By William Bullard
Does your school understand the power of video to tell your story in new and innovative ways? If not, take heart – you are not alone. A study of 30 leading independent schools reveals that most schools lack a strategy to manage their videos across the primary channels available. While many schools are starting to present a variety of videos on their own websites, public sites like YouTube and Vimeo, and social media, the majority of schools do not fully capitalize on their content or integrate it effectively across these channels.
The study reveals that almost all schools rely heavily on professional video on their own websites versus “amateur” video shot by students, administrators, faculty, parents, and other constituents. However, on YouTube and Vimeo, as well as on social media, amateur videos are more prevalent. There are many more findings from the analysis of the boarding, K – 12 day, and K – 8 day schools studied: take a look to learn how many videos schools post on their own websites; which pages are the most common repositories for videos; the similarities and differences between the three categories of schools; the popularity of YouTube vs. Vimeo; and the utilization of playlists, that key YouTube feature which offers many benefits to the viewer and your school, including organization, ease-of-use, and search engine optimization.
The latest Kalix white paper augments these key take-aways with several practical tips on enhancing video content for your school. You will also find three “blue ribbon” schools that you may wish to examine for video best practices as you determine how to fully harness the power of this transformative medium.
William Bullard is a strategic marketer who spent most of his career in the business world before moving into education. He has been the director of communications at two independent schools in greater Boston as well as a social media consultant for a leading literacy training company. He is especially interested in applying lessons from his early-stage work in direct marketing, the Internet, and digital marketing to schools. As the VP of Internet Marketing for the Boston chapter of the American Marketing Association, he is a frequent blogger. William is a strategic partner for Kalix Communications, focusing on digital and data-driven marketing.
