Facebook for Schools: 5 Strategies for Success

04/11/2023 1

T

HOW AND WHY YOUR SCHOOL SHOULD BE USING FACEBOOK

www.Blackbaud.com/k12

04/11/2023 2

Frank BarryInternet Strategy, Blackbaud

@franswaa

YOUR HOST FOR TODAY

#BBSOCIAL

04/11/2023 3

WHY FACEBOOK?Think of your Facebook page as an extension of your website. A lot of the same principals apply.

04/11/2023 4

Facebook:

• 901M mo. active users• 526M daily active users• 398M use Facebook 6 of

7 days a week

Nonprofits:

• 98% on Facebook• Avg. Com. size of 8k+• 30% Growth YoY

WHY FACEBOOK?

Grab Report > http://bit.ly/npsocial

04/11/2023 5

SET UP YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE FOR SUCCESSThink of your Facebook page as an extension of your website. A lot of the same principals apply.

04/11/2023 6

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR COVER PHOTOYour Facebook cover photo is prime real estate. Think about it like you would that area on your main website. Use that area to communicate your brand, culture, values and mission in a compelling way. You’ve got 2 seconds to grab a the attention your looking for.

04/11/2023 7

04/11/2023 8

04/11/2023 9

04/11/2023 10

04/11/2023 11

04/11/2023 12

04/11/2023 13

04/11/2023 14

04/11/2023 15

04/11/2023 16

• Make sure the photo is high quality and sized correctly.

- Cover photo: 851 x 315- Profile picture: 180 x 180

• Make sure the photo communicates your brand, culture, mission, values and history.

- Show off your campus- Communicate your culture- Highlight what you’re known for- Include your students- Show off landmarks- Give parents an idea of the community they’ll be joining

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR COVER PHOTO

04/11/2023 17

UPDATE YOUR ‘ABOUT’ PAGE One of the first things a new visitor will do on your page is check out your profile. Parents are your key audience here. Make sure you take full advantage of this area.

04/11/2023 18

04/11/2023 19

04/11/2023 20

04/11/2023 21

04/11/2023 22

• Tell your story (Don’t be too wordy, but get enough of the point across so new visitors understand what you do)

• Add your mission statement

• Include links to your website and other social networks

• Make sure to include all your contact info (email, phone, etc)

• Include calls-to-action just like you might on your website

• Add milestones

• Enter your address w/ map

UPDATE YOUR ‘ABOUT’ PAGE

04/11/2023 23

FILL IN YOUR HISTORY AND BIG MILESTONESMilestones give you the ability to tell people more about your schools history. If you haven’t yet, think of at least five milestones that help tell your story then hop over to Facebook and fill them in. Use photos if possible.

04/11/2023 24

04/11/2023 25

04/11/2023 26

04/11/2023 27

04/11/2023 28

04/11/2023 29

04/11/2023 30

• Date when school was founded

• Significant accomplishments, awards, recognitions, etc

• Famous or well know students

• Launch of new programs, colleges/schools, community work, etc

• Significant sporting events

• Graduations

• New deans, principals, presidents, etc…

FILL IN YOUR HISTORY AND BIG MILESTONES

04/11/2023 31

SET UP A FEW APPSApps are Facebooks version of a call to action. Use them to get your Facebook page visitors to take actions you want them to take.

04/11/2023 32

04/11/2023 33

04/11/2023 34

04/11/2023 35

04/11/2023 36

04/11/2023 37

04/11/2023 38

04/11/2023 39

04/11/2023 40

SET UP A FEW APPS

• Quick links to key resources

• News / Important info for students/families

• Social media policy

• Special offers, discounts, prizes, etc…

• Custom pages focused on what you know parents/students want

• Do your best to keep your branding consistent between the cover photo and the app thumbnail images- Thumbnail image for apps: 111 x 74

04/11/2023 41

Cover photo – make sure you reflect your brand, use the right size img and change frequently.

Profile pic – Keep it simple and try to contrast your cover photo so it stands out. 180 X 180.

About – Tell your story as quickly and briefly as possible. Use Links and get creative with the space.

Apps – Or better thought of as your main Call-to-action buttons. Keep consistent branding, make them useful to visitors, use the right size images. 111 X 74

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE

dreamgrow.com > http://bit.ly/fb-cheat-sheet

04/11/2023 42

GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR POSTSBefore you can engage alumni on Facebook you’ve got to build a relationship with them. The best time to do this is while they are a student.

04/11/2023 43

04/11/2023 44

PIN YOUR BEST POSTSPinning post allows you to keep your more important message at the top of your Facebook page for seven days.

04/11/2023 45

04/11/2023 46

04/11/2023 47

04/11/2023 48

HIGHLIGHT YOUR BEST POSTSHighlighting posts give you the opportunity to make certain things stand out more than others on your Facebook page.

04/11/2023 49

04/11/2023 50

04/11/2023 51

04/11/2023 52

04/11/2023 53

PROMOTE YOU BEST POSTSPromoting posts give you the opportunity to reach a much larger portion of your Facebook fan base. You can easily see a fifty percent increase.

04/11/2023 54

WITHOUT PROMOTION

04/11/2023 55

PROMOTING A POST

04/11/2023 56

STATS

04/11/2023 57

QUICK METRICS

04/11/2023 58

RESULTS

04/11/2023 59

UTILIZE FACEBOOK ANALYTICS / INSIGHTSYou should be tracking key metrics for your Facebook page just like you do for your main website. See what works, what doesn’t and how you can improve.

04/11/2023 60

04/11/2023 61

• People Talking About This (PTAT) — The total number of people that have engaged with your page, whether they “liked” something, commented, shared or answered a question. This assesses engagement beyond the old standards, Likes and clicks.

• Friends of Fans –The aggregate number of friends all your fans have, meaning that each post has the potential to reach these fans (since their “Like” or comment will go on friends’ news feed, thus propagating your content).

• Reach — The total number of people who have seen content associated with your page — this number offers a sense of how far your message has traveled.

• Virality — The percentage of fans who saw a story from your Page and interacted with it, either by “liking,” commenting or sharing. Pay attention to your virality percentage to assess engagement and tweak your content.

SOME DEFINITIONS

04/11/2023 62

04/11/2023 63

PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR FANS (A LOT)!New brand pages make fan initiated engagement take a back seat to brand initiated engagement. Make sure to actively monitor what your fans are doing on your page.

04/11/2023 64

SOCIAL PROOF

04/11/2023 65

FAN ACTIVITY

04/11/2023 66

04/11/2023 67

Admin area at top of page > Edit page button > Use Activity Log

PROMOTING FAN POSTS

04/11/2023 68

• Why Facebook?

• Setting up your Facebook page for success- Get the most out of your cover photo- Update your about page- Fill in your history and milestones- Set up a few Apps

• Get the most out of your posts- Pinning- Highlighting- Promoting

• Utilize Facebook Insights

• Pay attention to your Fans- Social proof- Promoting fan content

WRAPPING IT UP!

04/11/2023 69

Thank you!

frank.barry@blackbaud.com

twitter.com/franswaa

Let’s keep the conversation going…

Social Network Benchmark Report bit.ly/npsocial

Social Influencers Whitepaper bit.ly/npoSocialArchetype

04/11/2023 70

Questions?

NetWitsThinkTank.com Blackbaud.com/k12|