Social Media Issues and Best Practices for School PR

Richie Escovedo @vedo | Mansfield ISD @mansfieldisd | #tspra12

Social Media Issues & Best Practices

Texas School Public Relations Association 2012 Conference ~ #tspra12


Let’s Discuss

School PR issues leveraging social media

Strategic communication impact Seven steps to social media prowess Straight talk on social media

measurement


Let’s Ignore

How school districts set-up Facebook Pages, Twitter profiles, YouTube channels, official blogs, photo galleries, Google+ pages, Delicious bookmarks, Tumblr, etc.

This is not social media 101

Your audience is already listening…and tweeting, and posting, and commenting, and sharing, and updating, and…


Beyond the BasicsHow are school PR pros leveraging social media?

Richie Escovedo @vedo | Mansfield ISD @mansfieldisd | #tspra12Who’s In?

Audience Participation Time:

• Blogs• Facebook• Twitter• Flickr• YouTube• SlideShare• Stumble Upon• Foursquare• LinkedIn• Tumblr• Pinterest• Digg• Yelp• Etc.


The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Truth About Social MediaWhat are the strategic communication advantages of social media?



The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Truth About Social Media Tools are easy and efficient Exponential message reach potential Low barriers to entry Plenty of low-hanging fruit


The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Truth About Social Media Message control is fiction Negative feedback is part of the

conversation There is no silver bullet


The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Truth About Social Media People share/do stupid stuff online Sometimes that stuff comes from

staff, students, or parents When stupid stuff happens, it will be

during categorically inconvenient times


Truth About Social Media

With planning and preparation, challenges in the social sphere are manageable

Reach the right eyeballs; not all the eyeballs

Situational awareness Early warning Minimize surprises Navigate through murky waters



“If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.”

- Will Rogers


7 Steps to Social Media ProwessThe Magnificent Seven Steps to Remember



7 Steps to Social Media Prowess

Grow Bigger EarsListen and monitor the conversation

Personality as an AssetIt's ok (and a good idea) to human

Storytelling in the Social SphereTell your story otherwise someone else will

Don’t re-create the WheelSee what's working for others and follow their lead


7 Steps to Social Media Prowess

Do Create the ReelVideo is a powerful storytelling device

Be Your Own NewsroomCommunicate directly with your audience

Learn from and Adapt to ChangeSocial media can be a moving target

BONUS TIP: Don't be afraid to ask for help.


“What we got here is…failure to communicate.”

Evan RA Miller's Cool Hand Luke via http://www.squidoo.com/cool-hand-luke

http://www.squidoo.com/cool-hand-luke


Measurement Matters What’s working. What’s Not. What’s the Difference?


Strategic Communication Planning & Social Media

(R) Research (P) Planning (I) Implementation (E) Evaluation


(R) Research

What do we know? What don’t we

know? Who do we want

to reach? What do we know about them? Where do we find them? What do we want them to do?

It starts with thinking about the people.

School District Buyer Personas

What do School Districts Sell?


(P) Planning Goal Measurable

Objectives (who, what, by when,

by how much) Strategies Tactics/Tools

Notice the tactics/tools are the last thing before implementation


(I) Implementation

Execution of the plan or communicating

Creative Materials Budget Timeline Delivery

Actual messages sent through what channels?

How many reached targeted audiences?

Monitoring tools for execution?


(E) Evaluation

Did you accomplish your objectives? Prove it.

Identify ways to improve and recommendations for the future.

Media hits are not measurement.

Measure effectiveness of the program against objectives.

Adjust the plan, materials, etc., before going forward.

Can serve as research for the next phase or program.


“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.”

- Winston Churchill


Look & Listen

Audience Participation Time:

• Google Analytics• Likes (Fans)• Followers• Comments • Blogs• Shares• ReTweets• @ Replies/Direct Messages• (New) Subscribers• Open Rate• Click-Thru Rate• Hashtag Use• Registrations• Survey Results


The Right Tools for the JobObjective Metric The Right Tools

(examples)InquiriesWeb Traffic

Percent increase in trafficClickthroughs or downloads

Web server analytics(Google Analytics, WebTrends)

Preference Percent of audience preferring your district to the competition

Online surveys(Zoomerang or SurveyMonkey)

Awareness Percent awareness of your district, school, or event

Online surveys(Zoomerang or SurveyMonkey)Focus Groups

Communicate messages

Percent of articles containing key messagesTotal opportunities/Cost per opportunity to see key messages

Media analysis(BurrellesLuce, Vocus, Clipmetrics, Cymfony, MediaSense, Echo, etc.)

Percent aware of or believing in key messages

Focus Groups, SurveysAdapted from Measure what Matters by Katie Delahaye Paine


Media Analysis


Media AnalysisKey Bond Messages:• equity• safety and security• technology• aging campuses and infrastructure


Web Server Analytics


Web Server Analytics


Facebook Insights

http://ads.ak.facebook.com/ads/FacebookAds/Page_Insights_en_US.pdf


Twitter Updates & Followers


Twitter Reach


Blog Stats & Comments


Blog Stats & Comments


Let’s Review

Social media are just tools. Determine strategic communication

impact. Take steps to increase social media

prowess. You can (should) measure social

media.


Questions?

ContactRichie Escovedo http://nextcommunications.blogspot.com

Education

Social Media Issues and Best Practices for School PR