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Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 2
Reaching parents .................................................................................................................... 3Why Provo School District needs a comprehensive social media strategy ........................... 5
20/20 Initiative ................................................................................................................... 5
Student retention and enrollment ....................................................................................... 8
Case study: Davis School District.......................................................................................... 9
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 11
Social Media Guides ................................................................................................................ 12
Facebook .............................................................................................................................. 14
Twitter .................................................................................................................................. 17Superintendent’s blog .......................................................................................................... 22
YouTube .............................................................................................................................. 25
Pinterest................................................................................................................................ 29
Additional Resources ............................................................................................................... 34
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Introduction
Provo School District has exceptional teachers and administration who are working
hard to improve education for students in Provo City. Mr. James Rees from Provo High
School recently won the PBS Teacher Innovator Award, and Alan Allred from Timpview
High School was named Utah’s Outstanding Music Educator. The District also offers many
valuable programs such as its dual immersion programs in Chinese, French, Spanish and
Portuguese as well as its eSchool. In addition students have access to excellent after-school
programs to enhance their education. Through the accomplishments of teachers and students
within the District, it is apparent that Provo School District is an excellent place for parents to
send their children to receive a public education.
Despite all the exceptional teachers, students, administration and programs, the
District struggles to increase student retention and enrollment rates. The District struggles
with student retention because of the increased variety of educational opportunities available
through private, charter and home schools. Many parents within the District boundaries are
choosing to take their children to these schools instead of public schools. The main schools
the District competes with for students are Freedom Academy, John Hancock, Walden
School of Liberal Arts, Meridian and homeschools.
The District wants to help parents understand its schools are a safe and excellent place
for their children to receive an education. Students and parents have access to exceptional
programs and resources in Provo’s public schools, and it is essential for the District to
communicate the success of these programs and the availability of resources to parents. The
success stories of Provo School District must be told widely and transparently in order to
increase student retention and enrollment rates.
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Reaching parents
Parents are the target audience with whom the District needs to communicate because
they are the individuals who choose to which schools they will send their children. More
specifically, the District needs to increase its efforts to reach out to moms. The District
should focus on moms between 26-54 years old who live within district boundaries and have
at least one child in a Provo school. These women are usually married and stay at home. They
typically have a household income level of $60K+. The reason the District needs to focus on
these moms is because they are able to take their children to other educational institutions due
to their higher income level. These moms value their children’s education and want them to
have access to the best opportunities. If they do not perceive Provo District offers these
opportunities, they will take their children elsewhere. This places upon the District the
obligation to communicate more effectively with this key audience. If the District does not
improve its ability to effectively and transparently communicate its excellence to parents,
teachers and students, it will continue to lose students to alternative education institutions.
Provo School District already has a good website on which it shares the success of its
students and teachers. The website provides parents access to information and resources
regarding the programs available. This website is an excellent communication tool for the
District. However, relying only on this tool requires that parents get the information only if
they visit the website on their own. The District needs to more proactively share positive
information with its stakeholders without requiring them to search out the website. One way
this can be done is through social media. Provo School District already has a Facebook page
with more than 350 “likes,” with more than 50 percent of the “likes” being from women ages
25-54 who are in the District’s target market.
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The full gender and age demographics of the Facebook page are below:
Scott Rocco, a superintendent in New Jersey, wrote an article on edsocialmedia.com
and gave five key reasons school districts should be active on social media:
1) Improve communication with stakeholders. Websites are good, but social media
sends information directly to stakeholders.
2) Provide real-time information to the community.
3) Positive promotion is not the focus of traditional paper press, so social media fills
this void.
4) Social media is a way to efficiently share District messages and missions.
5) Social media is not a burden and will save time, focus your message and promote
your school or district.1
While Provo District already has a Facebook page and a website, it would be
beneficial for the District to implement a comprehensive social media strategy. This strategy
should include multiple social media channels, and a possible strategy is outlined in this
document.
