When the weather strikes in the winter months, social media can help get the news out fast! I was so excited to talk about the impact this can have with Tracy Jentz, Communications Coordinator for the Grand Forks Public Schools in North Dakota.

Tracy has been in her role with the district for four years and shares some valuable insight for schools. You won’t believe how much their Facebook page grew by being the first to report a weather cancellation!

When did Grand Forks start using social media for your district?
Grand Forks Public Schools (in Grand Forks, N.D.) started using Facebook and Twitter in August 2014. Yes, we were late to that party. We rolled out a district Instagram account in January 2016, and YouTube in August 2016. We also have a number of teachers, classrooms, schools, etc. that also have accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

What are a few of your time-saving tips that you’d recommend to other schools?
My first tip would be to use an editorial calendar and build your social media posts from there (include days off from school, Board meetings, etc.). That calendar is one of the first things I look at every morning, and it helps me to plan our social media. Secondly, I would take advantage of the various tools to schedule out all applicable social media posts. I take time at the end of every week (it’s easier for me than at the beginning of the week) and schedule posts for the upcoming week. We like to include media (photos, video, etc.) with each of our posts (typically using Adobe Spark products or Canva).

What is one unique way that your following has grown?
As a school district in the Midwest, we are no stranger to winter weather. So far this school year, Grand Forks Public Schools has had three cancellations due to winter weather. One way we can “win” with the weather is to let our stakeholders know we will publish any delay/closing on our social media sites first. We found HUGE success using that one simple concept – jumping 980 likes on Facebook from December 5th-January 3rd by posting each of the three cancellations by 4:30 a.m. Not only are we able to share the information first, but we’ve grown our audience and will be able to “share our story” to a larger audience in 2017!

What types of social media campaigns have you used?
Check out our 12 Days of Giving posts that ran in December. The first post, which explains the concept, can be found at:

What impact has social media made for your district?
We have found a great deal of success in sharing information with our stakeholders directly. Social media platforms make this happen in an easy, straightforward manner. While there is still value in using traditional media outlets, we determine the information that is shared on our social media accounts, and our #1 priority is to celebrate the everyday events that make Grand Forks Public Schools – “A great place to grow and learn!” (our district tagline). Our posts that celebrate individual/team accomplishments consistently have a high reach and engagement with our audience. We’re happy to be the go-to source for information.

What advice would you give to other schools regarding the use of social media?
Dive in! If you haven’t already, set up your own Twitter account. I am grateful to have a wonderful PLN of our fellow school colleagues (#schoolpr) on this platform that I can network with 24/7. And remember: you don’t have to recreate the wheel. There are resources out there, including this blog, here to help!

Great stuff, Tracy! Thanks so much for sharing!