Blackboard Connect Webinar: Meet Students and Parents on Their Terms through Social Media Tools

Meet Students and Parents on Their Terms Through Social Media Tools

The Marketing Savant GroupNOCCA – New Orleans, LAAsheville City Schools – Asheville, NC

Utilizing Multiple Communication Channels

District

Opportunities

District

Challenges

Adoption

Outcomes

With more direct channels of communications and the capacity to reach thousands in minutes, schools are keeping parents better informed on a range of important matters. As parents are better informed, the number of non-emergency calls to the school or district office can be reduced. Results include:

• Freeing up administrative staff to focus on more important tasks or responsibilities. • Districts are becoming more transparent• Social media tools and platforms having a positive effect on the way schools interact with, students, parents and teachers

• Limited resources• Need to reach thousands in minutes in emergency and non-

emergency situations• Cutting costs but remaining efficient and foreword thinking

• Reach new, diverse populations• Build confidence in school district leadership• Communicate instantaneously• Create an information exchange.

• Open lines of communication amongst parents, students, teachers and administrators

• Increase parent participation in academic, district and school level activities

• Streamline communications to reduce costs

• Deliver real-time performance assessment

• Overcome language barriers by communicating in native languages

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How Can You Effectively Respond to Today’s District Challenges?

COMMUNITY

Integrated Solutions

Blackboard Mobile Learn

Multi-Modal Messaging

Blackboard Learn +Collaborate

Blackboard Mobile District

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Blackboard Connect

• Fully-hosted notification and alert solution used for reaching millions in minutes through:• Voice• Email• SMS • TTY • More!

• 2,600 clients in K-12, HE, and Gov.

• Millions of messages delivered annually. 99.99% uptime, 24/7/365 client care.

• SIS, School Lunch POS, RSS, Twitter and Facebook account integration

Multi-Modal Alerts & Notifications

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Dana VanDen HeuvelThe Marketing Savant Group

mailto:[email protected]

www.marketingsavant.com888.989.7771The MarketingSavant GroupThe MarketingSavant Group

Best Practices for a Social Media Strategy

The MarketingSavant Groupwww.marketingsavant.com

[email protected]

www.marketingsavant.com888.989.7771The MarketingSavant Group

On Today’s Agenda

• Social Media – The Strategic Process• Tools for School Districts• Best Practices for Facebook, Twitter, and others• Where to Start Your Social Media Project



Connecting Content With District Supporters

Source: Ogilvy



Don’t Commit Random Acts of Social Media Marketing!



Have a Well Defined Social StrategyDelavan-Darien (WI) is Social!

http://ddschools.wordpress.com/



Define the Social Media Plan

1. Outline Your Objectives

2. Determine Risk Profile3. Define Your

Audience(s)4. Social Media Content5. Determine District

Integration Points6. Culture Change and

Adaptation?

7. District-wide Social Media Opportunities

8. Policy / Protocols9. Choose Social

Channels (Tools & Tactics)

10. Social Media Systems11. Measurement


Balance Risk & Reward



Top 10 Social Media Barriers1. Lack of internal resources/time 2. Lack of knowledge/expertise 3. Not convinced about the value/ROI 4. Lack of clear guidelines/policies 5. Lack of awareness of social media within

company 6. Lack of budget 7. Social media not appropriate for

company/brand 8. Fear negative reaction from customers 9. Lack of global reach/scale 10. Lack of appropriate agency partner



Social Media Requires Change Management

• Urgency!• Guidance & governance• Vision• Communication• Empowerment &

enablement• Campaign wins +

competence development• Build institutional

processes• Create Social Media

Center of Excellence


Why have a social media & blog policies

• New media channels and internet services have changed the way we communicate– Personal information at display on blogs, Facebook etc.– The line between the personal and the professional sphere gets

blurred.– Corporate information available from lots of sources.– Users spread information about brands, products and companies.

• Internet allows viral spread of information– Bad news travel fast.– Good news can also travel fast.– Media and the blogosphere influence each other.

www.marketingsavant.com888.989.7771The MarketingSavant GroupThe MarketingSavant Group

How To Get Started in Social Media


Social Content

Social Platforms

The Social Media Channels

BLOGS

VIDEOSMICROBLOGS

AUDIO (PODCAST)

PHOTOS

BRANDED SOCIAL NETWORKS

WIKIS

WHITE-LABELSOCIAL NETWORKS

EMAIL (BACN)

SMS and TEXT

EVENTS and CALENDARS

STATUS UPDATES

The specific social content, spaces, and interactions you choose define the type of experience your audience will have on the Social Web.

