BrandED: Tell Your Story, Build Relationships, and Empower Learning

by Eric C. Sheninger

Prior to 2009, I detested all social media, as I perceived it as a huge waste of time, let alone that it had no connection to my professional practice.

huge time sap,

So there I was churning out tweets about everything going on at New Milford High School. Little did I know that my tweeting would lead to a feature story on CBS Channel 2 NYC during November 2009 and in the process catch the eye of business maven Trish Rubin.

Brand is about creating a unique identity that relates to a specific audience or stakeholder group. The value of a brand can be defined in many ways.

brands promise

BrandED is about a genuine personality that can impact school culture, achievement, and resources.

Effective educational leaders develop, advocate, and enact a shared mission, vision, and core values of high-quality education and academic success and well-being of each student. (NPBEA, 2015)

We lead schools today, preparing our digitally and socially savvy students for success as adults in a future where many of their jobs haven't been created yet.

Ask Millennial parents whose trust in the education of their Gen Z kids, particularly in the area of technology, is seen as lacking (Shaffhauser, 2014).

In the noisy digital world, educational leaders must proudly use stories of their schools to convey a consistent brand message about who they are and what they stand for.

reports that 46% of Millennials surveyed want their dream home to be near a quality school. Educational leaders must be powerfully present in the digital marketing of the narrative of school value, creating a brand that speaks in an authentic voice to an audience.

As a brandED leader, guide your community to three tangible outcomes: improved school culture, expanded school performance, and increased school resourcing.

The goal of brandED is the sharing of clear and consistent messages that define our mission to educate our children.

In this ever-changing society, the most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart.

In the business world, the concept of brand is made up of three foundational business elements: An image A promise A result

Brand is about visibility.

As many of us know from our own buying habits, brand is a powerful part of connecting us to the products and services we love to purchase.

Products that created stories and connected with their customers through those tales were on the way to becoming trusted “brands.” Digging

Successful brand building comes from knowing audiences and focusing on what these customers want.

Brand winners like Toyota get their audience's attention on multiple digital platforms, using websites, social media, sales incentives, PR, and integrated marketing.

It's a DIY (do-it-yourself) world, and that applies to the branding process. Consumer

Because trust is a foundation of teaching and learning, and of our education system, conscientious brandED thinking is a must for educators who need to build or repair trust.

BrandED includes exhibiting a compelling Web presence, but keep the word “feeling” in mind.