Utilizing Social Media as a Motivational Resource in Childcare

Utilizing

Social Media as a

Motivational Resource in

Childcare

so·cialme·di·a

Noun

noun: social media; plural noun:

social medias

1. websites and applications used

for social networking.

In a nutshell…

Social media is the collection of online

communications channels dedicated to

community-based

input, interaction, content-sharing and

collaboration.

Some various social media sites

include…

• Facebook

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

• Pinterest

Some interesting statistics…

• Americans spend an average of 37 minutes daily on social media, a higher time-spent than any other major Internet activity, including email.

• 60% of social media time is spent not on desktop computers but on smart phones and tablets.

• Facebook attracts roughly seven times the engagement that Twitter does, when looking at both smart phone and PC usage, in per-user terms.

So what does this mean?

People are already there so…

why not go where they already are and tap

into/leverage this huge resource for your

center’s advantage?

So where does social media have a

role in childcare?

Developing a social media strategy for your

center is a wonderful way to encourage a

community development among your

center, families of students and teachers. It is

also a way to strengthen your center’s brand

and enhance visibility via internet and in turn

hopefully increase enrollment.

Advantages of Social Media in

Childcare

• A platform for a community development among

your center, families and teachers.

• Enables an ease of communication to parents.

• Public pages strengthen the brand of your

center and can appeal to future families and

increase enrollment.

• It’s free!

Let’s get social!

Some starting points…

• Keep in mind that developing and implementing a social media strategy can take time. Take it step by step while building your comfort with it.

• Develop and map out some main goals of what you want to achieve with your social media strategy, as not to lose focus in the midst of it all.

Facebook is the world's most popular social

networking website. It makes it easy for

you to connect and share with your family

and friends online.

Facebook Page vs. Facebook

Group

Facebook and Childcare

Create a Public Page for External Marketing:

• Stands as an additional website to learn more about your center

• Increases your SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

• Tag parents (if permission is received) to encourage social sharing and allow your parents to be your ambassadors for your center

• Post openings and special offers

• Share engaging information, articles and tips

• Further solidify your center’s brand to onlookers

• Drive the message of community and family to onlookers

How to Create a Public

Facebook Page

To create aFacebook Page:

1. Go to facebook.com/pages/create

2. Click a Page category

3. Select a more specific category from the dropdown menu and fill out the required information

4. Click to check the box next to ―I agree to Facebook Pages Terms‖

5. Click ―Get Started”

Facebook and Childcare

Create a private Facebook group for current

families of your center:

• Enables communication to be private

among center and families.

• Maintains privacy of your center.

• Creates a sense of community and family

among center, families and teachers.

How to Create a Private Group

Page on Facebook

To create aFacebook group:

1. From your personal Facebook page, go the the ―Groups‖ section on the left side menu and click ―More‖.

2. Click ―Create Group”. A window will appear, where you will be able to add a group name, add members and select the privacy settings for your group.

3. Click ―Create” when you're done.

*Once the group is created, you'll be taken to the group. To get started, click at the top right of the group and select Edit Group Settings. From here you can add a group description, tags, set a group email address, add a group picture and manage members.

Twitter is an online social networking site

that enables users to send and read short

140-character text messages, called

―tweets‖. Registered Twitter users can

read and post tweets but unregistered

users can only read them.

Twitter and Childcare

• Create a public and private Twitter account for your center

– Private account is for protected messaging (you as an

administrator of account approve followers)

– Public account is for marketing purposes of the center

• Auto post messages from Facebook to Twitter (Public

pages only)

• Utilize the #hashtag for marketing purposes

• Another way to strengthen brand of center

• Another platform to communicate with families and

teachers of your center

How to Create a Public Twitter

Account To create a public Twitter account:

1. Go to http://twitter.com and find the sign up box.

2. Enter your full name, email address, and a password.

3. Click Sign up for Twitter.

4. On the next page, you can select a username (usernames are unique identifiers on Twitter) — type your own or choose one Twitter suggests.

