Creating a Social Media Presence for Your School or Library
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  1. Set up a Facebook (www.facebook.com) organizational page for your school. If you don’t have your own personal page, set that up first and then set up the school page as an additional page that can be managed through your account. You will have the choice as to whether you wish to use Facebook as “John Smith” or “Roberts Elementary School” in the future. As Facebook is currently the most popular social network, it makes sense to start there.
    1. When you are ready, set up a Google+ (plus.google.com) page for yourself and then create a separate “Circle” for your professional contacts. (An advantage of Google+ is that it allows separation between your different types of contacts into Circles; it is Google’s attempt at a Facebook-like presence.)
    2. Set up a LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) account for your “professional” self. This will allow you to keep in contact with your colleagues, professors, teachers, etc. LinkedIn is the business social network for maintaining professional connections. You can also set up a LinkedIn presence for your school or district to help alumni stay in contact with each other and the school/district (potentially a great fund raising avenue if you have successful and generous alumni).
  2. Set up a Twitter (twitter.com) account for your school and/or yourself.
    1. For the school account, send out reminders for events, homework projects, concerts, etc.
    2. For your professional account, find a few accounts to follow to get a feel for how Twitter can be used for professional development.
    3. If necessary, help your principal set up a Twitter account and follow some of the following principal-oriented Twitter feeds:

      @Conprin - Connected Principals group

      @NASSP - National Association of Secondary School Principals

      @ASCD - Association of Curriculum and Staff Development

      Check out We Follow (wefollow.com/ interest/principal) to find additional Twitter accounts.

      District feeds as examples of what to share with your community:

      @barrington220 - Barrington 220 in Illinois

      @CCSDKi2 - Cherry Creek Schools in Colorado

      @IrvingISD - Irving, Texas ISD

      @NBCUSD200 - North Boone in Illinois, my own district (just have everyone follow this to boost my numbers!)

  3. Start a blog for yourself, your school, or your district. Decide if your blog will be informational for the community, focused on enlightenment for other educators, inspirational, or some combination of all three. Check out some sample blogs including:
    1. North Boone Schools http://northboonedistrictblog.blogspot.com
    2. Pulaski Schools Wisconsin http://pulaskischools.wordpress.com
    3. Worthington Minnesota District 158 http://www.isd518.net/district-blogs
    4. St. Johns County SD Florida http://blogs.stjohns.k12.fl.us/supt/
  4. Use Tweetdeck (tweetdeck.com), Hootsuite (hootsuite.com), RSS Graffiti (www.rssgraffiti.com), or other tools to link your various social media together. Review the following articles and websites to figure out the best way to coordinate and combine your sites:

    How to tie your social media accounts together: www.pcworld.com/article/246950/how_to_tie_your_social_media_accounts_together.html

    How to link your social media sites: http://umsaikku.posterous.com/link-your-social-media-sites-together

    Tips for integrating social media: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/9-tips-for-integrating-social-media-on-your-website

  5. Explore emerging sites and keep your sites up to date!

You may find this and other valuable information in Steven and Julie’s book Social Networking for Schools (Linworth, ISBN 978-1-58683-537-8). Visit www.abc-clio.com/product.aspx?isbn=9781586835378 for ordering information.

 

About the Author

Steven M. Baule

Steven M. Baule, MLS, EdD, PhD, is superintendent of schools at Muncie Community Schools, Muncie, IN. He received his master's degree in library science from the University of Iowa and his doctorates from Northern Illinois University and Loyola University of Chicago. Baule has served for nearly twenty years in educational leadership positions in Illinois school districts, and he has taught at the middle school, high school, and collegiate levels. He is a nationally recognized expert in the integration of technology into teaching and learning and the author of numerous books and articles. You can follow his blog at stevenbaule.blogspot.com or check out his consulting page at www.stevenbaule.net.

MLA Citation

Baule, Steven, and Julie E. Lewis. "Creating a Social Media Presence for Your School or Library." Library Media Connection, 32, no. 1, August 2013. School Library Connection, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Article/1949046.

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MLA Citation
Baule, Steven, and Julie E. Lewis. "Creating a Social Media Presence for Your School or Library." Library Media Connection, 32, no. 1, August 2013. School Library Connection, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Article/1949046.
Chicago Citation
Baule, Steven, and Julie E. Lewis. "Creating a Social Media Presence for Your School or Library." Library Media Connection, August 2013. https://schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Article/1949046.
APA Citation
Baule, S. M., & Lewis, J. E. (2013, August). Creating a social media presence for your school or library. Library Media Connection, 32(1). https://schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Article/1949046

Entry ID: 1949046

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