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Interview guest: Coach Jeff Walrich, Director of Athletics for Gilmour Academy (@CoachWalrich and @GALancerAD)
Marketing the athletic program is a passion of Coach Jeff Walrich, Director of Atheletics at Gilmour Academy, an independent, Roman Catholic, coeducational, college-preparatory school in the Cleveland suburb of Gates Mills, Ohio.
In this episode, we discuss:
the role of social media and athletics
how to “stop the scrolling”
how Coach Walrich is using graphics on social media to bring recognition to student-athletes
how parents and grandparents react to the recognition their student-athlete receives
how to give parents a site where they can download graphics for their child’s scrapbook
how students are asking Coach Walrich how they can be featured on one of the graphics
how to manage multiple social media accounts
the book most recommended by Coach Walrich (and Randy, too) in understanding what to post on social media
how Coach Walrich is using an APP to increase attendance at all of their athletic events (and other events around campus) and the students love it!
Click below (or click “MORE”) for all the links and action steps from this episode!
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Randy Vaughn, Christian School Marketing Consultant, will present three social media session topics at 6 different times during the annual RenWeb Power Conference (this year in San Antonio, TX).
If you are attending the Power Conference, use the hashtag #RWPC.
Randy’s sessions are as follows:
TUESDAY – 10:30am
THURSDAY – 7:30am
They say “a picture is worth a 1000 words”, so how is your school’s visual content strategy on social media? Are you publishing the right kinds and lengths of videos on YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram or Vine? Are you just adding albums of photos on Facebook but not really sure who looks at all of them? Are you unsure what size images to use on the different social media channels? Come hear strategies, tips and examples of schools and organizations who are implementing a highly effective visual content strategy.
TUESDAY – 1:50pm
TUESDAY – 3:10pm
WEDNESDAY – 12:40pm
Schools are notorious for incessant self-promotion all in the name of “filling seats” – but this is the least effective approach to social media. In fact, your prospective families will be turned off if all you do is talk about your school – how does that impact them? In addition, your current families will be less likely to share your posts because your social media posts are all about you. We we will learn that social media not all about YOU but all about your prospective families. Come learn the keys to having a highly effective social media strategy!
WEDNESDAY – 9:20
WEDNESDAY – 2:00
WEDNESDAY – 3:30
With choices such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Instagram, SnapChat, Vine…..well, running an effective social media system is overwhelming! Do you know the best tools, apps, and other resources to use when posting to these various social media channels? We will talk through all the options and share the best tools to help you be most effective and efficient on social media.
When it comes to social media, you definitely have to think about working SMARTER, not harder! There is so much to manage and get posted in a timely manner. If you are in communications, enrollment management, advancement or admissions and you are feeling overwhelmed by social media at your school, this episode will help!
Jaclyn Day, Director of Marketing and Communications at RenWeb School Management Software, answers these 5 questions:
What tools can schools use to manage their social media profiles more easily?
Where should schools focus their energy first?
How can schools generate content for social media accounts if just one person at the school is responsible for updating and monitoring all of them?
What are some ways to make social media and inbound marketing actually pay off for a school?
How can schools get ahead of their competitors by using social media accounts or creating a content strategy for them?
Jaclyn Day is the Director of Marketing and Communications for RenWeb School Management Software. She oversees the brand’s editorial and visual strategy, coordinates all internal and external communications, and oversees digital/social content and engagement. Prior to joining RenWeb in 2009, she worked in Washington, DC, focusing on public relations that specialized in public affairs, digital strategy and corporate messaging. Jaclyn is passionate about social media and inbound marketing and how they relate to corporate communication in the digital age. After Jaclyn joined RenWeb, she developed a successful social media strategy from scratch and revamped internal and external marketing communications. Jaclyn received her Bachelor of Arts in Public Communication with a concentration in Public Relations from Washington Adventist University. She still lives and works in the Washington, DC area.
GUEST POST FROM Chris K. Syme(@cksyme) – Chris is the founder of CKSyme Media Group, working in digital/social strategy & crisis PR.
Chris has updated her book “Practice Safe Social” and I am happy to share this resource with you so you can keep your students, parents, coaches and staff savvy and safe on social media!
