Since the beginning of August, I've been participating in a Twitter chat with other public relations and marketing professionals. Twitter chats aren't a new phenomenon in the social media-sphere. In fact, there are 2 other Twitter chats that I know of happening on Tuesday nights at 8pm.
Even though this concept isn't new, it is for the target audience of this particular chat. School PR Chat was started by Shane Haggerty (follow Shane on Twitter). Shane is the Marketing & Communications Director of Ohio Hi-Point Career Center and he's started a new venture called Social Learning Lab. I encourage you to check out Hi-Point's website and Social Learning Labs.
One of the goals of School PR Chat is to bring together school district public relations and marketing professionals to share insights about a very challenging area of communications and marketing. Since its inception in early August, the venture has struggled to get a high level of participation. One of the biggest reasons is that school PR professionals are still slow to embrace Twitter as a viable channel for communications.
So, what's the point of this post? First, I wanted to bring attention to a chat that, as I write this, needs more participants. School district public relations professionals need to work together to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape of the internet and social media. School PR Chat can help connect school PR pros with one another
The other reason is to encourage you to think about starting a Twitter chat for your area of expertise. Use Twitter as a way to network with other professionals in your field or with current and prospective clients. Use the social media channel to show your knowledge or to learn more to expand your knowledge. Don't be scared of Twitter. You never know when it might just lead to your next client!
If you're a school district public relations professional, I'd like to invite you to the next School PR Chat. Just search #schoolprchat at twitter.com!
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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When deciding to implement social media there are always challenges you'll have to overcome, regardless of the type of organization. While many for-profit businesses don't concern themselves with legal issues, school districts have strict laws they must follow when dealing with students. This challenge alone can be extremely daunting for any school district to overcome when evaluating social media for their communications.
On top of legal issues, school districts also have a rather intricate hierarchy. School boards, superintendents, treasurers, principals, assitant principals, teachers. There are many people that get involved in the decision-making processes that take place in public education. This dynamic can also lead to many people within a district doubting social media's effectiveness for reaching a specific population.
Shane Haggerty (follow Shane on Twitter), Marketing & Communications Director for Ohio Hi-Point Career Center, discusses the challenges he faced when initially implementing social media in his district, specifically how he overcame those challenges, and the response he's received from the social media "nay-sayers".
What challenges do you feel exist for school districts and social media? Are there some that Shane didn't address? We would like to hear your comments and questions. If we get enough, we'll take these questions to Shane and have him address them specifically in another interview!
The final part in our 3 part series will explore how other Ohio school districts are implementing social media, Shane's views on why more districts aren't using social media, and his advice for districts struggling to get started!
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Social media has witnessed a huge increase in popularity as the preferred channel of communications for many individuals, companies and organizations. Proof of this can be seen in the unprecedented growth in the number of users of social media. Facebook is quickly approaching 500 million users, and Twitter is growing just as rapidly (although the company doesn't release similar information as Facebook) based on unique site visitors.
However, one "industry" that still struggles to embrace this new form of communication is public education. School districts across the United States are realizing that social media can be a viable channel for communication with their stakeholders. But, school district social media usage continues to lag behind other "industries" for many reasons, least of which is legal ramifications.
One Ohio school district, Ohio Hi-Point Career Center, has not only embraced social media, but they've also blazed a trail for other school districts. Their award-winning "Hi-Point Journeys" campaign is a great example of how school districts can implement social media by utilizing one of their greatest assets; students.
Shane Haggerty (follow Shane on Twitter), Ohio Hi-Point's Marketing & Communications Director, sat down with Rock Solid Media to provide a behind-the-scenes look at their campaign. This is the first in a three-part series that gives you a deeper understanding of how Ohio Hi-Point is using social media to reach its current students, prospective students, parents and community.
Part 2 will explore the challenges Shane faced in utilizing social media for Ohio Hi-Point and how he overcame those challenges.
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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.