Allerton Hill Personas
Personas are fictional, generalized characters that encompass the various needs, goals, and observed behavior patterns among our customers and potential customers. We use these composite characters to confirm our knowledge of the people we’re trying to turn into customers. Developing personas is one of the important first steps in fully understanding and using an effective inbound (or content) marketing program.
In our case, we’ve boiled down the main customers and influencers as follows: Superintendent Bill, PIO Patty, Treasurer Ted. These individuals and their respective core disciplines comprise the majority of the personas involved in selected a website hosting or CMS provider. While there are certainly others in a K-12 or private school environment who participate (business managers, board members, superintendents, et al), these three form our foundational targets for all messaging and content developed in Campus Suite marketing.
Superintendent Bill
Mid-50s, wears many hats. foremost of which is the iconic leader of the school district. He has teen children: one wrapping up high school and the other in college. He prefers big dogs, his wife, who is very supportive of his high-profile position in the community. Bill is a heavily and tightly scheduled individual who prides herself on his leadership skills and communications skills, which are critical to successfully leading the district toward its vision. A great listener with outstanding interpersonal skills, he prides herself on building and maintaining positive relationships with his staff, school board members, parent leaders and local community leaders. He leans heavily on his assistant superintendent for operational, building-level management, and relishes the role of spokesperson, front person for the district.
AVERAGE DAY:
Meetings with operations, communications, curriculum leads Extracurricular activity attendance
GOALS:
Project a positive image of the school district Clearly communicate the vision for the district Be accessible to all school stakeholders Be responsive to the school board Improve communication to parents and students Communicating effectively with all stakeholders Provide the staff, teachers, students and parents of this school district with the technology tools, knowledge and support Nurture professional development of her staff
CHALLENGES:
Budget constraints and looming uncertainties School board politics and communication Support resources not available to keep up with new technology Training non-technical faculty and staff members and getting them to buy into something new Communication with parents and teachers
TRIGGERS:
Complaints from parents, staff, other stakeholders Website and other digital communications do not reflect the brand of the school Website is becoming very dated and limiting the school from maximizing their greatest touchpoint Competition from neighboring school districts or schools’ new website Parent complaints on Social Media
ONGOING RESPONSIBILITIES:
Bond referendum/levy success/budget support Communicating changes such as curriculum, attendance boundaries, accountability Student performance/achievement Communicating strategic plan
HOW WE HELP:
Be a valuable communications partner – one less thing to worry about Help the district articulate its mission, vision, brand Provide a modern strategies that’s a good value to the district Public relations Pat
Late-40s. A former journalist, Pat is the main communicator and official spokesperson for the district. Her reach spans all areas and divisions – PTO, parent engagement, superintendent’s office, alumni association, etc. She manages all the content across all media: web content, social media, crisis communications, events, email newsletters, etc. In addition, she is school board liaison and serves on the school levy committee. She is committed to the district, embraces the educational goals of the district, and recognizes the importance of communications. Married with two sons in college, Pat manages her college’s alumni Facebook page and writes a blog on scrapbooking.
AVERAGE DAY:
Staff meetings with administration Coordinating parent programs Writing reports and correspondence for district superintendent Sending email blasts internally and to community Attending/covering after-school-hours events
GOALS:
Improve the image of the district Improve understanding and application of job-related skills Streamline communication such as newsletters, press releases and social media Streamline training users and provide intuitive tools Free up more time by implementing efficiencies Improve communication to parents and students Modern technology that fits with the school’s technology program Communicating effectively with all stakeholders Develop community interest in the district and invite participation of parents and community members
CHALLENGES:
Finding capable writers to contribute to the school’s content machine School Board politics and communication Parents and teachers pushing for modern communication models – i.e. social media, text notification, email Training non-technical faculty and staff members and getting them to buy into something new Learning something new and migrating old website into new platform
HOW WE HELP:
Design choices, including free themes, for any budget Experience and expertise in streamlining the build process for achieving communications goals Written articles and designed images for the district Writing and Logistics support
TRIGGERS
Complaints from teachers and staff about how difficult the site is to use Wanting to improve how the school district communicates – newsletters, mobile, social media, etc. Website not mobile friendly and support users internally and externally on tablets and phones Website is becoming very dated and limiting the school from maximizing their greatest touchpoint New leaderships wanting to improve the schools image Neighboring school districts gaining traction from new website Poor customer support and outages Parents vocal on their disappointment with the website and asking for better ways to communicate Treasure Ted
Mid-50s and wears many hats, but ultimately is the “Master of Coin” for the district . He never seems to be able to get ahead because he’s moving from one ‘fire’ to the next. In addition to addressing the immediate needs of the district, he also needs to focus on the next levy request and preparing the five year forcast for the district. Married with two teenage children, Ted has a B.S. in business. He likes to relax by going on bike rides with his wife and golf his buddies.
AVERAGE DAY:
Training faculty and staff
GOALS:
Improve the district’s website and advance the school district’s technology based on district strategy planning Unify systems and minimize the managing various vendors Streamline training users and provide intuitive tools Free up more time by implementing efficiencies Improve communication to parents and students Technology that is compatible with today’s lifestyle such as mobile and tablets in the classroom Communicating effectively with all stakeholders Provide the staff, teachers, students and parents of this school district with the technology tools, knowledge and support
CHALLENGES:
Needing additional staffing and limited budget School board politics and communication Support resources not available to keep up with new technology Training non-technical faculty and staff members and getting them to buy into something new Communication with parents and teachers
HOW WE HELP:
Be a reliable vendor the director will view as a valuable partner – one less thing to worry about Provide a modern turnkey solution that fits into the district technology planning A website that makes all of the stakeholders (PTO, faculty, PR, et al) happy by addressing their needs Dedicated resources and services for training for the rollout Professional development for latest school technology trends through – webinars, newsletters, blog Excellent customer service - personalized live support and help desk Make teachers and staff happy with intuitive, easy-to-use tools Extend their reach for communication and mobile compatibility
TRIGGERS:
Complaints from teachers and staff about how difficult the site is to use Website is not mobile friendly (lack of support for tablets and phone users) New technology planning and needing to upgrade website Website is becoming very dated and limiting the school from maximizing their greatest touchpoint New leadership wanting to improve the school’s image Competition from neighboring school districts or schools’ new website Poor customer support and outages Parent complaints about website
Personas
