The days of everyone getting their information from one newspaper is over. Newspapers continue to disappear and most of those that are left don’t readily print school-related information anymore, like weekly lunch menus, sports scores, the dates and times of the Spring musical, etc. A growing number of people get their community information ONLY from social media. If your government agency, school or nonprofit isn’t posting to social media, you are leaving out that growing number of people.
Here’s the good news: you aren’t creating any new text to use social media. Rather, you are using information you already have prepared for other communications. If it’s public information, it needs to be on your mail social media accounts. Often, that means just cutting and pasting information from another platform.
I’ve added two new resources on my web site, one to help local governments to use social media, like Facebook, Twitter, etc., one to help schools to use social media:
Tips for small cities, towns and counties on using social media
To not be using social media to deliver information and to engage means you are denying critical information to much of your community and promoting an image of secrecy and lack of transparency. In fact, the lack of use of social media can be seen as your city council or county government trying to hide something, and even lead to rumors that are much harder to dispel than they would have been to prevent. This advice talks not only about exactly what your school should be posting to social media, but also how to handle tough questions and criticism.
Tips for schools on using social media
No excuses: your school needs to be using social media. Whether you are just K – 6 or all the way K – 12 or anything in between, your school MUST be using social media. To not be using it means you are denying critical information away from parents and the community.
Also see:
- Your initiative should exploit UN days
- 14 (was 13) things you do to annoy me on social media
- Daily, Mandatory, Minimal Tasks for Nonprofits on Facebook & Twitter
- Nonprofits & NGOs: you MUST give people a way to donate online
- The importance of Twitter lists
- The awesome power of tweet tags
- Why I won’t follow you on Twitter
- The dark side of the Internet for mission-based organizations
- Measuring social media success? You’re probably doing it wrong.
- Evaluating Online Activities: Online Action Should Create & Support Offline Action
- Volunteers can help you reach more people on Facebook
- How to handle online criticism of your organization.
- Snapchat’s Potential Power for Social Good – with REAL examples.
- Stages of Maturity in Nonprofit Orgs Using Online Services.
- How Not-for-Profit and Public Sector Agencies REALLY Use Online Technologies
- Could a Twitter exchange lead to change in a Kentucky nonprofit law?
- Police: use social media to invite community participation, show compassion
- How do international NGOs use Twitter?
- What nonprofit & government agencies “get” FaceBook?
- Subscribe to these Twitter lists – or recommend additions
- Addressing criticism, misinformation & hate speech online
- Social media: cutting both ways since the 1990s
- Basic Press Outreach for Mission-Based Organizations