We’ve said it before: In the land of social media, content is king, but engagement is queen! 👑 People then ask, “But how do I get my community to engage?” One strategy is to ask questions!

Delaina McCormack, Manager of Social Media at Fairfax County Public Schools, is a member of our #SocialSchool4EDU membership program. She has mastered the art of fostering engagement by asking relevant, targeted questions on Facebook. She shared her list with us inside our membership group, and now we’re sharing it with you!

Why Use Engagement Questions

We have an existing list of 52 Questions That Will Increase Engagement on Facebook (if you don’t already have that list, grab it now! It’s a gold mine!), but Delaina’s questions are much more targeted to specific holidays, events, and groups of people. 

Think about all the holidays you celebrate on your social media channels or the various groups you recognize throughout the year. Instead of saying something like “Today we honor our veterans,” what if you said, “📣 Veteran Roll Call! To all our military veterans: Shout out your branch and years served. We appreciate you! ❤️” (Okay, we know that’s not really a question, but you get the idea.) 

Think of how much more engagement that post will get when you invite veterans to share about their service. And as an added bonus, the rest of the community will add their comments of thanks and appreciation, too!

These questions will get your community talking about your schools in a positive way! Be proactive and encourage the kinds of conversations you want your community members to be having. 

Not sure it’ll work in your community? It doesn’t hurt to try! Some questions will drive more engagement than others, but we’re very confident you’ll see results! And to make it extra easy on you, here are some great engagement-generating questions to start with –  just copy and paste!

Military-Related Post Ideas

• 📣 Veteran Roll Call! To all our military veterans, shout out your branch and years served. We appreciate you! ❤️
• Military family ROLL CALL! Tell us: How many different places have you lived? 🌎
• Today <#YourHashtagHere> honors our veterans. Tell us about the veteran in your life who you are honoring today! ❤🤍💙

Graduation Season Post Ideas

• Alumni ROLL CALL! 🎓 Give a shout-out to the <#YourHashtagHere> high school you graduated from!
• <Your Mascot> fans! As we say goodbye to our newest graduates, what advice would you offer them? 🎓
• Graduation season is here! 🎓 Parents: How are you feeling? 😭😁😨 Tell us with an emoji or a gif in the comments! 👇

   

Staff Appreciation Post Ideas

• 🎉 Let’s hear it for our school principals! Join us in a virtual round of applause! 👏👏👏
• We are #PublicSchoolProud for Public Schools Week! 🙌 Why are YOU proud of our school?
• Let’s hear it for our teachers – past and present! 🙌 Give a shout-out to a teacher who made a difference in your life or your child’s life! ❤
• Happy #WorldTeachersDay! Name a teacher who positively impacted your life! ☺

Back to School and Last Day of School Post Ideas

• #FirstDayFairfax is one week away! What is one tip you wish you had before your child’s first day of kindergarten?
• The first day of school is almost here! How is your child feeling about Monday? Tell us with an emoji or gif in the comments! 👇
• Today’s the day! 🍎🚍📝 Share your first day of school photos with us below! 📸
• It takes a lot of people to get the district ready to welcome back all our children! 🏫 Help us thank our custodians, office staff, food service staff, admin team, and teachers for all their hard work over the past weeks to prepare for the first day of school! ♥☺
• Last day of school! 🌞🎉 How big has your child grown? Share your before & after photos! 👇📸
• That’s a wrap on the 2022-2023 school year! 🎬 What is one great memory from this school year?

    

Academics Post Ideas

• What are some ways you’ve provided an effective homework routine for your child? 📝 Share your ideas below!
• With so many great options, what was your favorite class in high school? 🤔

Holidays and Observances Post Ideas

(Download a free list of recognition days, here!)

• Valentine’s Day: What do you ❤️ about your school?
• 4th of July: What is your favorite Independence Day tradition? ❤️🤍💙
• Homecoming: We’re excited to crown our new homecoming king and queen this weekend! 👑 <#YourHashtagHere> alumni: Do you remember who was crowned the year you graduated?
• Hispanic Heritage Month: Hispanic cuisine is a language of love! What is your favorite Hispanic food or restaurant?  #HispanicHeritageMonth
• World Smile Day: It’s #WorldSmileDay! 😁 Share your very best smile (or your child’s). Drop a photo in the comments below! 👇
• Halloween: Our <Your Mascot> are excited to celebrate Halloween! 🧙‍♂️👻🎃 What was your favorite Halloween costume of all time? Tell us in the comments – bonus points if you share a photo!
• Thanksgiving: We’re thankful for all our staff, students, and families! What <#YourHashtagHere> staff member are YOU thankful for? ❤️
• Winter: December is #ReadANewBookMonth. We’re looking for suggestions: What is your favorite book? 📚
• Winter: ‘Tis the season for helping those in need. How are you giving back to your community this year? 🎁
• Snow Day: ❄ Happy snow day, <Your Mascot> fans! ❄ What does it look like outside where you are? Share a snow day photo with us! 👇📸⛄

    

Tips for Posting Engagement Questions

1. Only ask one question. Asking too many questions overwhelms people and they’re more likely to not respond at all.
2. Keep the questions short and concise. If the question is at the end of a long paragraph, many followers will not scroll to find it.
3. You don’t need a fancy graphic. Use Facebook’s colored backgrounds. Facebook prioritizes these types of posts in the newsfeed, so it’s to your benefit that you keep it simple!
4. Be careful to not ask for personal information. Things like “What was your first job” and “Who was your 2nd grade teacher” can sometimes be used as password security questions.
5. Keep the questions positive! Avoid topics that may invite controversy.

👉 Have additional questions/captions that you’d add to this list? Drop them in the comments section!

 

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This is a guest post from Melissa Marti. Melissa is the membership coordinator at #SocialSchool4EDU and also serves as an account manager for four of our management districts. She is a former high school teacher who loves staying connected virtually with students, staff, and all things education while chasing around her own busy kids. Melissa says, “There are amazing things happening in our schools every day. It’s powerful to be able to share those stories with our communities so together we can celebrate our students and staff!”