Online Reputation Management in Education: How Schools Can Set the Right Tone
What message is your school trying to send?
Perhaps as an educator, you’ve never considered this question before, but have no doubt – with every communication online, your school community is telling the public who they are and what they stand for. Over time, as a communication history is established, so is a reputation that can be a school’s best asset — or its costliest liability.
Whether public, private or charter, educational institutions face the same challenges most companies do: How to get the word out, generate interest in their offerings and make stakeholders happy. Beyond just posting and providing information, schools also must ensure their message remains cohesive across platforms, departments and individuals, which is no easy task.
The Basics of Branding
The term “branding” most often is associated with the corporate world, but the concept is equally relevant for education. It refers to the process of standing out in a market, which is accomplished with a consistent message. Using effective branding, a school becomes easily identifiable among people it seeks to reach – and tells them what it can offer that another school can’t.
This concept will be unfamiliar territory for most educators, which is why they need expert guidance. ReputationSimple is a trailblazer in the field of protecting and managing reputations, and hundreds of schools already have trusted its methods to achieve dramatic results.
Winning the War
Every day, educators are engaged in a fight they may not even be aware of — against misinformation, anonymous online attacks and other assaults on their online presence. While there’s no way to control what others do or say online, schools can shield themselves from the damaging effects – and ReputationSimple can show them how. Its comprehensive training program and other services will put the power over your school’s image back where it belongs – with its leaders. Educators can learn best practices and put simple, predictable procedures in place to improve their ranking and enhance their profile.
In the battle for their good name, schools can consider ReputationSimple their suit of armor.
School Reputation Control
With ReputationSimple’s unique School Reputation Control service, any school can become the master of its own destiny – and own page one of the online search results. Any time someone enters your school’s name into Google, you want them to see glowing reviews and a wealth of other positive, accurate information. When people search for the best education options in your area, you want your school to appear at the top of their results.
That happens by implementing strategies that ReputationSimple has perfected and school professionals can carry out. One tool in ReputationSimple’s reputation rescue kit is Review Shield – a defense system that keeps negative reviews private until you’ve had time to address them. Review Shield also taps into the potential of your satisfied customer base, which often won’t leave feedback but is your greatest resource in acquiring four- and five-star reviews.
Why ReputationSimple Training Works
If you polled a dozen people at your school about what they consider the school’s best attributes, or what makes it special, you’d likely get 12 different answers. Before your school can effectively communicate with the public, there must be consensus about what you want to say.
After completing ReputationSimple’s Online Reputation Management Training for Schools, participants will be on the same page. They also will have an in-depth understanding of how to create and maintain their online brand. An effective strategy requires a multi-pronged approach of creating positive content, search engine optimization and other reputation management techniques, which have been shown to work particularly well for those in the education field.
If your brand message is successful, it serves as a call to action. Your audience will be inspired, motivated or convinced to become a member of your school community. To stand out in others’ minds, you must know what matters to them and show you can add value to their lives. Even more, you must supersede and contradict any information to the contrary.
A live, virtual two-day training with ReputationSimple, held for up to three participants and tailored to educators, can set your school on the correct course. The instruction will cover a range of subjects, which will give your school an edge in all its endeavors. Some of the educational goals for attendees include:
- Learning how to suppress negative feedback – pushing it to page two or three
- Making the best use of all your school’s online information – and bringing it into alignment
- Crafting an online content strategy that keeps your school’s postings fresh and relevant – and gives you control over your message
- Posting content and measuring results automatically with free resources – reducing school staff’s time commitment
The training modules start with online fundamentals – including search engines and key word sets – and progress to automated posting and tagging, as well as content posting and scheduling. In between, the course will cover website structure, video, social media, your digital footprint and much more.
For an investment of $4,600, your school can have a reputation that brings pride to anyone associated with it – and the ability to keep it that way. Afterward, ReputationSimple is available for support with updates, help desk advice and more.
Shifting Perception
Too many schools and educators see their online presence as a cause for stress or alarm. ReputationSimple views it as an opportunity – to increase enrollment, foster relationships and achieve all manner of goals. The different perception is due to the value of knowledge and training – which ReputationSimple can provide efficiently and affordably.
You and your school already have the traits to be an online standout. ReputationSimple’s School Reputation Control can give you the skills to reach your fullest potential.