Social media is a powerful communication tool that allows you to reach others where they already are in virtual communities and networks. With social media, you can quickly share information and reach a large audience. Social media is a great way to connect with parents, school faculty and staff, and students.
How to Get Started
Purpose of Social Media
Prior to using social media, consider what information you need to share and what behavior you are trying to drive, and to what end. For example, do you
want to increase the number of appointments/visits to your SBHC? Are you wanting to create a space where students and parents can easily ask questions
and learn more about services offered? Getting clarity on your purpose can help you utilize social media to its fullest potential.
Pick Your Platform
There are countless social media platforms and more seem to pop up every day. Different audiences use different social media platforms AND use various
social media platforms in different ways. For example, parents may be drawn to using Facebook as a way to connect with friends and family, while younger
audiences want to connect with friends and engage in the latest social media challenges and trends. Facebook and Instagram are good platforms to start with
because they are fairly easy and quick to set-up, and they are two of the most popular social media platforms.
When social media first launched, the majority of users were young people. However, over the years the age demographics have significantly shifted. For
example, 77% of adults ages 30-49 are on Facebook* and 77.7% of people ages 18-44 are on Instagram**. Both of these platforms are great for reaching parents, community partners, and the community in general.
Users under 18 years old predominantly use YouTube and TikTok, which are important and engaging channels but also use short-form and long-form video,
which takes a bit more work to develop. If you work with a Youth Action Council or a student group/organization, you could ask them to help create content for
these platforms.
Leverage Existing Social Media Platforms
If you don’t want to create a page or account specific to the SBHC, check to see which social media accounts already exist at your school and ask if you can
provide content for occasional posts. It is very likely that your school has multiple accounts/pages that you can leverage. For example, does the sports
department or sports teams have a Facebook page? If so, check if they would be willing to share content about services related to sports physicals, injuries,
etc. Or, the PTA may have an account/page and they would be willing to share information to reach parents.
Use Resources
Analytics Tools: Each channel above has its own analytics tools available to review the metrics about your posts, friends/followers, etc. Use these insights to inform what you do.
Schedule Posts: Write your posts and then schedule them to be published at a certain date and time by using the publishing tool on the channel or tools like Hootsuite or Sprout Social.
Content Tools: Create a content calendar to track important announcements, key dates, etc. so you can have a steady stream of content being posted on a regular basis, which is more likely to keep your audience engaged. Download this social media content calendar to help you plan. Pro tip: post content that corresponds to existing school events or holidays. For example, back to school, holiday breaks, and dances provide great opportunities to create relevant material (e.g., “Is prom season making you feel stressed out? Come by the SBHC for a mental health check in!”).
Building a Social Media Strategy in 5 Steps
Set Objectives
Objectives should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Result-focused, and Time-specific. Your objective should directly address the goal you are pursuing. Your
objectives should be focused on the results you want to achieve with your audience on the way to your goal. For example, increasing the number of appointments/visits of
high school students to your SBHC by 25% within a three-month period. If you don’t reach your goal, that’s ok! Use it as an opportunity to figure out what you can do
differently.
Take Stock
Who is/are your target audience/s? Are they on the social media channel you are on/considering? Does your school or SBHC already have social media accounts? Who will be responsible for updating and how frequently? Do you have guidelines in place for use?
Listen, Measure, and Engage
Listen to what others are doing on social media, such as other schools/SBHCs you aspire to be more like, community partners, your target audiences, etc. Measure your social media success using analytics tools. Engage by liking, sharing, and commenting on other relevant content.
Create/Repurpose Content
Content is what you are sharing/posting on social media. But you don’t need to rack your brain with what to share, repurpose what you have already created! Reuse the images provided in the digital toolkit with updated content/messaging.
Expand Your Reach
Optimize for sharing and engagement by providing links to websites, including a Call-To-Action (CTA), posing a question, and using visuals. Ask school and community partners to share your content on their social media channels and, when relevant, offer to do the same for them.
*https://blog.hootsuite.com/facebook-statistics/
**https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-demographics/