To say there is a lot of great stuff happening in your school is an understatement. There are social media-worthy moments happening right now. I guarantee it!

Even though there are all of these great things going on, why do you still struggle with getting enough content to share on your school social media pages? You are not alone! When we asked our group of school social media managers what their biggest struggle was, the second most popular response (behind not enough time) was not getting enough content.

Earlier this year, I created my most popular free download yet. It has 100 ideas for social media posts, categorized by age groups and activities. You can grab it here. Feel free to pass this onto your staff. They can go old school and print it out, post it on their bulletin board, and never run out of ideas!

While that list should be enough, I have found that the best way to get great content from your staff is to give them a very specific request. Think of it as a weekly (or even once a month) challenge. You simply send out an e-mail letting them know what you’re looking for, and smile when they actually submit great content for you to share!

Here are some examples to get you started. I wrote them so that you can copy and paste them directly into an e-mail if you’d like!

• January 2nd – Happy 2017! For social media this week, we are looking for some New Year’s resolutions. You or your students can share the resolution through a video or photo. In the video, you can share why you chose the specific goal. In a photo, you can just write your resolution on a piece of paper and hold it up for a snapshot. Of course we want to see the person’s face in the photo!
• January 9th – Our seniors are starting to make decisions on their education choices for next year. This week we are collecting images where students will share what school they will attend. They can find a sweatshirt, pennant, or even pose next to their website for a photo! We’ll make sure to tag the school in the post for a great social connection. Some schools respond. How cool for our students to get a special message!



• January 16th – You have thoughtful gifts and artwork from current and past students surrounding your desk. This week for social media, we want to capture photos and a short story of one of your favorite gifts from a student. You can feel free to explain it through a short video as well, but a photo will work great!
• January 23rd – Literacy is an important focal point at our school. This week on social media, we want to share our student’s favorite books. We are looking for a snapshot of them holding the book, along with a short statement of why they loved the book. If they’d like, they can also share via a short video!
• January 30th – It’s almost Valentine’s Day! This week we are collecting photos and videos from our students and staff that state what they love most about our school. We’d love to get short (10-second) videos or pictures of artwork displaying their feelings.

Do you see the simplicity here? Sometimes when you tell your staff, “I need more stuff for Facebook,” they just glaze over it and try to survive another day in the classroom. But when you get super specific and ask for a detailed item, they will start thinking about it and take the time to hit reply or submit the requested item.

As part of my weekly newsletter in 2017, I will be sharing a weekly challenge that you can pass on to your school staff. Some you might love, and others you might think won’t work in your school, but use what you think could be helpful! I’m here to inspire. Not on my newsletter list yet? Then sign up now. You’ll get the inside tips and tricks on social media for your school, and there are recorded webinars on these topics that can be accessed by members only. If you are interested in joining us, learn more here!