Ease Back Into Your Marketing Strategy: 5 Ways to Find Your Groove Post-Break
Don’t panic. Yes, your inbox is full. Yes, your calendar looks like a game of Tetris. But before you dive headfirst into to-dos, take a breath and revisit your strategy.
What are your goals this term? What are the key messages, audience priorities, timelines, and metrics that actually matter?
Start here with five steps to reset, refocus, and roll forward with confidence:
1. Run a strategy refresh (aka the 20-minute sanity check).
Pull out your marketing plan or what’s left of it post-summer. What campaigns were set to roll out? What’s still relevant? What needs to pivot? Meet with your team and start discussing:
What’s live and performing
What’s still in progress
What needs a rethink
You’re not starting from scratch. You’re recalibrating.
2. Reground in your core messaging.
This is the moment to get back to your “why.” What do you want your audience to feel, think, or do this quarter, this semester? What stories are you telling and do they still align with your brand positioning?
If you’re reaching new audiences (new school year = new families), recheck tone, emotional hooks, and calls to action.
3. Find one quick win to build momentum.
Ease yourself back in with something simple but strategic. Momentum is everything. Choose something that can go live within a day, not a week and get the team amped with quick results.
Dux Inspo: Get people interested and wanting more with a welcome back, future-facing post. Tease what’s coming from new learning spaces or programs to student-led initiatives or storytelling campaigns…
➡ Why it works: Builds anticipation, signals momentum, and reaffirms your school’s forward-thinking identity.
Dux Inspo: A nostalgic focus but hits different. A “Then vs. Now” Stories (Swipe-Worthy Edition) Pair past and present photos from your campus, alumni, or even curriculum snapshots. Include short captions that connect growth, tradition, and transformation.
➡ Why it works: Drives emotional engagement and reinforces how your school evolves while staying true to its mission.
4. Gather your team.
Schedule a short, focused sync with your team even if it’s just 15 minutes.
Cover:
Key priorities for the next 2–4 weeks
Campaign timelines
Any messaging or creative gaps
Ideas that have come up over the break… reset also equals fresh ideas!
This is less about the masterplan, more about shared understanding and good energy for the year to come. If your a manager and have anxiety, imagine the rest of your team!
5. Plan in sprints, not semesters.
It’s tempting to map out the whole term. But early on, that often leads to feeling overwhelmed not action.
Instead, define 2–3-week sprints with clear deliverables and mini-goals. Each sprint gives you a sense of progress and space to adapt.
Example:
Sprint 1 → caregiver onboarding stories
Sprint 2 → faculty recruitment warm-up
Sprint 3 → admissions open day push
Let us know if this helped your team! We would love to hear from you.