1 http://www.edsocialmedia.com/2013/01/5-reasons-for-social-media-communication-in-education/
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Why Provo School District needs a comprehensive social media strategy
Provo District needs to implement a social media strategy in order to accomplish its
goals outlined in the 20/20 initiative as well as its goals to retain current students and increase
student enrollment.
20/20 Initiative
A comprehensive social media strategy will support the strategic imperatives of the
District’s 20/20 initiative. Strategic imperative four states, “We will actively engage parents
in the education of their children.” Social media provides a platform for parents to become
engaged in their students’ learning. Through social media, the District can provide learning
resources parents can use at home, and it can let parents know about school assemblies and
activities.
Strategic imperative nine states, “We commit to efficiency, transparency,
accountability and sustainability in our finances, general District operations and our
facilities.” Social media is essential in portraying a culture of efficiency, transparency and
accountability. Social media is where many women in the District’s target audience turn to
get information. According to the annual Social Media Report by Nielson and NM Incite,
there are more women on social networking sites than men.2 To support this statistic, an
infographic (included on next page) from the marketing firm Digital Flash NY shows that 58
percent of Facebook users, 64 percent of Twitter users and 82 percent of Pinterest users are
women.3 These statistics show that women are on social media, and Provo School District
would miss a key opportunity to connect with its target audience if it did not implement a
comprehensive social media strategy. Furthermore, with the new announcement of Google
Fiber coming to Provo, more parents will have access to the Internet and social media sites
2
http://www.brandwatch.com/2012/12/how-we-use-social-highlights-from-the-social-media-report-2012/ 3 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/09/women-facebook-twitter-pinterest_n_1655164.html
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and will, therefore, expect information about the school district to be easily accessible
through these channels.
The third strategic action plan of the 20/20 initiative is to “transform communication,
customer service and relationship expectations with parents and community.” Social media is
essential in transforming communication and building a relationship with stakeholders.
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Parents are the key stakeholder in relation to student enrollment and retention. In this
technology-saturated time, parents demand immediate information. Social media is an ideal
platform for parents to receive information, ask questions and provide feedback. As the
District provides parents with immediate, accurate information through social media, its
relationship with parents will most likely improve.
In transforming its communication and relationship with parents, the District can use
social media to portray certain key messages. These messages will help parents understand
the District has the self-interest of them and their children at the forefront of its efforts, which
is essential to building a mutually beneficial relationship. Implementing a comprehensive
social media strategy will help the District transparently share the following messages with
parents:
1) We value and meet your desire to know more about your child’s education.
2) We value and meet your desire to know more about opportunities available in Provo
School District.
3) We value and meet your desire to know when events and/or emergencies occur at any
Provo school.
As a subset to the overall action plan to transform communication, Provo District
wants to “outline tactics that lead to high quality customer service and communication .”
Social media is becoming a place where individuals go to communicate concerns and
questions to businesses, brands and school districts. Ben Horsely, director of communications
for Granite School District, stated in a recent Deseret News article, “Often, we get more
responses or connections to our social media than we get through traditional methods like
phone messages and email. The feedback portion is also critical.”4
4 http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865569774/Granite-district-uses-humor-to-respond-to-New-Years-
tweets.html?pg=all
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Student retention and enrollment
Provo School District also needs to implement a comprehensive social media strategy
because it will greatly support efforts to increase enrollment and retention. Superintendent
Rittel stated in his welcoming post on the website, “The best way to earn the community’s
confidence is to accomplish the reason we exist: to provide our students with a quality, rich,
and lasting education.”5 Provo School District is fulfilling this purpose and has the potential
to gain the community’s confidence. However , unless the story of this accomplishment is
shared more proactively with the community through social media, community members will
not know of its success, and their confidence will not be gained. Phil Traegus, a writer for
socialnomics.com, made the following statement in an article about social media’s place in
education:
“Many educational institutes are already implementing social mediamarketing successfully as a tool for recruiting new students. If they’re getting it right,
then they’ll be using it as a platform to talk about the success of cur rent students and perhaps how the school is improving all of the time.”6
As Provo School District more actively shares the success stories of its students and teachers
through various social media platforms, it will attract the attention of the parents of future
students.
