In many schools, marketing isn’t a clearly defined role.
It’s often shared between teaching, admissions, administration and leadership – fitted in around everything else that needs doing. While most schools recognise how important marketing is, it can quickly feel unmanageable when there’s no dedicated person to lead it.
At FSE Design, we work closely with schools across the UK and see this first-hand. Many teams know what needs doing, but struggle to organise it in a way that’s realistic alongside day-to-day school life. The good news is that effective school marketing doesn’t have to sit with one person. With a bit of structure and shared responsibility, it becomes far more achievable.
Here are some practical ways schools can organise who does what, without marketing becoming a constant source of stress.
Write down what marketing actually involves
Marketing often feels overwhelming because it isn’t written down in one place.
Start by listing the tasks that regularly come up, such as:
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Managing and updating the school website
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Writing or approving news stories
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Posting on social media
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Promoting open days and events
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Updating your school prospectus
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Organising school photography and videography
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Sending newsletters and parent communications
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Planning advertising or campaigns
Once everything is visible, it’s much easier to see how the workload can be shared.
Give people ownership, not everything to do
One common issue in schools is that marketing slowly lands with one person by default.
A more sustainable approach is to give individuals ownership of certain areas, rather than expecting them to do everything themselves. For example:
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A member of SLT may oversee priorities and direction
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Admissions staff could take ownership of open day promotion and enquiries
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Teaching staff can contribute stories from their departments
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Admin teams might schedule newsletters or social media posts
Ownership simply means someone is responsible for making sure something happens – not doing every task personally.
Use the strengths already in your team
Schools are full of people with skills that naturally support marketing.
You may already have:
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A teacher who enjoys photography
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A member of staff who writes clearly and confidently
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Someone who understands social media
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Teams who know exactly what questions parents ask most often
Encouraging small contributions from the right people not only spreads the workload, it also makes your marketing feel more genuine and representative of school life.
Keep processes simple and repeatable
Marketing becomes stressful when everything feels rushed or last-minute.
Simple systems can make a big difference, such as:
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A shared document for website news ideas
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Monthly deadlines for department updates
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A straightforward approval process for content
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A shared calendar for campaigns, admissions and events
When people know how and when to contribute, marketing feels far easier to manage.
Treat your website as the foundation
Good school website design underpins all successful school marketing.
Encourage staff to ask:
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Should this go on the website first?
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Does give visitors a positive insight into life at the school?
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Will this answer a common parent question?
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Does this support admissions or enquiries?
When your website is clear, up to date and easy to manage, everything else – from emails to social media – becomes more straightforward.
Set realistic expectations
School marketing doesn’t need to be perfect to be effective.
It’s often better to:
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Share updates regularly rather than occasionally
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Use real stories and photography from around the school
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Keep information accurate and current rather than constantly redesigning
Agree what’s achievable and focus on consistency. Over time, those small efforts add up.
Bring in support where it makes sense
Even with shared responsibility, school marketing can still take up a lot of time – particularly when specialist skills are needed.
This is where external support can really help.
At FSE Design, we support schools that don’t have a dedicated marketing department, working alongside existing teams and taking pressure off staff. We specialise in:
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School website design – clear, engaging and easy-to-manage websites that support admissions and answer parents’ key questions
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School prospectus design – professionally designed print and digital prospectuses that communicate your school’s values and strengths
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Admissions and open day marketing – promoting key entry points and encouraging enquiries
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Ongoing school marketing support – reliable design and marketing help when it’s needed
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Consistent school branding – ensuring your website, prospectus and marketing materials work well together
By handling the technical and design-led work, we allow school teams to focus on content and priorities, without marketing becoming another full-time role.
School marketing works best when it’s shared
When marketing is approached as a team effort, it becomes more sustainable and far less overwhelming. Clear roles, simple processes and realistic expectations can make a genuine difference.
If you’d like support with your school website design, school prospectus design or wider school marketing, we would be happy to help - why not contact us and see what we can achieve.
Because good school marketing should fit around school life – not compete with it.