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Category: Higher Education PR

How education brands can reach primary school teachers on TikTok

on Posted by Catherine Lane

How education brands can reach primary school teachers on TikTok

Reaching teachers has never been harder, inboxes are crowded, budgets are tight, and attention is limited. Yet on TikTok, teachers are relaxed, curious, and open to new ideas. That’s why education brands are turning to the platform to connect with primary teachers through content that feels genuine, useful, and worth their time.

Over a quarter of UK teachers are now active on TikTok, and unlike other platforms where engagement is dropping, the appetite for classroom content on here keeps growing.

Through our work with teacher influencers and education campaigns, we’ve seen how TikTok can turn awareness into trust, engagement and action. Below, we have highlighted a few influencers that might be relevant to brands looking to influence primary school teachers.

 

Why TikTok works for reaching primary school teachers

Primary school teachers go to TikTok for ideas that make their day easier such as, lesson inspiration, wellbeing tips, and relatable humour. They’re not looking for polished brand videos, but for content that feels genuine and human.

Influencers have built communities of teachers who trust them, listen to them, and act on their recommendations. Working with these influencers helps education brands reach teachers in a more authentic way.

 

The primary school influencers getting it right

Here are three teacher influencers who show the kind of creativity and authenticity that’s driving engagement on TikTok, you’ll find more great influencers in our full guide.

  1. Kit Brown (@kjbr0wn)

Who he is: A former professional footballer turned UK primary school teacher, Kit brings humour and energy to his classroom content.

What he covers: Kit’s videos blend football and teaching with clever classroom engagement tips. His viral post — “How I get the attention of my class (shouts Cristiano Ronaldo)” — reached over 70.6 million views, and his feed is full of relatable, light-hearted takes on school life.

Why he stands out: With 2 million followers, 69.7 million likes, and engagement levels of 9–10%, Kit has built one of the most loyal teacher audiences on TikTok. His partnerships, like his collaboration with Birds Eye for the Alphabites Challenge are a great example of how being funny and authentic helps a brand message come across naturally.

Best fit for brands: Ideal for campaigns around classroom engagement, nutrition, or health and wellbeing, especially those looking to connect with teachers through storytelling and personality.

  1. Thomas Blakemore (@thomasblakemore)

Who he is: Thomas Blakemore is a UK primary teacher who’s also taught overseas, he shares honest stories about classroom life and teacher wellbeing.

What he covers: Thomas creates daily videos about teacher wellbeing, classroom management, and the challenges of education both in the UK and abroad. His followers value his honesty and practical advice from managing teacher workloads to using technology in teaching.

Why he stands out: With 95.5K followers, 2 million likes, and engagement levels of 4–6%, Thomas strikes a good balance between inspiration and authenticity. He has worked with EdTech brand Gamma on how to create engaging lesson slides.

Best fit for brands: Thomas would be a good fit for any EdTech, teacher wellbeing, and teacher professional development campaigns.

  1. Miss Taylor (@misstaylorteachesprimary)

Who she is: Samantha Taylor is a UK primary school teacher whose friendly, down-to-earth style makes her very relatable to teachers.

What she covers: Her content focuses on classroom management, early career teacher tips, and practical wellbeing advice. Posts like “Teachers – this is how to get their attention!” and “Classroom management strategies” regularly hit six-figure views.

Why she stands out: With 23.9K followers, 175.5K likes, and engagement of 1–4%, Miss Taylor’s feed offers a steady mix of humour, practical guidance, and positivity. She’s partnered with Ryman on “Back to School Shopping” campaigns.

Best fit for brands: She would be really suitable for any classroom supplies, stationery, or wellbeing-related campaigns, particularly for brands who want to target new or early career teachers.

 

What Education Brands Can Learn From these Creators

  1. Authenticity over advertising
    Teachers respond to real people sharing real stories. Overly branded or scripted content is never as successful.
  2. Value over volume
    A useful classroom idea, a relatable moment, or a wellbeing reminder usually outperforms polished ads.
  3. Trust over trends.
    The most effective creators have earned the trust of their followers and that’s what makes their endorsements really powerful.

