*UPDATE – SEPT 2014 * – Facebook has made many changes, so the actual steps below are likely outdated. HOWEVER, please go down to “Now here are 5 cool things you can do with your new super identity” – those still apply when you act as your page (not as your personal profile).
———————–
One often overlooked feature of Facebook Page administrators is the ability that Facebook gives you to log in, not as you personally, but as the school. It’s very simple to do:
First, login to Facebook as you normally do using your personal email and password:
Next, you will want to click on your school’s official Facebook Page. You will know you are on the right page if you see the “Edit Page” button in the upper right corner (see checkmark in the image below). Then notice the red circle on the right side where it says, “Use Facebook as . . .” (with the text highlighted in yellow + your official organization’s Facebook Page title). Click on the “Use Facebook as . . .”
Now once you click “Use Facebook as . . . (your page) . . .”, you will likely see very little difference on the surface. But if you look deeper, you’ll see different “Notifications” and “Likes” up in the upper left near the Facebook logo.
Now here are 5 cool things you can do with your new super identity: (more…)
Now, a new video is popping up all over education-related blogs and anyone who loves creative activity in the classroom. I know the intent was not likely to drive almost a half-million hits (at the time of this writing), but it was more likely to keep the students awake in class! Seriously, I applaud the teacher for utilizing a creativity in his classroom.
I love user-generated content – especially those done by students of your school (of course, this STAFF-produced video from a school in Texas is pretty cool, too!) A few reasons why this is such high-quality content:
“Word of mouse” (borrowed term based on how easily such content is shared online) is widely popular because you get raw, non-slick productions that usually score big on the “authenticity” scale. Friends share friend’s stuff (as do parents and grandparents!)
Whether it is a video, a blog post or an online review for your school, the passion of the student comes through loud and clear to your audience ensuring a strong connection. Even the most well-written brochure often falls flat because the reader assumes it is typical promotional propaganda which is often ignored.
The idea for this post stems from a recent article by Brendan Schneider, Director of Admission & Financial Aid at Sewickley Academy in Pennsylvania. Brendan gave a student this assignment with a simple guidelines and the result is pretty phenomenal. Read Brendan’s post and watch the results for yourself!
PS – Here’s a student-created video from a local student at a private Christian school in Colleyville, Texas – pretty impressive! This was not intended as “school marketing” content, but the word-of-mouth buzz happens because they school gets to showcase the creative talent of one of their students. I found it posted on the school’s Facebook page.
Most of the articles on this site steer you toward ideas on marketing your school (you know, for the ultimate purpose of growing your family base and improving retention rates) – but looking at a few recent blog posts that I came across on Twitter, this idea of “revenue-generation-in-schools” intrigued me.
How far will your school in capturing ad revenue? Asking outsiders to pay for advertising space is not a new thing in schools, but with schools (public and private) tightening belts, some schools are exploring some new areas of ad revenue generation.
Follow us on Twitter – we do not just link our FB posts to Twitter, but we are churning out a ton of content on this site each week – so if you are hungry for ideas and resources from this site and mostly from other education/marketing folks, please follow @schoolmktg on Twitter.
Download Free Reports – Currently there are 2 complimentary ebooks for your consumption – scroll down to the very bottom of this homepage and you’ll see two reports that are free to download (click each button).
Private Schools on Facebook – you’ll see a navigation menu option of “Private Schools on Facebook” – we feature (for free) private schools who have a Facebook Page. If you do not see your school listed, please go to the Contact form and let us know and we’ll put it up. Even if you don’t have the time to scroll through all of them, feel free to shoot us a message and we’ll put it up if it’s not already there. Inbound links to your site are always good and we like to showcase what other schools are doing on their Facebook Page so you can get ideas!
Resources – there are articles all over this site – articles we have bookmarked on StumbleUpon or Delicious, as well we articles you can see on the Twitter feed in the right sidebar. We do all the research so you don’t have to!
*FREE CONSULT* – if you are a school administrator or a part of your private school’s marketing committee, please take advantage of our complimentary 30-minute phone consultation (if you want to meet for lunch if you are in the DFW area, glad to do it as long as you pick up the tab!)
More and more private schools are exploring how to integrate technology into their classroom. They are exploring ways to use online tools, internet games and social media to expand ideas and create innovative solutions. Whether it’s a tablet program, MacBooks, or iPads in the classroom, administrators are seeing this as a marketing weapon.
IT’S UNIQUE – while you may not be the only school in the state with a MacBook for every high school student, you may be the only one within 20 miles of you. When parents are investigating your school based on its technological readiness, this will stand out.
PREPAREDNESS – parents want their kids to be on the cutting edge of 3D virtual reality, worldwide Skype chat, and using the web to collaborate with students in schools in other countries to solve some of our world’s most challenging problems. The 60×60 classroom and the 60 acre campus has to grow and include the fast-paced technological world.
BUZZ – when students get to use social networking sites for good, to create change, to collaborate or to innovate, this is something that is often not said of the public schools in your area (perhaps their storyline is about budget cutting, bullying or low test scores). The local (and beyond) press loves stores of educational initiatives in schools – because “kids doing good” makes great feature stories!
WORD-OF-MOUTH – students and parents love to talk about their school’s MacBook program or their iPad initiative – so this makes for great W-O-M candy out on the social networks.
Here’s a great video of one school in Iowa who is capturing the enthusiasm of their students and the school’s technological initiatives.
