Another big voting day is right around the corner. Many schools are sending their community members to the polls on Tuesday, April 5^th to cast their ballots on increased spending for their districts. If it isn’t your school this time, you have either experienced it within the past 18 months, or it is on your horizon in the near future.

So what is the biggest way to ensure your school referendum passes?

Of course you need great communication on why the increased spending is needed. This may include some or all of the following:

• Dedicated section of your website with information
• Newspaper coverage
• Newsletter updates to community
• TV and Radio coverage
• Mail campaigns
• Infographs
• Videos
• Yard signs
• Town hall meetings
• Citizen Support – Your Vote-Yes Group

But among all of these “need-to-haves,” I believe the real key to success starts with a great social media presence.

Why social media?

Social media is where people hang out these days. The Pew Research Center reports that 65% of adults use social networking sites, showing a tenfold jump in the past ten years. Yes, it is more prevalent in younger adults (90%), but 35% of those 65 and older are using it too.

Where newspapers, newsletters, and community town hall meetings used to be the traditional way, it just doesn’t work like that anymore. To reach people where they are at, you need a strong social media presence.

But we have a good website!

Awesome, I’m happy you have a great website. But how are you going to drive people there? People don’t “hang out” on websites while they are in the line at the grocery store. They do however scroll through their newsfeed. And if they see an interesting post about the school, they will click a link to visit a website.

This means that while your referendum information headquarters will be on your website – and it needs to be well laid out – you cannot rely on just that. Social media is about staying top of mind.

How a referendum campaign looks on social media

When you share referendum content on your school social media channels, you cannot sway people to vote yes or no. You do have the right to ask them to vote. You also can share facts and figures helping to show why additional funding is needed.

Here are my recommendations on how a referendum campaign should look:

• Post at least three times a week in regard to the referendum. You should start 6-8 weeks ahead of the voting day. Create a content calendar which shows the exact wording and images that will be used for each post. Facebook is the number one platform to utilize, but you can also use Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to help spread the message.
• Create shareable content. Social media makes it easy for people to share information with others. With a simple click, they can help spread your message.
  • Videos – They can be high-tech like this one from Hudson School District or basic like this one from Antigo School District
  • Infographs – Visuals really help tell the story, like this one from Cumberland that shows how they’ve tried cutting back in recent years.

• • Events to town hall meetings – You may not grab a ton of responses on Facebook, but this option can be helpful – Hudson School District Community Presentation
  • Fact Sheets – Winneconne School District shares this one that shows the impact to the taxpayer.

• Voter turnout is a huge deal. I hear it all the time from superintendents. If the parents show up, it passes. If they stay home, it doesn’t. The date of the election should be on every post you share.
• Update your cover photos temporarily on all social media channels. This is an important event that is critical to the success of your students. You have the responsibility to remind your community to vote. Include the date of the vote in the image and I recommend including photos of students!
• Encourage your citizen group (your vote-yes group) to set up a special page separate from the school, as they can encourage people to vote yes! They should help share your posts along with additional commentary on why they believe the referendum needs to pass.
• Most importantly – don’t forget to share a lot</em of posts that are not referendum-related (directly). Celebrating the kids using technology, winning a spelling bee, and practicing for the talent show are just as important. You want to show that the school is there for one reason, to support the education of our kids. Highlighting them at least 2-3 times per day is key.

We aren’t in a referendum state, so what should we do?

Don’t wait until you need a referendum to get started with social media. Communicating with your community is important every day, not just when you are asking for something.

Make sure to celebrate your kids constantly so your community knows about all of the great things they are learning in your district. Building your Facebook fan following to match your district enrollment is your first goal. Once you’ve surpassed that, your goal should be a 25% growth each year.

When the time does roll around for you to request your community’s support for needs at the school, they will be there! Ready to support with a yes on that ballot because they’ve seen thousands of snapshots of school success.

Does your school need help?

For the most experienced advice you can get in regard to social media and schools, contact #SocialSchool4EDU today. Andrea Gribble and her team have posted over 10,000 social media posts for schools across Wisconsin and Minnesota. We are here to serve you through training, implementation and full management with our proven system. E-mail andrea@socialschool4edu.com or call 715-205-0429.

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