Five video ideas for your school social media accounts

Communicating with your students, staff, and community has never been more important. We are dealing with unprecedented challenges, and social distancing has made face-to-face communication practically impossible. 

But we hold a tool that has become priceless over these past several months...

Social media!

Schools across the country have inspired followers with stories that keep people connected, and one of the best ways to connect with people is through video. Video can bring people together in ways that text and photos alone cannot.

There are many ways to effectively add video to your communications — even if you only have novice-level video production skills. Here are five ways that you can use video in your social media strategy:

1.	Informational video
It might be uncomfortable — but hey, we are asking our students to get out of their comfort zones all the time! Talk to the camera as if you are talking directly to your community. It doesn’t need to be live, and it doesn’t need to be perfect. So many superintendents have done this; the audience engagement is high.

#K12PRtip — Always upload the native video directly onto Facebook. It will reach more people versus posting a link to a YouTube or Vimeo video. It’s OK if you want to upload the video there as well, but Facebook’s algorithm strongly favors native video over links to other platforms.

Here’s a great example: Superintendent Randy Guttenberg, Waunakee Community School District, March 27, 2020

www.facebook.com/WaunakeeCSD/videos/794275037726859/
2.	How-to video
Some students and parents are tired of long emails explaining complex information. You could switch it up with a how-to video for things like:
•	How to register for classes online
•	How to unlock a combination lock (directed at those middle schoolers getting lockers for the first time)
•	A virtual tour of the kindergarten classroom for nervous students (but mostly nervous parents) that didn’t get to enjoy the traditional spring event.

#K12PRtip — If you want to add some text within your video or do more advanced editing (it’s definitely not required) some helpful tools you may want to check out include:
•	iMovie
•	Clips
•	Splice
•	Adobe Premiere Rush (included with Adobe Suite)
•	WeVideo
•	Animoto

3.	Educational/enrichment video
Parents and students are looking for ways to continue their education at home. Even throughout the summer, you and your teaching staff can share enrichment activities that are easy to do with materials around the house.

I loved the idea from a teacher in Gilbert, Arizona, who created a sensory path out of sidewalk chalk. After creating it, someone videotaped her following the path, making it easy for people to replicate it at home. It went viral with several million views. 

www.facebook.com/jody.b.goudreau/videos/10157490145962875/ 

4.	Live video
This one might make you the most nervous as a school leader, but live video is a great way to provide authentic, two-way communication. Many school leaders utilized Facebook Live sessions to receive and answer questions throughout the COVID-19 school closures. 

There are several options for live video, including Facebook Live, Instagram Live, YouTube Live, and more. Pick the platform where most of your community is located. You can follow these tips:

•	Advertise ahead of time
•	Don’t wait for people to hop on before you start. Start right at the time you advertised. Many people will be re-watching the video, and you don’t want to lose viewers!
•	Say who you are and what you plan to talk about.
•	If you want to drive engagement - which is the whole point of doing a live video - ask for participation throughout the video. Start by asking people to introduce themselves or answer a simple question.
•	You may want help monitoring comments that pop up as you speak.

Find more tips, including a complete guide for Facebook Live, at www.socialschool4edu.com/resources.

www.facebook.com/363973230440305/videos/516555869042106/

5.	Watch party
Do you want to simulate the feel of a live video without the pressure? Upload a video and schedule it as a premiere. This can be done on both Facebook and YouTube. The channels advertise it ahead of time, and then your fans will gather together at the scheduled time and watch it together. 

Events that could be enjoyed this way include a big announcement, such as a new Superintendent or principal introduction, a “welcome back to school” message, or even weekly updates to stay connected throughout summer. This type of video gives the viewers the “feeling” of a live video but also allows you to interact with comments that may come in during the event. You won’t be able to answer the question via video, but you can type replies in the comments.

Contributed by Andrea Gribble , founder of SocialSchool4Edu
Andrea’s passion is helping schools recognize their daily awesomeness and sharing that story with the world. She’s built a team that celebrates hundreds of schools across the country - but it all started right here in Wisconsin! Visit her website at https://www.socialschool4edu.com/ to learn about her services. #SocialSchool4EDU provides full social media management, personally coaches social media teams and individuals, and offers a vibrant online community that provides ongoing professional development for school social media champions.