As we wind down the school year, you might be feeling tapped out when it comes to new social media post ideas for your school. I get it! It’s challenging to be in a role where you’re asked to be a fountain of unlimited creativity.
But I’m here to support you in all things school social media. Today’s blog will cover 14 post ideas that your community will love. The best part? They’re not that hard to do! Let’s dig in…
Hold on! Would you rather listen or watch this content? Click here to listen to the podcast version or click here to watch the YouTube version!
Idea #1: Ask People What They Love About Your District
Take a walk around your buildings and poll some students and staff, asking them what they love most about their school. You could also send out a survey via email – but personal interactions will go a long way! A variation of this is to ask about a staff member that they appreciate.
Compile that feedback and put it on a simple graphic, like the below-linked example. This makes a great series of posts that is sure to spread some warm fuzzies! Even better, you can batch your work so you know you have engaging posts ready to go for weeks at a time.
Idea #2: Feature Your Therapy Dogs
Does your district have therapy dogs? Their stories are always bound to be a hit!
You could share a photo of students or staff interacting with the dog, a short video of the dog trotting down a hallway, or kick it up a notch and try a “day in the life” Instagram Story takeover. A simple introductory post is also great!
Your community’s gonna love it! Who doesn’t enjoy a cute dog post!?
More Examples:
Idea #3: Share a Sports Recap
Sports were eliminated or limited for so long, for many schools, so your fans are going to love seeing photos in their feed that feature athletes and fans.
Post about sports accomplishments, underdog stories, or individual athlete spotlights. Get your coaches involved with ideas – all you have to do is ask! Here are some examples:
Another Example:
Idea #4: Capture Those Little Moments
One of my favorite posts this year is shown below. A kindergarten teacher snapped a photo of students learning about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the post ended up getting picked up by two national news outlets, with the original post reaching more than 13 million people!
Maybe it’s a student tying another kid’s shoe, or a grin shared with a teacher when a lesson clicks into place. Stroll around your building, get your colleagues involved and look for those special little moments.
Idea #5: Share Art or Tech Ed Projects
Your students are out there creating all kinds of masterpieces. Showcasing art or tech ed projects have the potential to really engage your community, and they’re not that hard to find! Work with your art and tech ed teachers to start a weekly spotlight or a round-up at the end of a semester. They may even have talented students in mind who could submit the photos or a video compilation to you.
Another Example:
Idea #6: Post a Heartwarming Homecoming
The world could use some good news right now. You likely have a student or staff member who has a loved one serving overseas. You’ve seen those videos where the homecoming surprise is captured on video – could you help make this happen at your school?
Military homecomings always tug at the heartstrings! Here’s an example that was viewed over 65,000 times:
Idea #7: Tell Stories About Staff Members Going Above and Beyond
It’s been “all hands on deck” this school year. Teachers are driving buses, superintendents are covering classes, and parent volunteers are filling in the gaps. With staff shortages and illnesses taking people out for weeks at a time, many people in your district have really stepped up.
Moments like what I’ve shown below are happening every day around your schools. Are you looking for them? I want to challenge you to find out who’s going above and beyond right now… all you have to do is ask your co-workers for help in identifying (and capturing) these moments.
More Examples:
Idea #8: Give a Peek Inside the Classroom
This one’s pretty straightforward – just share the everyday classroom happenings! Either step into a couple of rooms yourself every week or ask staff to submit photos.
Here at #SocialSchool4EDU, we manage social media for nearly 100 school districts across the country. We aren’t inside those classrooms – we’re fully remote. And we get amazing content submitted to us, every day! It’s all emailed to us from staff members. So if we can do it, so can you.
Idea #9: Post a Video Invite to an Event
Aren’t you sick of posting flyers for upcoming events? And frustrated with the fact that the posts generally don’t get much traction? Challenge your advisors to get their kids to create video invitations, instead!
The spring is packed with events – school plays, recitals, concerts, awards ceremonies, graduations, and more. Take a look at the calendar, today, and then reach out to staff members to get their help with video invitations.
Seriously – these videos don’t have to be fancy! Check out the example below. A typical post for this school reaches around 700 people, but this one reached nearly 2,000! I edited together three separate videos in an app called Clips and it performed really well.
Idea #10: Celebrate Senior Scholarships
We’ve begun the season of honoring seniors, and one often-forgotten milestone is earned scholarships. You don’t need a fancy graphic to spotlight these high achievers! Simply get a list of scholarship winners from your guidance office, snap photos of the students (or use their senior photos), and push out the celebration.
More Examples:
Idea #11: Try Out Instagram Reels
I want you to try out Reels because there is a LOT of potential for amazing reach and engagement! It could be a science experiment, a sporting event, or a video montage of photos. The possibilities are endless.
If you’re inside my membership program, you know we’ve recently done some advanced training on Instagram Reels! But never fear – I also have this handy freebie of 25 Reels ideas.
Looking for more Reels inspo? This podcast episode covers a school that’s killin’ it with Reels!
Here’s an example of a school with 1,000 followers that earned over 5,000 views on one Reel:
Idea #12: Highlight Student Apprenticeships
Do you have high school students engaged in Student Apprenticeship programs? We spend a lot of time highlighting our college-bound seniors, but don’t forget about those in apprenticeships!
These students are out there in the community, contributing in a valuable way and gaining real-world skills. Work with your school counselor to identify the students, and then just feature them with a photo. Bonus points if you can capture them “in action” at work, and then tag the employer!
Idea #13: Get on the #ThrowbackThursday Train!
If you’re not already sharing old yearbook photos, you’re missing out! These perform consistently well for the schools we serve. This blog shares all the basics to get you started, and make sure you grab this freebie of 52 Throwback Thursday captions to make your job even simpler!
Another Example:
Idea #14: Share Student Stories that Inspire
I cover this post idea more in-depth in the blog “How to Find Student Stories Your Community Will Love,” but the gist is that you’re looking for inspiring stories of students and staff in your schools. Work with your staff to identify these types of stories!
Another Example:
Boom – that’s it! You can’t tell me there’s not at least ONE idea in here that you haven’t tried, yet. Be sure to @ me on Twitter with the post idea you try first!! I’m @andreagribble and I can’t wait to hear from you.
