Happy new year. It’s already 2023 and if content-and-campaign planning for the new year has slipped by — don’t worry. We got you. This post will highlight key holidays, events, and conferences in the first quarter of 2023 (January - March) AND it also aligns all of this to the K-12 district/school buying cycle.
Shameless Plug: Our free EdTech Marketer’s Planner has all of these events and more. It can also help you through your planning process by providing a helpful framework to make sense of it all.
K-12 Education Holidays, Events, and Conferences
We’ve listed some of the most important dates EdTech marketers should consider throughout the first quarter and also brainstormed timely content ideas that speak to some themes that educators are focused on during these months. Remember, only use the themes and dates that directly relate to your brand and your audience — don’t force it. And although it may be tempting, don’t bandwagon on social media trends that just don’t make sense for your brand; you’d be spending time and money talking to and attracting the wrong audience for your brand.
January
Note: Since the pandemic, the typical school/district purchasing cycle is a bit more fluid than usual and many EdTech vendors report that due to the availability of Federal funds, purchasing can now happen throughout the year.
Administrators: January begins the consideration and trial phase of the education purchasing cycle. To that end, focus on efficacy information about your product or service. Highlight case studies and educator / education admin voices as much as possible. As we start this new year, recognize that teacher burnout is high and admins may be concerned with just getting their staff to finish the year strong.
Teachers: It’s a new year and some educators may come back slightly refreshed after winter break. Many educators may be rethinking their current strategies and tools they use in the classroom. They may even set goals or intentions for the new year. Surface up resources or tools that may be quick wins for them and align with popular new year’s intentions/goals.
Parents: A new year also inspires change. Parents may approach this year with a bit more energy and enthusiasm. They also may be more open to any suggestions you give. Start the year off with consistent positive messages and build on that relationship to collaborate on their child’s success.
February
February is the final stretch of dark and dreary times of winter. Educators know that the light is coming (known as Spring break). As they wrap up the winter months and start to head into the end of the year (still before spring break), it can still feel like the rest is so far away. Take the time to pause our product-marketing efforts and recognize that teachers simply want to feel seen and validated. State testing is also right around the corner, and that means lessons are curtailed to test-taking strategies and it’s just not fun for students nor teachers. This is a great time to share how your product or service can engage students. Share other quick-and-easy wins that apply to their current classroom challenges and have fun!
Administrators: This month, speak to administrators about the benefits of your product, specifically highlighting value. Celebrate and highlight black voices (this could be related to efficacy or not). Given burnout is high, surface up ways to help admins support their staff, teachers, and students.
Teachers: Highlight powerful Black stories and quotes and share Black History Month resources, books, and movies. To complement Valentine’s day, you could also provide social emotional learning, kindness and empathy, and kindness resources. And speaking of love — there is also a great time to spread your love and appreciation for educators. Don’t forget that it’s National Time Management Month and one thing educators never have enough of is time. Highlight any time-saving methods or tips you have.
Parents: It’s Black History Month and National Library Lover’s Month, so share your favorite books that parents can use to highlight Black characters/stories with their children. You can also talk about practical ways to incorporate kindness into their child’s day. Keep in mind that not all parents will have access to books so anyway that you can add inclusivity into your message, i.e. providing a virtual book read aloud from someone internal, that extra step will be appreciated.
An important note: Although it’s nice to celebrate Black history this month, we encourage you to commit to doing so throughout the year. Black history is American history, and diverse voices need to be heard year-round.
March
March marks Spring arriving (hello more sunlight!) and the much-needed spring break. Compared to February, there are also a lot more events that teachers can celebrate in their classrooms: March madness, St. Patrick’s Day, Pi Day, and more. It is also National Women’s History Month and a great time to highlight the important historical contributions of women. Overall, March offers more sunshine and hope that the end of the year is indeed coming! Despite this, many schools will continue their state standardized testing preparation. So inject fun and student engagement as much as you can.
Administrators: Spring can provide an opportunity to weave in themes such as spring cleaning and organizing. In the education world, the pivot to looking into the upcoming school year has already begun. Administrators will be holding interviews and changing schedules/assignments to prepare for the next school year. To complement International Happiness Day, resources that can help them find activities around happiness for their staff would be appreciated. Help them support educators as much as possible. Administrators will be tweaking the schedules to ensure that the entire building can test according to the many stipulations that go along with administering this kind of high stakes test. Purchasing-wise, it’s also a good opportunity to speak to administrators about case studies on districts that have improved due to your product/service.
Teachers: Spring can be a good time to start talking about outdoor appreciation and learning, and possibly the benefits of school gardens. Celebrate Women’s History Month by highlighting famous/important women in history. During this month, teachers might also be meeting with parents to go over specific goals that need to be met to ensure the best academic success of their student. This can also be a time where teachers will need resources to use with students to help with their mental health while taking these high stakes state tests.
Parents: This is a good time to get crafty and get children outside! Pi Day, St. Patricks Day, Share a Smile Day, and many more March opportunities provide an opportunity to make March fun for their kiddos. (note: Would like to make this appropriate for older children as well)
Conferences
Conferences can be an amazing opportunity for both EdTech brands and educators to connect with each other, learn from each other, and collaborate together. In Q1 and especially March, it is one of the busiest conference months of 2023. In terms of reach, the biggest EdTech-forward conferences of the quarter are TCEA, FETC, MACUL, and Spring CUE. If you want to prioritize connecting with a school leadership audience, put AASA and CoSN on your radar. Plus, there are great conferences that are subject and school type specific, such as NSTA (science), CATE (California English), NAIS (Independent schools).
Birthdays
If this quarter is marked with dark days, the emergent of light AND standardized testing prep, birthdays can inject the much-needed fun and engagement. Plus, if you’re in need of timely content, you can use birthdays of historical figures or famous people that your audience cares about most.
Quick reminder: Our free EdTech Marketer’s Planner contains a more comprehensive list of education events, birthdays, conferences, and even content ideas. Also, once you’ve decided on the events you’d like to focus on, make sure you have a campaign-planning process in place. This four-step campaign-planning process can get you started. Enjoy!
This post was written in collaboration with Elana Leoni, Jordan Moldenhauer, and Stevie Frank.
