The webinar began with a PowerPoint presentation by Ms. Jackson, the Director of Marketing & Communications at Lausanne, who spent much of the time discussing the use of Facebook as a communication tool between the school administration and the school community.

The following are just some of the highlights from the FinalSite event: 

Interact With Your Community Where They Already Interact

Ms. Jackson urged educators to start participating in social media because the parents, teachers and students are already using social media to interact with one another. In the past schools had to search out their communities, market to them, and pull them together. But with social media, this all happens for you… almost automatically!

The best part, as Ms. Jackson pointed out, is that by communicating with your parents, teachers, staff, students, and community members on social media websites, you are interacting with them in a place they are already active. They are comfortable communicating this way… and it is therefore one of the best ways to get your message out there. 

Join The Discussion: 

Another important note that Ms. Jackson made was that if you don’t get in the discussion and start making some noise about your school, some one else will eventually get in there and make a page or an online group for you. Parents, teachers and students want to interact online and talk about their schools, so if you set up a place in the social media world where these people can talk and interact, you are not only helping the community, but you are able to actually moderate and monitor the information being put out about your school. 

If you sit back and wait for too long, someone else will come in and create a group or page for your school, and when that happens, it will be too late for you to join and/or control the information. 

Which Social Media Sites Should You Focus On?

While there are a number of social media websites in existence, the core of Ms. Jackson’s presentation was on the use of Facebook and Twitter. She said that these two tools are the only ones you really need to have at this point in time. This may change in the future, but she seemed to think that these were the two that most schools should start with… and I happen to agree. 

Facebook Pages Versus Facebook Groups

While discussing Facebook, Ms. Jackson worked to point out the difference between Facebook Pages and Facebook Groups. She said that Facebook Pages were similar to Facebook Profiles and that a Facebook Page could be accessed by anyone – whether they are a Facebook user or not. Facebook Groups, on the otherhand, are a little more controlled and are better used when trying to connect a core group of people… or when used to better control the information that is posted to the Group. Ms. Jackson ended by saying that in the case of most schools, it is a Facebook Page that will end up benefiting them the most.

How To Manage The Social Media Workload

Finally, the webinar came to a close with the discussion of workload. Many schools realize that social media could be a great way to connect and inform their community, but they are fearful of the workload required. Ms. Jackson attempted to pop this ballon by explaining that the information you need to post on your Facebook and Twitter accounts is usually information you are posting somewhere else – whether it be on your website, in your parent newsletter, or something you are releasing to the press. She suggests that schools simply repackage the information they are putting out elsewhere and publish it online for those wanting to receive the information via social media streams.

She concluded by saying that there are a number of tools out there (although she didn’t say what there were (but don’t worry, I know what they are… and I’ll talk about these in a future article)) that allow you to connect and cross post to your Twitter and Facebook accounts at the same time. These tools save you a significant amount of time and energy and greatly reduce the effort required to manage various social media outlets.

Photo by Bradley P Johnson

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• Free Webinar On March 23 About Effective Social Media Techniques for Schools

The webinar, which is an obvious marketing pitch for finalsite’s web software products and services, is likely to feature a number of great tips and suggestions for integrating social media into your local school. 

The webinar is scheduled to run from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time and will feature Rob DiMartino, Director of Business Development at finalsite, and Richard Martin, Executive Director of Tennessee Association of Independent Schools. They’ll be talking with Lorrie Jackson, Director of Marketing & Communications at Lausanne Collegiate School and asking her about her school’s approach to social media.

To register for the event, simply head over to: http://tinyurl.com/c54pt7

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