Tip: It’s important to give influencers a clear brief and objectives, but also to let them create content that is authentic for them.

 

Planning and Measuring Your Campaign

When developing your TikTok strategy, start by defining success:

  • If you want brand awareness, work with visible influencers who post frequently and create short, relatable videos.
  • For sign-ups or conversions, choose smaller, more engaged influencers and offer valuable content like free lesson plans or product trials.
  • For behaviour change (e.g. wellbeing or sustainability), build multi-post campaigns over time and reinforce messages across multiple channels.

Measure what matters: clicks, saves, downloads, and conversations, not just likes.

 

Final Thoughts

TikTok is where teachers talk, laugh, and learn. For education brands, partnering with the right influencers is one of the most effective ways to reach this audience in an authentic and engaging way.

To discover more teacher influencers who can help your brand connect with educators, download our Top UK Teacher Influencers on TikTok guide or get in touch at hello@theinfluencecrowd.co.uk

How to run a teacher influencer campaign on TikTok

on Posted by Catherine Lane

How to run a teacher influencer campaign on TikTok

 

When the school day ends, teachers aren’t rushing to check their inboxes.  They’re more likely to be decompressing, scrolling social media for something funny, a classroom hack or a wellbeing tip. And very often they are heading to TikTok for their post-work relaxation fix.

So, if you want to reach teachers, it’s vital you include TikTok in your marketing mix.

But how do you know what works, what flops and what sparks real engagement.

Getting it right in the education sector takes more than offering discounts, it’s about smart planning, the right partnerships and clear briefs.

It also means not falling foul of some common misconceptions. Here are a few we see time and again:

 

Common misconceptions

1. “If I’m selling a music resource, I need a music influencer”
That’s not always the case.  One of our most successful music campaigns (see below for more details) was fronted by more general teacher influencers.  The reason why, is because teachers follow who they relate to, not just subject specialists.  For example, Mr H isn’t a music teacher but his day in the life humorous content makes him relatable and a trusted source.  When he shared a music lesson from our client, which involved him learning to sing, engagement spiked.

Tip: Trust and relatability are key

 

2. “Competitions are the best way to drive engagement”
We’ve tested this.  Teachers are busy.  They don’t want to tag five colleagues or jump through hoops for a giveaway.   What they do want is something useful, a free lesson plan, a classroom tip or resource they can use in their classroom tomorrow.

Tip: A post with a useful downloadable resource often outperforms a competition

 

3.  “A big audience means better results”
We’ve worked with influencers who have 10k followers that have outperformed those with 100k.  Why?  Because their audience is loyal, engaged and full of teachers who save, comment and share.

Tip: A smaller niche influencer who is trusted by their community can drive more sign ups than an influencer with a huge following

Once you set aside these assumptions, the next step is to design your influencer campaign around what you want to achieve.

 

Tailoring your campaign to your goals

It’s important to know what success looks like as this will shape everything you do from who you work with, to what content they create.

For example:

If your goal is awareness:

  • Work with influencers who have high visibility
  • Focus on short, relatable content that introduces your brand or product
  • Don’t expect sign ups this is about being seen

If your goal is sign ups or trials

  • Choose influencers who teachers trust and who have high engagement
  • Offer something useful (e.g. free lesson plans, trial access)
  • Use clear call to actions

If your goal is to change behaviour

  • Build a series of posts not just one offs
  • Use storytelling and real classroom examples
  • Reinforce messages across multiple channels (TikTok, Meta)

Here’s a few more tips to make sure your influencer campaign is a success:

  • Evenings and weekends rule: Obviously during the day teachers are in the classroom so most influencers post their content outside school hours.  Make sure this is when your content goes live.
  • Keep it short and simple: Teachers don’t want long product demos.  We’ve found quick tips, classroom hacks and bite sized lesson ideas work really well.
  • Contracts matter: Having a clear brief alongside a written contract will protect you and the influencer.

 

What happens when you get it right

When the Ear Academy approached us to help launch their new music platform for primary schools, they had just four weeks to attract the attention of primary schools.

