Social Media provides a perfect (and modern) communication tool that enables a school to communicate with parents (and pupils) quickly, easily, and instantly and in a place where they are hanging out - your communication finds them and they can find (and request) the information.
With over 3000,000,000 users now on Facebook (worldwide) the chances are many of your pupils parents and guardians are and with Twitter growing rapidly daily then many parents will also be utilising Twitter to keep in touch not only with friends and families but organisation like schools, as well as companies and brands.
The way a School would use Social Media and which Social Media and Social Networking sites you would use relates directly to the type of school you are;
Social Media to Communicate with Parents and Guardians.....
The fact remains that although their is a 523% increase in 2009 off the over 55yrs joining Facebook the younger generations adopt and have adopted quicker - hence, with parents of Primary and Junior schools being younger, a higher percentage will be more active on Social Media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, etc.
With an official School Facebook Fansite (not a Facebook Group) a school would be able to invite parents to join the group - its free to them and they want to be kept bang up to date with information - the school can then upload any information they wish to and have it segmented into the sections that they would like it to be. Parents could then view the information at their leisure, but the school can also 'push' information out to them through the power of Facebook 'posting' - this is what makes social media and social networking win considerably over a traditional website.
For example - the School facebook Fansite has a 'status update' functionality just like a personal profile so the school can use this to send out short messages to all the parents that have registered as 'fans' - very useful to remind parents of things that you need to aswell as instantly delivered messages - any 'status update' messages are instantly posted on the schools profile but also posted onto the homepages of every parent that is a member of your facebook Fansite.
For example....
'school closed today due to the extreme weather condition - check our facebook page after 6pm for updates for the rest of the week'
'children attending the after school activity club today must remember to bring...'
'remember that
monday is an additional teacher training day, school starts back on Tuesday...'
'the London school trip for yr8 is running approximately 30mins late due to traffic and won't arrive back at school until approximately 6.15pm'
As well as quick and instant messaging your official School Facebook page can also hold general information on everything from school term times, school trips, lunch information, school uniforms, etc, etc, and this information can be instantly updated and enable communication with parents easily during school holidays (for example many parents have questions about aspect relating to the autumn term throughout the summer holiday).
Your official school facebook page also enables the school to post news straight out to parents by uploading images and/or video direct to the page - again this will be posted for all to see on the Official School Facebook page as well as directly onto the homepage of every parent who is a 'fan' of the schools Facebook page.
For example....
Years 6 and 7 are now in charge of the planning for the school bon fire night on 5th November. The fire will be lit at 6pm on the night and the school gates will open at 5.50pm. 'Bonfire' refreashments will be available, including bonfire toffee, toffee apples, and other delights, all created by pupils in years 6 and 7. The fireword disply will start at 7pm and will be provided by the round table association, thanks to thnls to them. The 'design' of the fireword display however is again all planned by pupils in years 6 and 7 and is promised to be quite a spectacle. Tickets are priced at £3.00 for children and £5.00 for adults, with all proceeds going to the school fund. Please contact Mrs Hall for tickets through the school registration system by Wednesday 3rd November.
This picture could be 'pictures' (as many as you like) and it, together with the text will be posted onto your Facebook page as well as onto the homepage of every member of your Facebook fansite. This can also be videos, not just pictures.
Additionally there are countless applications for Facebook Fansites which allow you to engage with parents more effectively, ie, canvass parents for opinions - either 'text' opinions or multiple choice questions and answers, poles and votes, allow parents to upload images themselves under categories, start discussions/forums and allow parents (or pupils) to comment and build true interaction....countless opportunities.
Although gaining in notoriety via the celebrity route Twitter is rapidly growing into a true social media communication tool. A 'micro blogging' site, users have only 140 characters (like an SMS Text) to post a message. A great way to broadcast to parents quick and simple messages as well as pictures, images, etc.
Many, many parents are now on Twitter following friends, celebrities, companies, brands, and organisations including councils, teams, schools and colleges, etc, with most updating and being updated to their mobile.
Social Media to Talk to Pupils, Students.....
Particularly for secondary schools and upwards, many of your pupils are on social media sites such as Facebook, Bebo, Twitter, and so on - if you want to engage with them then so should you be. Whether ity is as a school or spilt into segments, ie, year 14 on Facebook, the English Department, etc, you can engage and communicate on mass just as explained above but to your pupils as the audience.
