Tweeting Your Brand, Engaging Your Friends

Social media has quickly become part of the fiber of our culture—a pervasive yet effective means of connecting with your community and spreading the word about your school to a broader audience.

In a recent Webinar hosted by edsocialmedia.com titled Social Media and Branding: Composing a Cohesive Tune, Rob Norman of Turnaround Marketing Communications asked, “How can I create branded content?” His answer was “Give the audience what they want.”

Rob says that your social media posts should center on the “intersection of what your school wants, what your audience wants, and your brand.”

Your constituents want information, they want to engage, they want to be a part of the conversation. You want them to take your brand and message, and become involved. According to Rob—and many other marketing experts—people will believe what your constituents say about your school more than they will believe what you say. You can use social media tools to your advantage if you use them strategically.

Twitter, which exploded the concept of “microblogging,” lets you tell a story in 140 characters or less. It gives the opportunity to “talk” to constituents who follow your account, giving them bits of info, links to the larger story, photos—and a chance to comment in more than one way. Followers can also “retweet” the comment to their followers, (place “RT” in front of the original tweet)—taking the message even further.

More and more private-independent schools are jumping on the Twitter bandwagon to actively communicate. Thanks to About.com, you can check out a list of private-independent schools that are currently using Twitter, along with their handles.

San Domenico School (@sandomenico) spread the word about integrating technology into their classrooms, tweeting “High School students learn psychology with iPads,” complete with a link to the iLearning section of the school’s Web site. C.K. Sokolov, the school’s Director of Technology, followed up with another tweeted link, this time about a middle school math class using iPads, also on the San Domenico iLearning page. Even better, this page includes ideas to post comments, to share the story in Facebook and Twitter, and to e-mail to the story to someone else. These are opportunities for the reader to take action—to get involved with the San Domenico story.

 

Rob also stresses you should brand your Twitter profile, the short descriptor that appears after your name and Twitter name. San Domenico describes in three words its mission—“Educate. Engage. Empower”—and then describes the type of school it is: “Boys and Girls Pre-K through Grade 8, Girls Grade 9-12.” This packs much more power than simply “San Domenico is a Boys and Girls Pre-K though Grade 8 …”

 

You should also give your constituents every opportunity to talk back. Instead of just posting a story on Facebook, such as “Drama Club to Stage Hamlet,” you could ask a question—“When was the last time you saw Hamlet live?,” for example. The more you engage, the more your audience is invested.

Social media tools are here to stay. Use them to your advantage by making sure your message is clearly communicated, while jump-starting conversations with your constituents.

You can view Rob Norman’s edSocialMedia Webinar here.

Additional ISM resources of interest:
Private School News, Vol. 9 No. 3, How to Know Which Social Networking Tool Fits You
The Best Practices of Social Media for Today’s Private Schools Recorded Webinar
Social Networking Policies Recorded Webinar

Additional ISM resources for Consortium Members
To The Point, Vol. 16 No. 4 Building Your School’s Social Media Campaign
To The Point, Vol. 15 No. 9, Social Media Made Simple: Take an If-Then Approach