Social Media Communication for

Education Foundations

3

Social Mediarefers to the collection of technologies that captures communication and content across individuals, their friends, and their social networks. Examples are Facebook and Twitter.

These are also examples:

Which Technologies?

New technologies emerge constantly.

Don’t get overwhelmed by the choices.

Pick what you CAN do and be consistent.

Reasons Why You’re Not Using Social Media

Yet:• Lack of resources to manage social media

• Lack of knowledge about which tools to use

• Doubt whether it will work or not

• Confusion about how social media fits within fundraising and communication strategies.

Why Use Social Media?• Engage with stakeholders to build

relationships

• Enlarge your efforts quickly, easily, inexpensively

• Use a variety of tools to engage in different kinds of conversations with stakeholders

• Social media is a contact sport -- you have to actively give it a try to make it work

Foundation

School Donor

D

The Big 3

• Website

• Email / eNewsletter

• Facebook

Start Simple, but START!

WEBSITE

• Keep content current; keep calendars timely - don’t have dead content (ex: sign-up for events already past)

• Videos need written captions with searchable keywords - Google can’t search a video.

Other Resources:

Google for Nonprofits

Email / eNewsletter• Increase your reach --grow your

distribution by adding emails from PTO lists, Organization lists (marching band parents, athletic boosters, alumni association)

• Any organization which asks you for money should be willing to share their email distribution so their constituents can become your donors

• Send happy news to your stakeholders at least once a month - not ALWAYS an “ask”

• Create a publication schedule

Publication Schedule

The Plan to Get Content

• Grants Funded = Built-in Content + THE GRANT RECIPIENT WRITES IT FOR YOU!!

• Call out the teacher who received a grant; encourages more teachers/staff/parents to ask for money; highlights the need for more $; let them help you spread the word about the good works your foundation is doing and the need for more donations; show your donors what you did with their money

• “Grant Spotlight” - creates pride in your school district

• Focus on grant awarded by building -- increase awareness of teachers/activities by building

Fantasy• I’m going to get email addresses of

everyone in my district/town/county into my database

• My website will have 50,000 hits a month.

• I’m going to get on Facebook and update the status of my Foundation daily. My goal is 10,000 Facebook Friends.

• I’m going to Tweet three times a day.

Reality• You’re only one person (maybe two)

• You may be part-time or a volunteer

• You don’t even have time to write thank you notes to donors, let alone be on Facebook for your Foundation.

• Your website is controlled by the district, not you.

• You aren’t sure social media is for you after all.

Save your sanity• Create content that is easy to remix

and share through other channels

• You have to stimulate an emotional incentive for people – so they feel a sense of pride and joy when they forward your foundation’s story to their friends

• Make sure your content is shareable, and ASK for it to BE shared

FACEBOOK

• Facebook -- get on it; learn to do it from your smart phone; link your other communications as a start

• Set up your Facebook Fan Page

Get help from a Teen

• First time in history younger generation teaches the elders

• Creat a “Social Media Internship”

• Recruit help from a high school student --

• Looks good on their college applications

Other Resources

BTW, What is that squiggly-line square thing?

What is that squiggly-line square thing?

• QR Code = “Quick Response Code” created to store more data than a bar code - came from the auto industry

• Read them with your smartphone:Go to the app store for your device and search for a “QR Code reader”

• Generate them: http://www.the-qrcode-generator.com

Final Thoughts/Q&A

• Social Media complements & integrates into your overall strategy.

• You don’t have to be an “expert”

• Start small, experiment, be authentic, build on what works.

• Just do it!