Marketing Must-Dos for PTOs and PTAs

Marketing Must-Dos for PTOs and PTAs

Your parent group is committed to involving parents, planning great events, and running thoughtful fundraising programs. But what if families don’t know anything about your parent group (or even worse, if they have a bad impression)? All that effort will be lost. That’s where marketing comes in.

We know “marketing” can sound intimidating, but it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money or take a lot of work. We’ve collected eight top ways to promote your group effectively within your school community, along with actionable steps for each one. If you build your group’s reputation with families, you’ll find it easier to get them involved—get our top PTO marketing must-dos and start spreading the word about your group’s good work!


Inside the Marketing Must-Dos Guide

Expert advice for promoting your group effectively to your school community, from the PTO Today marketing team

8 top ways to market your parent group—do them all, or do a few!

Links to additional resources to help you take action

Marketing 101: What’s Your Q Score?

When parents think about your PTO, what kind of feeling do they get? Are you widely known and beloved? Are you widely known but with a tarnished reputation? Or do the people who know you like you just fine, but there are only a few of them?

Your answer says a lot about your ability to build your volunteer base, and in marketing circles this is called a “Q score.” It’s a way to measure both how familiar and how appealing specific brands are, and it can be applied to companies, products, people, even parent groups. For parent groups, it’s a way to measure your potential success in recruiting new volunteers.

Perhaps your group is widely known around school because you’re constantly asking parents for fundraising support or because there’s melodrama over a disputed election or because you have a reputation as a closed group of insiders. Your group is familiar, but your appeal is low. Let’s face it, there aren’t a lot of parents looking to add stress to their lives. When asked, they’ll probably try to avoid getting involved with your group.

Or you might be a small group doing solid work that no one knows about. If you get the chance to remind parents of your efforts, they’re grateful that you’re around, but otherwise you generally operate under the radar. Your appeal is high, but your familiarity is low. Remember that reluctant volunteers are more likely to get involved with something that’s already a proven success.

If your group has hit the jackpot with a good reputation that’s widely known, congratulations! Things are great now. Your volunteer-building efforts have never been better, and you have new programs running with enthusiastic volunteers in all key positions. Just remember that your Q score needs TLC. Work to maintain the reputation you’ve so carefully built.

A strong PTO Q score starts with doing really good work. Parent group leaders don’t have the luxury of well-paid spinmasters; they need to walk the walk. From there, your Q score will depend on your marketing skills. Do parents enjoy interacting with your group? Are your messages home upbeat and appreciative? Are you willing to brag?

If you want to grow involvement at your school, then your Q score matters. Learning how to market your group effectively will help you increase your Q score and build your volunteer base as a result.

Still have questions? Call us at 800-644-3561; we’re here to help.

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