As we had to interest teachers fast, we created Musical Mondays, a three week mini series of free Key Stage 2 music lesson plans.  As part of the campaign, we worked with trusted influencers including, Mr P ICT, Mr H and Miss Taylor, who shared the lessons and engaging content on TikTok and Instagram.  We also used Meta ads and email marketing to support the activity.

The results

  • Nearly 300 teachers signed up to Musical Mondays in just four weeks
  • Almost 700 likes across influencer content
  • Nearly 30,000 total views (11.1K on Instagram and 18.4K on TikTok) across influencer content
  • 97% of teachers who signed up engaged with the resources
  • Potential for 9,000 children to enjoy music in their classrooms

This example shows how teacher-focused content, delivered in the right way, can drive quick results even with limited time and budget.  But how do you decide what is a successful campaign?

 

Understanding teachers

Influencer campaigns in education aren’t about the latest trends or chasing big numbers.  They’re about really understanding teachers, what they need, how they behave online and who they listen to.

If you would like to see which teacher influencers could help your brand connect in the right way then download our guide to Top UK Teacher Influencers on TikTok or email us at hello@theinfluencecrowd.co.uk

 

 

 

How to get media coverage for your online tutoring brand

on Posted by Catherine Lane

How to get media coverage for your online tutoring brand

It’s a long old time since we were stuck at home with nothing but a laptop and our families to keep us company, but the pandemic marked a big shift in how we learnt. Suddenly everything from French GCSE revision to guitar lessons went to an online only model.

The net result of this was a ton of investment poured into the online tutoring sector and overnight what felt like a million* new providers entered the market.

 

How to stand out in a competitive marketplace

Fast forward to the present and online tutoring remains one of the most competitive sectors in education. Especially in terms of Google ads and SEO rankings.

It is therefore hard for your brand to stand out in the crowd. Unless you use PR.

A smart PR campaign can help you stand out from the pack, show your personality as a brand and drive traffic to your site.

The only hurdle with this approach is that securing coverage in the media is not straightforward. You can’t just contact the One Show or The Times and say, ‘Hey we are doing interesting stuff, you should feature us.’

Instead, you need to find a way to turn your company’s story into one the media wants to cover and that takes practice.

To help, we’ve come up with a fictional brand and created some feasible news stories for it so you can see how the PR alchemy works.

 

Our online tutoring company

Meet ‘A Class of Your Own’ an ambitious online tutoring company that has been teaching adult learners and teenagers online for 2 years. They are popular with many hundreds of learners but have big ambitions to grow.

They feel growing their adult cohort of learners would be the best way for them to hit the big time and want their PR agency to help out.

Now the brief from the business to the PR agency goes something like this: “We want coverage for the news that we offer the best adult learning courses – anything from maths to singing – from the comfort of learners’ homes.’

The PR team’s job is to then turn this brief into something that the media and social channels want to feature.

If you were part of the fictitious PR team, here’s how you could go about it.

 

Prepare a media campaign

The first thing to do is a little research within the business and in the wider world to find out what news hooks could be used. These are the steps to follow:

  1. Know who you are targeting

Before you get started you need to know everything about the audience you are targeting and what media they are consuming (social, broadcast, podcasts, digital etc). This will enable you to know what sort of stories they would be interested in and which media you should target.

I am going to assume for this example that we are targeting any adult with disposable income.

  1. Research potential news angles

The next job is to find out what is going on both inside and outside of your business that might provide some key hooks for your story.

Here are a few key questions you’d want to ask the people in the know across the business.

a) What data do you have on your courses?

  • Which are the most popular?
  • Which are the most likely to be finished/abandoned?
  • What trends are there – is there a pattern to when people take up courses? Do music courses peak in summer or Christmas, for example?

b) What do you know about your tutors and learners?

  • Are there any interesting or unusual tutors on the platform? For example a former band member, space scientist or Countdown winner that could provide a quirky story angle?
  • Can you uncover any trends in age or location of learners that could be used for a PR angle?

You also want to find out what’s going on beyond the business that could spark a story angle.

c) What is happening in wider society that could relate in some way to the brand?

