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June 1, 2015
Vol. 57
No. 6

Knock Your Brand Out of the Ballpark

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Every Tuesday, like clockwork, Steven Anderson's daughter comes home from kindergarten with the "Tuesday Packet"—up to 30 pages of school announcements. Sometimes he has to remind himself to dig through his forgetful daughter's backpack to stay informed. Other times, teachers pin important papers to her shirt. It's an exhaustive cycle that could be avoided if the school used social media to share its news, says Anderson.
An added benefit of using social media—a space where parents already are—is that schools and districts have the opportunity to reinforce their brands. Although we often associate the term branding with the business world, branding is essentially "letting people know who you are."
In his session at the 2015 ASCD Annual Conference, Anderson highlighted the prevalence of social media usage in the United States: the latest data from the Pew Research Center shows that 75 percent of all adults who are online use social networking sites. Of that group, 71 percent are on Facebook.
At the very least, every school and district should have a Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram account, says Anderson, author of The Tech-Savvy Administrator (ASCD, 2014) and former director of instructional technology in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. "When those three things work in tandem, you're going to reach a great percentage of your school population." You'll also appease parents, like Anderson, who want access to news on demand.
When building your brand on social media, be prepared to consider the following questions.

What's Your Name?

When selecting a username, take your time and be "very deliberate" in your decision, Anderson advises. Register a single, short username on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, and any other social media channel you plan to use. One way to craft a username is to combine your school's initials and mascot. For example, Clinton Middle School in Missouri goes by "CMSCardinals" on social media.

What's Your Plan?

Lay out a careful plan before you go live. Will you use social media as a one-way tool to push out information to your community, or do you plan to interact with your followers? Will you follow or like anyone? Some schools and districts use social media to gather feedback from the community, while others use it as a "delivery platform" to share their stories.

What Will You Post and How Often?

Don't be afraid to "boast" about the good things happening in your school, says Anderson. In addition to posting news and events, tell your story through snapshots of student learning and creativity in action. Administrators in particular "carry around a very powerful device that allows them to communicate with the outside world, so snap a picture during a walkthrough and add a caption, or take a short video and post it to Instagram."
As a rule of thumb, Anderson suggests posting at least once a day. "I think something happens in a building or a district every day that's worth sharing."

Who's Taking the Lead?

Although all educators should have personal Twitter accounts for professional learning, school and district accounts serve a separate purpose, explains Anderson. Make social media branding a team effort: decide who is going to manage the accounts (the principal, assistant principal, and secretary, for example) and engage staff members who want to participate. But don't rule out students: "The biggest story you have in your school is your kids," says Anderson. Some schools, for instance, turn over access of their Twitter accounts to kids one day a week. Some even turn it into a competition: "The class that raises the most money this week [for a charity] gets to run the Twitter account."

How Are You Promoting Your Brand?

"Every piece of paper that goes home should include your social media accounts," Anderson continues. Make the accounts prominent on your school's letterhead and website, as well. Use every opportunity you have to sell your brand. Anderson recommends drafting a letter to your local media at the beginning of the year to explain how you're going to document your school or district's story on social media. "Inundate them with information and remind them when something awesome happens."

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SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYERS

How can schools and districts build better online brands? ASCD author Steven Anderson recommends taking cue from these social media exemplars.

Wake County Schools, Cary, NC

Sarah McKibben is the editor in chief of Educational Leadership magazine.

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