(Newswire.net — November 18, 2014) Langley, BC — Having a quality website is a key factor in your online marketing strategy, but these days simply having a website is not enough. To help set your school apart from the competition, it needs to be active on social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, among others. Posting 1- 2 times daily on various sites will encourage engagement and interest in your school. Having positive content on these sites can also be a powerful addition in boosting your school’s online reputation. Read on to learn some great tips to make the most of your social media marketing.
A basic introduction to using social media:
It’s important to first establish a marketing strategy and set- up professional accounts for the school, followed by faculty divisions (make sure to include extra- curriculars, such as sports, clubs, and teams, in addition to educational divisions), and individual faculty members. For faculty members, these accounts will be for professional purposes only, so accounts and content should be monitored.
Once the accounts have been set- up, it’s time to start building a following and posting content. Make sure your school website includes links to it’s social media profiles, and that faculty and students know to find the school on social media. Communicate on a regular basis what other social media sites the school is present on (ie, post about your Twitter and Instagram accounts on your Facebook page, and vice- versa). Now that the accounts are ready for content, it’s good to know how best to use social media marketing to draw the maximum benefit. See below for a breakdown of several popular social media sites.
As the largest social media site, Facebook is almost like a second website when it comes to your online marketing, and it can be the foundation of a great online community for your followers.
Post Tips:
Share information such as school events, upcoming deadlines, recent awards, student and faculty excellence, important announcements, and more. Make sure the posts are a mix of information and lighter topics, such as inspiring quotes and photos.
The options are limitless and you can help communicate what makes your school unique with well- executed social media marketing . Use eye- catching images and quotes to draw attention to your posts, with links to the school website and articles that have been published that relate to your school and/ or what it stands for.
Using #hashtags:
Try to use only 2 or so hashtags per post on Facebook, and create unique hashtags that relate to a specific faculty division or special event. Ie, #schoolnameathletics #schoolnamegrad. This will help make it easy to search for hashtags related to the school and specific individuals and events.
Using hashtags and sharing posts by others who have used them helps give your school an online personality and encourages school spirit.
Another popular social media choice, Twitter your messages to 140 characters, which means you have to be brief, but effective.
Post Tips:
To help Twitter be an effective element of your school’s marketing strategy, share links to the school website and articles of interest, photos, etc. Basically similar content to what you’d share on Facebook, but in fewer words. You can even refer followers to your school Facebook page with a ‘read more’ or ‘more info’ note to encourage them to check it out.
Using #hashtags:
As with Facebook, it’s a good idea to limit hashtags to 2- 3 per post to keep them from becoming distracting. You want readers to notice the hashtags and click on them to view similar content (for example, photos from a recent sports game). A balance with hashtags is important, as it’s been shown that tweets with no hashtags have less engagement than those that do, but tweets with more than 2 incur a drop in engagement.
A completely photo- based social media site, Instagram is a great place to post photos and share them via your school’s other social media profiles. Make sure to include your school’s website URL in the profile so followers can click through and check it out.
Post Tips:
This is a great opportunity to share photos from special events and identify them with as many hashtags as you like. Because there is no limit, your message can contain all of the necessary information you want it to (just keep in mind if you share a photo to Twitter, the whole message may not appear). A fun idea is to invite a guest Instagrammer, such as a student or faculty member, to take over the account for a day and take photos at a special event or simply of a ‘day in the life on campus’. This is a great way to help show the school’s personality and what sets it apart.
Using #hashtags:
With Instagram, the more hashtags, the merrier. Include the school’s basic hashtag, plus any that apply to what is being posted about. Make sure to communicate via other social media sites what hashtags to search for and use so others can share their photos and see what was posted. Again, this can be a great way to build school spirit and encourage faculty and students to actively engage with the school online.
Google+
Since this profile is linked to the most powerful search engine on the web, there are advantages to creating a Google+ profile for your school, including improving search engine results. Using hashtags are especially important in this regard (see below).
Post Tips:
This is a great site to post more formal and professional information about the school and it’s faculty members. It can almost serve as an online resume for viewers to evaluate. If you want your school to make a professional impression outside of it’s website, it’s worth it to create a Google+ account. It’s interesting to note that even if you don’t use hashtags in your posts on Google+, the site will automatically assign them a hashtag to help make them searchable.
Using #hashtags:
As mentioned above, even if you don’t use a hashtag in a Google+ post, the site will assign it one. However, it is still beneficial to use hashtags in your posts for the reasons outlined throughout this article. Using hashtags effectively with this site can also help your school’s search results when individuals search for it using the Google search engine. It’s recommended that you can use up to 12 hashtags in a Google+ post, but keep in mind how professional you want this profile to be.
By effectively using social media in your school’s online marketing efforts, you can help create an online presence that encourages engagement with faculty and students. This can become a powerful differentiating factor from other schools and help communicate what the school stands for. Don’t overlook the power of social media in improving your marketing efforts. Come into the 21st century and bring your school with it.
Image Source: Ways Technology is Improving Education
About Axis Impact Marketing
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