Roberts Digital Educational Marketing

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How Data-Driven Digital Advertising Is Giving Small Schools a Big Punch

How Data-Driven Digital Advertising Is Giving Small Schools a Big Punch

Feb 11, 2025 | Blog Posts, Digital Marketing

The competition for student enrolment is intense, and independent schools must be strategic in their approach. Digital marketing for independent schools is no longer about who has the biggest budget but about who makes the smartest use of data.

Whether you have a substantial marketing team or are working with limited resources, understanding how to leverage digital marketing effectively can give your school the upper hand.

The key is to maximise every touchpoint with prospective families and use data-driven strategies to attract and nurture them long before they are actively searching for a school.

The Power of Data in Digital Marketing for Independent Schools

Did you know that only 4% of families are actively looking for a school at any given moment? Many schools invest heavily in marketing campaigns that only target this small percentage, primarily through Open Day promotions.

However, the most successful digital marketing strategies for independent schools focus on expanding the funnel by engaging families in the early stages of their school search and nurturing them over time.

Data is the driving force behind this approach. By collecting and analysing data from various sources—email sign-ups, website visits, social media interactions, and event registrations—you can personalise your marketing efforts and create targeted campaigns that resonate with different segments of prospective families.

Building a Data-Driven Digital Marketing Strategy

The ability to segment your audience based on interests, demographics, and online behaviour allows you to create specific and compelling messaging. To do this effectively, independent schools need to establish a strong data foundation. Here are the essential components:

1. Install Tracking Tools – Ensure that the Facebook Pixel and Google Tag Manager are installed on your website to track visitor actions, such as booking a school tour or requesting a prospectus. These tools enable you to create highly targeted advertising campaigns.

2. Set Up Conversion Tracking – Measure key website events such as Open Event registrations, enquiry form submissions, and tour bookings using Google Analytics and Facebook Ads Manager. Tracking conversions ensures that your marketing efforts are aligned with enrolment goals.

3. Build and Maintain an Email List – Email remains the most reliable identifier of your audience. Start collecting email addresses early in the engagement process and nurture these leads with valuable content, insights about your school, and invitations to events.

4. Target Quality Audiences – Rather than chasing high website traffic numbers, focus on attracting the right audience. Ensure that your website visitors, social media followers, and email subscribers are genuinely interested in your school. Poor targeting in SEO or social media ads may generate traffic, but irrelevant visitors will dilute your results.

5. Optimise Every Parent Touchpoint – From website visits to email interactions, social media engagement, and video views, every digital interaction should serve a purpose. Implement remarketing strategies to re-engage prospective families who have already shown interest.

Using Data to Improve Digital Marketing for Independent Schools

By using data, independent schools can move from a generic marketing strategy to a highly personalised approach that nurtures families throughout the enrolment journey.

Instead of relying on directories or one-off advertisements, investing in SEO, paid digital advertising, and content marketing can position your school above the competition while also providing valuable audience insights.

Data-driven marketing also improves reporting accuracy. Schools often make the mistake of measuring success solely by immediate results, such as Open Day attendance. However, the real value lies in the long-term engagement built through digital marketing efforts. When assessing a campaign, consider the new website visitors, email list growth, social media interactions, and video views—all of which contribute to future enrolments.

For example, an Open Day campaign may bring in 50 families and result in 5 applications, but the data collected from thousands of online interactions provides an opportunity for further engagement. If these prospects are nurtured correctly, they may convert into enrolments months or even years later.

Parent Data Is a Hot Commodity—Use It Wisely

Prospective parent data is like a hot potato—it must be used immediately and strategically. Capturing an email address is just the beginning; the key is to engage and nurture your audience through personalised email sequences, social media touch points, and targeted digital ads. The biggest mistake schools make is collecting data and failing to act on it in a timely manner.

Plan your engagement strategy before launching a campaign. Map out how you will nurture your audience through every stage of the decision-making process. Avoid the mistake of building an email list only to send a single invitation months later. Instead, create a structured communication flow that keeps families engaged and informed about your school.

Embracing Innovation in Digital Marketing for Independent Schools

With the increasing role of data in marketing, independent schools must be willing to experiment with new tools and strategies.

One common mistake is assuming that certain platforms, such as Facebook, are no longer effective. In reality, Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp continue to change and provide powerful advertising opportunities for schools looking to reach prospective families.

