, can go a long way to branding鈥攅ven with little funding.
- Meet your audience where it is. 鈥淭he COVID pandemic has shown us that millions of kids in America do not have access to high quality internet or devices,鈥� Sheninger said. In these situations, paper memos, phone calls, and other traditional methods of communication cannot be overlooked.