  • What cultural events are happening: big TV shows, movies, music star tours?
  • What calendar events could you link the story into: Christmas, Halloween, Back to School?
  • What societal changes are relevant, both positive and negative that you may be able to draw on for inspiration: an increased number of people living alone, more mental health issues, rising literacy rates, increased number of adults who speak English as a second language etc?

Once you have completed this task, you will start to see some obvious story ideas appearing. Some may be strong enough to go with as they are. Others may need additional data, an expert or some case study interviews to create a story package, but you are on your way to top notch media hits.

 

I can imagine a few stories emerging from this exercise depending on the information you might glean.

Story Idea 1

Headline:

The Singing Side Effect of The Voice Being Back on our Screens

The Story:

Data from A Class of Your Own online tutoring platform shows that demand for singing lessons jumps 200% each time The Voice airs on our screens. In fact, in the month following the show, popularity for singing lessons surpassed maths and English, traditionally the most popular online courses.

Why this story works

Because it contains a number of elements the media loves:

  • It’s fun – anyone can imagine sitting at home and suddenly getting the urge to be the next Celine Dion or Sabrina Carpenter as a result of watching someone else attempting their classics on screen.
  • It’s got data – there is some factual proof of a trend as you have a 200% uplift in courses being taken.
  • It’s timely – it will hit the press at the same time as The Voice is airing on screen and when the media is covering the series any way. Timeliness is a big factor in whether your story will be covered or not.
  • It has the potential to be visual and aural – if you can provide a few case studies of customers who have taken up singing as a result of The Voice, you have something to film, photograph and hear. This means the print media, radio and TV/online video channels are all covered, giving you more chances of coverage.

Extension ideas:

If you want to then make the most of the media coverage to drive leads (and why would you not?), this can be done too.

  • Show ‘how to’ from your tutors on YouTube/Insta/TikTok in the weeks The Voice is on air. These could be used to show how to master a particular technique that was on the episode that week or what went wrong if any contestant fails to hit a note.
  • Invite a popular YouTuber to learn how to sing with one of your tutors as if they were a contestant on the show and ask them to document their progress.

 

Story Idea 2

Note: This story will require an additional survey of parents to be used alongside the data from the tutor platform, but that can easily be sourced from a survey agency like YouGov for a fee.

Headline:

The Toughest Lesson to Teach Your Kids: Why so many parents are taking up online maths courses

The Story:

Data from A Class of Your Own online tutoring network shows that the homework subject parents struggle the most to help their kids with is maths – 7 in 10 parents stated it was the subject they felt most uncomfortable with. According to the tutoring experts, this is why A Class of Your Own has had a surge in the number of adults signing up to brush up on their maths skills, with rates increasing ten-fold in exam season.

Extension ideas:

  • Offer free taster and parent guides on key maths topics adults struggle with like geometry to drive traffic to your site and sign ups
  • One of the brand’s tutors could film themselves teaching algebra to a parent influencer on TikTok, who would in turn offer a discount code for tutoring to their followers

 

Story Idea 3

Headline:

The hardest three words you will ever say in English and it’s not ‘I love you’

The Story:
According to experts the hardest three words to say for new learners to English are not ‘I love you.’

Instead, ‘Squirrel’, ‘Rural’ and ‘Worcestershire’ rate as the top three in a survey of over 200 English as an additional language learners on A Class of Your Own online tutoring platform.

You can offer one of your tutors to talk to the media about why English pronunciations can be so challenging.

Extension ideas:

  • Offer free videos on how to pronounce difficult English words
  • This can be supported by a vibrant social ad campaign
  • Challenge online influencers who speak English as a first language to say a complicated sentence that includes the 3 most difficult words and ask them to include their outtakes, as well as the successful attempt. This will show that even for native English speakers these words can sometimes be difficult.

 

Hopefully you can see how these stories are much more engaging and likely to secure wider coverage for a brand than a simple ‘company x does great x courses’ which is unlikely to be picked up by any outlet.

If you want advice on how to turn your company news into headline news, please feel free to email us on hello@theinfluencecrowd.co.uk. We will happily help out.

