View all upcoming Sponsored by: Gerald Herbert/AP Pumping Up District Social-Media Strategies

Moderator Michelle Davis Senior writer, Education Week Digital Directions Blogger at Digital Education

Featured Guests Eric Sheninger Expert on social networking, particularly the use of Facebook and Twitter in schools, and principal of New Milford High School in New Jersey. Nora Carr Chief of staff for the 71,000-student Guilford County Schools in Greensboro, N.C., and a specialist on how to use technology to enhance school district communications..

An on-demand archive of this webinar is going to be available at in less than 24hrs. Thanks for taking part today. We really appreciate it. The edweek.org

Social Media Guidance for School Districts Eric Sheninger

Why Districts Should Use Social Media Cost effective Easily accessible – Computer via the Internet – Mobile devices (i.e. cell phones) Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants – Everyone seems to be using social media, so why not tap into this resource? Control – You determine amount and types of information disseminated

Why Districts Should Use Social Media Transparency Pride

Ways Districts Can Use Social Media Communication Public Relations Branding

Communication Events School Closings Meetings Live scores/updates from athletic contests Weather Emergency information

Public Relations News/RSS Feeds Student honors Staff accomplishments Direct traffic to your website and/or other media outlets

The Tools

Microblogging Short messages known as “tweets” Link to cell phone

Facebook Information hub: Communicate with students, alumni, parents Fan pages (video, wall posts, links, pictures Events Showcase student/faculty work Connect current to incoming students Re-direct stakeholders to District website, news, etc. School/ ?v=info

YouTube Create a channel just for your school Share school accomplishments Showcase student work, events, athletics For videos larger than 10 minutes, use Vimeo (also free)

Branding

Professional Development Use Social Media tools to develop a Personal Learning Network (PLN) FREE access anytime (24/7) from anywhere Benefits of a PLN: – Links to resources – Knowledge acquisition – Networking – Sharing of best practices

Best Practices for Districts Keep it professional Remember your role within the school community Think before you post to the internet (Digital footprint) Inform stakeholders on how you will utilize social media Update regularly (time well spent)

22 Facebook 101 for K12 District Communications About SchoolMessenger  A leading provider of notification services. Clients include nation’s largest school systems, Coast Guard and Navy.  Easy to send voice, text and – and publish to social media sites with 1 click.  Stick around: Research findings, Facebook 101 for K12 District Communications

23 Using Social Media in Education – District Communications Nora Carr, APR, Fellow PRSA Chief of Staff Guilford County Schools

 Reaches different audiences  Encourages participation, conversation  Builds new connections  Offers new feedback opportunities  Provides more ways to tell your story  Serves as early warning system  Fuels word-of-mouth, viral PR  Inexpensive to initiate  If you don’t, someone else will Why Use Social Media?

 Launched in 2010  4,128 followers  Good news  Breaking news  Conversations  Pulse-taking  Issue monitoring GCS and Facebook

 Launched in 2011  97 followers  Free workshops, events, resources for GCS parents, families & caregivers  Customer service  Discussions Guilford Parent Academy and Facebook

 Launched in 2010  Sounds and pictures = storytelling  16,355 channel views  13,300 upload views  178 uploads  38 subscribers GCS and YouTube

 Launched in 2010  775 followers  472 tweets  Breaking news  Good news  Announcements  Customer service  Quick FAQs GCS and Twitter

 Launched in 2010  126 members  Mostly internal  Partnerships and community connections  Announcements  Customer service GCS and LinkedIn

 Have a strategy and a plan ◦ Research & Assessment, Analysis & Planning, Communications, Evaluation  Update frequently; daily preferred  Leverage each channel’s unique features  Target your audience(s) – know who you are talking to, and why  Know what success is going to look like  Measure, evaluate and then regroup, if needed Keys to Success

 Communications audit  Public opinion polls  Google analytics  Online surveys  Media content analysis(es) GCS Evaluation(s)

 Have a strategy, goals and plan  Update frequently; daily preferred  Leverage each channel’s unique features  Target your audience(s)  Start small; keep it simple  Conversational tone; keep it light  Make content meaningful  Know what success is going to look like  Monitor and adjust as needed Keys to Success

 Develop policies and guidelines  Communicate expectations clearly, regularly  Provide adequate training  Create a system – embed in organization Avoiding pitfalls

 Overview ◦ Faculty & Staff Guidelines Faculty & Staff Guidelines ◦ Student Guidelines Student Guidelines ◦ Parent Guidelines Parent Guidelines ◦ District Recommended Social Media Sites District Recommended Social Media Sites  Guidelines ◦ Be transparent ◦ Always a school employee ◦ District, school values ◦ Share your expertise  Source: Social Media Guidelines for Schools Wiki ◦ Avoid marketing gimmicks ◦ Owning mistakes ◦ Copyright and fair use ◦ School logos ◦ Posting photos, movies, video ◦ Responding to negative comments, criticism ◦ Personal information ◦ Student-staff relations ◦ Posting frequency ◦ Spell, grammar checks Policy, guideline considerations

Questions & Answers “We are always communicating. It’s just a matter of whether we are doing it well or poorly.”

Using Social Media in Education – District Communications Nora Carr, APR, Fellow PRSA Chief of Staff Guilford County Schools

Question & Answer Session Questions and Answers

38 Impact of social media on school district communications

39 SOURCE: Ipsos North America Poll December 2010 [N=305]

40 SOURCE: Ipsos North America Poll December 2010 [N=305]

41 SOURCE: Ipsos North America Poll December 2010 [N=305]

42 SOURCE: SchoolMessenger Poll December 2010 [N=376]

43 SOURCE: SchoolMessenger Poll December 2010 [N=376]

44 SOURCE: Ipsos North America Poll December 2009 [N=321]

45 About SchoolMessenger  A leading provider of notification services. Clients include nation’s largest school systems, Coast Guard and Navy.  Easy to send voice, text and – and publish to social media sites with 1 click.  Intelligently handles individual parent preferences.

46 at: SchoolMessenger.com Facebook 101 for K12 District Communications

An on-demand archive of this webinar is going to be available at in less than 24hrs. Thanks for taking part today. We really appreciate it. The edweek.org