Using Social Media Tools & Technology to Promote Your School District -- Long Island School PR Assn.
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Evelyn McCormack LISPRA, October 2010 Using Social Media Tools & Technology to Promote Your School District
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Presentation to Long Island School PR Association, October 2010.
Transcript of Using Social Media Tools & Technology to Promote Your School District -- Long Island School PR Assn.
Evelyn McCormack LISPRA, October 2010
Using Social Media Tools & Technology to Promote Your
School District
Three Places to Find this Presentation
1. Go directly to my Google docs presentation: https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=ddcjvr4k_248fdqjkjc6
2. Email me at [email protected] and I'll send you the link.
3. On Slideshare: www.slideshare.net/evelynmccormack (live links won't work)
Social Media Tools
Communication/PR Tools:
• Facebook• Twitter• YouTube• Flickr • Blogs/eNewsletters• Google Alerts• RSS Feeds
A Few Social Media StatsFacebook (created 2004)• 512 million active users, 250m log on daily• 100,000 age 64+, 310,000 between 45-63• 300,000 businesses now have FB fan pages, including
hundreds of school districts• 25 million new members every month
LinkedIn (created 2003) • 60 million members
Twitter (launched 2006)• 105 million registered users• How many tweets?
YouTube (launched 2005)• Every minute, 20 hrs of video uploaded
• Publicize your achievements • Drive traffic to your District website
• Control your own message. An
alternative to print media in getting the word out.
• Develop a Personal Learning
Network -- share ideas, collaborate, professional contacts
What Can Social Media Do for Your School/District?
Common Myths About Social Media
1. Social Media is for Teens and Tweens
2. Social Media will compromise your internet security & give you viruses
3. Social Media will jeopardize your eRate funding
4. Social Media will waste time
5. Social Media is expensive
What I Tell School PR People• Just go with it: Establish Facebook and Twitter pages
and don't tell anyone. You can keep FB private until you click on the "publish" button.
• When you're comfortable with how the site works, publish and start building support.
• "Social media" says it all. Don't try to use a "traditional PR" mindset. It's a conversation.
• Make it friendly, casual and invite interaction.• Make your district website the center of a coordinated
communications plan. • Drive readers back to your website for in-depth
information. Conversely, use the website to drive readers to your social media site(s).
Are You Blocking? Filtering?
When your IT Department says it can't be done, show them this:
--from whitehouse.gov
Feeds and AlertsRSS (Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary) Feeds allow you to receive and organize all your favorite websites and blogs, instead of searching for them. Almost all news-related sites, weblogs and other online publishers syndicate their content as an RSS Feed to whoever wants it. iGoogle Pageflakes Netvibes Bloglines Google Alerts (alerts via email)
Scary, Scary PlacesFacebook, Twitter & YouTube
Boston Public Schools
1,500 fans
New York State School Boards
Don't Let This Happen to You...
1,087 fans
School Districts/Schools on Facebook• Durham, NC, Public Schools• Anchorage School District • Blue Valley Schools (Kansas)• Taylor County Schools (Florida)• Boston Public Schools• Ferndale, Mich., Public Schools• Richmond, Va., City Schools• Pendleton, Ore., Schools• Fort Worth, Tex., Independent SD • Plano, Tex., Independent SD• Portland, Ore., Public Schools
Akron Public SchoolsCrestview (Convoy) Local SchoolsOhio School Boards Association (OSBA)Ohio Hi-Point Career Center Tri-Rivers Career CenterElyria City SchoolsSouth-Western City SchoolsLorain County JVSMuskingum Valley ESCWarren County Career CenterPickaway-Ross Career and Technology CenterButler TechMiddletown City SchoolsMiami Valley Career-Technology Center
To Tweet or Not to TweetTwitter in Public Education
Photo credit: chriswallace.com
• Micro-blogging tool (140 characters) that can be used to post news, links, photos and more.
• A tool that can be used (along with others) to drive
traffic back to your district website
Edmodo -- Twitter for Educators
Janis Krums’ Tweet from his cell phone on Jan. 15, 2009 – aboard a ferry on the Hudson River in NYC
Who’s Using Twitter?
• Largest age group is 35-49, comprising almost 42 percent of the site’s audience. (Nielsen Online)
• Majority visit Twitter while at work, and 62
percent access it from work only. (Nielsen Online)
Twitter as a News Tool
Stissing Mountain HS,Pine Plains, NY
Companies & Organizations Tweeting
• Ford• Starbucks• Whole Foods• Southwest Air • Jet Blue• The Smithsonian• American Red Cross• Honda• NASA
Government Twittering• Centers for Disease Control• The White House• US. Dept. of Education• 10 Downing Street• U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security• U.S. Senate• U.S. House of Representatives• World Health Organization
Who Else is on YouTube?
• The Pope • Queen Elizabeth• Barack Obama • PBS • National Public Radio • The White House • Disney Parks • The Travel Channel• The New York Times
Alternatives to YouTube (in the classroom)
• TeacherTube (gated videos site for teachers
and students. Not blocked like YouTube)• Zamzar (allows you to download videos from
YouTube and use them in the classroom without having to go online)
Commenting
• Allow/encourage comments on Facebook (can see names & profile photos) Offensive comments can be removed
• Monitor Twitter "followers," avoid "following" individuals but companies/organizations OK
• Turn off comments on YouTube (they're anonymous)
• Moderate!
Social Media Policies/Rules of Engagement
• Just taking off. Do you use the tools first, then write the policy? Or write the policy first, then start using the tools?
