This is the next in a series of tips and information related to school social media accounts. This week, Communications Assistant Kim Doherty shares about how to increase followers and engagement. In previous posts, which can be accessed from the Blog Archives on the Home page, Doherty explains about the importance of archiving school/district social media accounts and creating great content for the sites.

Successful social media accounts have engaged followers with increasing numbers over time. The more your followers comment, like, share and click on your posts, the more your page will show up on their social media feeds, thereby increasing engagement and following.

Here are a few tips on growing your audience and increasing engagement as you manage a professional social media page in the Olympia School District.

Tips for growing your audience:

• Post regularly. Try for a minimum of a few times per week.
• Promote, promote, promote! Include social media links/icons in printed or emailed materials like newsletters, fliers and in-school signage. Encourage parents to promote social media accounts to family members and others who might be interested to learn more about their child’s school.
• Respond to comments/messaging on your page in a timely manner.
• Include your social media links/icons in your email signature.
• Actively find and follow others. Don’t just count on people following you; go out and find others in your niche whom you can follow and engage with.
• Cross promote. If you have more than one social media account, Tweet about your Facebook page, post your Instagram photos on your Facebook page, etc.
• Re-share other people’s content that is educational and/or relative to your purpose.
• Use hashtags. Consider creating unique hashtags for your school/page. Also use simple, trending hashtags – search for popular hashtags on Hashtagify.me.
• Be visual – photos get the highest engagement. Always check for proper permissions when featuring photos of students.
• Use humor and be relatable. Don’t be afraid to have a little fun.
• Use emojis.
• Ask questions. Facebook posts with questions generate double the comments.
• When you mention other schools/groups/community organizations in your posts, be sure to @tag them in your posts. Also @tag them if the content is relative or might be of value to those groups.
• Monitor your analytics to see how well your posts are performing and which tactics are most effective.

Remember to post consistently and frequently to engage your followers and grow your audience!