 

*Image by Dreamstime.com

Why PR could be the key to boosting sales of your product

on Posted by Catherine Lane

Why PR could be the key to boosting sales of your product

Schools and universities have to be very careful about who they work with. It’s why sometimes the sales process with an educational organisation can be very slow and cumbersome.

It’s probably why some of your marketing campaigns just don’t generate the number of leads you expect either.

This is why PR is so important in this sector.

 

What’s the difference between PR and Marketing?

Whereas marketing does a fabulous job promoting products and services, PR focuses on your brand. It helps articulate what your brand stands for and why schools and universities can trust it.

Someone brilliant once said that marketing is like asking someone out on a date. The PR and branding is the reason why they say yes.

Great PR speeds up your sales process.

 

So how could PR help my brand?

PR is about using great messaging, creativity and the endorsement of third parties to build trust in your brand. A great PR team knows what makes your audiences tick and therefore can help you articulate what you want to say in a way that makes teachers, school leaders and faculty stop what they are doing and notice/like you.

PR does that in a variety of ways – media coverage, speaker slots at key industry events, podcast interviews, hard hitting content, influencer link ups and made-you-look messaging that gets to the heart of what your target audiences need.

 

Case Study: How PR helped an education brand

We worked for a company which had created a new type of technology that could spot reading issues in young children, often before they became apparent to teachers. They engaged our PR services to build their reputation with schools and sell more products.

Prior to the business engaging us, the messaging they used often focused on the time-saving aspects of the assessments, the business’s academic pedigree (it was developed by university researchers) and AI elements within the technology. All very worthy messages. However, our work with schools had shown us that more human messaging, focussed on the child, was key to success.

 

Getting the messaging right

So we updated some of the messaging to focus on early intervention and preventing children from falling behind their peers.

Following this shift, the product was soon being featured in the education press throughout the year and speaker slots were secured at key conferences.

For the broadcast media, we focused on what the technology could do that had never been possible before – the fact that the tech could spot the signs of dyslexia in a child in minutes, just by following how their eyes moved when they read. This messaging resulted in coverage on both The One Show and regional BBC programming demonstrating how the technology would revolutionise schools.

 

The results

Traffic to the company’s web site and lead generation immediately spiked, with many new leads reporting that they were prompted to call because of the media coverage.

PR gave this business the right messaging to create greater interest from their audience and targeted the right channels to expose that new messaging more widely than before.

If you want more tips on how to improve your sales to schools, download our How to Sell to Schools Guide.

You can also take a look at the case studies section on our web site for more ideas on how PR can kick start your sales.

 

*Image by Kaboompics.com

How to write a winning education award entry

on Posted by Catherine Lane

Award entries are a great way to get recognition for your brand and your products.

Winning a gong for one of your products or services means potential customers have external confirmation that your offering is best of class.

Awards can lead to additional media coverage too, letting more people know about you and your products – not to mention the social media buzz that brings a welcome boost to SEO.

The downside is the entries themselves can sometimes take a long time to put together, so you only want to invest the time if you are certain you will get the recognition you deserve.

So what do you need to do to increase the likelihood of you winning the award you’re after?

Here are our tips:

  1. Choose something that deserves to win

Talk about stating the obvious, but it is likely that if you designed the product, you will think it is the best thing since sliced bread. However, if there are 10 other products on the market that do exactly the same thing, it is unlikely that yours will make the award judges sit up and take notice.

A well written award entry alone may get you into the shortlist for an award but it is genuinely the best products, or the most innovative services that actually win the accolades, so choose what you put forward wisely.

  1. Start off strong 

Think about it from a judge’s point of view. They may have 100 award entries to sift through in a day. If yours is number 89 in the pile, it will need to be pretty special to make them pay attention.

Your first couple of paragraphs will be key. Start with a strong quote, or illustrate what impact it has with an example. If it is a lesson planning tool for teachers, instead of stating that ‘it is the best lesson planning tool available’, why not start with something around how much time a lesson plan takes an average teacher to complete and why it is such an important job, to set the scene.

