You are busy. It’s the understatement of the year, right?

Most days you don’t know if you are coming or going, so how can you fit in telling your story through social media posts?

During a recent visit to a room full of educational doctoral students from Edgewood College, one 6-12 principal posed a perfect question.

What can I do during my walking down the hallway time? That’s all the time I have!

Perfect question. Here are 10 ideas! All 10 can be used on any of the social media platforms, but for simplicity, I mention only one in each specific example.

1. 1. Start a #HallwayHug feature. You simply give a child a hug, snap a selfie, and Tweet it out. Make sure to also include your school hashtag! Of course, my hallway hugs usually include my children’s book.

1. 1. With video rolling, ask a student what he or she is learning about in class this week. Record your question along with their answer. Post it to Facebook right from your phone. If it is 7 seconds long – perfect! Your fans have short attention spans, so short videos are ideal.
   2. Snap photos of artwork you see in the hallway and put them up on Instagram with a quick comment such as, “Great work, Addy!”

1. 1. Do you love to high-five kids in the hallway? What a great way to connect. Once it is typical for kids to raise up their hands for the high fives, video record a simple stroll down the hallway filled with students. Tweet it out with a simple: “High Five’s for Excited Students!”
   2. Overhear a cute conversation? Tweet a quick summary along with, “I love our students!”
   3. Video is, again, such a great way to engage your audience. If you have a well-understood vision or mission statement, like Hayward, Wisconsin, school’s “Win the Day” theme, ask kids to recite it.
   4. Start a “win lunch with me” contest where students are encouraged to come up to you while in the hall and share (on camera) why they love going to this school. Each month or quarter, select a handful of students to win lunch on you. The hope is to build momentum where kids are asking for you to post them!

1. Catch a teacher going above and beyond? Snap a photo and shout it out on Facebook. Positive recognition goes so far with our staff. Even if it isn’t a photo of the act itself, just take a photo of their nameplate on their door. Summarize the story short and sweet: “Caught Mrs. Adams rushing to class today, but she dropped everything to tie little Joey’s shoe. Kindness matters!”
2. Ever notice how the little things really make a difference in your school culture? Highlight those little things with a simple photo and tag it with a hashtag like #LittleThings or #ItMatters.
3. Grab a small item with your school logo or mascot on it (bracelet, pencil, sticker, etc). While you are walking the halls, set it somewhere and take a photo. Post it on Instagram with the school hashtag along with #WhereAmI and have kids “spy” the item in the photo. You can also have them identify where in the school the photo was taken.

My best advice is to pick just one of these ideas to be your “thing” that you try implementing for the rest of this school year. Don’t be overwhelmed with all 10 ideas. Just pick one.

hallway time will be transformed into an easy-to-accomplish mission that will result in a connection with your community – students and parents – that can really make a difference!

So which one are you committing to? Shout it out below. Or if you already have a signature post, share it with the rest of us!