It’s spring and that means graduation isn’t far away. Along with the caps and gowns (or white dresses and suits), awards, diplomas and multitudes of speeches, I’m suggesting you add something else to the graduation day mix.

Get testimonials from senior parents on video.

Think about it. This is a highly charged, emotional day for students and parents. Their attachment to and pride in affiliation with your school is at an all-time high. On this day, all the best stuff rises to the surface and the not-so-great stuff is a distant memory.

Get this emotion while it's fresh and unvarnished.

Not only can you use it as video promotion, but you can also transcribe what people say and use it in the head’s blog, on the website, in parent e-news, in enrollment marketing, on social media, in the magazine, and on and on.

You’ll only have a few minutes with each subject, so let’s make this brief moment count. Act like a roving reporting who is documenting the day. Skip the softball questions and go for ones that elicit power-packed answers.

Here are some suggestions…

"Was Acme Academy worth it for your family/child? How so?"

"Would you do it over again? Why?"

"How would your child's life be different if he/she hadn't gone to Acme Academy?"

“Was there anything about Academy Academy that surprised you?”

You’ll be pleasantly surprised with these answers. And some (like the last one) might help offset some misperceptions about your school.

Have you done this before? Will any of you try this in June? Do you have other great ideas for making the most of graduation for your school's MarCom?

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Liza Fisher Norman

Master Electrician, InspirED School Marketers

Master Electrician isn’t just a fun title for me. It’s how I feel about sparking school marketers to do their best work, connecting them to one another, and helping to make their jobs easier. In 1991, I founded Turnaround Marketing Communications, a branding and marketing firm that serves independent schools exclusively. After working with close to 100 schools, I realized that school marketers needed a marketing and communications community to call their own — a place where they can find brilliant ideas and brain food to take their school marketing to the next level and feel supported in their jobs. InspirED School Marketers was born in 2014 to fill that void and with the help of my fabulous Best Boy, Rob, we are on a quest to make InspirED a resource you can't live without.

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