Having a social media presence can help school districts communicate important information and get feedback from the community.

by Lauren Bayliss

Being active on social media helps school districts maintain their image locally (and at the state and national levels, too). But after the COVID-19 pandemic-related school closures last year, education administrators have an even greater appreciation of how social media can serve as a lifeline when in-person communication isn’t an option.

Social media has quickly become a must-have communication tool for districts to share important messaging and information to their communities. We’ve discovered some innovative ways districts are leveraging their social media accounts to make school-to-home communications better than ever.

7 Ways To Get More Out of Your District’s Social Media

1. Partner with parent volunteers to serve as community ambassadors to keep an eye on conversations taking place on district’s your social pages. Tempers tend to run hot on social media, and having someone in place who can put out the fires before they get out of control is always a good idea. Flag “hot topic” keywords on your Facebook page so that your admins are alerted when someone uses them in a comment on your page.
2. Creating graphics for social media takes time and skills that most district leaders don’t have. Download an app like Canva to quickly and easily make professional-looking visual content that can be used in newsletters, on social, and more.
3. Reach your students on their most used social platforms. Snapchat and Instagram are most popular for middle and high schoolers and serve as an ideal communication tool when administrators are looking for immediate feedback from students.
4. Say goodbye to wasting hours updating and printing out classroom supply lists and post your lists on TeacherLists.com instead. Once uploaded, you can immediately share to your school’s Facebook page, website, and email lists.
5. Create a personal Twitter account and use it to see how other educational leaders connect with their communities. You can get started by checking out some of our favorite social media accounts by school administrators. Following people you admire and scrolling through your feed for two minutes each morning can be a wonderful tool for inspiration. (Check out some of our favorite
6. Livestream board meetings on social media. This not only allows the community to see what is happening, but also provides an avenue for the public to share their thoughts, questions, and concerns.
7. Capitalize on social media’s power to reach English Language Learner (ELL) populations and highlight initiatives within your district’s diversity and inclusion committees.

Tips for Maximizing Your Social Media Presence

• Don’t post and forget. Make sure to check your posts for any comments or questions left by followers, and answer them in a timely manner. Doing so builds your reputation as being a reliable source. 
• Look at who your followers are on each platform and tailor all messaging to the appropriate audience.
• If posting on multiple social media platforms seems overwhelming, choose just one as your primary account (we suggest Facebook or Twitter). Once you’ve got the hang of it, you can look into adding more social media platforms.  
• Maximize your reach by posting a mix of engaging content like questions and polls, as well as videos and critical information.