Everyone prefers a brand when it comes to choosing something that would somehow be a reflection of who they are as an entity. And, why would we not? Choosing a brand over another is how we differentiate ourselves from everyone else and that is also how we define ourselves, in a way, because every brand that we choose has already made a connection to us on a psychological level.

This asks the question, what makes anything or anyone, a brand? To be honest, there’s no definitive answer. We define anything as a brand by our own ability to perceive it as such. In simpler words, everything is a brand or has the potential to be a brand if anyone would believe it to be. The aspect that makes anyone believe something to be a brand, comes from the feeling a person gets being associated with that brand.

Now that we know what a brand is, let’s find out why we need to be a brand.

It doesn’t matter what service or product you are offering to the world, if you fail to establish yourself as a brand. There are similar products and services in the world that are far better or cost effective than what you are offering so what would make people choose your product and service over theirs is solely dependent on how much impact your product or service was able to leave behind in the mind of everyone.

To build a strong brand, there are some factors that should be considered even though there are no definite set of guidelines or criteria to follow. But in the grand scenario of the educational landscape a strong school brand can really help your school to stand out from its competitors.

Why should schools build a strong brand identity?

The numerous benefits of having a strong brand for schools can help them in:

Standing Apart From Rest: 

With a strong brand identity your school can easily stand out from the rest and this helps very much because every school is trying to enroll as many students as possible so if your school can present a unique brand value to the students, they are more likely to enroll in your school instead of choosing your competitors.

Higher Retention Rate: 

If your school can have a strong brand then the retention rate of both students and staff will always be higher. The fact behind is that everyone likes to be associated with something that is popular and successful. A strong brand identity can fill that aspect for the school.

Builds Identity and Trust: 

To be trusted by others is not just an important aspect for any individual but also for institutes. If a school can earn the trust of the parents and the students then that school is going to be valued by everyone. Building trust can take a long time for any entity so it is important through which aspects the school is building a strong brand. That is how the school is going to be identified and recognised.

Helps With Funding: 

Reputation is also another crucial aspect for any school. If the school can maintain a strong reputation, it will attract donations from alumni and sponsors who would like to be onboard with the school's mission and vision. 

Building Community: 

A strong brand identity of the school builds a sense of community and togetherness for students and faculty alike. The stronger the community, the stronger is the school's brand identity. 

Better Student Results:

If a school has a strong brand then it will attract top students from other schools and that will help in setting a higher benchmark for student results of the school.

As we have figured out the why of a strong school brand identity, let's deep dive into brainstorming the how.

How to develop a strong school brand identity?

Building a strong brand identity for your school takes effort. Long gone are the simple days when a strong brand presentation would do the trick but with the ever growing competition, a strategy is important. It’s a step by step process:

Define Your Audience:

The first and the foremost thing of any business growth strategy is to determine the target audience that business will be catering to. Because, depending on the target audience and their needs, the brand value can be presented in that way. The target audience can comprise students who will be heading out to college or depending on the school, it could be the students who would like to upskill themselves or your school caters to early childhood education then the target audience would be the parents of those children, your preschool will be catering to.

Define Your USP:

What is your school’s unique selling proposition? What differentiates your school from the rest? The stronger this unique selling proposition is, the stronger the differentiation is from the rest. This differentiator helps in building a strong brand value and identity in the mind of the target audience.

Create an Intriguing Brand Story:

You need to create an intriguing brand story for your school because in the end your school is more than just mortar and bricks. A school entices emotions of the students beyond the four walls of a classroom and building premises. So, you need to put that emotion into creating a narrative that involves your school's mission, values, and the impact it has on the lives of the students. You can also highlight the student success stories or focus on the  faculty achievements, that would have an everlasting imprint in the minds of your target audience.

Develop a Fitting Visual Identity:

There is a saying that a brand just doesn’t mean its logo but without a remarkable logo, you cannot have a brand identity. So, your school must have a cohesive visual identity that is easy to recollect and recognise. Your visual identity is the visual impression your target audience is going to have. 

