Thought Leadership as a Back-to-School PR Strategy in #EdTech

When the back-to-school months are just around the corner, the education and edtech industry whip lashes back to attention. It seems like every July brings more inquiries than any other month from companies seeking to differentiate themselves in the market. To help frame your thinking about how to write and place thought leadership (also called opinion, byline, viewpoint, and op-Ed) here’s a playbook for writing, placing, and maximizing the value of thought leadership.

Why thought leadership for education and edtech?

Regardless of whether your company is mature or a startup, the solution needs to be defined for the market. Time and time again. Furthermore, it needs to be defined not from the founder’s or marketing team’s perspective, but rather from the end user’s perspective. Publishing this in an education trade is akin to a third-party endorsement and immensely helpful to open doors and close deals. So how do you do it?

The first question I am always asked is if a company executive can have the byline (which means they are the stated author). In simple terms, yes. Just tone down the language so it feels real, not laden with jargon. If writing for educators, the piece should sound like an educator’s voice, not an executive’s.

Moreover, if your technology is new or novel, there is value in describing how it works. Education trades welcome these bylines as long as they offer additional information to their readers such as describing the class of tools or recommending complementary technologies or teaching strategies.

Don’t hesitate to consider other company staff. Board members, advisors, and internal staff who have academic credentials or who have been (or currently are also) teachers, professors, instructional designers, curriculum directors, or tech directors are great choices. They key is that regardless of the author, explain how the product works in context of their personal experiences to establish rapport with the reader.

How to write thought leadership that gets picked up

While there are incredibly talented writers whose prose is poetic and draws in any reader, most of us write pretty pedestrian copy. Here is a formula for a byline’s flow and essential elements.

Content of the piece:

1. Open with an interesting and relevant data point from a reputable source.
2. Establish rapport by explaining the author’s experience in education. Give an anecdote or somehow bring this point right down to the student.
3. Describe the existing problem in a concrete way, but one that is universally understood.
4. Describe the ramifications of not solving the problem.
5. List and describe research or surveys supporting the underlying pedagogy or reason why your solution works.
6. Describe the specific positive outcomes either as a mini case study or with quotes from users.
7. Conclude with foresightful comments.

An important note. Many trades will not allow inclusion of the product name or if they do, will not allow a hyperlink to the product without the piece becoming a paid contribution. Some will allow company names and links in the byline (which is the two or three lines describing the author’s affiliation). If product name is not allowed in your target publication, think more broadly. You can address the topic and offer related information that will benefit your sales and marketing efforts.

What to avoid in writing thought leadership

If an editor declines or suggests the piece can be placed as a paid byline, don’t give up in exasperation. Instead, get creative. Either offer to edit the piece (in fact, always suggest being open to edits when pitching), or consider the benefit of a paid submission.

Never take on politics or take sides on issues and while I am sure most professionals in our industry get this point, don’t disparage anybody or anything.

Don’t use AI. It’s okay to ideate with generative AI but this is your voice and generative AI is not going to cut it. I don’t even recommend using ChatGPT or similar AI tools to rewrite or edit. Furthermore, the most widely known AI checker from Turnitin is quite sophisticated and we can expect others will improve over time. We’ve seen publications rejecting or removing published content once they discover the hallmark of generative AI. Many publications specifically state that they will not consider AI-written pieces.

What to write about in a thought leadership submission to an education trade

Be sure to read the publication to see the types of pieces favored. While many are flexible, some stick very closely to a format and/to topic. For examples, see this case study from Pando PR.

1. Pure Case Study – Explain the positive outcomes from the school or university using your product. Anchor your piece with quotes and/or results.
2. Theoretical – Define the pedagogy and/or technology behind your product in a way that addresses a larger problem. Products that have unique pedagogy are well suited to this.
3. Cool Tech – Geek out on new technology and explain what the tech is doing. Products with AI, for example, can benefit from this because many people don’t fully understand how it works at all. Large language models are a foreign concept and the unknown can be scary. Also justify why the tech works but be careful about going too deeply. Use plain language and no jargon. Education trades are rarely interested in interesting tech just for technology’s sake. Instead, the tech has to be explained in context of improved outcomes for the end user.
4. Tackling Issues – Nearly every media outlet appreciates compelling bylines of contrarian viewpoints. If your company can handle a little controversy, that is often a great angle to take, but use caution. This is often not a tack a newcomer to the industry can take. It helps to have a long and well-regarded personal and professional history in education.
5. Interpreting Data – Many reports are published that have little applied explanation. Bylines by individuals with expertise to interpret that data and describe how it affects education are usually well received. Draw connections between multiple research bodies, describe the long-term impacts or give perspective about the parallels to other industries.
6. Trends – Writing about a trend is usually an easy win but be careful of trends that are worn out. Instead, try making connections between trends or pull from other industries to illustrate how they impact education. Try to think and write what a reporter would write but with your depth of knowledge about the space. In other words, bring something to the piece that the editor probably does not have.

Pitch before or send final submissions?

Both have their place. If you want to opine on an issue or fast-breaking news and haven’t yet produced the piece, pitch the editor with your idea. If the issue is important, they could be looking for voices and your email might arrive at just the right moment. To be clear, your piece should be nearly finished because you’ll need to have written some of the points in order to explain what your piece will be about.

The final step: How to submit.

Most of the bylines we place are first written for a specific trade or media outlet before being pitched, which is how it should be. Select the outlet first, study previously published works, then write to spec. We usually send the byline (using the outlet’s preferred format) as the pitch itself. My email has a very short introduction about the piece, then I attach the Word doc (if requested) and a Google Doc link just in case. I also paste the entire piece in the body of the email. Editors are pressed for time and they can quickly skim without having to open anything else.

If the trade publishes author photos, attach a reasonably sized image of the author. Do not include a logo but if you have other relevant images that are unique to your company (such as shots taken at a school or university where the product has been used), include those. Write a caption or two to save the editor time. This is where you can include your product name. A typical caption should have a time period, location, and primary activity. Example: Fourth graders at Mayfair Academy in Columbus, Ohio celebrate an ice cream social for their improved math skills in a pilot program with XYZ product.

Finally, the bio. Write 2-3 lines about the author’s position, company (with URL), and why they are qualified to write on the topic. I urge clients to stay away from personal descriptions such as where they live, family information and university affiliations. A fun twist of phrase can add personality while also conveying a very important fact such as (this entirely true anecdote about myself.)

Author, Jennifer Harrison, used to drive a modified bus filled with technology and software around California, teaching educators how to use the latest edtech. Now she is the CEO of Pando Public Relations, which helps edtech companies reach the K-12, higher education, and training markets in the U.S. and throughout the globe.

 

Republished from a LinkedIn Article on July 11, 2024.