Social media has totally transformed the way we network and communicate. For education professionals in particular, these platforms allow us to reach out and engage with people across the globe – in just a few, simple clicks.
No doubt your college already has a social presence across sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, but are you reaping the full benefits social media can offer? Here are four unique ways to utilise social media:
Create a window into your college/classroom
We humans are inquisitive creatures, and we all like to be kept in the loop. By regularly sharing photos and videos of student projects, activities and events, parents are given a glimpse into what their kids get up to on a daily basis, helping to close the ‘home to school’ communication gap.
But it also serves another purpose – two in fact. Provided the photos and videos you share are interesting and portray your school in a positive light, they’ll essentially become marketing tools, inspiring parents to list your school on their application forms, and candidates to apply for vacancies.
Mix up the termly newsletter
Some newsletters can be somewhat uninspiring. Not to mention they often disappear in rucksacks before the students get home.
Enter Twitter: the no-frills platform gives the traditional newsletter a modern makeover, allowing you to send short-and-sweet updates straight to the digital devices of the parents and teachers who ‘follow’ your school. Doing this will ensure more of your important messages get seen.
Give your job adverts incredible reach for free
You need to get over feeling ashamed for having vacancies. Turn it around instead and use your veritable network of locals to attract your next lecturer instead of paying an agency to do it! Once you have an online advert (via FEjobs.com or other) schedule it to post repeatedly for the next few weeks on your social feeds and vitally, share it to every parent and staff member you possibly can, then ask they to reshare it. Remind them that for every teacher they source instead of an agency, that’s about £5,000 they have saved for other resources. I know where every parent would rather you spent that cash.
See how FEjobs is saving £ thousands for colleges like yours already
Share insight with fellow educators
Social media allows your school to pair up with other schools, educators and industry bodies, where you can learn from them and share unique insight with them, as well as start and get involved in meaningful conversations about the further education sector.
This might involve you tracking and using industry-relevant #hashtags on Twitter; writing and sharing news and thought-leadership articles on LinkedIn with a comment from your institution; or demonstrating your support for campaigns on industry body Facebook pages.
Again, being active on social media in this way might see your recruitment efforts receive a welcome boost. If your school is seen as taking an active stance on issues that really matter to candidates – like workload management and salaries – this will help them to see you as an employer of choice.
Create global opportunities for students
It’s not just staff who can benefit from social media opening the door to global experiences and interactions. Unique hashtags can be created (and monitored) by schools to allow pupils to interact with peers from different classes, schools, counties and countries. For instance, they could share ideas, photos and videos relating to topics they’re currently learning about.
So, is your college ready to get social? Boost your presence on social media and quickly reap the benefits. If your college is already using social platforms in unique ways and has some tips to share, we’d love to hear them!