Social Interactions



Social Media Isn’t Just a Set of Tools…

BlogsWidgetsTwitterOnline ChatRSSFacebookPodcasts Video Sharing Sites Photo Sharing Sites (…just to name a few)



Using the Right Tools

• Create Your Fan Page

• Share Great Links on

• Publish Great Content on Your


Create a Hub and Outpost social media architecture



Acquire the Skills

• The 2 pillars of social media– Content-content-content– Building relationships

• The habit of using Social Media daily• How to engage with people and your district• How to build your personal and district brand• How to measure results from Social Media

communications



Social Media First Responders• Be transparent. Be open and

honest in all communication. • Be ethical. Live by the WOMMA

Practical Ethics Toolkit • Be relevant. Share information

and perspectives that are valuable to the online community

• Personalize and be personable.• Address negative discussion

head-on.• Court evangelists & advocates.

Even if you’re not ready to join the conversation, it pays to have a sound strategy for dealing with any social media conversation taking place about your brand.

Even if you’re not ready to join the conversation, it pays to have a sound strategy for dealing with any social media conversation taking place about your brand.



Facebook Pages• Publish content that naturally

encourages click-throughs or creates discussion.

• Powerful way of engaging parents, supporters, community and alumnus

• Many options for sharing content and media

• Connect it to your blog for a constant flow of content

• Directly message & connect with supporters around important issues



Facebook Communication Strategy

• Use Calls to Action– Well designed, clear calls to action– Market Facebook outside Facebook

• Use photos– If possible, use pictures to show how

students are succeeding in your schools

– Show events, awards, etc.– Post pictures of your team at work

• Use video– Post recording of school events,

speeches– Show your sports teams in action

• Integrate off-line marketing– Other media ads and content

• Build an active wall– Encourage people to Like your page– Monitor and participate in the

comments on your Wall

• Re-purpose content– Post useful, interesting content from

various sources, regularly

• Encourage Experiential Marketing– Use Landing or welcome tabs– Product specific interaction– Deliver a unique experience!– Experiment

• Use Ads to Drive Traffic– Open enrollment, sporting events,

referenda, etc.



Twitter for School Districts

• Establish a pattern of consistency in your tweeting strategy

• Keep your “it is all about them” hat on when tweeting– RT other people’s stuff

• Follow social media best practices– Follow those that follow you but

maintain balanced follower to following ratios – recommend 1.25 to 1 or less

– Engage: Proactively and in response to RTs (retweets) and SOs (Shout Outs)

• Tweet consistently and set up a good maintenance schedule

• Measure which content resonates best with your audience



What Is Twitter Good For ?

• Building Community- creating a strong community of followers that ultimately help raise awareness, visibility and affinity for the district

• Media Relations – share updates, initiatives, ideas and relevant stories with your local media on twitter

• Parent Relations - using Twitter to successfully engage with parents who need regular updates

• Events - driving attendance at school events such as theater, sporting

• Early Alert – alert parents and the community when breaking news happens, weather closes school or other such thing happen

• Branding & Awareness - employing Twitter in creative ways to increase awareness around a district program or initiative

• Fundraising - using Twitter to spread the word about important causes



Start a District Blog

• Platform for updates, superintendent opinions, PR content

• Feed Facebook and Twitter accounts

• Share district success stories

• Use as the foundation for a social media publishing plan



Publish on Schedule – “1-7-30-4-2-1”

• 1 = Daily• 7 = Weekly• 30 = Monthly• 4 = Quarterly • 2 = Bi-Annual• 1 = Annual

Source: FusionSpark Mediahttp://www.fusionspark.com/blog/2009/10/13/content-marketing-secrets-part-iii-easy-as-1-7-30-4-2-1/



Map Out the Publishing Process

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Brian HammellDirector of Communications & Campus ActivitiesNOCCA


WHAT IS NOCCA?New Orleans Center for Creative Arts

Louisiana’s Arts Conservatory for High School Students

Tuition-free arts training in:• Creative Writing• Culinary Arts• Dance• Media Arts• Music (classical instrumental, jazz, vocal)• Theatre Arts (drama, musicaltheatre, theatre design) • Visual Arts

Our CultureNOCCA is a diverse environment of 500 + students, 60+ faculty and 12+ administration who understand the importance of arts training.

A NOCCA student is a high school age public, private or homeschooled pre-professional artist who is willing to commit, sacrifice and grow.

Each year our senior class receives over $10 million dollars in scholarship to study their artform in colleges or conservatories across the nation.

Normal Friday routine, storm struck on Sunday-August 28. No access to NOCCA for over 6 months.

ISSUE: NOCCA’s communication tools were housed on-site.

POST-STORM: the development of a easy, reliable communication tool became an issue discussed across various levels of management/faculty.

Our use of social media: twitter and facebook specifically has grown each year since the storm.

Budget cuts have led and forced us to think outside of the box and to use various ways of communicating to our various audiences.

