using social media to make public relations a daily habit dr. gerald g. huesken, superintendent adam...
TRANSCRIPT
Using Social Media
TO MAKE PUBLIC RELATIONS A DAILY
HABIT
Dr. Gerald G. Huesken, SuperintendentAdam M. Aurand, PR SpecialistIdette B. Groff, Board Member
Fast Facts: Conestoga Valley
• District Area: 56 square miles• District Enrollment: 4,368• Total Employees: 590 (324 Teachers)• Average Class Size (K-2): 19• Average Class Size (3-12): 21• Per Pupil Expenditure: $14,185• State Subsidy Percentage: 17.3%
CV Schools
Elementary (K-6)• Brownstown ES: 473• Fritz ES: 632• Leola ES: 464• Smoketown ES: 723
• CVMS (Gr 7-8): 682
• CVHS (Gr 9-12): 1,393
CV Students
• CLASS OF 2014– 326 Graduates– 2 National Merit
Scholars– 8 AP Scholars
with Distinction– 65.5% pursuing
Postsecondary Education
CV Students
• Proficiency Rates– Math: 85%– Reading: 77%
• 40+ Native Languages
• 20:1 Student-to-Teacher Ratio
• 4:3 Student-to-Computer Ratio
What Is Social Media?
A Definition
• SOCIAL MEDIA– Forms of electronic communication (as
websites for networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages and other content (as videos)
~Merriam-Webster.com
A Meaning
“SOCIAL MEDIA facilitatesTWO-WAY
communication.”~How to Market
Your School,Johanna Lockhart
Still true …
• “Content is King”– title of article by Bill Gates (1996)
• “The medium is the message.” –Marshall McLuhan, “Understanding
Media: Extensions of Man” (1964)
In general, how would you rateConestoga Valley School District’s
use of social media?
Which do you value moreabout social media?
Your District WebsiteWHERE YOUR CONTENT LIVES
A “Visitor’s Center”
• About your district– schools, academic &
extracurricular programs
• Library– key web resources,
research tools
• News: in-depth• Job Opportunities• Calendar• Contact Information
Where are visitors going?
Where are they coming from?
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Mobile Visitors
201220132014
Conestoga Valley App
• Mobile platform for those visitors– All “news feeds” in
one place– Push notifications
• Highly responsive web design is adequate
Social Media ToolsSHARING YOUR CONTENT
• NEWS FEED– Photos!– Alerts– Links
• CV Focus• Many links to new
and/or important content on website
• 1.2 posts/day(Nonprofit Benchmarks Survey)
Content• Prioritize PHOTOS
– Best platform to share event photos!
• Key news stories• Blog posts• Weather
announcements• Audience: Parents
Medium• Encourage ‘Likes,’
comments and shares!• Reply to users
comments• Ask readers to engage
in questions asked elsewhere (e.g. blog)
• Pictures!• AIDA: Attention,
Interest, Desire, Action!
• OUR DATA– Followers per 1,000 email subscribers• 536 vs. 199
– Posts /day• 1.1 vs. 1.2
– Total reach avg. Trend: +6.2% per week– Engagement Trend: +18.3% per week
(Aug – Sept 2014)
• NEWS FEED– Photos!– Alerts– Links
• Wider Focus• Links to our site, to
other sites, opinions, ideas, events, etc.
• 5.3 posts/day(Nonprofit Benchmarks Survey)
Content• Tweet what you are
already doing• Superintendent
promises plus one daily
• Tweet from events• Share stories, data
that support blog perspectives
• Audience: Mixed
Medium• Social media platform
where news breaks• Reach comes from:
– Retweets– Favorites
• Suggestions:– Images– Facts & figures– Hashtags– Calls to action
• OUR DATA– Posts /day• 2.8 vs. 5.3
– Followers per 1,000 email subscribers• 190 vs. 110
22-Apr 29-Apr 6-May 13-May 20-May 27-May 3-Jun 10-Jun 17-Jun summer 2-Sep 9-Sep 16-Sep 23-Sep 30-Sep0
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Total Viewsas % of follwers
A Note About Automation
“Buckskin Briefs” Blog
• EDITORIAL PAGE– “District”
Perspective (superintendent)
• Broad Focus– Local Issues– State Issues
Superintendent’s Blog
Content• One post/week
(minimum)• PR specialist
maintains “blog file”• PR specialist
ghostwrites posts• Superintendent writes• Guest posts from
administrators, board members, teachers
Medium• Write conversationally
No ED jargon!• Encourage comments• Link to outside articles
for citation/support• Link back to previous
posts to show consistent narrative
Buckskin Blast
• WEEKLY Summary of content
• Links to Facebook• Weekly Blog link• “Note from”• Most stories drive
to web for more info
Buckskin Blast
• OUR DATA– Email list: 3,529 (all parents – opt out)– Open Rate: 37% vs. 13%– Click Rate: 11% vs. 1.8%– Unsubscribe Rate: 0.2% vs. 0.18%– Sponsorship Inventory• $5,000/yr for three years
To which of Conestoga Valley’ssocial media platforms do you
subscribe or follow?(Check all that apply.)
Past and Future
Podcasts• Different audience• Monthly goal
• One more deadline• Track hits – less than
blog• Focus on what works
LinkedIn• Professional network• Job Postings
• Fee-based services• Employees need to
re-associate• Enough PD content?
Past and Future
YouTube• VIDEO most shared
content online– CV’s most viral post
• Annual Holiday Greeting
• Labor & equipment• Who creates?
Pinterest/Instagram• PHOTO platforms• Instagram is
smartphone only
• Manage photo refusals
Other Sources of Content
• Repurpose Publications– Buckskin News vs. Infographic
Supt/PR Specialist Relationship
• PR Specialist should report to Superintendent
• Offices in the same building• Weekly meetings• Both need strong writing/communications
skills• Comfort level to collaborate, critique work,
or to fill in when necessary• Have a back-up plan for PR Specialist when
out of office
Making it a Regular Habit
Blogs• Regular goal (weekly)• Sharing ideas
regularly• Keep a file• Guest bloggers• Blog series with
multiple bloggers• Ghost writer• Drawing readers back
to district website
Tweets• Establish daily goal• Superintendent
promises plus one• Link an article, photo,
website link, etc.• Subscribe news feeds• Tweet walking around• Highlight good news• Not about me!
Other Tips
• Follow similar feeds (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) to gain new ideas
• View tweets as a real-time news feed (scores, ongoing updates, etc.)
• Set realistic goals• Practice being succinct• Make connections/expand your base:
remember to tag, retweet, and hashtag!
Other Tips
• Recycle stories (make it easy on yourself): – A good tweet can grow into a good blog– A good blog can be a good newsletter
story
• TRACK YOUR RESULTS