Opting For Digital Marketing:

To create a strong online presence you need to opt for Digital Marketing for your school. You need to make your school’s brand present in all online channels. That means setting up social media accounts and participating in online communities and also setting up a school’s website.

Strong Community Development:

You need to create a strong community for your school in both the offline and online domain. You can create communities by hosting seminars and open houses events, educational events.

Turn Stakeholders Into Advocates:

Everyone who is associated with your school could be your school’s brand ambassador. To turn the students, their parents, alumni, and the school into brand ambassadors for your school, you need to share their experiences and stories so that people who are acquainted with them would know about your school and the impact it has.

Analyze and Strategize:

Branding is a never ending process, therefore, branding should be done regularly and evaluated regularly. This evaluation can be done through various analytics tools and metrics. Tracking the metrics, it can be determined if the school’s brand is going on the desired curve or fluctuating from its course.

When to develop a strong school brand identity?

There is no fixed time to establish your school brand. In fact, the best time to establish your school’s or institute’s brand identity was 10 years ago and if you have missed out on that time, now is the right time to do so. Branding is an on-going process and there’s no fixed timeline to it, the sooner you start with the branding the better. However, there are times that can be termed or regarded as ideal times as they might bring in more traction than other times. Here are some such ideal times:

Pre Branding:

Expansion: 

If your school is going to start in some place soon or you are planning to expand into new territories, then pre branding strategies should be in place. A strong pre-branding can set the stage for a sweet launch or opening for your school. And, who doesn’t want to hit the ground running when you are running a business or breaking new grounds? A new beginning leads to new hope and as human beings we wait our entire lives for such hopes that at some point in our life things will just get better.

Shifting Dynamics: 

The only thing that is constant about time that it will keep on changing, it will never be the same. So, when times are a changin’, your school also needs to cope up with it. New dynamics or new turn of events means new approach to branding to stay relevant to the target audience with the changing time.

Strategic Repositioning: 

If you are planning to reposition your school’s brand for a different goal or purpose, it is mandatory that it should be in accord with that focus. A strong reposition of your brand can turn things around for your school.

Branding Boost:

Enrollment Issue: 

If there is a decline in the enrollment of new students in your school or your school is struggling with retention, a branding boost may help in recovering the lost traction and attention.

Negative Perception Issues:

If the time is against your school and your school is facing the heat of everyone, it is time to turn things around. Depending on the impact of the negative perception of your school, a strong PR campaign should be done to fix the brand’s image and perception.

Merger: 

If your school is going through a phase of merger or any tie-ups or joint ventures then opportunities like this should be utilized in boosting the brand of your school, highlighting the tie-ups and the impact it is going to have.

Achievements:

If your school has made an achievement or reached a remarkable goal then that moment should not be let go into waste. This is a perfect opportunity for your school to double up on the branding promotions and strategies because moments like these are pillars to establish your school’s brand in the mind of your target audience.

Branding is not that hard but it is not that simple either, it’s a paradox. And to help you and your school with this paradox, Buzzapp - your buzzness partner, is here to help you.

With Buzzapp, you can always keep an eye out on your school’s online reputation through its (ORM) services. Not only that, Buzzapp can also improve your school’s brand by setting up a no-code school website in the wink of an eye. To keep your school relevant and active in the digital world, Buzzapp will also assist your school in assisting your school’s social media management.

Buzzapp can also turn the narrative on your school’s enrollment issues. With a minimum of 20 guaranteed admission leads for your preschool, every month, your school’s enrollment can see things are going uphill.

So, if you are a school focusing on success and growth then Buzzapp is where you should be.

It is said that success is never guaranteed but, we at Buzzapp believe that success is guaranteed when you know you are taking the right steps in the right direction. Buzzapp is the right step for your school in the right direction.