“A school’s virtual doors open long before its physical ones”
While making any big decisions, we all do our research. We Google the best products, read reviews, and get recommendations from friends and family. The same is true when parents are choosing a school for their kids.
When it comes to choosing a school, the initial interaction isn’t the captivating campus tour or the vibrant classrooms. Instead, it’s an online journey, a deep dive into the world of school options, all conducted through Google’s lens.
So, the big question is: How can you ensure that your school’s online reputation is not just good but great? We will explore the importance of reputation management for schools in this blog.
A school’s reputation isn’t just built within its walls but online
Why Online Reputation Management is Important for Schools:
- Attract Top Talent:
- A strong online reputation aids in recruiting top-notch teachers and staff. Educators are drawn to schools with a positive image. This enhances the quality of education your school imparts.
- Additionally, academically inclined students choose such schools, further enriching the educational environment.
Earn Trust:
- When parents and students research schools online, a positive online presence fosters trust.
- Schools with a reliable and credible online image are more likely to be chosen by families seeking quality education.
Competitive Edge:
- A positive online reputation does not just draw local students but might attract students from different towns and cities.
- This gives schools a competitive advantage in a global educational landscape.
What Goes into a School’s Online Reputation?
Here are some key points to consider:
- Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial to ensure that your authorized/official digital assets show up at the top of search results.
- Posting keyword-centric optimized articles, blogs, and press releases.
- Encouraging positive reviews, responding to negative reviews, and engaging with your target audience on social media can help improve your school’s image.
- A sizable, multi-layered online reputation management (ORM) campaign is often needed to improve your school’s image.
Effective Reputation Management Strategies:
- Online Presence Monitoring: Regularly check your online presence, encompassing social media, review platforms, and news articles to swiftly address negative feedback, if any.
- Responding to Customer Feedback: Professionally and empathetically respond to both positive and negative customer feedback, offer solutions to concerns.
- Encouraging Positive Reviews: Nudge satisfied customers to share their positive experiences on your website, social media, and review sites.
- Handling Negative Reviews: Address negative reviews promptly, take responsibility, apologize, and provide resolutions.
- Building Strong Online Presence: Create and share valuable content like blogs, infographics, and videos to establish authority and positive brand associations.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimize your online properties to improve search engine visibility and control your online content.
- Competitor Monitoring: Keep an eye on competitors to identify areas for improvement and stay ahead of your competitors.
- Using the Press: Use press releases to address any negative news or controversies. For instance, if there is a faculty-related issue, publish a press release highlighting new, rigorous background-check procedures to ensure the best hiring practices.
- Blogs and Articles: Create optimized blogs and articles on your school’s website. These positive pieces will rank higher in search results.
- Engaging on Social Media: Actively engage with your school community on social media. Provide a platform for parents, students, and teachers to address concerns privately, reducing the chances of them airing their grievances in public forums.
Conclusion:
As parents, students, teachers, investors, and other stakeholders invariably research you online before engaging with you, your online reputation MATTERS.
We discussed the WHY, WHAT, and HOW of online reputation management. However, given the complexity of the task and many moving parts of this jigsaw called “ORM,” a professional ORM with validated expertise in the ORM space is your best bet.
AiPlex has been taking care of the online reputation management of the biggest EdTech, Fintech, and education-abroad consultants in India or abroad.
Get in touch with us, we will propose a customized ORM solution just for you.