Instead of choosing marketing channels based on convenience, ask yourself: Where is my audience? Messenger marketing, for example, requires effort to execute properly but offers direct and highly personalised engagement with parents. Digital advertising across multiple platforms is only expanding, and schools that embrace this evolution will have a significant advantage.

Before finalising your next marketing strategy, take a step back and analyse the data value of your campaigns. Independent schools must work with marketing partners who prioritise long-term success over short-term wins. The schools that build strong digital marketing foundations today will be the ones that continue to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape

Are your scholarship marketing campaigns all clicks but no applications? Here’s why

Are your scholarship marketing campaigns all clicks but no applications? Here’s why

Feb 3, 2025 | Blog Posts, Digital Marketing, Marketing for Schools

Peak scholarships season is wrapping up and our school marketers will soon be evaluating their scholarship marketing campaign performance and assessing the number of applications received.

We’ve seen (and launched) some stellar campaigns this season and wanted take a quick moment to share the elements that make up a successful campaign and some of the reasons why your campaigns aren’t driving actual applications after all the dust has settled.

There are 4 main reasons why schools see a flurry of clicks and initial interest in their Scholarship marketing campaigns with very few applications come closing date.

1. Short copy and creatives that lack brand and storytelling. Schools often feel that just opening up the opportunity to apply for a scholarship should be reason enough for people to apply. But we’ve seen an increasingly competitive landscape where parents with gifted students are really shopping around for the best choice of school for their child.  “Scholarships now open” is not going to cut it or provide families with an insight into the world of opportunity that will be opened up to successful candidates. Storytelling is key, think quality over quantity rather than 10 ad variations with no story to tell.

2. When running online ads, people are often caught in a ‘not prepared to take action’ state. They may see an ad and click to get the details and even have the intention to visit again, but as we all know, people get busy and will forget to apply before closing date. Your ads are the first touchpoint, not the final destination. The best way to ensure that families will actually follow through with an application is to have a short expression of interest form. You can continue to communicate with families, send the full application details and more about what is on offer. An SMS a few days before closing is another great way to remind families to apply.

3. Click optimised campaigns that are designed to show vanity metrics with no real application intent. Scholarship marketing campaigns are particularly prone to ‘sticky beak’ clicks from local families that lack the actual intent to apply. If your campaigns are optimised for link clicks or conversions that are just button clicks to an application. Meta platforms in particular will show your ad to more people that will just click but not necessarily apply. In order to ensure your campaign will drive actual applications, we suggest setting up conversion tracking for actual applications and optimising for this.

4. No lead up to peak application season.Schools find that they are often only receiving applications from current families or families already on their list. This could be because the first step of many scholarship landing pages is to apply to the College first and then submit a detailed application followed by their student sitting a test. This is a huge commitment to families and if your expectation is to reach beyond your current community, a nurturing campaign needs to run for at least a few months prior to peak application season.

So what can you do about it?

The key to success for your scholarship marketing campaign is build up to your application season for the entire year leading up to. Instead of just saying “scholarships are closed” on your landing page, build expressions of interest ready to receive a launch announcement and tell the stories of transformation throughout the year to build anticipation of the opportunity that will open.

P.S. Here are 3 ways I can help you grow in your education marketing career:

1. Join our Marketing Mastery for Schools Facebook Group and connect with over 1,000 school marketers. It’s a place to learn best practise, connect and ask your questions. https://www.facebook.com/groups/MarketingMasteryForSchools

2. Sign up to join our monthly schools’ marketing training calls: https://robertsdigital.com.au/training

3. Take advantage of our 2025 Media Placements for your next campaign. Affordable campaigns created by education industry experts. https://robertsdigital.com.au/digital-marketing-for-schools/

How to use your Digistorm School Software for maximum marketing impact

How to use your Digistorm School Software for maximum marketing impact

Jan 29, 2025 | Digital Marketing

Digistorm school software has fast become one of the main players in the Australian Education market and the go-to tool for school marketing and enrolments. While many schools have implemented Digistorm Funnel and Apps into their schools’ systems – not all are leveraging it for maximum marketing and communication impact. In this article, we deep dive into how you can get the full benefit of all its features for your school.

 

Digistorm Funnel School CRM


image credit: Digistorm

Digistorm Funnel is an all-in-one enrolment and school CRM with the ability to capture leads, manage enrolment applications, track enrolment pipelines and automate your communications with prospective parents. Funnel offers the following features to schools:

  1. enquiry management
  2. CRM
  3. application forms and tracking
  4. email and sms
  5. event management, and
  6. analytics.