Practice Safe Social 2.0 by Chris Syme
We’ve come a long way from the days where school meant reading, writing, and rithmetic. Today’s classroom is bursting with technology and the pressure on teachers to learn how to use that technology grows everyday. One of the hot button issues in today’s classroom is whether or not to incorporate social media into the curriculum. But before we can do that, we need to define a standard of responsibility. How do we teach teens to use social media responsibly? Where do we start? Or do we even start?
Practice Safe Social 2.0is a good place to start. This blueprint includes all the necessary components that educators need to teach the responsible use of social media. And that’s where we start. Incorporating social media into the curriculum without teaching its responsible use is an ultimate fail. It’s like handing over the keys of a brand new car to a 13-year-old without any driver’s training. Practice Safe Social 2.0 is an updated version of my original training manual written in 2013. It includes specific instructions on how to put together a training for students, staff, coaches, and even parents. I have made the book free for the month of June and I encourage you to download a copy. In the book, I address the four necessary modules that training should include:
Privacy and safety: Users should know their privacy settings inside out. Every time they send out a picture or post, they should know exactly who will see it. They need to understand the importance of guarding their privacy and how to create an online community that is not public.
Best practices: Privacy doesn’t mean you can break every rule behind the curtain. Social media users must have a base understanding that whatever they post on social media is permanent and can be accessed by the public. There are guidelines for how to use screenshots tastefully.
Building a personal brand on social media: This module is most important for staff and older students. I don’t recommend this information in depth for middle school kids. Understanding how to build a positive presence on social media is important. Whether we are vying for scholarships or a new job, our social media is now part of our resumé.
Cyber harassment: Social media users need to understand two basic things about the four types of cyber harassment: how to lower your risk of being a victim and how to report and document it when you are harassed online. This goes as much for adults in the workplace as it does for students.
Chris Syme (Twitter: @cksyme)
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I love how practical Chris gets in this updated resource! You will want to get a copy of this for your entire staff. Social media is a powerful influence in our society today, both for good and for bad. Improper use or ignorance can embarrass, complicate or even worse, ruin a student’s life. They must be smart on social media – and you can help them do just that!
When I am looking to optimize my content management strategy, productivity is important.
In our online content strategy, I am looking for content that is valuable to you (our audience), inspirational, insightful and instructional. When I am not creating content on our website or School Marketing Podcast, I curate content from around the web. I discover resourceful articles via:
Twitter (I use Hootsuite to management this application; also love the way I can set up streams of specific content that I am searching for; basically whenever someone tweets content with my identified keywords, it automatically show up in the pre-set stream)
Pinterest (I rarely look at recipes or decorating tips, but I love this tool for searching for great ideas for schools – we have over 60 boards and close to a 1000 pins….all to help you market your school).
Facebook (while I love Facebook for connecting with friends, I also find it a gold mine for great content).
Regarding the latter, here are 2 videos that show you how I use these two productivity tips on sharing great content that I find when I am on Facebook.
I’m excited to have been asked to be the instructor for “Setting Up for Social Media Success” via Strengthening Christian Schools Classes. This 4-week course will ensure churches, ministries and Christian schools install an effective social media system. These virtual sessions will be conducted on Monday nights, 7pm CT, on May 4, 11 and June 1, 15. Each class will last about 60 minutes.
SESSION 1: Essential elements of a social media system
In the first session, we will example the essential elements of a social media system, learning how to develop the right kind of content that ensures consistent engagement.
SESSION 2: How to choose the best tools, channels and platforms to use for your audience
In session two, you will learn how to choose the best tools, channels and social media platforms to use for your audience (members, donors, parents, AND prospects).
SESSION 3: How Christian Schools/Ministries should be using Facebook (and why it is still the best tool)
In session three, we get very practical and discuss how to use your Facebook page to communicate to current members/families as well as showcase evidence to prospectives.
SESSION 4: Visual Content Strategy
In session four, we will explore having a powerful visual content strategy on social media. We will examine best practices for how churches, ministries and Christian schools can use photos and videos on Instagram, Pinterest, Vimeo/YouTube and even Facebook and Twitter.
![Strengthening Christian Schools Class: Setting Up for Social Media Success [Instructor: @schoolmktg , Randy Vaughn]](https://www.yourschoolmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/scs-class-sm.png)
