Make Your School’s Mark on World Social Media Day

The 30th June, is World Social Media Day; an event that celebrates social media’s impact on global communication. In this day and age, the simplest way to get in touch with modern parents, en masse, is to use social media. Yet many schools still approach social media with trepidation. They are afraid of the reputational damage that can be inflicted by negative comments and vicious online attacks.

However, social media platforms have developed and produced features to combat such eventualities. During this time, they have also become crucial, must-have assets for schools. So, on World Social Media Day, we are going to investigate the relationship between schools and social media.

For a ground-up guide on social media success and engaging your school community, download our free social media guide for schools.

Addressing School Social Media Concerns

The biggest fear preventing schools from using social media is damage caused by rogue users and negative comments. Social media platforms are wary of this concern, especially Facebook, which has taken the lead on page moderation.

The admin of your school’s Facebook account has access to a variety of page moderation settings. This includes one that prevents comments containing profanity being posted on your page or statuses. If you want to avoid any potential risk, the admin also has the power to prevent users from posting comments on your page or statuses at all.

Earlier this year, Twitter followed suit, introducing its ‘hide tweet’ feature. This new feature allows account users to hide comments on their posts or threads in the first instance.

All forms of social media have a ‘report’ feature. This allows you to draw the attention of the platform to questionable or problematic comments. The comments will then be reviewed and, if deemed necessary, removed.

Regulating Your Own Usage

Although social media platforms have settings to protect you from others, they cannot protect you from yourself. That is up to you. Most negative social media situations are caused or made worse by the user themselves. Whether it is a controversial post or an ill-advised response, problems are often self-inflicted.

A school social media policy is any essential document. To regulate your school social media posts and usage, you need written guidelines. This policy should enforce wide-reaching rules governing the use of your school social media accounts.

It can be difficult knowing where to start with your social media policy, but we’ve got you covered. If you would like a school social media policy template, simply get in touch and we’ll be happy to send you one.

The Importance of Social Media for Schools

Having addressed some of your school’s concerns, here’s why it is so important for your school to use social media. The primary reason is simple: social media gives you instant access to your most important audiences.

Drawing engagement is a challenge for most schools. From letters sent home via children to regular emails and texts, schools try a variety of methods to contact parents. There is still a place for these channels of communication, but social media offers another level of access, and is also popular with parents.

A recent study found that UK mothers spend, on average, more than two hours a day on social media. With a significant proportion of your audience browsing these channels so often, it is a huge opportunity for you to reach them.

Getting the Most from Your School Social Media Presence

Merely existing on social media is a good start. But, to see the best results, you should develop a school social media strategy. This strategy will begin by outlining your aims and the outcomes you want to achieve. Thanks to the varying demographics of each social media channel, your aims can be broad and diverse.

Here’s an example of some school social media campaigns, and the most effective platforms to use for each of them:

• Celebrating good school news with your community — Facebook and Twitter, the most commonly used social media platforms.
• Advertising vacancies at your school — LinkedIn, which has a predominantly professional usership.
• Promoting awards won by pupils — Facebook and Twitter for maximum exposure.
• Increasing attendance at an upcoming event — Facebook, utilising the platform’s events feature.
• Attracting business engagement or sponsorship — LinkedIn, the business-based social media platform.
• Promoting your school’s new Ofsted rating — Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, as the news applies to all audiences.

After deciding upon your aim, and which platform to use, you need to start creating your messages. This can be tricky, and requires a full understanding of your audience. If you would like some guidance on your school social media campaigns, our team would be more than happy to help. For a free school social media strategy template, or any other information on school social media campaigns, feel free to contact our team.

Start Your School’s Social Media Journey

If social media is not currently part of your school’s communications strategy, World Social Media Day is the perfect time to introduce it.

The team at Eduprise has helped many schools set up their social media accounts and develop a strong online presence. If you would like us to help you experience the benefits of school social media, do not hesitate to contact us today.