Social Media Communication for
Education Foundations
3
Social Mediarefers to the collection of technologies that captures communication and content across individuals, their friends, and their social networks. Examples are Facebook and Twitter.
These are also examples:
Which Technologies?
New technologies emerge constantly.
Don’t get overwhelmed by the choices.
Pick what you CAN do and be consistent.
Reasons Why You’re Not Using Social Media
Yet:• Lack of resources to manage social media
• Lack of knowledge about which tools to use
• Doubt whether it will work or not
• Confusion about how social media fits within fundraising and communication strategies.
Why Use Social Media?• Engage with stakeholders to build
relationships
• Enlarge your efforts quickly, easily, inexpensively
• Use a variety of tools to engage in different kinds of conversations with stakeholders
• Social media is a contact sport -- you have to actively give it a try to make it work
Foundation
School Donor
D
The Big 3
• Website
• Email / eNewsletter
Start Simple, but START!
WEBSITE
• Keep content current; keep calendars timely - don’t have dead content (ex: sign-up for events already past)
• Videos need written captions with searchable keywords - Google can’t search a video.
Other Resources:
Google for Nonprofits
Email / eNewsletter• Increase your reach --grow your
distribution by adding emails from PTO lists, Organization lists (marching band parents, athletic boosters, alumni association)
• Any organization which asks you for money should be willing to share their email distribution so their constituents can become your donors
• Send happy news to your stakeholders at least once a month - not ALWAYS an “ask”
• Create a publication schedule
Publication Schedule
The Plan to Get Content
• Grants Funded = Built-in Content + THE GRANT RECIPIENT WRITES IT FOR YOU!!
• Call out the teacher who received a grant; encourages more teachers/staff/parents to ask for money; highlights the need for more $; let them help you spread the word about the good works your foundation is doing and the need for more donations; show your donors what you did with their money
• “Grant Spotlight” - creates pride in your school district
• Focus on grant awarded by building -- increase awareness of teachers/activities by building
Fantasy• I’m going to get email addresses of
everyone in my district/town/county into my database
• My website will have 50,000 hits a month.
• I’m going to get on Facebook and update the status of my Foundation daily. My goal is 10,000 Facebook Friends.
• I’m going to Tweet three times a day.
Reality• You’re only one person (maybe two)
• You may be part-time or a volunteer
• You don’t even have time to write thank you notes to donors, let alone be on Facebook for your Foundation.
• Your website is controlled by the district, not you.
• You aren’t sure social media is for you after all.
Save your sanity• Create content that is easy to remix
and share through other channels
• You have to stimulate an emotional incentive for people – so they feel a sense of pride and joy when they forward your foundation’s story to their friends
• Make sure your content is shareable, and ASK for it to BE shared
• Facebook -- get on it; learn to do it from your smart phone; link your other communications as a start
• Set up your Facebook Fan Page
Get help from a Teen
• First time in history younger generation teaches the elders
• Creat a “Social Media Internship”
• Recruit help from a high school student --
• Looks good on their college applications
Other Resources
BTW, What is that squiggly-line square thing?
What is that squiggly-line square thing?
• QR Code = “Quick Response Code” created to store more data than a bar code - came from the auto industry
• Read them with your smartphone:Go to the app store for your device and search for a “QR Code reader”
• Generate them: http://www.the-qrcode-generator.com
Final Thoughts/Q&A
• Social Media complements & integrates into your overall strategy.
• You don’t have to be an “expert”
• Start small, experiment, be authentic, build on what works.
• Just do it!