So how can we maximise these features for our marketing? Here are our top tips:

1. Personalise your communication


image credit: Digistorm

Segment your enquiries into years and year levels of interest and get specific in your communications. Send a Prep video from your teachers to people who have enquired about Prep. Invite families to events and share key information to help them prepare for the new year.

 

2. Use SMS whenever it improves communication

 

SMS is a great tool to use conservatively in your marketing communications. We love to recommend our clients send an SMS reminder a few days before an open event, to remind people to complete their scholarship applications or enrolment applications and to drive registrations for key events such as Open Days. Short and sweet is best and use caution to not overuse this tool.

 

3. Use warm audiences in targeting 


image credit: Digistorm

Your Digistorm school software is a minefield of potential data that you can use for targeting new audiences. Make sure to use your school database of Current Families and future families to create a remarketing list and lookalike audiences for your digital marketing campaigns.

 

4. Use automation to nurture


image credit: Digistorm

It’s a well known fact that it takes almost 20 touchpoints to get a family across the line. Automation is the best way to start to personalise your communication based on where families are at in their engagement with your institution. One of our favourite things to do is to set up a nurture sequence for new enquiries or to segment our communication based on the year levels they enquired for.

 

School Social Media Post Ideas

School Social Media Post Ideas

May 10, 2024 | Blog Posts, Digital Marketing, Social Media Management

School social media content plays an important role in any school marketing strategy. It’s not just about reaching out to prospectives students and their families; it’s also a space where you can create a thriving community around your school. 

If you’re feeling stuck on social media content ideas for your school, don’t worry! We’ve put together some post ideas to help you breathe new life into your social media strategy.

Resourceful and informative posts

As school social media content continues to evolve, it’s becoming a primary information hub. Your school’s social media pages aren’t just about schedules and closures anymore; they’re also becoming go-to resources for your existing students and parents. 

Use your school’s social media platforms as a place for resources by sharing relevant information that your audience will find useful. 

There’s lots of info you can share as part of your school social media content strategy, like:  

  • Term dates  

  • Open day events  
  • Community event your school is exclusively hosting 

See how Mentone Girls Grammar promoted their Verius Series Event on Instagram. Their post features a vibrant graphic that showcases the school’s branding and colours, making it instantly recognisable. The caption gives a sneak peek into what attendees can expect at the event, with a brief overview of the highlights. Plus, it includes a clear call-to-action, directing followers on where to buy their tickets. It’s a smart way to drum up excitement and drive ticket sales while staying true to the school’s identity.  

Posts about your school’s culture

While your school’s social media platforms are fantastic for nurturing community among current students and their families, they also serve as tools for engaging with prospective students and their families. So, you want to share content that provides insight into your school and its offerings. 

These type school social media content don’t have to mimic the content found in your school’s prospectus. Instead, aim to highlight unique accomplishments, or activities that might pique the interest of prospective students and their families.  

The goal is to distinguish your school and foster connections between your school, your faculty, and your students. By sharing these stories, you create an emotional bond that resonates with your audience and sets your school apart. 

Wesley College in Perth demonstrated their strong school culture by joining the World’s Greatest Shave. They shared photos of students and teachers shaving their heads and showing support for leukemia research. These images captured the school’s spirit of unity and compassion, showing their commitment to making a difference in their community. 

Build your brand

Your school’s social media pages provide prospective students and their families with  insights into what your school has to offers. What better way to give a glimpse into life at your school than through the voices of students, both current and former? 

Testimonials serve as powerful tools for sharing uplifting stories that educate both current and prospective students about your school’s culture and values. Additionally, highlighting successful alumni showcases the impact of your institution beyond graduation, showcasing your school’s legacy of achievement. 

Emmanuel College in the Gold Coast did a great job building their school’s brand on social media. Sharing video testimonials from alumni before their annual reunion weekend. These videos told the stories of former students, showing how Emmanuel College made a lasting impact on their lives.  

School sporting highlight

If sports are a big deal at your school or college, make sure to highlight key rivalries and major events that students, parents, coaches, and the community will be excited about. Leave space for on-the-ground content—like game highlights, spirited fans, or memorable moments during close matches or rivalries. This kind of content gets people fired up and engaged. 

