What’s the best way to take social media to the next level for your school?
Learn from others, of course!
Two weeks ago, I hosted my first virtual Social Media Summer Camp (SMSC) event. It was an unbelievable day of learning with over 100 attendees and a jam-packed agenda of social media topics intended just for K-12 schools.
This feedback summed it up well:
I’m a happy camper! SMSC17 was a great day of learning: relevant topics; expert, engaging presenters; and a flexible format to fit into this busy time of year. I took away tips to use right away, and thoughtful information for long-range planning.” – Cathy Kedjidjian, Deerfield Public Schools, IL
To give you a high-level summary of the camp, I wanted to share my top five takeaways from the day.
- Make staff feel like rockstars
Dr. Joe Sanfelippo’s presentation certainly ignited the entire camp, but one of my biggest takeaways was to make staff feel appreciated. You invest thousands of dollars in hiring them. How about throwing them a $10 t-shirt and giving them some Facebook love?
Fall Creek has taken it a step further and involved students in the process of hiring new staff. How cool is it to get a job offer from your class of 5th grade students that you’ll be teaching next year? Pretty cool!
- In a crisis, the goal is to “keep your head while all around you are losing theirs.”
When tragedy or controversy hits your school, most people know about it before you have a chance to tell them! Understanding the issue, getting the facts, knowing what to say and how to say it through the use of social media – it’s overwhelming! Lesley Bruinton, APR gave this one piece of advice that really resonated with me. It’s all about keeping calm when everyone around you is frantic.
- A small budget can go a long way in Facebook advertising compared to traditional channels.
If your school is spending any money on traditional modes of advertising, they are completely missing the boat if they don’t use some dollars on Facebook advertising. Shane Haggerty’s advice and direct examples of how Facebook ads can work for schools was powerful! I hear of schools using radio or newspaper ads – for thousands of dollars – when Facebook boosted posts can be done with as little as $5. The first step is to just try it out and see what happens – then build on it from there.
- “Don’t worry about having the right words; worry more about having the right heart.”
Providing guidelines for our school staff was the topic, but Carla Pereira, APR hit on so many great topics that pertain to telling our story. This quote hit home for so many of our attendees. We get caught up in finding the perfect image and caption. It can be so stressful. Worry more about having the right heart. Celebrating our students is an important job. Keep that as your guiding light and you’ll be just fine!
- Social media champions
Social media for your district truly takes a village. You may be the person responsible for managing it, but you can’t do it alone. You need to build social media champions within your schools. Kristin Magette, APR shared that this is the way that she has continued to grow her social media presence for her district.
I hope this advice serves your school well! If you attended camp and have another takeaway that you’d like to share, comment below.
