Strategy: How to Leverage Social Media

Strategy: How to Leverage Social Media
Today’s media landscape is vastly different than it was just a few years ago. New, innovative technology
has paved the way for new media, a.k.a. social media, changing the way we communicate and interact on a
daily basis. Social media tools, such as Blogs, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, are an inexpensive way to
communicate. They have become an integral part of most individuals’ lives – and they should be a part of
your efforts to promote college- and career-ready (CCR) policies. Understanding what they are and how
they can be used effectively will help you feel comfortable with these communications channels and will
get you connecting socially right away!
About the Audience
Social media tools keep people constantly informed and connected. But it’s not just people who use social
networking channels. Companies, social awareness campaigns and even government agencies are among
the many types of users that employ new media outlets to stay in touch with and activate supporters.
While people of all ages use social networking tools, they are especially used by young people, which
makes adding a new media component to your efforts an important part of your strategy to reach not only
a broad audience, but one of your most important targets: students.
Social networking is also a great way to interact with your audiences. After all, people sign up to
communicate online because they want to stay connected, and they want to share their views, news and
opinions. The more active you are in engaging with them, the more active they will be in helping to
promote the CCR agenda.
A Word of Caution!
About Social Media
Social networking is great – when used
Blogs, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are among the most
responsibly! Make sure you are in control
widely used social media tools, so what are they?
of your communications channels at all
times. If you allow users to post
comments or photos on your social media
sites, make sure you have a way to review
what is posted and can monitor what is
being said with the ability to deny, edit or
delete inappropriate content. You need to
make sure social networking is working for
you – not against you!

A blog is a “Web-log,” meaning that it is like an online
diary. Users can post their own commentary and
content over the Internet. Most blogs are two-way
communications devices because they allow blog
readers to comment.

YouTube is a video-sharing Web site, where users can
upload, share and view videos. In addition, you can
allow users to comment on videos.

Facebook, which originated as a Web-based college yearbook prototype, has become a multimedia
sharing and two-way communications hub. It is now the most used website in the world.

Twitter is the fastest-growing new media communications channel with a strong following among
the audiences you are trying to reach. It is a micro-blogging social networking site that is utilized by
people of all ages and backgrounds to share information and news with their audiences, or
“followers.” By limiting “tweets” to a maximum of 140 characters, Twitter thrives on simplicity and
convenience, and information is updated constantly and in real time. Unlike most blogs and
Facebook, Twitter is a one-way communications channel that allows you to control the information
1
© 2011
Strategy: How to Leverage Social Media
you post and that your followers see when they visit
your Twitter page. Only you control its content,
although others can reply and “retweet” your posts.

Other Tools: There are dozens of other popular
social media tools, including Formspring, a 21stcentury “Q & A” site, Foursquare, a location-based
tool, and, most recently, Google+, which has
similarities to Facebook.
The Message
Social networks give you more communications channels
to spread the word regularly about news, events, helpful
tools and success stories, which, in turn, may get your
stakeholders excited to join your cause. In other words,
it’s a way for you to amplify the messages you are
spreading in a way that allows you to interact with your
supporters.
Keeping Up with Social Networking
The good and bad thing about social
networking is that it moves fast – that
means that you have a channel for getting
the word out quickly to a large amount of
people. But, if you want them coming back
for more, you have to be as fast as it is.
That means that you have to keep up with
your social networks, posting to Facebook,
tweeting and blogging regularly! Don’t
start unless you know that you can make
regular updates to your social channels.
And don’t overcommit—choose one or
two social media tools and stick to them.
Your word is only as good as your last post!
The Strategy
Social media is an exciting undertaking. After you have familiarized yourself with and understand how to
best use these tools, you can start employing them to promote and further your initiative and its
objectives. Here are some “How To” strategies for getting you started in the social media world:

Set up a Facebook Fan Page: Facebook is the most used website in the world for two reasons: 1) It’s
easy to join; and 2) it’s easy to communicate instantly and constantly with “friends” or “fans.” While
Facebook’s most popular offering is an individual profile – which enables two-way communication –
your initiative would be best served best a Facebook Fan Page. A Fan Page allows the user to control
the communication, so you can post initiative updates, news, messages, photos and videos. In
addition, Facebook is an effective forum to start calls for action such as online petitions; and your
fans can support and take part in your actions or events.
Creating a Facebook Fan Page is easy. Get started by visiting www.facebook.com/pages/create.php,
and choose “cause or community.” Use your initiative’s name as the name of the fan page so that it
is easily recognizable. Once your page is up and running, be sure to hyperlink to it on your website to
attract visitors and gain fans. Be aware that you will need to have a personal Facebook account in
order to have a fan page.

