Marketing and Technology

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Charles Sturt University *

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Jan 9, 2024

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  Topic 11: Marketing and Technology Marketing and technology (n.d.) <http://www.reikicatcher.org/technology-marketing/> Overview In ECEC we probably spend little time thinking about marketing. However, it is increasingly what will make us accessible to the public and attract strong enrolment numbers. Many services run on word of mouth or the fact that families have used it previously. These are good reasons for people to choose a service but can we rely on this and can we market the good things we do better locally, regionally and internationally! Now that may be challenging and you may ask why. Locally, it is necessary to retain, if not build enrolments. Regionally it may be needed to attract enrolments from other locations and nationally it may be able to position a service as a place renowned for a particular skill, practice, value or expertise. Now wouldn’t that assist enrolments, attract staff and possibly increase income? Internationally a service could become known for its leadership in a particular area of expertise. Topic rationale This topic connects to these subject Learning Outcomes:  be able to use and critically evaluate the effectiveness of information and communication technology as managerial tools.  Marketing and technology

Marketing and technology So what is marketing all about? To us it is about identity. Identity defined possibly through a service’s philosophy, values and actions. The identity of the service, the staff, the children and families. How is this captured and portrayed? Good marketing in ECEC will portray the service as particularly able to meet the needs of the local children and families. Perhaps it will focus on quality. How could you portray that and articulate it to others? This is something we in the ECEC field are not good at. We are not good at espousing our skills and values so marketing is going to be a challenge! Marketing is “…creating perceived customer value that is superior to the alternatives available while at the same time creating value to the business” Source: (Kotler, Brown, Adam, Burton & Armstrong, 2007, p. 1) In considering what makes a business successful these authors indicate the following:  great strategy  dedicated employees  excellent Implementation  good Information Systems  customer Focused  heavily Committed to Marketing (p. 5). While ECEC may not demand the same strategic business attention to all these aspects these points do indicate sound business concepts. Reflection questions  What is it and how could you define it?  How could you support and value staff to ensure they remain dedicated to the service and the quality of their work?  How could you define and implement the programs?

 Are they based on current research, sound theory, children’s interests and skills?  Are families and the community involved and reflected?  Are you able to challenge the children to think, and to engage with the environment?  What is it that makes the service special?  Is the communication good within the service and more broadly? For example, is there a webpage and it is up to date?  How does the service know what children and families want from it?  How can you market the service? According to Kotler, et al (2007) outstanding marketing companies go to great lengths to learn about and understand their customers’ needs and wants and demands Source: (Kotler, et al 2007) It is important to provide a quality service but marketing literature suggests that it is more important to be aware of the underlying customer needs. Activity - online resources Have a look at the following website for some marketing ideas. Based on these strategies, how could you create a quality media advertisement for your service? https://www.theempowerededucatoronline.com/2018/02/child-care- marketing.html/  Think about what is it in ECEC you want to market  Think about a service, perhaps the one you work for. What aspects of that service could be marketed? How could the marketing be improved?

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Rosemary Milne produced a book in 1997 titled Marketing Play: Using marketing strategies to explain the benefits of a play approach in early childhood education . In this publication she challenges us when she states the following. "While teachers must respond thoughtfully to the expectations of others about children’s learning, they also must sell themselves as having education clout, rather than as fighting a rear guard action to preserve their professional philosophies and practices…Any early childhood professional who uses a play orientated approach has to be able to explain it to other people. You are sure to be challenged by those who do not understand the idea that play is a serious tool in education. Others have the right to challenge you. You have the responsibility to explain the rationale behind your professional practices" (p. 7). Source: (Rosmary Milne 1997) Milne suggests we use the following marketing strategies to affirm the value of play in ECEC.  Clarify your product  Identify your targets  Examine your competition  Develop your sales pitch  Go out and sell! (p. 18). Think about the quote, "Values always influence what we see as the purpose of education" (p. 31). In practical terms:  ensure the marketing you want to do fits with the mission, vision or philosophy of the service  have a strategy. What could you market and why?  knowing the children and families and others that are to be targeted as potential enrolments. What will appeal to them?  use the media. Make the most of events at a service, new staff appointments, achievements etc. This is free publicity and free marketing! Be known in the community.  develop a web page or have someone do it for the service. This can be a powerful tool to reflect what happens. Use the web page

