Q: Virtual Tour Webinar
/In the absence of holding the formal Open Days, we have decided to host an online virtual Open Day. So far I have made a 5-minute video which will be followed by the Heads Intro.... does anyone have more creative ideas of what else to focus on at an online Open House besides the usual Q&A section? From Nirvana Rogers, King David Victory Park, Campus Marketing & Admissions Manager
A: Major
Great question! Here are some ideas we've been floating around...I can't say anything is a "best practice" yet because I think we're all learning as we go!
We're encouraging schools to incorporate more student and alumni voices – alumni in particular can speak authentically in terms of "outcome marketing." I went to King David Victory Park and Now I can...This content can be pre-recorded and shared.
A virtual tour. Even if it's just pictures with a voice over, that's ok!
"Virtual Shadow." Depending on when the open day is, students could sign up to hop into a Virtual classroom.
Goal length should be about 60-90 minutes.
This worksheet might help in planning.
A: Kadison
My answer assumes that the King David campus will have some degree of on-site learning. We're seeing that prospective families, especially from public or parochial schools that have not transitioned well, are primarily concerned about few things. During the virtual open house address these issues.
Will my child be safe? Virtually show and discuss lots of spacious/socially-distant learning environments.
Will my child actually learn? Talk about your commitment to engaged learning and have the head or academic dean focus on 1 or 2 main things you're doing. Offer Zoom rooms where parents can meet with their child's teacher. The teacher should take 5 mins to discuss how children, in their care, will learn and describe a typical day or week. Then open to questions and dialog. This more personalized approach is very very important.
Sure, also have a virtual campus tour, but don't the mistake of showing only empty classrooms. It's critical to enable parents to connect with human beings. This is more important at this time than renovated facilities, except if renovations allow for safer learning. The tour MC should introduce smiling teachers in their classroom and have the very welcoming/friendly teacher give a brief tour. Do the same with physical ed, art, and music staff.
See Canterbury School in Indiana for a great example also of personalizing the virtual admissions experience.
Good luck!
A: Noakes
There are lots of creative options King David Victory Park can try.
Run some element LIVE - using YouTube or Facebook video streaming. This is 'one-way' broadcast as you test the waters. Great thing is the video can be saved and shared after the event for families that missed it - and embedded on your website (shared on social )
Up your game and run 2-way LIVE video session. This should only be used for smaller, more focussed groups. Zoom offer great breakout room functionality - which can be facilitated by a member of staff. listen how one school, Shiplake College delivered their Virtual Open Day.
LIVE walkthroughs - streaming the campus tour whilst narrating. Enable live messaging to react to questions and respond. Try Periscope within Twitter - or Instagram LIVE video.
Create an interactive 'On Campus' Virtual Tour - with embedded video content from your staff and students (pulled from Youtube). Google Streetview has incredible functionality (good for SEO too!)
Ask for questions in advance - and then get your students to record short 15-30 second answers. Use these during and after the virtual session to engage further with your prospects
Turn your Google Virtual Tour into a VR experience - the ultimate wow.
Just be brave - and try new things. This is a time to learn - as people are more forgiving too. The upside, however, is quite dramatic.
Good luck!
A: Digiovine
Recently, I’ve been discussing the importance of incorporating printed materials along with videos that feature teachers, students and alumni. In these times of virtual meetings and communications when “touch and feel” are absent but more important than ever, a printed piece that arrives in the mail can send a special message about your school’s human connection. Tactile, permanent, and gem-like, the invitation to meet through Zoom with a child’s teacher will feel heart-warming, especially if it’s in a hand-addressed envelope.
I invite you to read this post by Graphic Design USA…
A: Cain
Some ideas and tips to consider:
"Show Not Tell” as much as you can without too many talking heads.
Consider having the students, especially the older ones, create some of the content.
Some creative ideas might include interviewing each other, shooting little videos of their favorite places in the school.
Be authentic about what it feels like to be a student there.
Have it be about them (the students) and not as much about you. It's all about students seeing themselves with you and how that will look and be.
Feature parents and how having their child at your school makes them feel…why they would never choose another school.
Use humor where you can, and in addition to the academic experience, show the lighter side, the relationships, the culture, the traditions, the quirky things, the friendships, etc. Remember that you don’t always have to be all about the academics. That should be a given. You are a school.
If this is going to be done LIVE, include a feedback loop, chat, Q&A. And use that to improve your next one. And if not live, build in calls to action to further the conversation and invite more inquiry for someone to contact them.
Showcase some of your best faculty. And show some real remarkable learning experiences and/or projects. Just as you would do at a face-to-face event.
Understand where is this open house fitting into all of your other marketing communications? Don’t try to cram too much in. It’s a lot to ask for someone to sit for an hour unless you are going to know their socks off.
After all, if it’s a first date, you don’t need to tell them everything.