  1. Assume the judges know very little

It is easy to forget how much internal company jargon you use – a phrase you think is in everyday use in your company may be unfamiliar to a judge.

Spell out any benefits too. The judge may not automatically see that making a core process quicker for a teacher will mean that they can spend more time teaching or planning lessons, so make this link for them.

  1. Prove it 

Every time you make a claim, try to prove it. You saved schools or colleges money – great – but how much money? Use comparisons if possible – 90% of schools are satisfied with your product – fantastic – but even better if you can compare that to an industry average that is much lower.

  1. Get your customers to back you up 

It is one thing you saying that you are fabulous, but it is quite another if you can get a customer to do it. Ideally, quotes or case studies you use should be peppered with facts to back up any claims being made.

  1. Think about the language and examples you use

Use emotive language to demonstrate the importance of your offering – rather than stating ‘our system is reliable’, you could demonstrate it by saying that ‘1,000 teachers rely on our system to deliver engaging maths lessons on a weekly basis so it cannot fail.’

  1. The word count is there for a reason

The judges will not have time to read 10 brochures or watch a 20 minute video you have attached to the award entry. A personalised two minute video walk through recorded specifically for the judges will be far more effective than a professional advert you usually use in sales presentations. Select what you send carefully, and make sure it supports the claims you make in the award entry.

Download our free guide – How to write a Winning Education Award Entry. Good luck and if you need any help with your entry, just give us a call.

If you liked this, you may also like our guide to good PR Planning

 

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

How can a PR strategy help my edtech start-up?

on Posted by Rebecca Bremner

It’s no surprise that start-ups offering remote working solutions, online learning tools and food delivery services are among the companies that have achieved considerable growth in 2020.

The current climate is bringing significant challenges to some education-focussed businesses, while others have thrived from adapting their offerings or bringing new products and services to market to meet the changing needs of schools, colleges and universities.

But short-term growth doesn’t guarantee long-term business success.

In 2019, there were 5.9 million small and medium sized businesses operating in the UK – but 11% of all businesses ceased trading that year according to government figures.

So, what can fledgling edtech businesses do to help them deliver sustainable growth?

How to help your edtech start-up business succeed

The challenge is that launching a successful new business is all-consuming. Your blood sweat and tears have gone into developing a product or service that you know will help solve the problems your prospective customers are struggling with. Naturally, you want to get your new offering out to market as soon as possible.

The temptation for many edtech start-ups at this point is to focus all efforts on selling to schools. An announcement might make its way on to the news page of your website or an ad could be placed in the print and online media your prospects read. There might even be a handful of social media posts created about the launch. This won’t get your business noticed by your target audience.

All too often, a more strategic plan to raise awareness of the new business or offering is put on the back burner to be picked up once the brand is more established.

However, putting a well-designed integrated PR and marketing plan in place from the start can make the difference between a new business that flies and one that is at risk of falling at the first hurdle.

Here are three tips from us to help your start-up or SME get great results from education PR.

  1. Get the messaging right

Let’s say your company has developed a new tracking tool to help schools monitor the impact of catch-up lessons on pupils’ achievement and your sales success relies on teachers knowing that it’s superior to other solutions on the market.

Launching a campaign designed to knock or discredit your competitors might bring short-term gains, but this approach will put you at risk of damaging your brand.

You will get much more positive and sustainable results from shaping a strategic plan of PR and marketing activity that incorporates language that resonates with your target audience, highlights your credentials as thought leaders in pupil assessment and showcases testimonials from customers that back up what you’re saying.

  1. Make the most of positive customer stories

You are much more likely to spark the attention of heads and teachers in schools by having other educators talk about how great you are in a radio interview or podcast boosted on Facebook than you will talking about what you do well yourself.

Customer advocacy has been shown to increase the effectiveness of marketing efforts by as much as 54% and word-of-mouth is the primary factor behind up to half of all purchasing decisions

Make sure you have a way to identify and capture the great stories and experiences of your existing customers as the business develops and grows. When 80% of word-of-mouth comes directly as a result of personal experience, you can see why positive customer stories are so critical to the successful promotion of any new product or service.