• Three audiences for policies: public/parents, students, staff
• Don't have to re-invent the wheel. Update Acceptable Use Policies and Code of Conduct to include use of social media
Lee County (FL) Schools
Two parts:1. district/professional use2. personal use
New York State Internet Safety Page
Janell Hallgren, Erie 1 BOCES Policy [email protected] or 716-821-7084
Inspiration/Best Practices
news releases
social media links
youtube videos
contact info for the press
Email: [email protected] Facebook LinkedIn Blog: School Communications 2.0Twitter: www.twitter.com/nylady
Creating a Facebook Fan Page1. create a "personal page", either in your name or in a fictional name related to your district (founder, mascot, etc.)2. link account to an authentic email address and wait for FB to confirm.3. go to: facebook.com/pages/create.php4. When page on left comes up, choose Official Page 5. Choose Local Business6. In dropdown, choose Education7./ 7. 5. Give your page a name, click checkbox, then Create Official P
Community pages are less private than fan pages. Members can see each other's information. Better for PTAs, Foundations, causes, etc.
Set a Customized URL for Your Page
1. Once you have 25 fans, get a customized URL for your page by going to: www.facebook.com/username2. Any FB fan pages attached to your account will show up and you can choose a user name.
Building Your Page
1. Upload district logo
2. Insert mission statement or paragraph explaining that this is the official FB fan page of your district
3. Add address and phone in info box.
Choose tabs for your page
Facebook Insights
Once you've created a fan page, you'll see an Insights box in left hand margin. Click on "see all" to see more info about your page -- viewers, demographics, etc. You can also elect to receive Insights emails once a week.
Setting Up Twitter
1. Go to http://twitter.com 2. A window like the one at left will come up. 3. Click on "Join the Conversation." 4. A window like the one at bottom left will appear. 5. Choose a user name as close to your school name as possible.
6. Add your email address -- personal or business. 7. Type in the security code then click “I accept, Create my Account.”
Twitter will find people in your email address book and suggest that you follow them.
While this is cool, you might want to hold off following anyone until you've started posting to Twitter.
Twitter ToolsTweetBeep allows you to get email alerts about tweets on a topic you
choose.
Twitter Search
• Search by name, user ID, topic.
• Search by hashtag (#haiti)
• Search using the @ sign (@wpschools).
URL Shorteners
All free: http://bit.ly/ http://is.gd/ http://tinyurl.com/
Retweeting & Direct Messageshashtag -- put in front of any term or name. Great way to follow conversations
-- use RT to repeat a post made by someone else on Twitter. Identify the source by using @ in front of their Twitter ID.-- use D in front of someone's ID to send a direct message
A shortened URL. You can get apps that do this.
Removing Comments and Followers
On Twitter: Go to your followers, and click on the "gear" icon.The dropdown will give you options. Click on "unfollow" or "block"
On Facebook: Just hover your cursor over any comment and then click on the "x" to delete any comment.You can also delete your own posting on FB by hovering to the right of your comment and clicking on the "remove" button.
Social Media Aggregators
Tweetdeck & Hootsuite
Two Great ResourcesMashable's Twitter Guide Book
Mashable's Facebook Guide Book
A Few Other Handy Tools...
Issuu
Upload any print document to this site.
Once the doc loads, it will be visible on your bookshelf. You can "embed" the document anywhere on your website. Easy to read, no need to download PDFs.
Tools of the Trade
Slideshow Tools
Photobucket, Flickr, and several other photo sharing sites come with the ability to make slideshows. Just download a group of photos and copy the embed code they give you and place in news section of your website.Mac users: You can also do this on iMovie.
Golden Rules for Using Social Media
1.Respect the spirit of the Internet2.Listen, give kudos and be generous.3.Add value. How am I adding value to the
conversation or the community?4.Respond in a timely fashion.5.Do good things. Visit
Social Media for Social Good6.Be real. Authenticity is important.7.Collaborate. It's all about community.
--credit: Simona Boucek, Salem-Keizer (Ore.) Public Schools
Resources
Additional Web 2.0 tools, links and more videos
Web 2.0 & Social Media Resources
Online Document Sharing:Google DocsScribusWritewith.com (group writing/editing)Piconote -- online note-takingHelipad -- online document and notes toolWritewith -- cooperative document editing
Newsletter Creation & Tools:Letterpop (create newsletters for free. A bit clunky.)Issuu (free-post any print document, email, embed, etc.)
Photo Editing:Snipshot (edit your photos online/alternative to Photoshop)FixRedEyes -- fix red eye on photos online
Wikis:Wetpaint Wikis Wikispaces Blog Platforms:WordpressBloggerEdublogs
Organization:30 Boxes (online calendar)Remember the Milk (online to-do list and task management)Evernote (clipping favorite websites and saving online)
Writing:Save the Words -- Vocabulary builder (hilarious and fun)FreeDictionaryGramlee (site that checks your grammar--not free)
Twitter tools:Grouptweet – send private messages to specific groups using TwitterMytweetmap – shows where tweets are coming from on a mapTwitter Search – search for terms and people on TwitterTwitpic – Post photo links on TwitterTwitter 101/A Special Guide Make Use Of's The Complete Guide to Twitter
Miscellaneous Web 2.0:VisualCV – Create a visual resume onlineThe Common Craft Show (video how-tos) A-Z Glossary of Web 2.0 TermsSlideshareNSPRA Facebook PageKansas State University's Mediated Cultures WebsiteBig Think
eSchoolNews Educator Resource CentersGo 2 Web 2.0 – great resourceGood Search -- search engine that donates one penny to school districts for every search made by a user Related Presentations: Four Social Media Sites Schools Can't Ignore -- Lorrie JacksonDive Deep into Facebook -- Lorrie Jackson
Free Webinars: eSchoolNewsClassroom 2.0Burrelles Luce