Knox Grammar set a great example by showcasing their sporting achievements, such as retaining the Thyne Challenge Shield for the eighth consecutive year. They didn’t just announce the win; they also broke down the scores and records made during the event. It’s a great example of how to effectively communicate and celebrate sporting achievements on social media while keeping your audience informed and involved. 

Academic achievements

Students put in a lot of hard work, and what they achieve is pretty amazing. Sharing your student’s accomplishments does a few good things:  

  • First, it helps create a supportive and grateful atmosphere.  
  • Second, it lets students know they’re appreciated and valued.  
  • And finally, it gives your community a peek into the great stuff happening at your school—exactly the kind of content they love.  

Once you start, you’ll see how quickly people will start cheering on your students on social media. 

For example, Geelong Grammar School did an outstanding job of showcasing the accomplishments of its graduating class on social media. They broke down the ATAR scores and highlight the top two students who achieved the highest marks, celebrating their hard work and dedication. These posts not only recognise individual achievements but also inspire pride and motivation throughout the school community. 

Staff profiles

Another great way of showing off your school on social media is by regularly shining the light on your different staff members.  

These posts not only show appreciation for the featured person or team but also give your audience a chance to get to know the people who make up your school’s story. 

They tend to spark a lot of engagement, with friends, family, and supporters of the spotlighted staff member. It’s a great way to reach out to your community and connect with a wider audience. 

Just take a look at Barker College. They made an amazing video to commemorate and honour the remarkable tenure of Mr. Phillip Heath AM, their 9th Head, who marked a decade of leadership.  

The video beautifully captured Mr. Heath’s profound impact on Barker College, showcasing his dedication, vision, and unwavering commitment to excellence. The video not only celebrated Mr. Heath’s achievements but also highlighted the enduring legacy he leaves behind.  

Event recaps

With so much happening on campus, from clubs and sports to events and classes, there’s always something exciting going on. Capture those moments, add a catchy caption, and share them with everyone.

Show off the variety of activities that make up campus life and give people a taste of what it’s like there. Provide some context so they understand what’s happening in each photo and how they can join in on the fun in the future. 

Penrhos College hit the mark by wrapping up their Term 1 highlights in a feature. By showcasing key moments and achievements from the term, they provided a comprehensive overview of campus life and activities. This post not only captured the diversity of experiences at Penrhos College but also demonstrated their commitment to celebrating student successes and community events.  It’s a great example of how to keep everyone informed and involved in the school’s journey throughout the term. 

Throwback photos

#TBT, or Throwback Thursday, isn’t just a social media trend; it’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase your school’s rich history and memorable moments. Whether it’s a snapshot from 20 years ago or a highlight from last summer, sharing these nostalgic memories helps tell your school’s story.

When you share a throwback photo, not only are you honouring your school’s heritage, but you’re also telling your audience about the milestones that shaped your establishment.  

Brisbane Girls Grammar nailed this idea by sharing photos from their 1960 Open Day to promote their 2023 event. By blending nostalgia with anticipation, they sparked interest and excitement among their audience, showing how their tradition of excellence continues. 

Streamline your school social media content today

As you’ve seen, social media can be a crucial component of your school’s marketing strategy, but it requires dedication and effort to execute effectively.

At Roberts Digital, we understand that managing a school demands a significant investment of time and resources. That’s why we offer comprehensive social media management services designed to streamline the process for you.

From crafting engaging content to maintaining an active online presence, our team is here to support you every step of the way, allowing you to focus on what matters most: providing a top-quality education for your students.

How to Choose a School Photographer

How to Choose a School Photographer

Apr 30, 2024 | Blog Posts, School Photography, strategy and branding

Transforming your school’s photography from mundane to memorable can be a challenge, but it’s an important step in standing out from your competition. 

What many may not realise, is that quality school photography can serve as a powerful differentiator for your school, and choosing the right school photographer plays a big role in shaping your brand image.

Every facet of your school’s brand, from marketing materials to your website and advertisements, relies heavily on the quality of your school photos. Instead of settling for lacklustre snapshots, it’s time to up your standards by collaborating with a skilled professional school photographer.

By combining creativity and expertise into your visual content, you not only enhance your school’s aesthetic appeal but also leave a lasting impression to prospective parents and students. 

