1. Creating A Successful Online Communication Strategy
Rachel Welsh, Webmaster and Director of Data Operations – The Shipley School
Kelley Jarrett, Internet Solutions Consultant – Blackbaud

2. If you’re tweeting
about this session,
please use the
following hashtag:
#npcomm
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #2

3. Segment your audience
Segment and personalize your online message
 Key target groups – engagement stage
– Communication and reminders for prospective families
– Encourage alumni to attend events and volunteer
– ShipleyNet: Students, Alumni , Parents, Colleagues and Trustees
 Unique target groups – interests, participation level, event involvement
– Parents – (1) Announcements for all-school and for the divisions in
which their students are enrolled (2) Back to school forms required
only displayed for grade levels in which students are enrolled
– Trustees – a working environment for them to share
– Major donors, targeted online asks
– Young alumni – mentor program involvement
– Past event attendees
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #3

4. Launch marketing efforts
Generate excitement via multiple marketing channels
– Email and Direct Mail
– Social Media (Facebook, Twitter)
• Page Sharing
• Tweet This: I just applied/donated/registered for the reunion –
you should too!
• Social Media Contest
– Postcards
– Website Launch Power Point
• Sent to All Colleagues
• Shown to parents at Back to School Nights and Parent Visiting
Days
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #4

5. Email and results 8 days later
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #5

6. Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #6

7. Launch Marketing Efforts
 Know how your audience responds, and react based on success.
– Surveys
– Polls
 Do not make any assumptions about an audience’s comfort level and/or
skill level
– RSS/News Feeds
 Give them a reason to come back:
• Change events and content often
• Share results, stories and answers
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #7

8. Educate your audience
 Don’t assume your constituents know how use an interactive website or
where to find it.
– Attend scheduled meetings and get face-to-face time
– Create a thoughtful navigation structure that is intuitive to your
audience
– Incorporate calls to Action
– Involve internal audiences early, get them on board!
– Provide helplets and instructions where
possible – from anywhere on the site
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #8

9. Utilize targeted content
Personalizing the online experience will help your audience feel more
connected to your school AND will increase involvement.
– Prospective Students – upcoming events, deadlines, status
checklist
– Students – grades, class pages
– Parents – updates, status of student activity, Grade and division
specific information, parent support community
– Teachers – class pages, online assignments, information share
(blogs), teacher support community
– Alumni – job boards, directories, events, special initiatives, class
notes
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #9

10. Utilize targeted content.
 Different messages to
different roles
– Alumni – “Get in Touch”
– Parents – Announcements
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #10

11. Analyze your web traffic
 Message more effectively and efficiently
 Make more strategic decisions about how to communicate
 Ex - include headmaster blog or urgent school news on the top 5 pages
visited by viewers.
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #11

12. Solicit feedback
 Don’t assume you know what your constituents want.
– Parent Focus Groups
– Polls
– Surveys
– Email Preferences
 Combine these with what you already know to get more bang for your
communication buck.
– Stop wasting money on direct mail where email is more effective
– Show you’re listening
– Create new, creative initiatives based on interest
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #12

13. Encourage participation
You want your constituents to participate in every way – events, volunteer,
mentorships, recruitment, etc.
 Give users the ability to share their own stories, comments and needs
that other community members can respond to.
– Class notes
– Message boards and blogs
• Specific to Event
• Pose a Question and facilitate discussion
• USE the community – once started, users will follow
– Profile Update
• Where Are you Now?
– Surveys/Polls with participation rewards
• Daily question about the school’s history that students can
answer – first 5 correct answers win a prize!
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #13

14. Build Connections
 Parent Directories
– Multiple “Interactive”
– Multiple “Printable”
• Uses Queue to run monthly and then manually publish
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #14

15.  Alumni Directories
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #15

16. Promote stewardship - Share successes, ideas and
thoughts to help communicate what you’re doing to further
your school’s mission.




College placements
Careers Chosen
Accolades
Fundraising Successes
– Equate donations to tangible
gifts
– “Meet our Donors”
 New developments on campus
 Famous/award winning alumni
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #16

17. Stimulate the senses
Consider using multimedia to make a personal connection.
– Vimeo, YouTube, SmugMug, Slideshow Pro – free hosting,
security parameters and additional social networking options built in
• Host multimedia and Podcasts with a single, more cost
effective vendor
– Video testimonials from parents, teenagers, athlete, and
past event attendees
• Take advantage of social networking and marketing
opportunities (allow users to “like” a video, tweet the page/video)
• Incorporate a video with calls to action
– Last year’s event video next to registration for this year
• Use targeted Content to keep sensitive media private
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #17

18. Keep Content Fresh
 A stale site results in less return visitors. Keep it simple and up to date
with new content daily to encourage repeat visits and increased
participation.
 Shipley’s CasinoNight Fundraiser
– Planned 8 stories
– Written in advance
– Posted each week
– Each story focused on a particular aspect of the event
 Capitalize on real time data connections
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #18

19. Enjoy Small Successes
Ideas and strategies will promote long term growth and success, however,
getting the basics done and done right is THE MOST IMPORTANT step
you can take towards a successful online strategy
 Slow and Steady Wins the Race
 Thoroughly test (multiple times, multiple users, multiple scenarios)
 What will make your website a success? Have real, measurable
results. Gather statistics and celebrate milestones met.
 Document, Document, Document!
– Documenting small successes help pave the way and secure
funding for larger initiatives down the road.
– Knowing what works, what doesn’t, and adjusting your plan
accordingly defines success in web strategy projects.
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #19

20. Work Smarter, Not Harder
 Re-use the data you’re already tracking– event registration
– “See Who’s Coming” using RE Query of registered and BBNC
Directory part
 Use the same content in multiple places (Start with your News)
 Online RSVP for Alumni Events cut down on hours of duplicate entry
 Online Admissions and Reenrollment
 Profile Updates
 Set most roles based off of EE or RE Queries
 Many Roles - Limited and Shared Responsibilities
– Athletics maintains sports teams pages
– Alumni director updates Alumni events
– Admissions coordinator adds admissions events to the calendar
Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #20

21. Kelley Jarrett and Rachel Welsh | Page #21