In addition, Provo School District can use its social media outlets as a platform to
reach parents during a school emergency. Such an emergency could be a lockdown like the
one at Edgemont Elementary earlier this year or inclement weather. One of parents’ greatest
self-interests is the safety of their children, and the information the District can provide to
help parents keep their children safe will be an invaluable asset in building a positive
relationship. For example, in the parents meeting following the Edgemont Elementary
lockdown, parents asked the District why it had not notified parents through Facebook.
5 http://superintendent.provo.edu/8-20-12/
6 http://www.socialnomics.net/2013/03/11/how-can-social-media-be-used-in-education/
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Parents requested that the District do this in the future. Westlake Junior High is an example
of a school that effectively used social media in a lockdown situation. After the school
shooting in Newtown, Conn., Westlake Junior High was put on lockdown. The school used
Twitter as a platform where parents could receive updates throughout the day. As another
example, the amount of tr affic and “likes” on the Provo School District Facebook page
increased after a snow storm as parents sought information about school attendance. Both of
these incidents show parents do look to the social media platforms of Provo District for
information.
A recent article in the Deseret News about school districts that have used social media
quotes Ryan Shattuck, a social-media expert, who said, “It takes a couple of minutes to make
a phone call or send an email about a potential issue with school safety. It takes only 30
seconds to post a tweet or post to Facebook.”7 Social media provides the District with a
simple platform through which it can provide immediate, accurate information about the
students’ safety to parents without needing to call or email ever y parent.
Case study: Davis School District
Davis School District is one school district in Utah that has chosen to implement a
social media strategy that utilizes multiple social media platforms. It is valuable to examine
what is posted on each platform and why Davis has expanded from beyond a Facebook page.
Davis School District Facebook page currently has 5,290 “likes,” which means 5,290
parents, teachers or community members see the posts that show the success of the district.
Davis School District posts pictures of its students participating in various programs and
7
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865569774/Granite-district-uses-humor-to-respond-to-New-Years-tweets.html?pg=all
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activities; it also posts links to articles and videos about the success and quality of the district.
A primary advantage of Facebook is that it provides parents with the opportunity to engage in
a conversation with the district. In early April, there was a large windstorm in Davis County
and parents posted on the district’s Facebook page recommending school be cancelled or
postponed. The district administration saw what the parents wanted and was able to respond
appropriately. In addition, Facebook has a private messaging feature where parents can
directly contact the district without posting publicly on the Facebook page.
Davis School District uses its Twitter account in a similar way to its Facebook page. It
shares articles and videos about the success of its students with the 1,193 people who follow
the account. In contrast to its Facebook page, Davis School District uses Twitter primarily to
connect to media personnel. The media will write about a school district regardless of the
information the district provides. It is in a district’s best interest to provide positive and
accurate information to reporters and be as in control of the conversation as possible in order
to portray itself to the community in the best light. Below are some sample posts from the
Davis School District Twitter account @DavisSchools:
Syracuse High students give up spring break for hands-on marine biology
learning. http://fb.me/2iZZcTg0V [The link goes to a news story in the Standard
Examiner]
Davis School District schools participated in the Great Utah #ShakeOut
Wednesday. See video of Farmington... http://fb.me/2obj92VPE [The link goes to
a video on the Davis School District YouTube page that shows the District
participating in the state-wide earthquake drill.]
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It's not too late to buy a seat at the Davis Education Foundation Gala. Contact
Sherry Miggin at (801) 402-5182 for... http://fb.me/vinSrgtK [The link goes to the
Facebook post about the event.]
