Designing Your Social Media Strategy

Social media strategies are not ‘one size fits all’. We’ll explore how to utilize popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Flickr to build a successful social media strategy as unique as your school.

Stephen Johnson, Windward School

Jesse Bardo, EdSocialMedia.com

Travis Warren, WhippleHill

✓ Inventory✓ Leadership✓ Coalition Building✓ Policy✓ Planning✓ Staffing✓ Tools✓ ROI

SOCIAL MEDIA APPROACH

W H I P P L E H I L L

Communication ModelsMass Media

CLAY SHIRKY

W H I P P L E H I L L

Communication ModelsSocial Media

CLAY SHIRKY

Can’t simply bolt social

media on to your web site.

W H I P P L E H I L L

Can’t simply bolt social

media on to your web site.

W H I P P L E H I L L

but first ..

W H I P P L E H I L L

INVENTORYASSESSING WHERE YOU’RE AT

worcester academy -site:worcesteracademy.org

craiglist

also, begin benchmarkingpeer schools.

know your numbers!

W H I P P L E H I L L

LEADERSHIPGETTING BUY IN FROM THE TOP

1. Sell the benefits.2. Contain the risk.3. Build coalitions.

Three Ways to Get Buy-In

The well meaning communications professional

Your Head of School’s response:

You: “We should live stream this Friday’s big basketball game, and, hey, we can do a chat so students, parents, the public, and alumni can talk on a screen during the game.”

Your Head of School’s response:

You: “We need to lift restrictions to Facebook in our library so that everyone on campus has access to the school’s Facebook page.”

Your Head of School’s response:

You: “Blogs will make our school more transparent. Transparency is good. That’s what I read in the Cluetrain Manifesto.”

Look familiar?

Understanding the psychology of your Head of School

The New Yorker, 2/1/2010

transparency vs. concealment

transparency:

2 a: free from pretense or deceit

transparency:

2 a: free from pretense or deceit b: easily detected

transparency:

2 a: free from pretense or deceit b: easily detected or seen through

transparency:

2 a: free from pretense or deceit b: easily detected or seen through c: readily understood

transparency:

2 a: free from pretense or deceit b: easily detected or seen through c: readily understood d: characterized by visibility or accessibility of information

transparency:

2 a: free from pretense or deceit b: easily detected or seen through c: readily understood d: characterized by visibility or accessibility of information especially concerning business practices

transparency:

from Merriam-Webster.com/dictionary

Some Fears: Survey Question 1

Some Fears: Survey Question 1

What is your Head of School’s biggest fear regarding your school?

Some Fears

• Losing privacy (students, parents, teachers, etc.)

Some Fears

• Losing privacy (students, parents, teachers, etc.)• Losing control of the School’s message or reputation

Some Fears

• Losing privacy (students, parents, teachers, etc.)• Losing control of the School’s message or reputation• Losing control of the School itself

Some Fears

• Use words such as engagement rather than transparency. Communication is a two-way street now. Be willing to have a conversation.

• Find the balance between transparency and concealment - respect both.

• Educate. You work in a school. Teach others how to use the tools.

Some Initial Solutions

Major Benefits of Social Media for Independent Schools

1. Social media tools help you to tell your school’s stories and help you share information with a large number of people.

2. Social media tools help build and engage your communities. You are judged on how you engage.

3. Social media tools help organize groups.

Specific Strategies - Benefits

1. Develop a Social Media Marketing Plan• These are tools that help you accomplish goals. Tie

Plan to strategic plan goals and school’s mission.• Present it to senior admins as part of your annual

departmental goals.

2. CONTAIN THE RISK

Contain the risk.

¨ Create Social Media Guidelines (or Policy) for faculty/staff. ¨ Protect your Head. Be your Head’s communications bodyguard.¨ Show measurable results.¨ Deputize certain students and teachers, and train them. ¨ Balance negative reviews with ones solicited from your

community members. ¨ Be less an evangelist and more a translator of social media

innovations.¨ For your admins, build a strong fence within which your school

can have social media freedom.

COALITION BUILDINGA LITTLE HELP FROM YOUR FRIENDS

Build coalitions.

¨ Partner with people who “get” it. ¨ Compromise. Take small victories and go from there.¨ Collaborate with like-minded directors at local schools.¨ Solicit advice through Twitter (and give back).¨ Create a Social Media Plan, but ask Head’s/admins’ advice on

part of it.¨ Play politics, negotiate, and leverage.¨ Educate.¨ Host an EdSocialMedia boot camp.

EXAMPLE: FOUNDER’S DAY 2010

EdSocialMedia Bootcamp

Founder’s Day Goes Interactive

Founder’s Day Project

Process

¤ Hosted the boot camp¤ Wrote a news story and posted on Windward Web site. Sent pushpages/ emails to

alums, parents inviting them to view and participate¤ Created a live Flickr feed on the home page – invited everyone to post photos, but we

chose them¤ Posted a Twitter widget on the home page to which certain students, teachers, coaches,

parents posted from all over the campus¤ Were able to archive all Flickr photos (100+) in an gallery that was evidence of a great

community day; we sent it to all parents and later shared it with prospectives¤ Head of School’s response was great – thought it really reflected the school and got

everyone involved!

