School PR Techniques that Work

People Relationships:School PR Techniques That Work

Texas Association of School Boards2011 Summer Leadership Institute

The Challenge

● School districts face many challenges● The job of an effective school board is even more difficult

when faced with issues that divide your community● Bonds, attendance zones, accountability ratings, school

closings, standardized dress codes, curriculum, school finance, football, cheerleaders, etc.

Importance of Communications

● Gets your message out to parents, community, and staff● Allows you to clarify your goals and objectives● Provides a vehicle to dispel rumors● Crucial component for school district perceptions● Near the top of most surveys as a problem area

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Districts are brands and communities are buyers

What do school districts sell?

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Effective relationship with the community, stakeholders must trust:

● Provide safe learning environments;● Instructional standards and expectations for teachers;● All students given every opportunity to succeed and achieve;● Parents are wanted and integral;● Technology and instruction will not be mutually exclusive;● When things go wrong, the district will be open and honest

when communicating and work to mitigate future issues;● Tax dollars will be used with sound fiscal judgment;● Facilities will be constructed and maintained; and● The best interest of students' education will be the guide.

School districts sell trust

Public Relations

"Public Relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other." - Public Relations Society of America

Public Relations

Who are your school district publics or stakeholders?

• Students• Parents• Taxpayers/Patrons• Employees

Communication Goals and Objectives

The overall goal of a school district communication program is to engage all stakeholders in open, honest, two-way communication that educates, informs, and builds support for your organization. Example of Anytown ISD Goals:1. Increase awareness about the overall positive impact

of Anytown ISD education.2. Improve public perception of schools and the district.3. Generate engagement and support for the education

of AISD children.

What makes the news?

● Something controversial● Something that is timely● Something that involves a lot of people● Something that's important for the public to know● Something that is a first

Believe it or not, members of the media:● Are very competitive● Are not always out to get you● Can get the truth from somebody else● Are human beings

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What does the media do?

● Influences concern about key issues● Increases public awareness● Increases public knowledge● Helps the community form an opinion● Holds school districts and leadership

accountable for actions and decisions

What do schools districts want?

● Keep community confidence level high

● Avoid negative publicity● Deliver a positive

message● Balanced reporting during

challenging times ● Make their district stand

out from the rest

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What does the media want?

● An exclusive story● An interview with key

individuals● Timely access to

information for stories ● Something controversial

because it sells● To be helpful● To shed light on an issue

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Today's news media:

● Expect more contact with junior-level journalists ● Expect more errors or inconsistencies● Requires more hand-holding and close listening

(Example: During phone interviews, listen to how the reporter sums up your quotes and especially if there's anything that seems to still be confusing at the end.)

● Newsrooms may be shrinking, but news landscape still expanding with greater levels of expectations for journalists in reporting and content production

● Expect less coverage (unless things go wrong)

Creating Allies

● Build media relationships when there are no major stories brewing

● Don’t pick a fight with the media● Be cooperative● Respond in a timely manner (business etiquette)● Become a trusted resource● It’s OK to tell them if they misquoted you in the past or

misrepresented you● Gain greater confidence (and competence) with media

training● Sometimes it's ok to decline an interview request

Interviewing Tips

● If you are not the district spokesperson, politely tell the reporter you will have someone promptly return their call.

● In most cases, the board president typically speaks on behalf of the board for decisions.

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Interviewing Tips

● Sometimes you can't get all of the facts before a story breaks.

● Communicate first with your heart. Your first words create an image.

● During interviews, pauses are the toughest, but best tip.

● Keep your message simple.

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“All the media training in the world won’t help if you leave common sense behind while being interviewed.” - Ari B. Adler

Interviewing Tips

Preparation is key: ● Know the facts. ● Anticipate questions. ● Set the ground rules. ● Rehearse your message. ● Avoid personal opinions. http://www.flickr.com/photos/markdodds/3691200591/

Interviewing Tips

Guidelines to remember: ● Take/keep control.● Don't speculate.● Don't repeat the negative. ● Speak slowly and clearly. ● Keep your composure.● Stay on topic.● Restate your message.● Avoid saying "No comment."

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Public Relations > Media Relations

As news is posted faster, the official version of events from your organization is vital.