YouTube
Davis School District uses its YouTube channel as a central place to share the videos
it makes about its students’ success and the events happening in schools. Using video to
communicate the success of a school district is crucial and effective because videos allow
parents and community members witness what students and teachers are doing instead of just
reading about it on the district webpage. Video is also a more engaging media outlet than an
article and keeping all the videos in one place allows viewers to re-watch and share the
videos even after they are off the main webpage.
The videos on Davis School District’s YouTube channel address topics such as
district STEM programs, school safety, professional development and individual student
successes. Each of the videos promotes the quality and success of the district and provides
visual proof of that quality and success.
Conclusion
Provo School District is communicating its excellence well through its website and
Facebook page, but it is missing an opportunity to improve that communication with its main
target audience of moms. Implementing a comprehensive social media strategy will help
Provo School District achieve its goals as outlined in the 20/20 initiative as well as its goal to
transparently communicate with its stakeholders. A comprehensive social media strategy will
also help to increase student enrollment and retention rates. The remainder of this document
provides a how-to guide for various social media platforms through which Provo School
District will be more able to “earn the community’s confidence” by communicating that it
“ provide[s] [its] students with a quality, rich, and lasting education.”
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Social Media
Guides
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Benefits:
58 percent of Facebook users are women who are the District’s target audience.8
Facebook is a way the District can share its success directly with its stakeholders
without requiring them to go to the District webpage.
Facebook allows for audience engagement through the commenting, “like” and
messaging features.
Purpose:
The purpose of the Provo District Facebook page is to connect with its target audience
of moms, who are constantly on social media. Through Facebook the District can share the
good things that are happening through posting pictures and links to articles and information
taking people back to the main website. Facebook also provides a platform for moms to get
immediate information in the case of school emergencies and inclement weather. Facebook
will provide moms with easy access to a place where they can ask questions and get quick
answers by either posting a question directly on the page or sending a private message.
Setting up Facebook:
Provo School District already has a Facebook page, so the setup for this social media
platform is complete.
Process:
The Provo School District Facebook page is currently managed by the district director
of communications. This individual will continue to post to the page and respond to
comments and messages from parents and community members.
8 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/09/women-facebook-twitter-pinterest_n_1655164.html
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Sample posts:
Facebook posts can provide parents with a large variety of information and promote
the messages the District wants to share. Some examples are included below:
4) School safety post:
5) School activity post combined with student achievement:
6) Weather
update post
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Benefits:
Twitter is a platform for instant communication with stakeholders.
64 percent of Twitter users are women.9
Reporters look to Twitter for information, so Provo District can provide them
with accurate, updated information through this channel.
Hashtags provide a way for Provo District to connect its posts to various
educational issues and allow those interested in education to see how Provo
District is addressing those issues. (i.e. #edchat, #schoolsafety, #edtech)
Purpose:
The main purpose of a Twitter account for Provo School District would be to promote
the success stories of students and teachers to the media. As reporters are more aware of the
great things happening in the District, they will share that information with their readers,
which mainly consist of the parents of Provo students. Twitter also provides a simpler
platform for the District to provide updates in an emergency or crisis without needing to write
a full news release. The District needs to provide reporters and community members with
current, accurate information, or they will turn elsewhere to get the information.
Process:
After Provo School District sets up a Twitter account, it will be managed by the
district communications representative. He or she will post tweets one to two times per day
in order to provide current information about things happening in the District. He or she can
also “retweet” education-related posts to its followers in order to engage in the education
conversation and share valuable information.
9 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/09/women-facebook-twitter-pinterest_n_1655164.html
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Setting up a Twitter account:
1) Go to http://twitter.com
2) Click on the yellow “Sign up for Twitter” button
3) Complete the profile setup page.
4) Follow other Twitter users
a. In this step Twitter will suggest for you to follow certain individuals and
organizations. You can follow the ones it suggests or search for others
The username will be
the Twitter handle that
people will see
whenever the District
posts.
