Facebook and Twitter for Public Schools

Michael Sponhour and Megan Herring

SC Budget and Control Board SC/NSPRA Winter Workshop

January 21, 2010

Social Media is a tool.

It is not a strategy.

• 350 million active users worldwide

• 958,220 South Carolina users older than 18

• 126,000 teen users in South Carolina

• 2.5 billion photos uploaded monthly

• 3.5 billion links, stories, notes shared weekly

Why it Matters to Schools

62% are 26 or Older

Facebook as a Tool• Repurpose all announcements, photos, events,

press releases to Facebook

• Encourage participation – you want parents and students to become involved by making comments, leaving suggestions, posting their own pictures

• Answer comments – Facebook must be a two-way communication platform.

• Monitor – Even if you don’t think Facebook is for you, you need to monitor what others are saying about you.

• A microblogging site

• 140 character maximum

• Not a young person’s medium

• 58 million users worldwide, 21 million in the US

• Grew fast, slowed down, but appears to be growing again

• Very popular with reporters, opinion leaders

• Great way to repurpose content and share things that don’t merit a release

• Easy to get started

Things to Consider• Target Audience With SM – Parents, PTA/SIC

leaders, teachers

• Seek interaction

• Can your organization deal with a negative comment on Facebook?

• Set guidelines for who can post for the district.

Measuring Your Work• Find similar school districts to yours throughout

the state and country and see how you stack up.

• Pay attention to the level of interaction on both Facebook and Twitter – do people seem involved with your sites or is it more one-way?

• Compare quality and quantity – do you have a good number of followers from your demographic? Are your followers local or spammers?

No Matter What, Your District Needs a Social

Media Policy

Things to Consider for a District SM Policy

• Who can create a SM site – district, school?

• What about student and/or support groups?

• How do you consistently brand and monitor?

• How do you deal with personal SM sites – FOIA

• How do you deal with personal SM sites – teacher/student interaction