Be Proactive, Rather Than Reactive

Strategies to try...

Teach Kids To Podcast

• Parents love to hear their kids. Don't make it complex. Start podcasting tomorrow with easy platforms such as "Spreaker".

Have Kids Take Over Social Media Posts

• Use tools such as https://classintercom.com/ to have students write the social media content for your school. Educators moderate their content by approving it before it's posted.

Send Out A Live Stream

• Use apps such as Periscope or Meerkat to broadcast anything from your school or classroom from the palm of your hand. Film a live debate, Periscope a presentation for parents, connect with a homebound student, etc.

Find Your People

• Survey people at the beginning and end of each year to determine which social media platforms they use.

Make The Process Easy

• Make broadcasting easy so people don't shy away from it and we don't always hear from the same people. Use a Google Form with contact name, the activity, and the best time to connect. Attach the Google Form as a link on your email signature so it is accessible to people in and out of your school community. Make accessing the posts easy. Consider how many hits your broadcasts could have if each of your emails had a link that gave people easy access to your school celebrations.

Empower Others

• Think about who can help and take over when the craziness of leadership takes over. Offer that person something in exchange such as: cover recess duty, take over a class, arrange to leave work a few minutes early, etc.

Ease Into It

• Set a goal to keep a consistent social media feed and commit to adding a few posts daily in order to avoid too many at once or losing interest over time.

Have Students Call Home With Good News

• Invite students into your office and help them make a phone call home to tell their parents about something they did well.