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News Releases

● Simple, factual, and story-driven.● Timeliness and connection to major issues or

controversies.● Get your side out quickly.● Use photos and video to help tell your story. ● Factual, simple when it comes to Board

meeting recaps.● Think like a publisher. ● Media-Shmedia: Be Your Own Newsroom

http://www.prsa.org/Intelligence/Tactics/Articles/view/8670/1014/Create_your_own_video_to_advance_your_company_s_re

"Companies that understand they have to be the media instead of waiting for the media to come to them will be the winners moving forward."

Communication channel-surfing

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District Website ● Should be your primary marketing and outreach tool● Must be dynamic - avoid a static site● Promote your site and train your audience to visit

Electronic Communications

● Fast, timely, cost effective● Build your database

through parent sign-ups, on-line forms, etc.

● Some examples: E-Newsletters, Updates, Board Briefings, Emergency News, etc.

E-newsletters have been around for years, what may be new to school districts is concept of measuring their effectiveness with open-rates and click-thru statistics when available.

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If Social Media is simply people having online conversations...

...then public school districts should be conversing via Social Media.

Why?

Consider this...

● Social media accounts for ~ 25% of all time spent online over 35 minutes per hour – Nielsen

● In the US, there are 149M active Facebook users, 70% log in once a day – Ogilvy & BuddyMedia

● Social Networking accounts for 1 of every 6 minutes spent online – comScore

● 17% of US online consumers have created a Twitter account – ExactTarget

● 78.6% of consumers have joined a company’s community to get more information on the company – Universal McCann

So what does that have to do with school PR techniques?

Social Media integration is no longer optional for school districts and PR pros

● Opportunity for positive community relations outweighs risks of unknown fears

● It takes some professional courage to get it right● See what others are doing and follow good examples

Two possible realities: 1. Your district started using social media, but you're not

quite sure if you're doing it right2. Something is still keeping you from using social media

tools in your school district communications

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Who do you want to reach? Audience What do you want to accomplish? Objectives Where can social media improve or supplement our programs, services, communications? What district policies need to be in place? Strategies

What’s our available budget/time? Barriers What opportunities to pilot? Tactics

Parents and Social Media

Your parents are using social media to:

● See what other parents are saying about their school and its staff

● Get support and insight into educational and parenting issues

● Build awareness about an issue or a cause important to them

Let's look at some social media integration options and examples for school districts:

● Blogging● Facebook● Twitter● Video● Photo Galleries

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School District Blogging

● Tell your good stories● Introduce ideas and plans● Invite writers from other areas● Feature writing● Official statements● Rumor control ● Feedback through comments● Moderate comments ● Be interesting● Use text, photos, and video

http://yourmansfieldisd.blogspot.com/

School District Blogging

● Blog as newsfeed● Press release posts● Reverse-chronological

order● Built-in archive● RSS enabled● Sample Blogger -->

http://sdusd-news.blogspot.com

School District Blogging: Rumor Control

Tips for school districts on Facebook

● Make sure Facebook link is easy to find on website● Post links plus photos/videos● Have rules for moderation ● "Tag" Campuses and other Pages (including media)● Use Facebook events; free and easy to encourage

community to "Share" ● Ask/answer questions● Reply to feedback as appropriate● You don't have to respond to everything

Polices & Guidelines

Set the rules of engagement...Remove posts that:

● Break the law or encourage others to do so● Contain abusive or inappropriate language or statements● Easily identify students and/or staff in defamatory, abusive,

or generally negative terms● Do not show proper consideration for others’ privacy or are

considered likely to offend or provoke others● Are spam● Full Sample: http://bit.ly/1w30vT

Tips for school districts on Facebook

● Teach your Fans to tag your district's Page● Using the “tag” (the @ symbol), they can tag the district’s

Facebook Page in their own status that goes out to their friends

● Shows active community on the district's Page Wall

(Only useful if you've opened up your Page Wall for community comments)

Tips for school districts on Facebook

Get into the Facebook feed: Getting people to "like" or comment on your Facebook content improves the chances that more people will see it in their feed, an algorithm referred to as “EdgeRank.” Those who use social media to only push out their school district's messages miss the opportunity to have an engaging conversation with their online community.

Facebook Impressions and Feedback

● Impressions: How many times a specific post was displayed within news feeds.

● Feedback: The percent of fans “like” or comment on a specific post.

If you want to know how good your stuff is, then focus on “Feedback.”

