When I was a kid, I remember people coming all over the province to visit my parent’s restaurant and have a sandwich they called “The Greek Club.”
Basically, it was a steak, cooked in some secret spices that only my mom and dad knew, in between two pieces of garlic bread. It was simple, but writing this makes me crave one more than I could have imagined. It was delicious.
So excellent that people would drive hours to come to my parent’s restaurant to eat that and other delicacies they had created. There was obviously no social media when I was a kid, and my parents didn’t really advertise anywhere outside our town of approximately 5000 people. Yet, word had spread about how great this restaurant was not only because of the food but the welcoming nature of the people who owned it.
I hear about “branding” quite often, and I think about the purpose of the idea. Ultimately, it is to generate more attention to either a person or a business.
But what can happen is that the focus can be placed so much on “branding” that we lose focus on what really brings people to any place of business—doing great things.
You can have an incredible communications department that tells people about all of the “great things” happening in your school. Still, when a kid comes home to their parents and says, “School is boring,” it is pretty rare, they would say, “You might think, but I did see a pretty cool TikTok that tells me otherwise!” The “branding” can become irrelevant compared to the experience of the kids in the classrooms.
Some of the best educators in the world have zero followers on any form of social media, yet communities are clamoring to get into their classrooms.
Their “brand” is based on the work they do. My parents taught me that people will always find you if you do great stuff.
I am not saying don’t use social media or promote your work, school, or business.
Just put first things first.
Focus on doing great work, and the opportunities will closely follow.
