Whether it’s Joe Wicks’ hosting his very own PE lessons, Jamie teaching us how to cook, English with Holly or doodling with Mo, there’s a huge array of free teaching resources now available on social media to help children and parents stay sane throughout the Coronavirus pandemic.
Each and every weekday, hundreds of pre-recorded and live interactive videos are helping UK families navigate the day-to-day challenges of home-schooling during the big lock down. And we salute each and every person giving up their free time to do such things.Of course, it makes great PR too. Caring, genuine, authentic and helpful, ‘Covid-19 teaching celebrities’ are emerging and building their brand presence right now – but some, seemingly without knowing it.
Take for instance English teacher Holly King-Mand, who wanted to teach 7-14 year olds via Facebook lessons. This week, she told the inews.co.uk that she didn’t ever envisage such mass appeal. Her 10.55am 20-minute lessons bring in around 2,500 viewers from across the world, and by that evening, those numbers have often swollen to 10,000 each and every weekday. When Covid-19 has passed, we predict that Holly and those who have followed in her footsteps teaching maths, art and science will become the saviours of the Covid-19 teaching crisis, and will have great careers ahead of them, with some fantastic opportunities in the media.
But for the lesser known teaching celebs, their public brand has to be refined first and their PR has to be spot on. Thought leadership, on-going social media, endless broadcast opportunities, interview, book deals and even their own TV shows – they are all there for the taking when lockdown finally ends.
But what should they do more of first and how can other emerging brands follow suit?
- Customer/parent pain points – what are they? Holly already has a good idea of this but the needs of parents could change when school starts again
- Market research – discover. We see so many companies getting lost with what they first set out to do simply by forgetting to ask their target audiences the right questions. Revisit key market questions regularly and you’ll stay close to your original brand intentions
- Visibility through social media. Don’t be shy. The more you get out there and have a well-thought-out strategy from the outset, the more people will get to know, like and trust you
- Brand and brand image – ensure you establish one. Jamie Oliver is a brand, Joe Wicks is also a brand and both with a great teams behind them. Brand identity is how your business is portrayed to customers via language, logo, colours and graphics. And brand image is how you want customers to know who you are and what you stand for. If you have started a business without addressing these, now may be a good time to do so
- Professional photography. We know that no one likes having their photo taken, but we can’t stress the importance of this enough. Poor photography won’t help your brand image so fix your hair and invest in nice team photos as a priority.
For more information on how to establish, market and PR your brand, please do get in touch.
We work with brands to inform opinions and build reputations. We’re not limited to standard procedures or practice – our strategies will take you wherever our imaginations allow. Our focus is always on what works. We aim to deliver results that can be measured and will contribute to business success.
