School Branding Strategy in the Digital Era to Increase Engagement Through Digital Marketing
Strategi Branding Sekolah Di Era Digital Dalam Meningkatkan Engagement Melalui Pemanfaatan Digital Marketing
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21070/ups.10815Keywords:
Branding Strategy, Engagement, Foundation, Collaboration, Digital Marketing, Private SchoolsAbstract
The increasingly fierce competition among educational institutions requires schools to implement branding strategies to attract public interest. This study aims to analyze the digital branding strategy of SDI Tarbiyatul Ummah in increasing engagement through digital marketing, as well as to explore collaboration opportunities with its parent foundation, Yayasan Al-Manshur Tarbiyatul Ummah. This qualitative research collected data through in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation involving the principal, social media team, and parents. The results indicate that the branding strategy relies on daily documentation distributed organically through an electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) mechanism by parents. Although the QUALITAS tagline has successfully formed a positive impression , the effectiveness of this strategy is hindered by reactive content planning due to limited human resources (single-handler). A content gap was also identified between the information uploaded by the school and the actual needs of the parents. Furthermore, collaboration between the school and the foundation remains one-way due to the lack of a coordination system at the technical operational level. This study recommends the development of a collaborative content calendar, content diversification, and the optimization of the foundation's role as an active strategic partner within the private school digital branding ecosystem.
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