TL;DR:
- Telling your own story through social media develops a positive and effective social media presence.
- It is important to provide consistent and efficient information to families.
- Use of social media should be intentional. Maximize the use of your official sites to push out positive and accurate information.
- This post shares a number of tips on how to communicate effectively.
“Tell your own story, or someone else will tell it for you.” That is a sentiment I’ve heard numerous times, and I have to say, it’s spot on truth. Before I became an education major in college, I was a communications major. One of the main things we learned in communications classes was that whoever directs the narrative becomes the person that is telling the true story.
This is why I recommend that all schools develop a positive and effective social media presence. We can take our message and direct it in our own way to our communities. It is empowering to us as school leaders to be able to put out our mission, vision, and values to the community in an easily accessible manner!
Telling Your Own Story Through Social Media: Social Media Is the New Newsletter
When I first became a school teacher and administrator, there was no social media. Stories of school were passed through gossip chains. Occasionally, there might be a story in the local media if something unusually good or unusually bad occurred. You were not typically happy to see a film crew rolling up to the schoolhouse door because it often meant something bad was happening.
The main way we got our message out to the public was through printed newsletters. The “news” in these newsletters was often outdated right after it was published. There was not really a consistent way to get official information out in an efficient manner. We would often hear about the breakdown in communication between home and school. Much of that was because of the way we were communicating with our families… but we were doing the best we knew how!
Tell your own story, or someone else will tell it for you. Put out the good messages from your school and be in charge of telling your own story! Click To Tweet
In our era of technology and social media communication, it is important to provide consistent and efficient information from the school at a moment’s notice. Here’s a great example: The campus has the fire department visiting for a presentation. They bring fire and EMS equipment to the school for students to see. Community members see the ambulance and begin calling the school to find out what is wrong.
Through social media, the school can immediately post a message telling the community that the ambulance was on campus for an instructional visit. We avoid an alternate story being shared in the community. In addition, we can post photos on social media showing the presentation and emphasizing the connection between the school and the community.
Be Intentional with Social Media to Convey Your Message
The use of social media should be intentional on our part. We need to make sure we are maximizing the messages we want to send. My first piece of advice would be to make sure you know which social media sites are most prevalent in your community. It is likely that your school district has at least a Facebook page. Your school district also probably has a Twitter account, and perhaps Instagram. These are the official means to put out your message.
However, your district and maybe even your school might have a Facebook page run by parents that attend the schools. I guarantee you they are expressing their opinions and telling your story unofficially as well. These unofficial pages are hugely popular and often hold weight in the communities they serve. It is so important that you maximize the use of your official sites to push out positive and accurate information to combat any negative opinions expressed on the unofficial sites!
Tips to Get Started
But what if you’re just not a social media person? In this case, I would say that is not an option. You don’t have to have a personal social media presence (though I encourage you to do so…it’s the same premise of telling your own story), but you do have a responsibility to communicate your school successes to your community. Here are some tips:
- Create a school social media page using Facebook. Either run it yourself or have a social media savvy staff member be the administrator.
- Plan your posts to appear at regular intervals. Don’t flood the site with information multiple times per day, or even daily. Plan for at least 3 posts per week.
- Balance the posts. Consider the message you want to project from the school. When I plan our school Facebook posts, I post something academic, something social, and something community-related. I try to keep a balance of those themes to ensure that our community understands we focus on all of these things.
How to Be Effective Using Social Media
- Get into the habit of taking pictures of special events and day-to-day operations. Consider the photos to be a collage of your school year. If you are not a photo-taker, assign the task to a few staff members. Create an accessible file for whoever is posting on social media. Use your phone’s camera… it’s easy!
- Along the same lines, visuals are hugely important! Make sure your photos reflect the best of your school. Here’s an example: At one point our school district had a mandatory standardized dress code. One time, I took some photos of a school event. When I went to post them, I realized there were two or three kids out of dress code. I either edited them out or used a different photo. It was important to project to the community that our students were in compliance with the dress code. Also, make sure your photos depict a clean, safe, and positive atmosphere!
- Make sure you have permission from parents if you are posting any photos with students. If you use student names, I suggest you only use first names so they cannot be easily identified.
Once you get going, you will find that social media is an easy and effective way to communicate with your families and community. Put out the good messages from your school and be in charge of telling your own story!
About Martin Silverman
Martin Silverman is a father, grandfather, husband, and long-time educator in beautiful San Antonio, Texas. He is committed to providing the best educational experience for the students and families at Salinas Elementary school where he is principal. Martin has worked in urban, suburban, and rural districts as a teacher and administrator. His interests are in creating and nurturing school culture, providing enriching experiences for students and families, and developing future teachers and administrators.
As a former bilingual teacher and administrator, Martin is committed to providing ELL students with quality programs to develop their unique skills. He hosts a podcast called The Second Question, which highlights educators and provides them a forum to discuss ideas, and to honor the teachers that have influenced their lives.
