Valentina Garoia - Social media strategy and action plan - Hands-on tips from European Schoolnet

www.europeanschoolnet.org - www.eun.org

Social media strategy and action plan -Hands-on tips from European Schoolnet

2 July 2013


Outline of the presentation

Social media best practiceexamples from European Schoolnet

Social media used in our projects

European Schoolnet:overview


Dedicated to

Support schools in bringing about the best use

of technology in learning

Promote the Europeandimension in schools

and education

Improve and raise the quality of education

in Europe

Network of 30 Ministriesof Education in Europe

Transformation of Teaching and Learning Processes

European Schoolnet


Observatory Projects

http://itec.eun.org

http://www.saferinternet.orgTo empower children to use

the internet safely

http://fcl.eun.orgFully equipped,

reconfigurable, teaching and learning space

developed by European Schoolnet

www.etwinning.net

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Social media used in our projects


• Plan in advance .. as much as you can – but be flexible!• Eg. Some problems we encountered:

– «We need to have a profile for this project on twitter». We open the account straigth away.. However there is no strategy behind! Think twice and elaborate your strategy before launching your twitter or fb page.

– Discuss with your partners first! Be aware of their strenghts and of their social media presence.

Where are we?


Good practice for social media: 5 pillars

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• Social media: why? • Immediate – Personal – Social• Know your project: what is the goalwhat is the goal? What is your audience?

What is the message you want to convey? What is the timeframe? What resources do you have?

• Target audience Goal Activities (Comms channels)• Include your social media strategy in your communication

plan• Check if the name is already taken www.namecheck.com• Map your and your project partners’ social media• Map existing projects/channels on social media

Analysis and planning


Make your choice • Consider carefully the channels (website/social media

accounts/newsletters) you want to have– Set up your social media accounts – if needed !– Consider to coordinate editorial content between website/existing

accounts– E.g. for some of our projects we “use” European Schoolnet Facebook

or Twitter accounts: For iTEC (itec.eun.org): iTEC website; European Schoolnet Facebook page; Twitter hashtag: # itec_eu.

– Bottom up approach: learning activities/videos realized by teachers– iTEC: video: http://bit.ly/11wTQGk

• Consider the audience, type of message– KeyCoNet (researchers): website + Slideshare + LinkedIn / no FB– Scientix: website with teachers community, Twitter, no FB

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Analysis and planning

• The decision of using social media can be reflected in the budget (and HR aspect)– Subscription to online tools to manage and schedule your posts– Facebook ads or google campaigns require budget– Buying pictures, filming, editing videos are additional costs

• Identify your “Champions” – E.g.: very engaged teachers/bloggers who contribute to the

content/project. They have already their networks – great booster!

• Cooperating with partners is essential – E.g. iTEC: our industry partners are very active on twitter

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Production/maintenance• Once the website and social media accounts are set up - who is in

charge?– Integrate your social media within your website (e.g. AddThis)– Collaborative work: involve partners, experts, participants at events– Leadership: editorial coordination

• Consider using some tools:– for managing your social media (e.g. We use SproutsocialSproutsocial: manage several

accounts, track conversation, assign tasks across the team, search keywords (only 1 week back) include report functionalities. Other tools:

– Hootsuite.com: social media dashboard, free up to 5 accounts– TweetDeck.com: share contacts across accounts– Socialbro.com: manage and analyse your twitter community

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Production/maintenance

• Create valuable content– Make your content readable, actionable, sharable– Storytelling is crucial– “human are visual first”

http://www.resource-media.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Visual-storytelling-guide.pdf

• Social media is all about PEOPLE and ENGAGEMENT– Tweet back, thanks people who re-tweet you, like pages that shared

content with you, ask questions, join conversations on similar topic, reply to comments, be there!

• New demands should be analysed– Review the communications strategy every year: be flexible!– E.g: Is this new tool/account going to bring any added value? E.g. we

are re-thinking the social media strategy of inGenious and plan to have FB and Twitter (building new brand, sustainability vision)

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http://www.resource-media.org/wp-content/

uploads/2013/04/Visual-storytelling-guide.pdf

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Monitoring/Reporting

• Monitoring your social media impact – It should not take place only at the end of your project– Pay attention to your “peak events”: Twitter is extremely useful during

your conference as “real time” social media

• Use reporting tools, depending on your organisation/budget– Facebook insight: free, offers quite in-depth analysis of your fb page– Trendsmap: free, useful for hashtag maps – Sproutsocial: not free, unlimited reporting (remember to link your

social account to it since the start! Or you’ll miss your report)

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Questions/Doubts?

• Remember: always ask WHY! • Any question?

[email protected]

Find us on Twitter @eu_schoolnetand facebook european.schoolnet

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