to advertise the mission and values, the programs, the contacts in the community and any professional contacts (eg. ECA, etc). Who are the staff and their qualifications? What resources does the service have? Images are powerful. Testimonials from satisfied families and children! Coming events and activities.  use social media outlets, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter  ensure the page reflects the service’s values. If it says the service values family and community involvement then there should be examples of this on the web page. ↑ Back to top  Media Media Media (n.d.) <http://www.austrac.gov.au/media-centre> If you were to work in a cutting edge early childhood service you will want to publicise it and engage with your local media. Louise Hard, a former lecturer at CSU in this subject, says that when she was the director of a preschool in Victoria she had a number of public events that required her to have interviews and TV appearances. She was not prepared for these and had to rely on her basic communication skills. Another experienced director who is now the Course Coordinator for this course, Celia Hillman, reports that she worked for services within a local government and there it was not acceptable for staff to talk to the media without council permission and so did very little actual interviews. While it is important to know the rules about dealing with the media it is really important to have sufficient preparation for the kind of exploratory questions and approaches some media people can take. Hughes and MacNaughton (1999) provide a good overview of media conferences. They highlight the following:  define your goals and be sure they are clear  define your message  identify your audience  identify the appropriate media for your message

You may like to prepare a media release to inform the local media of some possible coming event. I suggest you consider the checklist provided by Hughes and MacNaughton below. Media Release Checklist  Ensure it clearly and explicitly meets your communication goals (to inform, to comment, to promote, to respond/defend).  Ensure it fits in with the goals and the usual contents of the media organisations to which you are sending it.  Concentrate your communication resources on your target audience/ and or readers.  Appeal specifically to the particular interests of your target audience/s and or reader/s.  Contact media which are appropriate to your target audience and or readership.  Present the contents in the order of their importance.  Answer these questions: who, what, when, why and how?  Distinguish between opinions and the facts. Is each opinion credited to a source? Is each source given their full name and title?  Be accurate, concise and jargon-free.  Avoid unnecessary adjectives or adverbs.  Use a headline that summaries your story.  Check spelling, punctuation, grammar, syntax, etc.  Attach any photographs that are relevant to the story.  Clearly label photographs.  Include the contact details of the individual who can provide clarification or further information. (Hughes & MacNaughton, 1999, p. 264). ↑ Back to top  Social media Social media Many ECEC services today would be using various social media to communicate with families and more broadly in the community. Almost two-thirds of Australians now use social media! It is important for any service to decide if and how they will use social media.

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Read Required reading As you read the following information on using social media, reflect on your own service and the ways it does or does not use social media. Beyond Blue (2019). Digital mental health. Be You Factsheet. https://beyou.edu.au/fact-sheets/mental-health-support/digital-mental- health Activity - online resources Some good resources on social media policies for ECEC are below. Please take the time to read these.  https://thesector.com.au/2019/11/07/the-importance-of-a-social- media-policy-for-your-ecec-service/  This is another excellent resource from Community Early Learning Australia (CELA) https://www.cela.org.au/2018/07/16/social-media/ ↑ Back to top  Digital technology

Digital technology A major change in ECEC in the last 20 years has been the introduction of digital technology and the internet. Leaders in ECEC today must have a vision for the use of digital technology and media in the setting. Plans must be in place to ensure the safe and ethical use of digital technology and media for children, families, staff and the service in general. Your assigned reading for this section discusses a range of issues related to digital technology in ECEC settings. As you read this, reflect on the ways your own service approaches digital technology. Is there strong leadership in this are? Is the vision around the use of digital technology clear and transparent to all stakeholders? Read Required reading Stamopoulos, E. & Barblett, L. (2018). Leading with digital technology and media . In Early childhood leadership in action: Evidence-based approaches for effective practice . (Ch. 5). Allen & Unwin. Another use of digital technology centres on the distribution of newsletters to families. Newsletters are an important way to communicate with families. These days it may be that newsletters are sent to parents via email and can therefore include colours, photos, diagrams etc. better than they can when they are being printed out. It is still important when preparing a newsletter to think about your audience. Usually you are writing to parents to inform them about the service or classroom and you will want to give information in a way that is informative, but at the same time, is information that parents want to read. Most parents like to see information that is correct, is written briefly – don’t write a 1000 word narrative about an event – write a short piece and include photos. Parents are busy and educators are buys. So, ensure newsletters are an effective use of everyone’s time. The format of newsletters will vary depending on your particular setting and what the families prefer. Some settings develop hard copies of

newsletters that are sent home with children, and others email out digital versions. Whatever format you decide to use, keep the information as visual and as easy to read as possible. Activity - online resources This website includes some tips on what to include in newsletters, some examples, and templates. It is definitely worth a read. https://www.theempowerededucatoronline.com/2015/05/writing- effective-and-interesting-newsletters-for-parents.html/ ↑ Back to top  Topic Summary Topic summary Now you are ready to complete your 3F Management Test Questions. You can access these through the Assessment 3 link on the Interact site. References For a list of all the materials we've covered in this topic, visit 'Reference list' in the left-hand site menu. Remember to check that all references

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and citations are in the correct APA style before you use them, particularly for assessment items.

Marketing and Technology

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