  1. Create great content

Don’t be tempted to blast your prospects with technical details of your product – few teachers will be interested in the fact that the new app you’ve launched to support children’s literacy development is built on API technology.

You are much more likely to turn your prospective customers into sales if you focus on creating quality content that adds value and helps them solve the problems they face.

It’s getting harder to reach senior leaders in schools and academy trusts. So, if your company provides CPD to primary schools, a series of blogs on how to support the wellbeing of under-fives is more likely to be read by your target audience of school leaders than a company newsletter. If they have found the content useful, they will be much more likely to contact your organisation when they need to arrange behaviour management training for teachers across the school.

Avoid peppering your digital content with too many keywords and phrases designed to influence your SEO too. Google is getting much smarter at spotting corporate generated promotional materials and this will have a negative impact on your SEO ranking, making it less likely that your content will be seen by the people you are trying to reach.

It’s better to choose a few strong keywords, rather than overdoing it.

Find more information on how we can help your start-up get the most from PR here.

If you want to know how to get your brand noticed by senior leaders in education, you can download our Influence Schools White Paper.

You may also be interested in our blog What marketing messages will teachers want to hear in September 2020/21

Photo by Bich Tran from Pexels

What marketing messages will universities want to hear in 2020/21?

on Posted by Julia Anthony

The coronavirus pandemic forced universities to make some rapid changes to the way they work, including closing their campuses, shifting to online teaching and finding alternative ways to assess their students’ learning.

These institutions now face a whole new set of pressures as they tackle the year ahead.

The logistics of keeping students safe, engaged and learning are only part of the story, and universities will welcome suppliers which can help them with these immediate challenges.

However, to survive and thrive, universities need to take the long view of their roles in a post-pandemic world, and they’ll be particularly receptive to messaging which reflects an understanding of the wider issues in higher education.

That’s why it’s important for businesses in higher education to know what the key trends are in the sector so they can hit the right note with their communications.

So what do you need to consider in your higher education PR planning?

  1. The blended learning model

Many universities were already providing some form of online learning offering prior to the pandemic, with lecture recordings, established virtual learning environments and high-quality multimedia content. But during lockdown, institutions had to shift everything online, with students joining tutorials on Zoom and taking open book exams at the kitchen table.

Now the emphasis is on blended learning with a mix of online and face-to-face delivery.

This appears to be the model most students are expecting as the academic year progresses. A National Union of Students survey found that almost half of students (47%) expected to be taught online in the first term of the coming academic year, but in term two 59% of students expected to be taught via blended learning.

The hybrid model may see students watching live-streamed or recorded lectures from home or within bubbles in their halls of residence, but attending smaller seminars, tutorials and laboratory sessions in person with physical distancing in place.

Universities will need support as they embed this blended learning approach more deeply into the curriculum, and if your solutions can help, it’s important to make this a core element of your messaging.

  1. A tough financial climate

Covid-19 is hitting higher education finances hard. With the pandemic touching every corner of the globe, and travel restrictions changing day by day, it’s harder for students to commit to overseas study. The impact of this is that institutions will be welcoming fewer international students this year.

Many universities are also facing lockdown-related losses of income from the reduced uptake of student accommodation and conference and catering operations.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies states that the total size of the losses faced by the sector is highly uncertain, but could be anywhere between £3 billion and £19 billion – that’s between 7.5% and nearly half of the sector’s overall income in one year.

This could leave some universities struggling to survive.

To be able to continue to deliver high quality education and research, institutions will have difficult financial decisions to make, and brands which understand these challenges and help to address them will be welcomed.

  1. A different student experience

Starting university in 2020/21 will be like never before, with virtual freshers’ weeks, restricted campus facilities and physically distanced social bubbles.

Confronted with this prospect, it’s hardly surprising many students considered deferring their university place for a year. Back in May, a poll by the Sutton Trust found that 19% of students had changed their mind about university attendance this autumn or had yet to decide.

However, the alternative may not be an option either, as the pandemic has put paid to some of the traditional gap year pursuits. Travel is largely off the cards, and jobs in hospitality or retail are hard to come by with so many experienced employees currently out of work and looking for roles.

