Presentation from The sponsor-ed Group Master Class March 2015. Making the case for schools to change their publishing methods for improved efficiency and greater community engagement.

1. The Future of School Publishing
The sponsor-ed Group
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
1

2. Goal:
to halve your publishing time and
double parent’s engagement
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
2

3. Goal:
to halve your publishing time and
to double parent’s engagement
Strategy
&
Technology
Strategy
&
Technology
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
3

4. The Potential
• 1 newsletter per term
• Burst communications
– Write less but more often
– 1 article per day
• ‘Write-once’ in only one place – the website
• Use ‘push’ for urgency and for disruption
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
4

5. What do we know about schools,
content and modern communications?
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
5

6. 1: The school newsletter:
the greatest blocker to
engagement
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015
6

7. The 200 study: Research Methodology
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
7

8. What prompted the research?
Hundreds of conversations hearing about school’s
publishing issues
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
8
“I don’t know why we bother. You get
tired of saying to parents - it was in the
newsletter”

9. The format of the
school newsletter hasn’t
changed since
photocopiers were
introduced to schools.
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
9

10. The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
10
It pre-dates the internet, smart phones
and 2 working parents. It also pre-dates
a time when information was scarce.

11. Started asking question?
• No school defended its newsletter readership as
being high
• Schools that moved from weekly to fortnightly
stated that there was not a murmur from
parents
• No school could articulate their communication’s
strategy
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
11

12. The school newsletter is largely space
and time driven, not driven by
communications strategy
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
12

13. Someone handed you the
‘newsletter’, baton
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
13

14. The School Newsletter
Research
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
14

15. Content Mix: By type
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
15
COMMUNITY 30%
10%: Extra curricular activities
10%: Community news
10%: Advertising
INTERNAL 20%
15%: Principals message
Key staff messages
3%: Compliance
2%: Admin impacts
STUDENTS 37%
Teaching in action
Class reports
Themed events
25%: Student activities/showcasing
5%: Student acknowledgements
7%: Dates effecting students
PARENTS 11%
2%: Parents supporting learning
2%: Parent education
3%: P&F/C
Shout outs volunteers
Government prog’s
Fundraisers
4%: Dates effecting parents

16. Today’s newsletter
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
16
COMMUNITY 30%
INTERNAL 20%
STUDENTS 37%
PARENTS 11%

17. Managing 2 independent publishing
mediums
• Word/Publisher & Website – Print vs Digital
• Resource strapped environment
• Merge and manage one
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
17

18. The Statistics
Average number of articles 23
Average number of pages 5
Average number of hours to publish 5
Average hourly rate $40
PA cost weekly cycle $8,000
Fortnightly cycle $4,000
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
18

19. One reason why the newsletter is not
being read
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
19
nottimelytimely
not important important
How much of a newsletter affects me? Can be down to 4%

20. wiifm
Dates effecting me
My kids
Classroom
The rest
My InterestContent Mix
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
20

21. 2: Understanding content.
What do you want a parent to
‘do’ and what do you want
them to ‘feel’?
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
21

22. 20%... of a school newsletter is
LOGISTICS
What do you want a parent to ‘do’?
• Calendar dates
• Forms
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
22

23. 80%... of a school newsletter is
PR
What do you want a parent to ‘feel’?
A definition
Public relations is the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and
maintain mutual understanding between an organisation (or individual) and its (or
their) publics. It's the key to effective communication in all sectors of business,
government, academic and not-for-profit.
Public Relations Institute of Australia
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
23

24. The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
24

25. There’s a difference between
News and a Newsletter
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
25

26. News vs Newsletter
• News is timely
• Newsletter is a summary
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
26

27. The ‘new’ publishing grid
News
Newsletter
Logistics PR
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
27

28. 3: Our DNA for content
consumption has changed.
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
28

29. 29
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

30. 30
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

31. 31
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

32. 32
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

33. 33
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015

34. Did I mention mobile?
40% to 80%
34
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015

35. Our DNA has changed
35
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

36. Our DNA has changed
36
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

37. 37
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

38. 4: The Power of Context
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015
38

39. Context is singularly the most
important factor in effective
communications. Schools do not have a
content problem; they have a major
context problem.
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
39

40. The biggest blocker to modernising
school communications is the
school newsletter crafted in a print
medium.
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
40

41. Try reading a pdf newsletter
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
41

42. The Power of Context
“Human behaviour is sensitive to and
strongly influenced by its environment.” Malcolm Gladwell
42
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

43. 43
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

44. What’s Communication Context?
same message,
different context,
different engagement
44
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

45. 45
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

46. 4: More….. on the Power of
Context
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015
46

47. Context Rule 1: engagement strength
varies by content accessorising
47
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

48. 72%The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
48

49. click here
13%The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
49

50. A reminder about
Friday’s trivia night
9%The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
50

51. 6%The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
51

52. 72%
click here13%
A reminder about Friday’s….9%
6% The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
52

53. Context Rule 2: Frequency is context
53
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

54. Frequency is ‘context’
2 choices;
to deliver
1,000 words every 2 weeks or
deliver 100 words per day, which
has the best engagement?
54
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

55. Imagine if facebook was a fortnightly
newsletter from your ‘friends’. Would
you read it? Same content, different
context.
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
55