5. Double-check your name, email address, password, and username.

6. Click Create my account.

7. Twitter will send a confirmation email to the address you entered on sign up, click the link in that email to confirm your email address and account.

8. Get started ―tweeting‖!

How to Create a Private Twitter

AccountTo create a private Twitter account:

1. Create a Twitter account according to the steps in the previous slide.

2. Click on the "Settings and Help" icon. This is located on the top right-hand side of the page. Scroll down to the "Settings" option and click.

3. Click on the tab labeled "Security and Privacy". Scroll down to the privacy section, then check the "Protect my Tweets" box to make your account private.

4. Scroll down to the bottom of the settings page, and click on "Save changes". Going forward, all of the tweets you publish will be protected, and will only be seen by your current Twitter followers.

• The world's largest professional network.

• Build your professional identity online and stay in touch with other professionals.

• Send and recievethe latest news, inspiration, and insights you need to be great at what you do.

• Further increase your center’s SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

LinkedIn and Childcare

• LinkedIn is viewed as one of the more professionally based social networking websites.

• Serves as another website platform for you to extend information about your center to the public.

• Allows a platform for your staff to create professional profiles that strengthen the center’s credibility.

• Turns out high rankings in a Google search.

How to Create a LinkedIn Profile

To create a LinkedIn Profile:

1. Before starting, you must own a personal LinkedIn profile.

2. Move your cursor over Interests at the top of your homepage and select Companies.

3. Click Create in the Create a Company Page box on the right.

4. Enter your company's official name and your work email address.

5. Click Continue and enter your company information.

Pinterest is a visual discovery tool that

people use to collect ideas for their

different projects and interests. People

create and share collections (called

―boards‖) of visual bookmarks (called

―Pins‖) that they use to do things like plan

trips and projects, organize events or save

articles and recipes.

Pinterest and Childcare

• Another great information sharing site to

extend your center’s community among

families and teachers.

• Another great way to increase your center’s

SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

• Platform to further solidify center’s brand.

• Great resource to find and share ideas and

content for center.

How to Create a Pinterest Profile

To create a Pinterest profile:

1. To get started, head to http://business.pinterest.com.

2. Click on the red ―Join as a business‖ button.

3. Fill out your business information and upload your logo to create your account.

4. Next verify your company website.

5. Go to your profile and click on the pencil icon on the bottom-right corner of the header box.

6. Enter your URL in the website field and click ―Verify Website‖.

Social Media Usage Tips

• Know what is appropriate and not appropriate to post.

• Know when to use private and public pages

• Use strong passwords.

• Stay on top of communications – Check sites daily and monitor what is being

posted

– Constantly post engaging/informative information for parents and potential parents

– Make it fun! (Photos, Reminders, Exciting news, etc.)

Privacy

Possibly the biggest concern when it comes to social media and childcare.

Some ways to maintain the privacy of your center, children and families:

• Use private groups on Facebook

• Use a private profile on Twitter

• Educate parents on the usage of these social media sites and how to maintain privacy

• Obtain documented permission from parents to post photos of children

• Disable any location services on any of the social media sites

• Be very careful with the ―tag‖ button on Facebook

Tips for Being Efficient with

Social Media Usage• Maintain constant communication as an

administrator.

• Post same message through every active social media network.

• Post any informative content (newsletters, reminders, etc.) to active social media networks.

• Keep in mind that not everyone checks every one of their personal social networks all of the time so your content wont be redundant if posted on all of your own.

Resources

It is important to note that all of the social media sites discussed today have extremely

thorough and helpful resource websites, should you need assistance in your social media pursuits. These sites are listed

below.

• https://www.facebook.com/help/

• https://support.twitter.com/

• http://help.linkedin.com/app/home

• https://help.pinterest.com/home

Additional Resources…

Below is a link to this slide show for you to

access as a reference in developing and

implementing your social media strategy.

Questions?

Now get out there and

get social!

Thank you!