You love your job!
Sharing the awesome things happening at your school on Facebook, Instagram, and other channels is fun.
It’s also a lot of work.
Plus, it’s not your only responsibility. It’s challenging when alternating between the 10 different hats you wear.
Then you get that internal staff member who wants to criticize everything you do!
Your work is out there for the whole world to see. So, of course, there will be people who criticize you. But what happens when that criticism turns into something unhealthy – for you and your school district?
Here are three steps to help guide you through handling that criticism.
- Look inside first
It’s easy to get defensive the moment someone throws stones at your work. I get it. But the first thing to do is ask yourself, “Do they have a valid point?”
If you are constantly misspelling things, then you have no one to blame but yourself. Even if people send you captions to post on social media, it is your job to proofread them before you post them. We use “Grammarly” to help catch those errors.
And what if they are complaining that their stuff isn’t posted right away? There is a balance to managing social media. You can’t post every item you get the moment you get it. But how organized are you? Are you forgetting to post out things that are sent in?
There are helpful strategies to stay organized when managing social media. Using a separate email for your social media content would be my first recommendation. Setting aside time each day to review new submissions would be key as well.
- Talk with your critic
Once you have taken a good look in the mirror to see if you might be the issue, then it is time to have a conversation with your critic. Take time to listen to their concerns. Just listen first. You can ask questions like this to get the conversation started:
“What concerns do you have about social media?”
“Do you have some specific examples you can share?”
Take notes while they are talking so they know that you are listening. Once they are done explaining their concerns, repeat the main concerns back to them. You should also thank them for caring about your school enough to voice the concerns.
If you heard some concerns that could be easily be cleared up with them, ask if they have time for you to respond. If they do, you can explain some of the strategic initiatives that you are trying to balance with the social media presence for the school.
Most social media users don’t understand the algorithms that impact post reach. They don’t know that scheduling is an option. They also might not realize the legal ramifications behind information shared by the district. Explaining this might be enough to get them to say “Whoa – I’m glad I don’t have your job!”
- Get your administration involved
If the criticism and constant negativity just won’t stop, then it’s time to ask for help from your leadership team. Ultimately, you were assigned with the responsibility to manage the social media for your school or district. If you are getting complaints that are unwarranted, then they need to know about it. Personnel issues need to be addressed.
If you feel you could benefit from additional time for social media, let them know. They may not realize how much stress you have in trying to balance your other responsibilities plus social media.
Additional training could be another solution. The team at #SocialSchool4EDU has a brand new membership program to offer ongoing professional development and support in your role as social media manager. We also have affordable coaching programs and graphics packages that can truly be a game-changer when it comes to representing your school on social media. Learn more at our website or email me at andrea@socialschool4edu.com.
We hope these tips help! Our job is to help make your job easier, so make sure you are on our bi-weekly newsletter list. We share ideas, tips, and strategies to make the most of your social media efforts at your school.
For more support, check out our affordable coaching options. We can provide the framework to make your social media shine, get statistics to prove it, and guide you to tackling more than you thought was possible with the help of your entire school district.
