The secrets to creating an effective school video.

The UK has 45 million active social media users – that’s 66% of the population. That makes it a great platform for schools to reach new families. Students and parents (and teachers) are all already there.

Professional film footage boosts your social media messaging. Professional skill and insights result in videos that make it easy to create a great impression and a consistent school brand. If you’re investing in a school promo video, this is also a great way to get more from your budget. You can use smaller cuts of the footage to strengthen your posts all year round.

Read on to find out more about how professional footage can boost your school’s social posts.

Consistent Branding.

In real life, people inspire trust by keeping their promises and communicating clearly. They listen and help others to solve problems. In the online world, schools and other organisations turn to branding to communicate what they stand for. Branding can include tone/style of design, writing, logos, footage and audio.

Even if a viewer isn’t conscious of small discrepancies, they can be distracting. Branding inconsistencies are equivalent to online mood swings – not trustworthy. And since parents may visit all of your school’s channels (e.g. website, social accounts and prospectus), consistency should apply throughout.

At Blue Apple Education, we don’t start filming until we understand what you’re trying to achieve. We hold discovery sessions that seek to unearth what’s remarkable about your school. This means that our work will portray a consistent image and drive your message home.

“In real life, people inspire trust by keeping their promises and communicating clearly. ​”

Your editorial calendar.

Do you use an editorial calendar for your social accounts? Most professional social media managers do. It’s more effective than trying to come up with creative ideas on the spot.

Social media algorithms decide automatically which posts to show to users. They use a variety of criteria to work out what’s most relevant, but they all reward posting at regular intervals. In other words, it’s better to post once a week than a quick burst followed by nothing. 

A calendar can be as simple as a list of posts to publish on set days. Professional film footage can slot in easily to create a social feed that appeals to the public and the algorithms at the same time.

Here are a few ideas for repurposing school promo footage to increase your visibility – and win over new followers:

• Promote an upcoming open day event with a short teaser video
• Share breaking news in style, like on results day
• Take parents behind the scenes and help them to imagine their child at your school
• Engage new and current families with study tips and home learning inspiration
• Highlight achievements and events, from the school concert to the school garden
• Answer common questions from prospective parents
• Join celebrations like National Teacher Day with heart-warming messages

Stories and Reels.

Facebook and Instagram Stories are short videos that are available for 24 hours only. And they’re very popular. Out of Instagram’s 1 billion users, more than 500 million use this feature every day. You can use Stories in addition to your standard posts to get more exposure for your school. As long as you have your video footage ready.

Snapchat and TikTok have highlighted the popularity of very short videos. And other platforms are keen to follow suit. Instagram has recently launched Reels, which are 15-second videos. Using posts, stories and reels gives you three times the chance to be seen. And the platform is keen to promote its new format, giving it a prominent space on the Explore tab.

A professional video project results in footage that you can use for multiple purposes. This makes it much less work to boost your social media pages using these new formats.

Final Thoughts.

Social media platforms are becoming more video heavy. That means having high-quality footage on hand will become more important. Film crews offer more than just high-spec equipment. Their professional know-how on lighting, composition and how to get the most out of your ‘cast’ adds a lot of value.

You don’t have to take our word for it either. Social media platforms offer analytics that allow you to test different types of footage. Plus the best time for posting, most popular video lengths, topics and the most effective calls to action.

Need professional film footage for your school? At Blue Apple Education, we can support you from initial planning through to the final edit. And we can help you to get more from your budget through clever re-use on social media. Please get in touch. We’d love to talk.