Start tweeting: Twitter can be used to send short messages, news and links (within the limit of 140
characters) to the “followers” of your Twitter feed. Twitter can be used to:
o
Reach out to people and organizations that do not currently know about/follow the CCR
agenda, thereby broadening the size and scope of your audience.
o
Ask compelling questions about college and career readiness and education reform.
2
© 2011
Strategy: How to Leverage Social Media
o
Deliver important news and materials about the CCR agenda in short, digestible sound bites.
o
Connect with others and stay informed of what is being said about CCR and education
policies through the “hashtag” tool, which allows you to tag with a “#” sign all tweets related
to CCR – you can then search Twitter for certain tagged topics, e.g., #CCR, and find all tweets
in the Twitter universe related to college and career readiness.
o
Drive traffic to your website, should you have one, by linking the tweets you post back to
your site pages.
To get started on Twitter, you will need to register a user name, or “handle,” such as the name of
your initiative. This can be done by visiting www.twitter.com/signup. Then, anytime you send out a
newsletter or press release, find an interesting article you want to share or have a comment you
want to post about a related education initiative, tweet about it! The best way to get followers is to
“tweet” regularly – daily or even more often – and
How To LEVERAGE SOCIAL MEDIA
to follow people who will follow you back.


Start a blog: Blogs are a quick, inexpensive and
useful method to share messages and stories, and
you can allow your audience to respond back to
you. Several CCR initiatives across the country
maintain running blogs on their websites to
provide updates on certain advocacy efforts or to
share the perspectives of parents, teachers and/or
students. When you’re ready to start a blog,
follow these successful formats and incorporate
the blog as a page on your website (and even
feature it on your homepage). This will ensure it is
visible, accessible, and, most importantly, keeps
your audience informed, interested and engaged.
Share videos: Videos are a great way to diversify
how you are delivering your message. What you
write on paper, you can say in a short video clip.
Videos are more engaging and almost all websites
today have some video content. Smart phones
and small-handheld cameras have made creating
videos for Web use inexpensive and easy.
First create a video using a simple handheld
device. For posting online, it does not have to be
of the highest-end professional quality. It needs
to be a clear picture with clear audio. The shorter
the video, the better. Anything longer than about
90 seconds risks losing the attention of viewers.
3
© 2011
Several state initiatives nationwide are employing
Facebook pages, Twitter handles, and/or YouTube
channels:

Learn More Indiana
Facebook: facebook.com/LearnMoreIN
Twitter: twitter.com/learnmorein
YouTube: youtube.com/inlearnmore

Expect More Arizona
Facebook: facebook.com/ExpectMoreArizona
Twitter: twitter.com/ExpectMoreAZ
YouTube: youtube.com/user/ExpectMoreAZ

Advance Illinois
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Advance-Illinois
Twitter: twitter.com/advanceillinois

Smart Future Arkansas
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/ArkansasEdorg
Twitter: twitter.com/arkansased

Chalkboard Project Oregon
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/ChalkboardProject
Twitter: twitter.com/chalktalkers

Education Trust
Facebook: facebook.com/edtrust
Twitter: twitter.com/edtrust

Stand for Children
Facebook: facebook.com/standforchildren
Twitter: twitter.com/stand4children
Strategy: How to Leverage Social Media
So keep it short and sweet! Ideas for videos include:
o
Short vignettes of student, parent or teacher testimonials.
o
Succinct instructional videos explaining, in clear terms, how your audiences may take
advantage of your tools and materials.
o
Testimonials from business leaders who have seen the benefits of hiring students who have
CCR knowledge and skills.
The ideas for videos are limitless!
Once you have your video, set up a YouTube page to post it and the others you will create. To post
videos on YouTube, or get your own video “channel,” you must be a registered member, which you
can become at www.youtube.com/create_account. As a member, you may post as many videos as
you like. A YouTube channel may be hyperlinked or posted right on your website or blog, making it
easily viewable and accessible to your audience.
Social media tools are a great, and necessary, way to increase communication and engagement with your
audiences. The more you communicate and engage with them, the more quickly your efforts will be made
known to students, parents and other stakeholders. And with the right message and strategy and with a
little perseverance, you will gain their increasing support through these innovative tools.
4
© 2011