The traditional way of getting information is becoming outdated, and frankly, just isn’t fast enough for today’s parents. So how can we maintain open communication with school families?… Especially if word-of-mouth is still the most effective referral? Believe it or not – consumers, or parents in our case, rely heavily on online communication and recommendations!
Simply put – the answer is social media!
Social media is a key platform that provides you with a free, real-time connection to your current school families. Since it’s something they are doing every day anyway, it’s a quick and easy way to keep people in the know, and just as important, share the great things about your school to prospective school families. Why wouldn’t you meet your audience where they are? Make it easy for your school community.
Socially Sound was designed to empower schools who wish to fully engage and connect with their communities through unique communication strategies. We are experts in the educational marketing industry, and want you to share our knowledge with you!
Though Socially Sound focuses mostly on social media, we also discuss and debate parent communications and why it’s so important to maintain open communication with school families.
Below are the top 5 reasons to communicate with your school community via social media.
1. It keeps parents informed.
Your Facebook page can help you reach large groups of people frequently, with messages tailored to their needs and interests. You can communicate to your parents as a whole about upcoming events and classroom updates, or use it as a way to make quick announcements, such as school closings or “don’t forget your permission slips” type of messages.
2. It keeps you connected to your community.
Have one-on-one conversations with your followers! These people can like your page, read your posts and share them with friends, and check-in when they visit. It allows you to stay in the conversation.
3. It’s timely.
It’s fast! Like, really fast. With one click of a button, you can inform your school followers about urgent updates, school sport scores, last minute messages, or even live “event” coverage.
4. It provides exposure.
It is an extension of your school. There are about 1.3 billion people actively using Facebook. If you’re not on Facebook, you almost don’t exist (from a business standpoint). Did your school win a national award? Talk about it on Facebook. Was a student recognized for reading 1,000 books in a year? Post a photo of that kid with all 1,000 books on Facebook. Did the third graders in Ms. Smith’s class do a really cool experiment with turtles? Yup, you guessed it – Facebook is a great way to showcase all news – big and “small” – to current and prospective parents alike.
5. Parents use it.
Our annual parent surveys tell us parents prefer social media/Facebook as a way of receiving information. Parents are busy people and aren’t always able to make it to every event or see every note that comes home with their kids. But parents are on Facebook, and use it daily. Using social media and Facebook ensures that your school parents will receive continuous interaction, will always feel up to speed on communications, and will be empowered about being involved in their child’s school and education.
Be sure to check out Socially Sound on Facebook and over on the blog.
How is your school using social media to communicate with your parents and families? Tell us in the comments below.
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