139. Marketing in Small Schools – Live Panel at the Small School Leaders Conference

As we kick off a new school year, I’m bringing back one of our favorite conversations, a live panel recorded at the Small School Leaders Conference. It captures something I hear constantly from small school marketing teams: the reality of being one person, or maybe one and a half, trying to keep up with an ever-growing list of channels, campaigns, and expectations.

I’m joined by three marketers who live in that reality every day. Lori Kriegel from Wooster School, Andrea Jenkins from St. Luke’s Episcopal School, and Barb Doyle from Renbrook School sat down with me to talk through what they’d outsource if they could, where they’d put extra budget, and how AI has actually changed their day-to-day work. It’s an honest, practical conversation, and a great one to have in your ears as you set your priorities for the fall.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

What each of these small-shop marketers would outsource first if they could wave a magic wand tomorrow

Where they’d put the first dollars if their marketing budget doubled, and why people usually come before ads or tech

The systems they use to stay consistent with content without recreating the wheel every week

How AI has changed their competitor research, blog writing, and daily workload, and where they’re still being careful

What’s actually working right now with paid digital advertising, and how they measure it

Why having a tribe of fellow school marketers matters as much as any paid partner

How they get teachers and staff involved in capturing content without adding to their plates

Their approach to marketing phones, photo storage, and keeping everything organized