Social Media for Schools: Tips and Trends
Top predictions and strategies from six comms professionals
Social Media
for Schools
Tips and Trends
When it comes to the duties of a communications professional, social media takes a big piece of the pie. And it should. The typical internet user spends about two and half hours on social media per day. That’s arguably way more time than people spend on your school website or app—which means social media is something you have to get right. It’s also one of your best tools for sharing important information and engaging with your community.
We reached out to a few school communications professionals who are in the weeds, doing the work of cultivating a robust social media presence for their respective districts. We wanted to know where they invest their time on social media and what strategies have worked for them.
Artificial intelligence could show your community what your district feels like.
“Social media trends appear to be evolving toward more dynamic and immersive experiences, including incorporating more video content, livestreams, and interactive features like polls and surveys in Stories. I also believe we’ll soon be incorporating more AI and virtual reality to showcase school environments and events. Educational partners want to know what a school feels like, including the physical environment and the culture. These types of interactive tools will help schools and districts deliver that experience.”
— Executive Director of Communication and Community Engagement Jessica Hull, Roseville City School District, CA
Photos are as powerful as video—and even more dynamic.
“I always put a premium on photography. The idea that a picture is worth a thousand words holds true. Quality photos convey a sense of joy and reassure parents and the community that our schools are welcoming, safe spaces for their children to learn and thrive. This is the type of message that parents and guardians want to receive above all else.
I also place a value on video, but I believe it needs to be tailored for specific audiences and platforms. A photo instantly conveys a message, whereas most people will not have the attention span to watch even a 20-second video. And when you’re trying to administer social media with very limited time and resources, a photo can be used dynamically across all platforms, whereas video cannot. We’ve also noticed in the last few years that Facebook does not elevate videos in its algorithms as much as it used to.”
— Chief Communications Officer Daniel O’Brien, Worcester Public Schools, MA
Increase community engagement with short-form video.
“This year, I have been focusing heavily on short-form videos like Reels and Stories to connect with our community on social media. Short-form videos like Instagram Reels are particularly effective for highlighting school events, student achievements, and day-to-day school life in an engaging, digestible format. Stories, available on platforms like Instagram and Facebook, offer a more personal, behind-the-scenes look at school life. They’re great for real-time updates and fostering a sense of community and immediacy.
By leveraging these content types, we aim to create a more engaging, relatable, and interactive online presence for our schools. I feel like these short-form videos give me the best ROI for my time. I’ve noticed that engagement on Reels and Stories is easily five times higher than engagement on a standard post. It’s a fun way to connect with your audience and know that your content will be seen and shared.”
— District and Community Relations Coordinator Lynette White, Banning Unified School District, CA
Facebook is a trusted source for district information, second only to your website.
“It’s very interesting but not very surprising that our stakeholders put a lot of weight into our social media channels. In my district, we’ve seen the mediums our stakeholders trust to find our information shift over the years. Though our website still remains the most trusted public-facing platform to find information about our district, I would say Facebook is a close second. If we miss posting news or photos about a student group’s success on Facebook, we always hear about it.”
— Marketing and Communications Coordinator Kelli Mayhew, Grand Island Public Schools, NE
Change the conversation by utilizing your staff’s voices.
“As a one-person department, I cannot tell our district’s story on my own. One thing that has worked well for me is really empowering our staff to help tell our schools’ stories. Getting others on your team excited about social media is a huge help and makes for more diverse content.
One of our biggest successes has been keeping our community informed about what school lunches look like in our district. Working together with our child nutrition department, we have been sharing updates about the local Ohio farms we source food from, the fresh options available to students, and all of our efforts to introduce our students to new foods (with happy smiling faces to boot!). Slowly and consistently, we have been able to change the conversation around what a school lunch looks like in Plain Local Schools.
These types of social media successes don’t just happen—they take time and consistency. But they are a wonderful way to celebrate our departments and keep our stakeholders informed. Oftentimes our teachers, admin, and staff don’t think the work they are doing is newsworthy. As soon as you change that mindset and switch to ‘Our community would love to see this,’ everything else falls into place.”
— Public Relations Director Mary Beddell, Plain Local Schools, OH
Focus on the platforms that matter.
“The effective use of fewer platforms is better than the ineffective use of multiple. Quality content creation demands consistency, and by concentrating our efforts on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, we aim to deliver that consistency to our community while maximizing our time. Anyone who has worked in social media for an extended period of time will tell you that social media is fast and easy if you don’t do it right. It takes time to make sure your content is crafted specifically for each channel. In essence, the key to success in social media for schools lies not in casting a wide net across every trending platform, but in mastering the channels your community prefers. It’s a calculated approach.”
— Facilitator of Marketing Skyler Hefley, Tyler ISD, TX
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