| |
|
|
|
Content, content everywhere, but not a drop to drink!
Schools today have more ways than ever before to communicate online – and plenty to communicate about – however, the question persists amongst communications directors; how do I gather the content that keeps all the moving parts of our online presence fresh? How do I maintain a consistent voice for the school and how much time do I need to maintain various Twitter, Flickr, Facebook and YouTube channels?
 When schools get together, these are some of the answers that come through:
- Make a clear decision that website content is more effective with attention grabbing titles, and a more brief writing style. Online news should make it clear within the first sentence of the caption if it is of interest to a particular parent or student. Save the longer articles for a designated quarterly ‘magazine’ – even an online version, but don’t clog up your news with lengthy tomes – and include pictures that tell the story.
- Have a Web 2.0 “strategy:” once your school is clear about how and why you want to use Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and Facebook, write down a share a strategy (as well as your usernames and logins!) for posting content. Some people are unaware that comments can be turned off within these applications so that less policing needs to happen. If your website can literally “feed” Flickr galleries, a Twitter feed or YouTube videos onto your pages, then you have achieved a kind of youthful “branding” while sharing photos from the school play, field trips and other projects that show student experience and achievement. A blog from the Head of School can also be a refreshing departure from official “school news.”
- Speaking of student work, a school website becomes more interesting when some articles and content simply showcase student work. More than a slogan or a mission statement, these draw interest from prospective and current families alike. Here the strategy for getting fresh content needs to start a year in advance. Attend department meetings and ask about major projects on the calendar – make sure you are notified when classes are doing something cool. Equip every teacher with camera or flip video and encourage them to capture their class in action. It is also important to volunteer to be the person to take the photos or video as teachers are often busy getting the class in gear!
- Don’t some parents show up to events with a host of equipment? Enlist volunteers – even allow them to fulfill volunteer hours - by taking photos and capturing fun quotes and comments during events or field trips. People will gather around the things that interest them – whether it be athletics, arts, people or ideas and these should be the topics open to comments and social network sharing.
And finally, don’t overdo it, people don’t pay attention to more than 3-4 items at a time and spend an average of 30 seconds on any web page. We are learning to tell our school stories in a more visual way – and it does take more time to get the photos and video than write the copy, but it will be well worth it as your school site naturally becomes a dynamic and visually interesting place to visit – and drink it all in! |
|
|
Chris Jenkins
|
|
Technology Coordinator
We are working on adding social media to our schools marketing plan in 2010-11. Do you think this is something that we should take a lot of time planning for or should we move ahead without a well-thought plan and make adjustments on the fly?
|
|
| |
|
Agnes Stawicki
|
|
Managing Editor Special Projects, Our Kids Media
Chris - Register for the Our Kids Media Webinar on April 6, 2010. We will be talking about how to get involved and roll out a plan for twitter, facebook, youtube and more.
Click Here to Register |
|
| |
|
Laura van Eyck
|
|
Marketing, Silverpoint.net
Many schools we work with are comfortable starting with a twitter feed and a facebook page. YouTube content works if you already are in the habit of capturing video. Most say it is best to get these going, however modestly, and then watch it grow. Whoever is assigned to be monitoring and posting to these spaces will spend some extra time on it, but once it is up and running they may find it easier and more casual than they thought!
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Published in:
Website
2009
|
|
Laura is a Marketing Specialist for Silverpoint, Inc., a web design company focusing on solutions for schools.
Other articles by Laura van Eyck
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
more articles from this issue:
Proper Use of Title Tags on Your Website
A key challenge facing schools is how to best empower teachers to take advantage of the new technology available in their classrooms
(sponsored feature)
The Amazon eReader as an Educational Tool
A look at Web 2.0 and social learning
Does the direct human link to the Great War slip away with the passing of John Babcock, Canada's last veteran of the First World War?
Managing risk in education is a large and important undertaking because of several key factors.
Our panel of experts weighs in on how to adapt curricula to new technology integration
Blogs, RSS feeds, Twitter, Skype? Are these meant for classroom use or school communications?
Let us know what stories or topics you would like to read about
5 Questions for 3 Leaders in Technology in Education in Canada
|
|
|
forward this page to a friend
comments
Share!