Are you ready to make 2023 your most productive and successful year yet? We've shared a tonne of resources on creating a school marketing plan and setting school marketing goals, but what about your Digistorm systems?

To help you hit the ground running, we've put together a list of commonly overlooked 'back to school' items that will get your Digistorm tools cleaned up and ready to take on the new year.

Get your Funnel into tip-top shape

1. Change the date

We all know that awkward feeling when you accidentally leave last year's date on important documents. Perform a simple 'find and replace' search for any reference to 2022 on your digital forms, email responses, policy documents, or communication templates. If you're unable to update the date in any area of your Funnel systems, send us a support request and we’ll get onto that for you pronto!

2. Update your enrolment fees

Did you update your school's enrolment application fee during 2022 to support families who were financially impacted by the pandemic? Will you be changing it again in the new year? If so, get in touch with your Digistorm Client Success Manager to let them know and we'll make any necessary changes on our end for you. 

3. Clean up your data

If you're aiming to shake up your enrolment strategy and nurture even more prospective families, you're going to need to clean up your Funnel data so that you know exactly who you're talking to and where they are in your enrolment pipeline. To get a better handle on your leads, you'll need to review and update any enrolment forms, enquiries or expressions of interest for 2023, 2022, or earlier. If you find students who are now enrolled at your school, make sure that you've moved them into the 'closed won' stage of your pipeline and 'closed lost' for those who aren't interested. 

 

Pro tip: If you’re updating multiple leads to the same enrolment pipeline stage or with the same information, you can save time by doing this in bulk. Simply tick the box next to all of the relevant lead names, then select ‘edit’ and choose the relevant field to update. 

4. Update your logos and images

If your design team have made changes over the break to your school's brand guidelines, be sure to reflect these changes in your Funnel email templates or automated responses. From logos to images, consistent branding is the key to building trust for your school's brand.

5. Delete inactive users 

If you've had any key team members move on from your school, now's a great time to review your system users and delete those who should no longer have access. While this may just seem like a bit of housekeeping, allowing past users access to log in to your systems is actually a huge security risk to your school. 

6. Look for opportunities to improve

Take some time to review how your school performed last year by looking at your Funnel reports. In particular, you'll want to pay special attention to your 'closed lost' and 'pipeline stage analysis' reports looking for areas where you can improve your enrolment strategy in 2023.

 

Pro tip: Set up a Funnel Health Check with your Client Success Manager for the new year, pop it in your diary and then forget about it. Your CSM can take you through a deep dive through all of your Funnel reports to ensure everything is running as it should.

7. Clean up your communication templates

Finally, review your communication templates to make sure they are ready for the new year. This will save you from recognising they need updating right when you go to use them! While you're updating your templates, don't forget about the automated email responses that are connected to your integrated forms. These are the emails that are automatically triggered when someone completes a Funnel form.

To view the email content, you can do a test submission or ask your Client Success Manager to send you a copy of the emails so you can make any necessary changes. For example, if you're moving the location of your information sessions in 2023, you will need to update the location and gate entry information in the automated response.

Housekeeping for your school app

1. Update your categories

If there are some category names you’d like to add or remove, send a request to our support team and we’ll get it fixed up for you. Remember, every tag category in your school app admin area is available as a subscription option for your users to choose from. 

2. Delete old notices

Do you have outdated notices still hanging around in your school app? Well, it’s time for those to go! Jump into your admin area and deactivate any notices that are taking up space and are no longer needed.

3. Engage more app users

Your school app is a powerful communication tool that's at your community's fingertips. The problem is that they might not know it yet! Promote your school app to your new and existing families and remind them to download it to stay up-to-date with all of your latest news in an easy-to-use centralised location.

4. Update your branding

Again, if you've made any changes to your school's branding, be sure to reflect these changes in your school app to ensure brand consistency and best practice for your school. 

5. Check your app analytics

All Digistorm Apps come with Google Analytics set up so that you can see important usage stats and monitor engagement. This includes the number of users who are accessing your app (including which device they're using and their demographic information) and what they are doing once they're in your app.

Have a quick check of your app usage in the new year to ensure that parents haven't deleted the app over the break, and they've picked back up where they left off.

Cleaning up your school website

1. Take stock of your content

School websites tend to store a lot of time-sensitive content, which is why this is one of the first things you'll want to review before heading on holiday. Pay close attention to your events and news articles to ensure these areas are up-to-date. No one wants to see past events or outdated articles, they want to see what’s new and exciting for the year ahead! 

2. Review your information architecture

We've previously posted about the importance of information architecture (which we strongly recommend reading if you haven't already) and the important role it plays in the user experience. Review your structure, content, images, and calls-to-action (CTAs) to ensure that your visitors are able to find the information they're looking for quickly. 

3. Update your school's 'about us' page

If you've had staff join or leave your school this year, jump over to your 'about us' page and update any information that's outdated. While this might seem like a low priority, it's important for your website visitors to see current information about your school.

4. Delete inactive users 

While you're reviewing your 'about us' page, now's a great time to delete any system users who should no longer have access to your school website. As we said, keeping old user accounts around poses too great of a risk to your school's security.

5. Check best practice

Finally, it's time to check whether your school website is still up to scratch. We recommend completing a website best practice checklist to determine whether it might be time for a redesign to keep your school website competitive in 2023. If you find that it's looking a little tiring, we have a range of affordable options to help you out.

Brushing up on your skills

1. The Admissions Club

In 2022 we launched our free 13-part web series, The Admissions Club, designed to give school marketers and admissions pros a chance to upskill with bite-sized content. 

The series features 11 experts on all things school marketing and admissions pros and discusses all topics you'd want to hear. From Marketing to Millennials to Mapping the Customer Journey, you're bound to pick up a few tricks and some inspiration.

2. 2022/23 State of K-12 School Admissions report

We surveyed over 100 Australian schools to determine the current trends, opportunities, and challenges in the school admissions and marketing landscapes. 

We packed data, trends, and insights that we learned into a report, available to be downloaded for free. It's a must-have for school marketing, admissions, and leadership teams who want to get the most out of 2023!

 

Well, there you have it! Those are our top tips for getting all your Digistorm tools ready for a successful 2023. If you need a hand with any of the tips covered above, reach out to your friendly Client Success Manager or get in touch with our support team.

Published 26 November 2021