● Install Facebook "Like" box on your website or blog

● Get a unique or vanity Facebook URL address

● Add URL to print collateral

● Add URL to e-mail signatures

What happens when things go south for your school district's Facebook Page? Be prepared for some unintended consequences of having a school district Facebook: "The open nature of the Facebook commenting feature continues to cause regular disruption and place the district as a liable participant in issues related to sharing of private student information, defamation of employees and other abusive online behavior. In addition, MISD is not able to commit the administrative or campus staff time necessary to adequately moderate user content posted to these pages." Short-version: The liabilities were outweighing the benefits. http://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2011/05/closing-school-districts-facebook-page.html

For school districts, Twitter can be...● a cost-effective (free) option to accentuate existing

messages;● a broadcasting tool to announce relevant information to

specific audiences; and ● a (brief) conversational tool to appropriately respond to

relevant inquiries and follow-up questions or comments.

Putting Twitter to work● Broadcast vs. conversationalist● Twitter as pages● Twitter as media pitches● Tweets for on-the-go posting● Engaging the media

School districts tweeting once per week or less do not provide enough value in the medium and quickly become obsolete.

Twitter as webpages

Twitter as pitches

Twitter on-the-go:● Embeddable ● Event Pics

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Use video to tell your story● Video content could be a key component of your

communication strategy● Some find communicating through video easier than

feature/article writing or long blog posts● Most would rather watch a video than read● Many options, but stick with YouTube or Vimeo● Both free with easily embeddable videos for

blogs/websites and can be shared on Facebook● If possible, try to keep videos short (3-5 minutes)● Remember to repurpose, share across multiple channels

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Photo Galleries● Campus news/events pics● SmugMug, Flickr,

Facebook, etc.● Community/parent

submitted pics● Embeddable slideshows● Easily shared/linked● Useful when there's no time

to fully cover an event with article

● Parents enjoy seeing their kids

Monitoring

That’s just a wall, Gary.http://www.themonkeysyouordered.com/post/1061277890/may-15th-2007

Monitoring Tools● Google Reader● Google Alerts/News/Blog

Search/Analyitcs● Facebook Search● Search.Twitter.com ● Tweetdeck● Bit.ly (shorteners & stats)● IceRocket real-time search

Once you start using social media ● Follow through and use the tools ● You don’t have to use every tool ● Avoid the shiny-object syndrome● Tailor your social strategy to fit your objectives ● You need to have a thick skin ● Not always going to be nice and friendly ● Anticipate challenges● Have a plan in place to deal with detractors ● Above all, foster a positive community experience

You are not going to be able to please everyone, but everyone should see

that you aim to please.

From the crowd...

● "Connect to community in way others can't do. Professional advice and counsel. Provide 'screen' for media to allow prep. Long list."

● "I just can't imagine not having that link...protects & helps everyone. Keeps consistent voice & brand too."

● "They need to get with the times and start using email more effectively. Start using the mediums the people they answer to use. i.e. Twitter, Facebook, podcasts etc."

● "Face-to-face communication is the most effective way to engage employees in mission/goals ... and by extension, to engage the community."

● "We just can't crank out newsletters and say that's enough anymore. Social media, blogs, podcasts, webcasting, e-newsletters and many more have changed the game."

Sources & Additional Resourceshttp://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2010/07/school-pr-and-news-media-ken-haseley.html http://www.copyblogger.com/irresistible-pr/http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/21-ways-non-profits-can-leverage-social-media/http://jeffesposito.com/2011/02/14/social-media-facts-share-executives/http://jasonkintzler.com/5-ways-to-kill-the-press-releasehttp://www.liveworld.com/socialvoice/2011/02/11/new-facebook-pages-5-changes/http://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2010/11/getting-in-flow-chart-of-social-media.htmlhttp://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2010/08/facebook-for-school-districts-set-up.htmlhttp://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2010/08/blog-writing-ideas-and-tips-for-school.htmlhttp://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2009/10/facebook-fan-page-rules-for-school.htmlhttp://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2010/12/school-boards-twitter-and-media-machine.html http://www.connectsafely.org/pdfs/fbparents.pdfhttp://webbiquity.com/social-media-marketing/best-social-pr-guides-tips-and-tools-of-2010/http://socialmediatoday.com/heatherwhaling/258483/10-press-release-alternatives

Don't worry if you missed anything. This presentation can be found on slideshare:http://www.slideshare.net/rescovedo

Richie Escovedo E-mail: [email protected]: @vedoBlog: http://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rescovedo

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