Examples:
@ProvoSchools,
@ProvoDistrict
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such as the Utah State Board of Education (@UTPublicEd), other school
districts (@DavisSchools) and the Utah PTA (@utahpta).
5) Account settings can be changed at any time by clicking on the icon shown below.
6) Start tweeting!
Twitter glossary:
This view will show up on your profile page.
This bar is always on the top of the Twitter page.
Other important terms:
These definitions were pulled from Twitter’s help page.10
Handle
A user's "Twitter handle" is the username they have selected and the accompanying URL,
like so: http://twitter.com/username.
Hashtag
The # symbol is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet.
10 https://support.twitter.com/articles/166337-the-twitter-glossary#
This is where you can see all your tweets.
A tweet is a message posted via Twitter
containing 140 characters or fewer.
This is where you can see a list of those
you are following.
This is where you can see a list of those
who are following you.
This is where you can see a list of tweets
you have marked as “favorite.”
This is where you can see tweets from
lists you have subscribed to.
Access your news
feed, where you
see tweets from
those you follow.
See if you have
new followers or
if anyone has
tweeted directly to
you.
See posts by
others similar to
those of people
you already
follow.
Go to your profile
page.
Update your
profile, access
account settings
and sign out.
Compose a new
tweet.
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@reply
An @reply is any update posted by clicking the Reply button on a Tweet.
Mention
A mention is any Twitter update that contains "@username" anywhere in the body of the
Tweet. If you include more than one person's name in your Tweet and you use the
@username format, all of those people will see the Tweet in their Mentions tab.
Retweet
A Tweet by another user, forwarded to you by someone you follow. Often used to spread
news or share valuable findings on Twitter.
Sample Posts:
1) Enrollment post
2) Community involvement post
3) Employment change post
4) Education technology post (example of hashtag use)
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Superintendent’s blog
Benefits:
A blog will be the central place and archive for the “Superintendent’s Message” that
is already being written.
Provides a place where parents, teachers and other stakeholders can read thoughts
from their district leadership.
Purpose:
The superintendent currently posts the “Superintendent’s Message” on the Provo
District website every other month. The difference in having a superintendent’s blog would
be to provide a central place for his posts and a venue for a larger variety of topics. The
superintendent is the leader of the Provo District, and he plays an essential role in forming
people’s perception of the District. Parents and stakeholders want to see the authoritative
figure in the District speak up on important educational issues, share the progress of the
District in reaching its goals and share his thoughts on education. If parents and stakeholders
do not see the success of the District promoted by the superintendent, they will be less likely
to believe success is actually occurring. The superintendent serves as a figurehead for the
District in the eyes of parents and the community. It is essential for people to see the success
of the District and its leader in order to maintain a positive relationship with the community
that can lead to increased enrollment and retention rates.
Process:
The Provo School District blog will be managed by the superintendent. He will write
his own posts and can choose to post them to the blog himself or have another District
employee do so. Ideally the superintendent should post once per month.
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Setting up a blog:
There are a variety of platforms on which blogs can be constructed. The most efficient
way for Provo School District to set up a blog will be to integrate it as another page on the
already existing website. The District web team can create the page where the superintendent
can put his posts.
Sample post topics:
1) The effect of Google Fiber on Provo schools
2) The new State Core requirements
3) Thoughts on the impact of technology on education
4) The importance of arts in education
5) Summer programs available through Provo School District
6) The impact of new legislation on Provo School District
7) The dual immersion programs
8) Budget changes in the District
9) School safety
10) Citizenship in schools
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YouTube
Benefits:
Videos are very shareable and will help to facilitate more positive conversation about
the District.
More than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube each month.11
Purpose:
The Provo School District already does a great job of sharing its success through
video stories on the website. However, after these videos are taken off of the website or
moved to a different page, people do not have easy access to them. Videos are very
interactive content and a much more engaging way to share the success of a school, teacher
or student as opposed to only an article. It is important for stakeholders and specifically
parents to have access to these videos without searching through the webpage. Providing
easy, constant access to the videos will enable them to re-watch and share the videos with
their friends.
