Is your school telling its story on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram yet?

What are you waiting for, the 22nd century???

Social media is here to stay. Even more, your community deserves a front-row seat to all of the incredible things happening with your students.

Need another reason to jump on board right now? In case you need more convincing, here are 10 reasons:

1. Everyone else is doing it – OK, I’m not all about jumping on the bandwagon or keeping up with the Joneses, but in this case you need to get on board. If the schools around you are touting their accomplishments, happenings and latest sporting event wins on social media while you remain silent, you are missing out. Another advantage is you don’t need to blaze a new trail. Since others are doing it, you can benchmark to get a great system that will work well for your school.
2. Lead by example – You have the opportunity to show your students how social media can be used to spread positive news and messages around the world. We seem to give students a lot of “never do this” and “don’t post that” advice, but how about showing them what they SHOULD be doing? Telling your story through cool Instagram photos or a selfie showing school pride is a great way to show your kids how they can change the world for the better.



3. It’s easier than you think – In social media, shorter is better and a picture really is worth a thousand words. It’s so much easier than submitting an article to the newspaper. Grabbing a quick photo and adding the school hashtag is sometimes all you need!
4. Reach older population – Your community is made up of more than just students and parents. Reaching the taxpayers who aren’t that involved with the school can seem like a tough task, but they are on social media. For the first time, Pew Research Center notes that roughly half of all online adults 65 and older (56%) use Facebook. This represents 31% of seniors. Pew Research Center
5. Students feel famous – Listen to the things kids say. “Hey Mom, watch this!” “Mrs. Smith, see what I can do?” “Grandpa, look at what I made.” Kids want an audience. Social media gives them the stage to feel seen, appreciated, and provides an opportunity to hear feedback. This is incredible for their development! Read more on this in my recent blog post on Making Students Feel Like Rock Stars.
6. Recognize staff – Reward teachers for their accomplishments by singing your praises publicly. Social media makes this so simple. You can celebrate the simple things like, “Mr. J’s third-graders are always rushing into class with big smiles on their faces. Having great teachers like him helps make our school great!” And if there is a big award received, make sure to broadcast that. The school district in Cameron, Wisconsin had a teacher win a state award and there were over 80 comments offering congrats. I know that Mrs. Sheri Hagen-Salm felt the love as her post reached nearly 4,000 people!
7. Make someone’s day – Has a student’s smile ever transformed a bad morning to a good one for you? Has an accomplishment by a student in the classroom ever made your heart explode with joy as you watched them? Now think of all of the people in this world who don’t get to see this on a daily basis. Kids are amazing and one smiling photo, one short story, or one 10-second video can truly alter the mood for your audience. Go ahead – make their day!
   
8. Reach your students where they are – According to a recent Pew study, 24% of teens are online almost constantly. So if you want to get in touch with them, you need to hang out where they are—online and on social media. I can guarantee they will tune in for the lunch menu tweets and the Instagram photos of the pep rally.
9. Be part of the conversation – Transfer your worries about what others are saying about your district to efforts that make sure the right story is told. Having a voice in social media is key. It gives your district some control. Not complete control of course, but now you can become part of the conversation to help spread the positive stories.
10. Its 2015, social media is here to stay – Get on board now or find your school district even further behind next year!

There you have it! Ten reasons to stop putting off social media and jump into action.

Are you ready to get started but need the extra help? E-mail me at andrea@socialschool4edu.com. We’ve helped over 100 districts get on the right path with their social media!