In this uncertain climate, universities will need to find ways to make the student experience a positive one.

This is the message behind the Universities UK campaign #2020MADEUS which aims to give this year’s school leavers a message of confidence and hope as they continue with their plans to start university courses this autumn.

Institutions may be looking for additional resources to help students make the most of the social aspect of university, by helping students build new friendships despite the restrictions, and focusing on mental health and wellbeing.

Brands targeting the sector will hit the mark if they factor these messages into their PR planning.

  1. Covid-19 and student retention

One of key risks for universities in the wake of Covid-19 is a negative impact on student retention and progression.

Many of the 2020 cohort which universities will be welcoming this autumn have not been at school or college since March and may have missed out on some of the essential learning that would have given them a head start in their higher education studies.

And for the first time ever, students starting their university course will not have taken A levels or any other sixth form qualifications. Instead their grades are based on predicted grades.

This could mean more first year students losing confidence and struggling to get a foothold on their new course in those crucial early weeks and months.

Similarly, current students may find the lack of face-to-face interaction with lecturers and fellow students affects their academic performance.

A blog from the Higher Education Policy Institute suggests that, “With a prolonged absence from more traditional support, many students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, are likely to experience a dent in confidence and disconnection from learning, despite the best intentions of universities. Some will leave their studies.”

Universities may be looking for tools and technology that can help them identify students in difficulty, so they can provide targeted support and prevent them from dropping out of their course.

It’s a pivotal moment for universities, and the steps they take now to alleviate the impact of Covid-19 will shape their future. Any PR plan needs to take account of opportunities for universities to focus on the positives as the world emerges from the crisis.

Campaigns and communications which demonstrate a deeper understanding of the new higher education landscape stand the highest chance of success in these extraordinary times.

 

To find out more, why not read our guide to good PR planning.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

 

 

Checklist for selecting a PR Agency

on Posted by Catherine Lane

You have finally decided that you need a PR agency to help you get noticed by your target audiences. So, what points do you need to consider when choosing which will be the right agency for you?

Here are some guidelines to help.

  • Sector knowledge: Is the agency able to successfully demonstrate that they have achieved the outcomes and coverage in the publications/blogs you want for other clients? Do they understand the market – the issues that affect it and the journalists, bloggers, Twitterati and industry influencers in this sector?
  • Channel knowledge: Do they understand the difference between how a campaign should be pitched to a journalist and how that same message would work on social media? Do they know which channels your target market uses? Do they know if Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or Twitter would be best for your campaign?
  • Reputation: Ask to speak to some of their clients. Are they happy with how the agency works to achieve their objectives?
  • The pitch: Does their sales pitch to you meet the objectives of the briefing? Can they answer the question, “What is the first step in this campaign?” as this demonstrates they have thought beyond the creative stage and have also considered how the activity fits with your objectives?
  • The team: Ask who is going to work on the account (it is not always those that will pitch for it) and their experience of this sector. You could even ask to see examples of campaigns the individuals have worked on if you have doubts. Do they understand what makes a good story for a journalist or how to influence bloggers? Do you feel you can work with the team in the long term?
  • Crisis management: Depending on your product and sector, the ability to demonstrate knowledge and successful management of PR crises could be key too.
  • Costs and methods of charging: Ask about their fees, but also how expenses are calculated. Some agencies charge for a lot of additional expenses, which means costs can add up significantly over and above a monthly retainer.
  • Governance and policies: The agency should not currently handle the PR for any direct competitor to you and should have a policy of informing you of any future potential conflicts of interest.
  • Measurement: This is quite possibly the single most important element. What measurements will the agency use to evaluate the PR campaign? Will they work to specific targets, and do these relate to your business goals? Or do they just offer rather vague commitments about where they can get coverage? You should also look at how frequently they will report progress against objectives, as this will be crucial in establishing whether the campaign has been a success or not.

These are the key elements to selecting the right PR agency for your campaign, in our view. If you have other factors you feel should be added to this list, I’d love to hear from you at catherine@theinfluencecrowd.co.uk.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

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