building your pta’s electronic presence

BUILDING YOUR PTA’S

ELECTRONIC PRESENCE

Social Media

Video

Sharing

Photo Sharing

Blogs

Social Bookmarks

Podcasts

Website

Linda KearschnerPCCPTA | VP, Communications

Gary AlfredPCCPTA | Technology Chair

THE BASICS OF PTA COMMUNICATION

A CALL TO ACTION

PTA began in 1897 when two women from Washington, DC decided that the children of America needed a voiceand sent out a call toaction…

THE PTA MESSAGE

We are for every child, with one voice, non-partisan, non-sectarian, and non-commercial.

We educate, advocate, and lead.

Encourage involvement with the child in the home and in the school.

Inform every family in the school of the aims and accomplishments of the unit.

Encourage attendance at PTA meetings and parent involvement in PTA projects and activities.

Foster cooperation with the school in keeping parents informed about school functions, regulations and/or procedures on child-related issues.

Inform the community about PTA activities and school functions.

THE PURPOSE OF PTA COMMUNICATIONS

Identify the Target AudienceWho do you want to reach?

Choose the MediumBest way(s) to reach that audience?

Prepare the MessageVital to make the connection to PTA mission and purpose.

What does this do for kids?

PLANNING FOR COMMUNICATIONS

New territory – Tread carefully!Spell out:

• Goals• Objectives• Implementation process• Content including photo, video, contact info permissions

• Prohibited use or objectionable content • Administration authority

MEDIA POLICY

Ask Personally / Word of Mouth Telephone Direct Mail Bulletin Boards / Marquees Brochures Public or School Print Media/TV/Radio Newsletters / e-Newsletter Email Electronic surveys Website Social Media

WAYS TO DELIVER YOUR MESSAGE

WEB SITES

WHY HAVE A WEBSITE?

To save time & money on communicationTo provide up to date informationTo provide convenience to your membersTo encourage two-way communicationTo reach a larger audience

A majority of Americans seek information, socialization, and entertainment from the Internet.

There is no spoon!

REQUIREMENTS FOR A WEBSITE

1. A domain name2. A Web host3. Some useful

info

1. DOMAIN NAME

A domain name is a human-friendly address on the web. e.g. happytownhighpta.org

Get a domain name that makes sense for your org.

Domain names cost about $10 per year.Purchasing domain name hosting is not the

same as purchasing site hosting. You need both.

Gary recommends: enom.com, register.com and networksolutions.com

2. WEB HOST

A Website Host allows you to put your content on their computers for all the world to see.

Choose a host that provides simple, easy-to-use content management.

Hosting can be free to expensive. Go with free to very cheap.

Gary recommends: Weebly.com, Wix.com, and WordPress.com

3. USEFUL INFO

Advocacy informationLinks to partner

organizationsVolunteer opportunitiesHealth and Safety

issuesRecognize AchievementsFundraising

Mission and goals Board membersContact informationCurrent activities CalendarReflections ProgramSchool informationMembership

information

EMAIL

YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNTS

If you are willing to set it up and maintain it, providing organizational email addresses to your board members provides these benefits:

Continuity during transitionsEasily discoverable place for people to send

questions.Privacy for personal contacts

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

A domain nameSomeone to manage creating and

maintaining them.A naming convention, like

position@yourpta.org makes it easier for people to contact you and makes transitions go smoothly.

Gary recommends: Gmail (mail.google.com)

MEMBER EMAIL ADDRESSES

Manual data collectionConstant Contact or other

email marketing servicesRSS feed on your website“Cloud tools”, e.g. via GoogleNational PTA member

activation….Coming soon!

USE EMAIL FOR…

Newsletter deliveryImportant Interim communicationsMeeting or event remindersSurveys

Keep you contact database secure!Don’t share it with any partners or vendors or

well intentioned grandparents.Practice discretion even within your member-

base.Read at least once, the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003

before sending any email that is not directly related to PTA “business”.

PRIVACY & LEGAL

NEWSLETTERS

WHY CREATE A PTA NEWSLETTER?

Notify of upcoming events

Inform on current issues

Recognize achievement

Create a family camaraderie

Get others involved in PTA

WHAT ARE YOUR OPTIONS?

Print hard copies to distributeAdd a couple of PTA pages to school

newsletterGather email addresses on membership

formsDistribute electronic version

SOCIAL NETWORKS

CONNECT TO PTA THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKS

National PTAFlorida PTA PCCPTAOther local units

NATIONAL PTA & FACEBOOK PARTNERSHIP TO PROMOTE INTERNET SAFETY!

FACEBOOK SAFETY CENTER

Facebook has their own set of safety resources and best practices. Check it out!

https://www.facebook.com/safety

FLORIDA PTA ON FACEBOOK

PCCPTA ON FACEBOOK

Event postings (reminders, too)Daily status updates (these go on your fans’

walls)Link to National PTA, Florida PTA, and your

CouncilPost photos/video (with care)Mobile updatesInsightsAdd linksAnd much more…

OH, THE THINGS YOU CAN DO…

STEP BY STEP

MUST have at least one dedicated “administrator” who can view/edit your page almost daily

Educate your families on the importance of personal Facebook page privacy settings

When someone “likes” your page, they can click on other fans’ pages –control what others can view

ALL info on personal Facebook pages with privacy settings not set to “friends only” are available to virtually ANYONE

FACEBOOK SECURITY

PERSONAL PAGE SETTINGS

EVENT POSTING

BE EFFICIENT & FRUGAL

1. Post essential content first!2. Use the tools YOU find easy to use.3. Establish and adhere to conventions.4. Post content in batches.5. Re-use content.

HOW TO SAVE TIME…

1. Register your domain name for multiple years.

2. Use free, or cheap, or free services 3. Use pay-services judiciously.

HOW TO SAVE MONEY

1. Make your communication sparkle.2. Make it personal. Have fun.3. Make it a conversation, not a speech.4. Document as much as you can.5. Plan ahead.6. Share the work.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

IDEAS & HELP

DISCOVER, CREATE AND SHARE

If you discover a really useful tool or some great resource; if you create some inspired content, a wonderful work of art or come up with a great idea..

Share it! Send it to us so we can brag on you and offer it up to others.

WIN AWARDS

Official PCCPTA AwardsNewsletter / e-Newsletter AwardWebsite Award

Unofficial AwardsOpen Source Award – share resources and ideas

with us all.

Check out http://pccpta.org/online-presence.html for resources and links that will help you build and maintain your online presence.

Google for Non-Profits offers free organization email, web sites, file/document sharing, phone numbers and more to non-profits.

Grassroots.org seem to also provide a decent set of features for free to non-profits. If anyone gives them a try please share your experiences.

National PTA’s marketing resources

RESOURCES

Linda Kearschner – Vice President, Communications

communication@pccpta.org727.669.7979

Gary Alfred – Technology Chairadmin@pccpta.org

WE ARE HERE TO HELP

Linda Kearschner – Vice President, Communications

communication@pccpta.org727.669.7979

Gary Alfred – Technology Chairadmin@pccpta.org

NO SERIOUSLY,WE ARE HERE TO HELP!