Can you relate to this question I recently received from my friend Erica Chandler, APR from Affton Schools in Missouri?
“Have you started compiling your genius ideas for summer content?? Usually, my summer feed is filled with student & teacher travel pics.
And summer school, but that’s going to be virtual.
I’m struggling to think of other ideas. And half wondering if I just took a hiatus from posting if anyone would notice.”
Erica, you are not alone! Others have been asking this same question.
And I’m not sure if this list is genius or not, but it should help provide enough inspiration to get you through the summer of 2020!
First, please understand that your social media activity over the summer will not match that of your school year. I am going to challenge you to share at least one social media post per weekday on the platforms you normally use throughout the school year.
If that goal scares you because you don’t even post once per day when school is in session, then you might need to join my newsletter list. We provide inspiration every other week with easy tips, tricks, and strategies to celebrate your school with your community. Click here to grab our most popular download – 100 Inspiring Ideas for Social Media Posts for Your School.
Now that you know that you are only expected to post once per weekday on channels like Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram, it’s time to create a plan. When I think about social media for schools, I think about features or campaigns that can run on a weekly basis. If you pick one feature for each day, you only need five features to run throughout the entire summer!
Bonus: You can even schedule all of these features ahead of time.
Before we dig into the 10 ideas, take a look at this editorial calendar that Erica inspired Melissa McConnell from Belton School District in Missouri to create. Melissa’s concept is a positive “School will be Waiting for You” campaign. You can check out the editorial calendar at this link.
Her thought was:
“Whether we are here or virtual, we want families and students to know how we are preparing, how we can stay connected, family support resources, etc. Many of our families, students, and staff NEED a break from learning. So much “new” happened in so little time — we’re kinda broken!
We’re committed to promoting the incredibly important role schools play in a community. And sometimes that role is to stop pushing “visit this website, learn this trick, do this thing, read this book.” Sometimes, it’s breathe. Reach out. Talk. Help. Walk. Refresh. Smile. Cry. Reconnect. Play. Sleep.
Each week will have a call to action on something we’re asking our community/students/parents to do. The quotes and principles in the white column will frame some of our Instagram strategy…I’ll probably create graphics to go with some of them using photos of our kids and staff.”
I hope this idea inspires you! Again, you can access the start of her editorial calendar here.
Here are the ten ideas that I shared on my most recent #K12PRtip video. Since you only need five features, you just have to pick the five that you think will work best in your school or district!
- Top 10 Reasons Our District Rocks!
You may already have a spot on your website where you list “10 reasons to choose our school.” Now, just create a graphic and a short caption for each of those and you’re good to go for ten (or more) weeks!If you don’t already have a list, gather a small group of school leaders and brainstorm a list that you could highlight. You could even ask your students to respond to an Instagram Stories question – “What do you love most about our school?” Those answers could help create your list!
- #MotivationalMonday
Kick off each week this summer with a motivating quote and a picture of one of your students or staff members. This is easy to do in free apps like Canva and Word Swag. If you’re looking for quote ideas, check out this helpful blog: 20 Inspirational Quotes for your School’s Social Media.
- Building or Remodeling Updates
Do you have remodeling or building projects happening this summer? Share a weekly photo or video showing the work being done! Even if you feel like not much progress is being made, your community will be very interested. A video makes it easy to just explain what the viewer is seeing (and you don’t even have to be in front of the camera!)
- #ThrowbackThursday
People still love seeing old yearbook photos over the summer! #TBT posts are some of the most engaging features that we share each Thursday morning at 6:00 a.m. Alumni and community members will comment and share the posts, trying to identify the faces in the photos.If you’re new to this feature, this blog will guide you in finding some great content from those old yearbooks: #TBT Guide – What to Look For in Yearbooks
- Staff Feature
Showcase your staff and allow followers to get to know them on a deeper level. You can ask staff to submit responses to a list of questions along with a photo and schedule them to post weekly. Another option is to just utilize their staff photo from last school year and simply write “Join us in celebrating Mrs. Johnson!”If you’re looking for more details on how to create these features, along with ideas for student and alumni features, check out this blog: 5 Social Media Features for Your School.
- Short Video Updates
This summer, there is going to be a need for extra communication with your students, families, and community. Most communications can come through written letters and press releases on your website, but what about videos? Scheduling a regular video update with one of your leaders might make a great segment that you can choose to broadcast live or record and schedule as a premiere or regular video!These videos could be short – around 3 minutes long – or take a longer Q&A style. It’s totally up to you! If you’re looking for some leadership video ideas, check out this article: 9 Ideas for Leadership Videos.
- Show Your School Spirit
It’s always a good day to wear school colors! What if you ran a contest at the beginning of the summer and asked for submissions of students and staff showcasing school spirit? You could receive those photos through Facebook comments, email, or a school hashtag on Twitter or Instagram. Then, throughout the summer, highlight different photos each week and remind followers that “today is the day to support our school!”Struggling with how to allow followers to add photos in the comments of your Facebook posts? Check out this short video tutorial!
- Where/What are you Reading?
Reading is so important for our students and families. You can use social media to highlight WHERE students or community members are reading. This could be done in a method that’s similar to Idea #7. You can also ask followers WHAT they are reading and highlight their responses!
- #TriviaTuesday
Who loves trivia? I do – and I bet your followers will too! Craft a weekly #TriviaTuesday question where followers are asked a multiple-choice question. Make sure you ask them to pick one in a few simple way – “A, B, C, or D” – because you will get exponentially more responses (we’ve tested it).
You can associate the question with facts about your school district, or randomly pick any trivia question that will relate to things people may have learned in school. Think “Are you smarter than a fourth-grader?”-type questions.
- #FlashbackFriday
OK – this feature is a little like #ThrowbackThursday, but it does capture another day during the week. I would suggest using #FlashbackFriday to highlight favorite memories from the last school year! Check your Facebook Insights, identify your top-performing posts (choose celebratory over informational posts), and share the stats with your followers.
Well, Erica (and all of my #SchoolPR friends not named Erica) – I hope this list inspires you! Which ideas do you think you’ll use? Comment below.
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