Earlier this week, we took a look at what we termed the "positives" and the "challenges" to one local government social media initiative. We generated some good feedback from the readers of the post, and we were also contacted by the IT Manager for the City of Mansfield to chat some more about their foray into social media. A big virtual pat on the back to the IT Manager for listening! Wish more people would do that! We couldn't be happier that the City of Mansfield has taken on the task of engaging their community through social media. Our hope is that they're successful and that other municipalities develop their own presences.
The positives we mentioned are just that: positive. The challenges, however, could have extremely negative consequences for the future of the City of Mansfield's social media efforts. We want to offer three tips to the City of Mansfield for their social media campaign that could help them achieve the goals they set. For the sake of full disclosure. We've been contacted by, and will have a phone chat with, the IT Manager for the city, but are in no way affiliated with them.
- Give It Time - Unfortunately, social media isn't the "be all, end all" of communications. Unless you're Lebron James, Lady Gaga, or some other famous celebrity, you won't get 1,000 followers or fans in a short period of time. There's a saying that applies really well to social media. "Anything worth having is worth working for." Social media growth, and more importantly engagement by fans and followers, takes a great deal of time. It won't happen overnight. If there's one thing that plays into Mansfield's favor, it's emotion. Citizens of the city have an emotional attachment to what happens in their local government. Use that attachment, not in a bad way, to help you achieve your goals. Don't be afraid to throw a little gasoline on the fire every now and again just to make sure people are listening. But have the fire hose on standby to make sure the blaze doesn't get out of control!
- Bring It All Together - While we're not priviledged to the City of Mansfield's website traffic, our guess is that they have a fairly high volume. If you visit their website, you'll see that they have some really great video content in the form of a Video TourBook. One really easy thing for them to do is to provide links on EVERY SINGLE PAGE of their website to their Facebook Fan Page and Twitter account. Heck, why not create a separate landing page with widgets from Facebook and Twitter and invite people to "like" and follow. Ultimately, the city's website needs to be the central hub of all information, and the social media "outlets" are venues for driving more visitors to the website.
- Patience is A Virtue - We sort of touched on this in the first point, but it's so critically important that it's worth repeating. Success in social media requires a great level of patience. You're not always going to make the right moves or post the right content. Anyone who says they are a "guru" is crazy. Social media is still so young and still evolving. Don't be afraid to fall down, because you will. If your strategy is sound and your determination strong, you will succeed in social media.
What tips or ideas would you give to the City of Mansfield based on the newspaper article and their current efforts on Facebook and Twitter?
While many Ohio school districts are still avoiding social media, there are several that have embraced the revolution. Two districts cited by Shane Haggerty (follow Shane on Twitter), Marketing & Communications Director for Ohio Hi-Point Career Center, include Pickerington City Schools and their involvment in the "We are Pickerington" Facebook Fan Page. The other is the Cincinnati Public Schools' "I Am CPS" campaign. Shane also discusses why many Ohio school districts are not utilizing social media, plus he shares some advice for school districts considering the implementation of social media.
We hope you've enjoyed our 3 part interview series on school district social media. Visit our YouTube Channel to view all 3 videos.
If there's a topic you would like to learn more about related to social media, lead generation, email marketing or any other aspect of inbound marketing or communications, please contact us and we will work to bring that topic to our blog!
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Change is difficult, especially when dealing with creatures of habit. And those of us with experience in education know there are no greater creatures of habit than school administration and personnel. That being said, not all change is for the worse. Making the decision to bring new technology into your district or not, should be just like making any other decision, well researched and thought out. The big problem many school districts face is they are not sure how or why they should use social media and other interactive marketing outlets.
1) Identify Your Needs - School districts are as unique as the communities and students they serve. What works for similar sized districts might not be the best approach for yours. The first question you need to ask yourself is simple; how can we better communicate with all of our stakeholders? From parents, to businesses, to senior citizens, all of a district's audiences need to be taken into consideration when identifying communication needs within a district. Other questions to ask yourself during this step include: Are our current communication efforts effective? How do we know if those efforts are effective? What do our stakeholders expect from our district in regards to communication?
2) Do Some Research -This may sound like a simple step, but it is the step that will make or break the whole process. Over the past 4 years, countless social media outlets have emerged, everything from basic outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, to more niche outlets like Yelp and Foursquare. The important thing about this step is to try to and keep it simple. There is no reason for schools to use unique outlets just because they are the "flavor of the month." Stick to what you think would work best for your district. Our suggestion; a multi-faceted approach. Facebook allows districts to set up their page as an extension of their district website. If it is important enough to have on the district site, it is probably worthy of being mentioned on the district's Facebook page. However, that is simply our suggestion. Remember, your district is unique!
3) Make A Decision - Your needs are identified, and you know what you want. Maybe your district has decided to keep it simple and just launch a Facebook page, or maybe your district wants to try and bring in everything but the kitchen sink. Either way, you need to make a decision! In dealing with school administration, decisions often take long periods of time to turn into results. The earlier your district can make a decision to use new marketing outlets, the sooner that decision can result in action.
4) Hire The Right Help - If you have made it this far don't negate all your hard work with the wrong help. When trying to decide what kind of help to hire, look to the amount of technology and marketing outlets you have decided to utilize. If your district is keeping it simple, paying a district staff member to take on the extra work may be the right direction to go. However, if your district plans on undertaking a communication overhaul, you should probably look at hiring a person or persons from outside the district. There are many firms beginning to break into the education industry with specific concentration on communications and marketing. Like everything else in this process, your help is specific to your district and your fiscal situation.
5) Stick It Out - This change is not going to yield earth-shattering results over night, it will not save your district from a financial disaster and it will not improve test scores. It will, however, ensure improved communication within the district, open two-way communication between the district and its' shareholders and do it all in a very cost-effective manner.