As many of you are probably aware, there are a multitude of social media accounts out there representing schools, programs, teams and clubs across our district. This is wonderful! We encourage any school or district affiliated group out there, that isn’t represented on social media, to create a page/account for your school. Students, families and our community are always looking for new avenues to receive content!

Interested in looking into this? Here are the necessary steps to follow:

1. Talk to your building administrator (principal) to verify that this is something they are interested in pursuing. This is vital. Make sure you do not skip this step.
2. Decide which platform would work best for you. The district currently has official Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts. We recommend selecting from one of these, as we will be able to cross promote, share and engage on any of the posts which you push out.
3. IMPORTANT: Create the account using a district email address. Never create a school/district related social media account using a personal email address.
4. Name your account something specific to your school/program/team/club, as this will be extremely important when people are searching for your page/account. You want to make it as easy as possible to find your page, so avoid convoluted names or references. Here are a few examples of good name options: Jefferson MS, Capital Cougars, Boston Harbor Elementary School, Olympia HS Softball, Washington MS Robotics Team 3333, etc.
5. Once you have successfully created your account email the Communications and Community Relations Department at communications@osd.wednet.edu with the name of the account owner/manager and the email address tied to the account (must be district email address). Once you have done this you will receive an auto-generated email from ArchiveSocial, asking you to connect your account for archiving. This is important as it will provide all historical information from your account. It’s quite simple, once you get the email just click on the “Connect Account” button and you will be done.
6. IMPORTANT: Please remember that any student content published to social media needs to be vetted. Any photos or student names that you share must be checked in Skyward. Students must be marked “Yes” for “District/School Use”. Only then are they cleared to use on social media.
7. Now you’re ready to start sharing content! Please remember to tag the Olympia School District on posts that you consider pertinent and we will do our best to like, retweet and share on our social media platforms to get more eyes on your content!

Our Communications and Community Relations Department has account setup materials available for anyone interested in opening a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube account. Please just send them an email at communications@osd.wednet.edu if you are interested and they will get the necessary materials to you. They can also answer any specific questions you may have regarding; opening an account, social media best practices or anything else that comes to mind.

Thanks, hope to hear from you all soon!