August 26, 2005

Communication Strategy

• Set in January 2000, NOCCA became an agency of the state of

Louisiana

• Blackboard Connect post-Katrina to modernize our emergency

communications

• Blackboard Connect is used weekly for event promotion,

general awareness, calendar reminders and parent notifications.

Phone, email and social media are used.

• I expect our use and relationship with Blackboard Connect to

continually evolve.

Internal Communications

Several display tvs/monitors

were placed in public areas of

our facility:

• Promote events

• Spotlight areas of interest

• Twitter summary board

Students and the public are

also encouraged to register for

our twitter and facebook

accounts at our website.

Our Twitter Board

Displayed Internal On Monitors Displayed On Website

Social Media

Simply another choice.Can efficiently reach various audiences quickly.

Blackboard Connect ease of use.

Consistency of ManagementInformality Reach=Buy-In

Best Practices?

• We are still learning• Empowerment of communication team members• Concerns of Protocol: bullying, censorship, edits• It is all about your followers• The inside scoop• Make It Relevant

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Charlie GlazenerExecutive Director, Community Relations/CommAsheville City Schools

Charlie GlazenerCharlie GlazenerExecutive Director, Community Relations/CommunicationsExecutive Director, Community Relations/CommunicationsAsheville City SchoolsAsheville City Schools

Experience:Experience:9/309/30

Asheville City Schools

10 Schools3,900 Students

60/40 Demographics

Our ‘marriage’ to

Blackboard Connect

Building levelBuilding level

InformationInformation AttendanceAttendance

SurveysSurveys

Survey: Survey: Blackboard Connect Blackboard Connect Results: Results: Inclement Weather Update/Survey Inclement Weather Update/Survey ––12 Jan 2011 at 7:20 PM (EST)12 Jan 2011 at 7:20 PM (EST)

Four levels of school communications• Press relations

• Public information

• Persuasion

• Engagement•Parent involvement•Community involvement•Social marketing

Janis Krums’ Tweet from his cell phone on Jan. 15, 2009 – aboard a ferry on the Hudson River in NYC

If you’re concerned about using social networking tools in Asheville City Schools….

From the White House blog...

Valued Added1. Creates another presence online

2. Directs traffic to established site

3. Establishes a relationship with new sectors in our community

4. Provides opportunities for community discussion and engagement

Social Media

“Blogs, maps, photo sites and instant messaging systems like Twitter do a better job of getting info out during emergencies than either traditional media or government emergency

services.”-News Scientist, May 2008

1 message – many mediums

• Fastest growing social networking web site

• 200 million accounts; about 1/3 as many as Facebook

• Users are “followers”

• 35 – 49 year olds are the largest user group

• Excellent platform for sharing real-time data

• 11,000+ third party applications have been patented

Value Added1. Social networking2. Live searching3. Link sharing4. Emergency notifications

Google

Slow, anonymous accumulation of authority; pages rise to the top based on how many links point to them, favoring older information/pages.

Google

Slow, anonymous accumulation of authority; pages rise to the top based on how many links point to them, favoring older information/pages.

Twitter

Useful for finding out what people are saying right now.

Twitter

Useful for finding out what people are saying right now.

Social Networking – DO’s1.Know your purpose

2.Make it a conversation

3.Tie everything back to your organization

4.Be responsive

5.Keep up the content

1.Advertise

2.Ignore comments

3.Be defensive

4.Have a profile and never post

5.Be afraid

Social Networking – DON’Ts

1. Be authentic about who is answering

2. Turn off auto messaging

3. Improve your writing skills (Twitter - less than 140 characters)

4. Learn the texting language/vocabulary

5. Remember it’s all about people having relationships with people

1. Be authentic about who is answering

2. Turn off auto messaging

3. Improve your writing skills (Twitter - less than 140 characters)

4. Learn the texting language/vocabulary

5. Remember it’s all about people having relationships with people

Social Networking – RULESSocial Networking – RULES

In summary…We use social media to:•Build greater awareness of our district•Follow discussions, complaints, concerns•Build loyalty•Enhance customer service•Supplement crisis response communications•Follow responses to triggering events•Reinforce good decisions•Build passion for the mission of our district

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Q and A

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Thank you for joining us today!

For more information About Dana VanDen Heuvel:http://www.marketingsavant.com/

For more information about NOCCA:Brian Hammell - [email protected]

For more information about Asheville City Schools: Charlie Glazener - [email protected]

To learn more about incorporating Blackboard Connect

and social media into your communication plans, contact us: www.blackboard.com/connect

or 800-213-7168

http://www.marketingsavant.com/



http://www.blackboard.com/connect


Blackboard Connect Webinar: Meet Students and Parents on Their Terms through Social Media Tools

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Transcript of Blackboard Connect Webinar: Meet Students and Parents on Their Terms through Social Media Tools