Teacher Subject Specialism Training (TSST) Marketing action plan for schools June 2015

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1 Teacher Subject Specialism Training (TSST) Marketing action plan for schools June 2015 For further information and support, please 1

2 General advice Identify a selection of schools you would like to promote the course to and check they are not running their own TSST courses. It is bad practice to promote your course to a school that is running its own course! Build a relationship with the headteacher and the head of science at your target school(s). Gaining their support will be crucial to the success of your recruitment. Identify your unique selling points (USPs). Think about what makes your course stand out and the reasons why teachers should choose your course over another. Always include your USPs in your promotional materials. Here are some USPs to consider: Does your course offer flexible delivery? How long does your course run for? Do trainees get something unique at the end of it, such as Masters level credits? Are you using IOP resources to support the delivery of your course? Read on for marketing tips to help you advertise your TSST course to science teachers. 2

3 Activity Action Cost Website and digital media Your website Create a page on your website with information about your course. Include key information such as: Reasons to study with you Course delivery mode and duration Your USPs Instructions for how to apply Contact details for further information. Cost will depend on the procedures you have in place for managing your website Staff intranet Encourage your target schools to post an article about your course on their staff intranet. Ask them to link the article to your website information page for further details. Remember to place a similar announcement on your own staff intranet. Cost will depend on the procedures you have in place for managing your intranet Staff enewsletter Ask your target schools to include an announcement about your course in their staff enewsletter. Ask them to link the article to your website information page for further details. In subsequent enewsletters, ask your target schools to feature interviews with teachers who are doing your course to help promote the benefits of it. You should also include these articles in your own enewsletter. 3

4 announcement Prepare a short and snappy briefing about your course and ask your target schools to it to their science teachers. Don t forget to include a link to your website information page and a PDF copy of your promotional leaflet (see below). Do the same for your own science teachers. Social media Use your school social media accounts to make announcements about your course. Remember to link to your website or news release (see below). Ask your partner schools and other local schools to retweet/re-post your social media messages. Printed communications Staff newsletter If your target schools do not produce an enewsletter, ask them to include an article in their printed newsletter instead. As per the enewsletter, you could feature an initial announcement article and a follow-up interview article with a trainee. Posters and leaflets Produce a poster and leaflet to advertise your course. Include your main USPs, website link and contact details on the literature. Send a few copies of the poster and leaflet to your target schools and Varies depending on your choice of designer and printer. Design and print could cost around 500 4

5 ask them to display the literature in the staff room and to put them in staff pigeon holes. You could use a mailing house to organise the postal mailing for you (see below). Make sure you address the parcel to the head of science or head teacher/principal. You should also distribute the posters and leaflets around your own school. Events TSST information evening Host a TSST information evening at your school. Invite teachers from your target schools to join you for an informal session on what to expect from your course. You can use all the channels covered in this plan to promote your event. Refreshments Staff training days Ask your target schools to promote your TSST course at any staff training days, particularly at any training events for science teachers. Refreshments National advertising TES Advertise your course on tes.co.uk and within the TES magazine Starting from 500. See TES advertising packages for more details 5

6 The Association for Science Education (ASE) journals Distribution through a mailing house Advertise your course in one of the ASE journals, such as School Science Review or Education in Science journal Organise a postal mailing through a mailing distribution company, such as JEM Education Direct. Through the mailing you can distribute copies of your poster or leaflets to schools in any region of the country. Starting from 300. Visit the ASE advertising webpage for more details Costs vary depending on the number of addresses you target and the weight of your parcel. Visit for a quote. PR School news release Write a news release about your course and post the article on your website. Link to it via your social media channels. 6