-by Lilo Rodriguez, Outreach Coordinator
At TGS, I’ve worked with numerous schools that have the same goal of sharing their message and building their social media networks. Whether connecting with parents, showcasing your school’s strengths, or expanding your school’s branding, creating and developing a strong social media presence for your organization’s community can be very beneficial. Although growing your own social media takes time and consistent effort, here are a few foundational tips that we’ve learned throughout our work that can assist you in your social media journey.
Consistent and Active Presence
Be consistent about when you post. Having a clear schedule about when to post, and how often to post can be beneficial not only in terms of productivity but can also help the social media platforms algorithm push your content out. Being active gives your followers new content and keeps you on their minds. They’ll learn more about you and your school, and over time, they’ll look forward to seeing your content.
Quality Content
Having quality content is another very important aspect of getting your message out. Quality content encompasses multiple different avenues. Make sure your content is:
- Aesthetically Pleasing: Make sure your content looks visually appealing. This doesn’t necessarily mean recording with a very expensive camera or using other types of elaborate tools/gear for your content creation. However, it does mean getting your content to look high quality and professional. Refer to some of your favorite content creators for examples of what a quality piece of social media content looks like. It’s often less elaborate than you may think!
- Engaging/Practical: Is your content helpful? Ask yourself, is this content entertaining, is it educational, or informative? Once you find out what you’re trying to accomplish for your audience, then you can work on how to make your content unique and engaging. This aspect is going to take some creativity and most likely trial and error. Be willing to try something new, and embrace the learning when something doesn’t work out the first time.
- Deliberate: Make sure that there is a sense of care and thoughtfulness put into your content. Connect with your audience, and truly share something with them that you believe is something they should see, not solely something that you feel will benefit your growth.
Know your audience
Get to know your audience beyond simple labels like “families” or “prospective students.” Listening to what your audience is saying can help you have a better idea of what approach you should be taking in creating your content, while also helping you identify better ways to grow your audience. Spend some time analyzing your audience and their behavior. Find out what they find most appealing and what they engage with most. This will guide you in what type of content best fits your audience.
Network and Collaborate
Gaining lots of followers quickly on social media is undoubtedly attainable considering how quickly content spreads in today’s digital age. However, the reality is that growing your social media presence and getting your message out is going to take time. The goal is to build a social platform that has followers who truly care about the content you’re pushing out, and a great way to find those people who care about your content is by connecting in person. Building that in-person connection creates a real relationship with people who care about you and are interested in your message. If your intended audience is parents, make it a goal to meet with parents offline and talk to them about your social media. Share the tools, the message, content, etc. that are on the social media page so that they can see why this can be a useful tool for them.
Creativity, Consistency, and Care
Overall, remember that growing your social media takes time. Creativity, consistency, and care are key components of having an engaging social media platform, and networking/collaboration are essential in seeing your page grow! Send your questions on getting started with social media to lilo@tgseducationalconsulting.com.