Founder’s Day Project

1. Benefitted Everyone

¤ Shared engagement from students, parents, teachers, coaches, alumni – got everyone involved and created community event.

2. Contained the Risk

¤ Deputized certain students to tweet and post Twitpix.¤ Had control over posted Flickr photos.

3. Built Coalitions

¤ Teamed with visual arts teachers to post photos, newspaper to post tweets¤ Worked with students, parents, and others

Resources

¨www.windwardschool.org/communications

Stephen Johnson

Director of CommunicationsWindward School

Los Angelessjohnson@windwardschool.org

@ burma999

POLICYSTART SMALL, KEEP IT SIMPLE

Social Media Guidelines for Windward Faculty/Staff, 2009‐10 

The following guidelines lay out some general boundaries for Windward faculty and staff about using various social media 

tools while the school develops a more thorough policy over the next school year. 

Their purpose is to provide information about the misuse of noneducational networking sites rather than be a guide to all educa

tional networking. The idea is to encourage using social media tools such as wikis, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and forums in productive and fruitful ways and to 

avoid the potential harm and liability that can result from inappropriate or unethical use. 

CONTENT

Use common sense

Does your post put the effectiveness of your teaching at risk?

Do not discuss students or co-workers

Imagine students and parents visit your site

FRIENDS & FRIENDING

Don’t accept students as friends

Don’t initiate Facebook friendships with students

If you wish to use networking protocols as part of the educational process please work with technology staff

SECURITY

Visit your profiles security settings.

set to “only friends”

Information on social networking sites fall under mandatory reporting guidlines.

Contact your department chair with any questions or concerns.

PLANNINGSWEAT THE DETAILS, SCHEDULE CONTENT

Content is King:but it is easier to rule as a royal family

Creating content creates a library

Don’t try to be something you aren't

THE DO’S

Post 3-4 times a week

Show it Plan attackInvolve fans

The Don’tsDon’ts Spread too thin

Be repetitive

Say it

Be afraid

STAFFINGNEW ROLES, NEW TITLES

TOOLSWEB 2.0

/BRIANSOLIS

ROIMEASURING RESULTS

alumni futures

http://www.alumnifutures.com

Record It & Report It

•“What’s the ROI?” Possible answers…?– “What do you want it to be?”

•Set goals and measure progress toward them

– “What’s the ROI of our phone system?”•If ROI is low, are you going to quit Facebook?

– “Return on attention is more important”•Don’t increase mindshare; increase its value

•So who gets which information?

alumni futures

http://www.alumnifutures.com

The ROI Hierarchy: Metrics

Reputation Engagement

Visibility

AdvocacyWord of Mouth

Insights

Clicks, Fans, RTs, Views,

Members, Comments, Followers, Check Ins

Senior Leaders• Strategic Outcomes

Directors• Social Media Analytics

Program Staff• Engagement Data

Adapted from web-strategist.com

Strategy

Management

Execution

alumni futures

http://www.alumnifutures.com

Reporting Results

• Template for summarizing social media progress

• Adapt it to match the scale, maturity, scope of your program

• Simple steps to follow

Source: adaptivateblog.com

alumni futures

http://www.alumnifutures.com

Reporting Road Map (1)

• Start with the executive summary

• Assess & describe audiences

• Describe efforts tool by tool, separately– Quantitative– Qualitative (quotes,

comments)

Source: adaptivateblog.com

alumni futures

http://www.alumnifutures.com

Reporting Road Map (2)

• Highlight new tools and trends

• Revisit your overall communication strategy

• Summarize the report and draw conclusions

Source: adaptivateblog.com

0

750

1500

2250

3000

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Fans

0

10

20

30

40

13-17 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+

2004 1994 1984 1974 1973 -

DEMOGRAPHIC SWEET SPOT

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10

20

30

40

50

60

70

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90

100

P H

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comment = engagement.

0

13

25

38

50

Apr 20

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Jun 2

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Aug 20

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Oct 20

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Dec 20

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Feb

2009

April 2

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June

2009

Augus

t 200

9

Octobe

r 200

9

Decem

ber 2

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Source: Proctor Academy/Chuck’s Corner Commnets (April 2008 - December 2009)

$916,190top 221 donors

Box 1

+ $1,000

$916,190top 221 donors

Alumni

CurrentParents

AlumniParents

71

58

71

221 Donors

ALMOST

1/2

L E A D E R S H I P D O N O R S27

Total Giving to Proctor = 16.8 MILLIONAverage Retention Rate = 10 Years!

Box 1A

+ $10,000

1 Friend10 Alumni/ae

8 Current Parents

8 Current Parents

8 Past Parents

Who are these 27 donors?

12

All 27 have e-mail, but how about ?

6

All 27 have e-mail, but how about ?

26 Box 1 Parents

StudentsCurrent ParentsAlumni Faculty/StaffPeersUnknown

26 of 51 LeadershipParents

are on Twitter