56. Content engagement is inversely
proportional to content volume
The future of school publishing:
The sponsor-ed Group March 2015 56
Content
Volume
Content
Engagement

57. Frequency is ‘context’
Ad-hoc vs Cyclical
57
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

58. Time of the day is ‘context’
Research:
several thousand subscribers
Open rate 40%
Highest open rates occurred on Sundays
emails sent from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. are about three times
more likely to be opened than emails sent at 4 p.m
58
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

59. Variations by content type
http://www.jamesamartin.com/so
cial-media/when-to-post-on-
facebook
59
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

60. Time of the day is ‘context’
• Most brands post during the week
• Best engagement is on weekends
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-57411092/the-best-time-to-send-email-so-it-will-get-read/
60
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015
Why not experiment and become the only school that delivers
content to parents when they’re most likely to absorb it
…..on weekends

61. Context Rule 3: Devices and
platforms are context
http://allfacebook.com/socialcode-best-practices-
engagement_b107019 61
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

62. 62
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

64. Facebook’s not a website or a
newsletter but extremely effective.
Would you like to generate that level of
‘spirit’?
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
64

65. Your new context
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
65

66. 5: Not all of us absorb content
in the same way
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
66

67. Never use the words,
“our parents”.
67
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

68. There is not one community that is
homogenous
• Take this room……..
• Avoid making sweeping statements about your community
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
68

69. Gender Imbalance
69
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

70. Gender Imbalance in Communications
92%of comments on school Facebook pages are from
Mums.
Research* indicates women made an average of
11 updates to their Facebook status (month),
while men averaged six. Yet the subscription mix is
48% male, 52% female
*Pew Research Institute 70
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015

71. The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015
71

72. Roy Morgan – Values Segments
• For information on each segment: http://www.roymorgan.com/products/values-segments/values-segments.cfm
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
72

73. 1. The all business parent.
2. The disorganized parent.
3. The lingering parent
4. The overly friendly parent
5. The stressed parent
6. The complainer
7. The even-mannered parent
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
73

74. In your community you have…
• The forensic analyst
• Phone addict
• The worrier
• ‘On the run’
• But at a minimum you have 3 psychographic groups
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
74

75. The 4 Point Plan
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
75

76. 1. Key Messages:
what’s informing your writing?
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015
76

77. A communication strategy begins with
‘key messages’
• Do you want to be seen as innovative, a learning
community, pastoral, academic….
• You’re writing will be informed by your ‘key messages’
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015
77

78. What’s the content outcome?
What does this content do? Why’s it in your newsletter?
Parent Education/Health & Wellbeing
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
78

79. Communication Outcomes
What business is Shell in? Energy
Theory: A product is
what a product
does
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
79

80. When I go to Bunnings to buy one of
these, what am I actually buying?
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
80

81. A Communication Outcome
1: Building community confidence in our teaching staff’s
capabilities.
Even our teachers never stop
learning
Congratulations to Margaret Masseni on completing her
Masters of Education – Student Wellbeing. It was 2
years of study giving up many nights and weekends
following her passion. “It’s been a life long ambition of
mine to study at Melbourne Uni. I’m very fortunate to
have married such a wonderful husband as Denis who’s
intellect has been a beacon of inspiration to me. I aspire
to his greatness.” Said Margaret choking back the tears.
Communication Outcome
Content
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
81

82. Action: Develop 10 key messages
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
82

83. 2. Context:
make it work for you… and
your parents
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015
83

84. Halve your publishing time and double
your parents engagement
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
84

85. The Potential
• 1 newsletter per term
• Burst communications
– Write less but more often
– 1 article per day
• ‘Write-once’ in only one place – the website
• Use ‘push’ for urgency and for disruption
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
85

86. The ‘new’ publishing grid
News
Newsletter
Logistics PR
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
86

87. Turn your homepage into your ‘new’
newsletter’.
• Mobile friendly
• Push to app
• Measureable
• Accessible
• Write-once
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
87

88. Did I mention mobile?
40% to 80%
88
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015

89. •
Action:
1: Utilise homepage content – Recent News
2: Tag Recent News in email
3: Mix publishing frequency – randon, time/day
4: Lower your content volume
5: Use a variety of mediums – web, app & email
6: Drop PDF newsletter
7: Write 1 conventional newsletter/term
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
89

90. 3. Analytics:
find your sweet spot
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015
90

91. Google Analytics
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
91

92. Email Analytics
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
92

93. Action: Review analytics once/term
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
93

94. 4. Implementation:
where do you want to be
in 12 months?
The future of school publishing: The
sponsor-ed Group March 2015
94

95. Blockers
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
95

96. Implementation
• Plot a vision for your communications 12 months out
• Make small incremental changes every term
• Let your community know that they’ll see changes as
you implement an emerging ‘best- practice’ in
communications
• Feedback is always welcomed – this is a trial
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
96

97. Goal:
to halve your publishing time and
to double parent’s engagement
Strategy
&
Technology
Strategy
&
Technology
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
97

98. Thank you
The future of school publishing: The sponsor-ed
Group March 2015
98
Denis Masseni
Director: The sponsor-ed Group
700 Collins St, Docklands, 3008
P: 1300 755 010
W: sponsor-ed.com.au
E: info@sponsor-ed.com.au
Talk to us about our new phone app Updat-ed