Process:
Videos would be created and uploaded by the district communications representative.
The videos do not need to be professionally produced, but they should be high quality in
order to positively reflect back on the District. The district communications representative
should try to find at least one story per month that could be filmed.
11 http://www.youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html
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Setting up a YouTube account:
1) YouTube is linked to Google, so you will need to create a Google account
specifically for the District.
2) Go to youtube.com and click the “Sign in” button in the top right corner. Click
“Create an account” in the to p right corner of the new page and fill in the
information that shows up on the next page.
3) You will need to confirm your account by going to the email confirmation page
and sending a confirmation to your email.
4) Create a channel. After you are signed in, you can click on your profile and a drop
down menu will appear. Click on “My channel” and then click “To use business
or other name.”
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5) Follow the remainder of the instructions and then upload your videos.
6) To upload a video, click the “Upload” link at the top of the page and select the
video file from your computer.
Sample Posts:
1) School safety video
2) eSchool recruitment video
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Benefits:
85 percent of Pinterest users are women.12
The content is easily shareable.
It is a more visual way to share the success stories of the District.
Purpose:
Many people think the purpose of Pinterest is to share only craft, recipe and fashion
ideas. However, many businesses and educational institutions also use Pinterest. Some of
these organizations include Penguin Books, Volkswagen USA, the University of Virginia and
Atlanta Public School District. The specific example of the Atlanta Public School District
(http://pinterest.com/apsupdate/ ) shows how a school district can use Pinterest to share the
success of the students and provide resources to parents. Their Pinterest “boards” include Our
District, Our Schools, Our Students, Our Teachers, Parent Resources, Student Resources,
Educational Articles and more. Each of these boards contains stories or “pins” that relate to
the District and provide information that positively promotes the District and facilitates a
beneficial relationship with its stakeholders.
Process:
The Provo School District Pinterest page will be updated by the district
communications representative. Any time a new story is posted on the website, he or she
should also create a pin using a picture or video from the story. The pictures and videos that
will be uploaded should all be saved in one folder on the individual’s computer for easy
access. The Pinterest account should be set up using a general email in order to ensure future
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/09/women-facebook-twitter- pinterest_n_1655164.html
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communications representatives will have access to the account as well as other district
employees to whom the superintendent grants access.
Setting up a Pinterest account:
1) Go to pinterest.com
2) Click on “Join Pinterest”
3) The screen below will appear, and you will click on “Learn more” beside the
question, “Are you a business?”
4) This page will appear and after you enter in your information, you will be able to
create boards and start pinning.
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5) As you pin, you will want to pin things that match the mission and goals of the
Provo School District. You will be able to pin your own content as well as pin
content already on the platform. Some example posts from other organizations are
included below.
Educational quote
From “Parents
Resources board onAtlanta Public
Schools From “Our District” board on
Atlanta Public Schools
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How to upload a pin:
1) Click on the “Add+” button on the top menu bar.
2) Click on “Upload a pin” or “Create a board” depending on what you are doing.
3) Choose a picture or video file from your computer to upload. Write a description
underneath and “Pin.”
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Sample posts:
a. Sharing the success of a Provo District student
b. Sharing efforts to promote school safety
c. Sharing unique story of principal
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Additional Resources
The following list is websites that have more information about how school districts can
effectively use social media.
“Internet Marketing for Schools” http://www.schneiderb.com/
“Why schools should be jumping on the Pinterest bandwagon”
http://www.thefundraisingresource.com/wp/marketing/why-schools-should-be- jumping-on-the-pinterest-bandwagon/
“Exploring the role of social media in education” http://www.edsocialmedia.com/
“Social media in Education: Resources roundup” http://www.edutopia.org/social-media-education-resources
“Social media in school emergency management”http://rems.ed.gov/docs/Training_SocialMediaInEM.pdf