Professional School Photographer

Why hire a professional school photographer

It is easy to underestimate the vital role a school photographer plays in your overall marketing strategy. If you find a photographer that can capture the essence of your school and consistently deliver images that are on brand, build a long-term relationship with them and empower them to bring creative ideas to the table.

A professional photographer should help you build your school brand in the following ways:

1. Lift the first impression of your institution

A professional photographer will lift the appearance of your school across the board with shots that are well-finished and professional looking. They help you to get across the subtle secondary messages that you wish to convey through the staging of the shot, the warmth of the photograph, and the moments they capture. 

2. School photographer provide artistic direction for your photoshoot

It’s time for us to step away from the “three students under a tree” approach to our school photography and start thinking about creative storytelling.

How can we reinforce our brand message through our photos and how can we give outsiders a glimpse into what it is like to be a student at our College? These are the questions we will need to work through with our photographer. They bring creative suggestions to the table on how to communicate your message through staging and styling. 

3. Professional post-editing

We may think that all the hard work is done once our photos have been taken, but a photographer’s skill really comes to light in post-editing. Your school photographer will spend time refining your photographs to correct alignment, colours and tone.

You may have a specific ‘colour treatment’ applied to each photo that is a part of your brand feel, or you may have photos that ‘pop’ by adjusting the sharpness of the image.

It’s important that you have a chat about your post-editing expectations and how much time you want the photographer to put into doing this while you are planning the photoshoot with them. 

4. Streamline your look

One of the most important things that your school photographer can achieve for you is a consistent look and feel to your photos. This will lift your brand and ensure your school always looks its best in marketing collateral and on your school website.

Once you have decided to go with a professional photographer, you must do your part to ensure you get the best product. The more you are involved in the process, the better the outcome will be.

How to plan your school photoshoot

Here are a few ways you can prepare and run a great photoshoot for your school.

Professional School Photographer

1. Creative concept – look and feel

Start your planning by thinking about the look and feel you want for your school photos. Write down the subtle message you want to convey, for example, individual attention, genuine care for students, innovation, and opportunity. Think about how this is communicated through your images and discuss this with your photographer.

2. Put together a run sheet for the day

When deciding on a date for your photoshoot, make sure you check the whole school calendar and plan the day around student activities and the uniform they will be wearing. Once you have decided on a day, the next step is to put together a run sheet of the shooting schedule, locations and students involved.

 

We recommend putting all the information into a table, like the example below: 

Ensure that you time any outdoor shots for either first thing in the morning or in the afternoons. This is so you get the best lighting while the sun is not too harsh for everyone. It is also a good idea to have shots with younger children before lunch while they are still ‘fresh’ and their uniform is tidy.

3. Pick students

Your run sheet will give you a great overview of how many students you will need for your photo day. A huge success factor for the day is to ensure that you have enough variety of students chosen for each shot. So many times, schools may end up with a great variety of shots but use the same students in many of their photographs.

Try to plan for as many different students as possible. Also have a backup set of students for each shot so that if a student does not feel right for the shot, you have a few students on hand to swap out. A student that does not work in one scenario, may work perfectly in the next, so try as many variations as possible.

Remember to also run your student shortlist through with academic staff to make sure that you have chosen students who represent the culture of your school, both inside and outside of the classroom.

4. Letters home and permission slips

The last thing you want is the perfect photo for use on a bus or billboard, only to have a family request that it be removed after the fact. It is important to go the extra step of getting students and parents on the same page for two reasons, so:

1. Students arrive for the day looking their best

2. Parents understand how the photos of their children may be used for promotions.

Letters home should provide examples of how the photos might be used so that parents are okay with this. The collection of these permissions can be made simpler by asking parents to opt out if they do not want to participate, rather than requiring every family to opt in before a specific date.

If possible, provide students with at least a week’s notice so that they can purchase any additional uniform items required and get a haircut if needed.

5. Organise additional help for the day

A photo day is surprisingly exhausting and having extra help on hand will ensure your success. Have another staff member clear their schedule for the day to help you collect students and prepare for the next shot, while you are overseeing the current shot.

This way, you will get the most out of your time with the photographer. Additional help at hand will also ensure you minimise small errors from appearing in shots, such as incorrect uniforms or non-uniform items worn, untidy hair and stains on clothing.

Looking for a school photographer?

Roberts Digital offers photographer services to schools across Australia. Our services go the extra mile by helping you plan your day around your marketing objectives and providing creative ideas that will make your school stand out.

Enquire Now