Advice About Social Media for School and PR Professionals

Posts in category Internet

When the Bullying of a Bus Monitor Goes Viral

Jun25
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Evelyn McCormack

Karen Klein, via People magazine

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle has published a fascinating look at why the story of Karen Klein, the bus driver who was mercilessly bullied by middle school students in Greece, N.Y., went so viral.
Among other things, the story says, viewers of the YouTube video shot on the bus identified with Ms. Klein, who is a senior citizen and who didn’t fight back.
“This is a glance into the heart of darkness of the human spirit,” said Syracuse University media professor Robert Thompson in the D&C piece. “But it’s not a serial killer, it’s our own kids.” Everyone loves an underdog.
Even more interesting, from strictly a social media point of view, is that the video only had a few dozen hits on YouTube until Daniel Kiernan posted it on Reddit, a social networking site.
“Users on a second site, 4Chan, picked up on it, and soon, links were being posted to Facebook and Twitter, and views on the YouTube video were growing exponentially. By Friday, the video had amassed 4.2 million views…”
The Democrat and Chronicle also notes Rochester’s two other popular local YouTube sensations — when Jason McElwain, an autistic high school senior, scored 20 points in a basketball game, and when Emily Good was arrested for filming a traffic stop.
Timing is everything. When McElwain scored those points in a Greece Athena High School basketball game in 2006, Facebook had only 10 million fans and Twitter hadn’t even been born. (A segment on ESPN actually vaulted him into the national spotlight.)
Meanwhile, Ms. Klein’s popularity has grown so much as a result of social media, that more than 29,000 people have donated $648,000 (as of this writing) to a fund established by Indiegogo.com, a fundraising website that didn’t even exist until 2008. Ms. Klein was making $15,000 a year as a bus monitor.

Posted in education, schools, Social Media, Teens, The Press, video, youtube - Tagged , , , ,

How Schools Are Effectively Using YouTube

Jan10
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Evelyn McCormack
Image representing YouTube as depicted in Crun...

Image via CrunchBase

 

I was happy to write this piece for the National School Public Relations Association’s “Trend Tracker” column:

We all know that YouTube has been used by high school students to clandestinely videotape a fight in the school hallway, or to turn the tables on a teacher they don’t like. The black eye that the media has given YouTube, along with other social media sites, is certainly somewhat self-inflicted.

But YouTube, like most social media, is simply a mirror on society. With three billion viewers a day, and more than 48 hours of video uploaded every minute, you’re bound to witness both the good and the bad.

At the same time, YouTube has worked hard to polish its image. Several years ago, it partnered with the country’s colleges and universities to create YouTube Edu, where you can watch promotional videos and free classroom lectures posted by Harvard, MIT, Stanford and dozens of other institutions of higher learning. And recently, it has expanded that site to include the categories of “primary and secondary education” and “lifelong learning.”

Dozens of tech-savvy school districts, state education departments and even the National PTA have decided it’s time to join the rest of the universe by using YouTube as a public relations tool. And while any foray into social media can have its pitfalls (anonymous commenting on YouTube, for example), you can control what’s posted on your channel.

Among those using YouTube effectively are the Guilford County Schools (GCS) in Greensboro, N.C., with 338 videos uploaded to its channel since it was created in January 2010. GCS’s videos have been viewed 29,420 times and range from features about students and school events, to panel discussions among educators about learning trends. At last count, 60 viewers “subscribe” to the GCSchoolsNC channel, which means they’ve chosen to receive video feeds from the district on their own YouTube pages.

On a larger scale, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction uses its YouTube channel to post press conferences and messages from the state superintendent, and to promote individual schools throughout the state. The WisconsinDPI channel has uploaded 127 videos since creating the channel in 2008, and its videos have been viewed more than 113,000 times.

One of my favorite school YouTube channels was actually created by OneDublin, an independent, parent-run organization supporting the Dublin, Calif., public schools. This group has its own website and YouTube channel, and its “I Am Dublin” video is one of my favorites. In the piece, graduating seniors individually name the college or university they’ll be attending, and proudly point out that “I Am Dublin” — a simple, but effective way to promote the success of the high school.
Make Connections with Other Social Media

If you’re going to create a YouTube channel, it’s important to remember that most social media sites want you to make connections. If your district already has a Facebook fan page or a Twitter feed, for example, you can easily connect those sites to your YouTube channel. Go to your YouTube Account Settings page and choose the “Activity Sharing” dropdown. There, you can simply choose which of your other social media sites should be connected to your YouTube channel. When you make that connection, your uploaded YouTube videos will automatically appear on your Facebook fan page wall, and links will appear on your Twitter feed.

A number of paid and free third-party applications also can help you to add a YouTube tab to your district’s Facebook fan page, where a real-time library of videos posted to your YouTube channel can appear. Many of these apps, including Involver, Tabsite, and Pagemodo, automatically refresh your YouTube video library. This means that your Facebook fans never have to leave Facebook to watch the latest videos you’ve posted.
Additional Thoughts and Advice

A few caveats about using YouTube:

If you’re a one-person school public relations office, take small steps. First purchase an easy-to-use video camera (we use the Flipcam in our office) and practice making brief videos of school events. Then, install video editing software like iMovie or FinalCut Pro, and learn how to use them. Do this before even thinking about creating a YouTube channel.

While certainly the decision to open or close comments on YouTube is up to your discretion, most districts close comments on the site. The reason? YouTube continues to permit viewers to post comments anonymously, so comments can sometimes be off-color and downright vulgar.

As the opportunities provided by electronic communication continue to grow, YouTube is one medium that is worth consideration. Think of it as a video newsletter — like a printed newsletter, it allows you to control the content to disseminate your message and avoid the news media gatekeepers.

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Posted in Communications, education, Public relations, schools, Social Media, Uncategorized, video, youtube - Tagged , ,

Sigh of Relief…

Sep21
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Evelyn McCormack
Infographic on how Social Media are being used...

Image via Wikipedia

I’m thrilled that my session on social media at the National School PR Association’s annual conference was not only so well-attended, but well-received. If you’re anything like me, you dread the evaluations when they come in. But out of 43 evaluations turned in, 31 attendees rated my presentation as “excellent” and 12 rated it as “good.” Hallelujah. Sigh of relief.
If there’s a lesson in all this for me, it’s that it pays to be well-prepared, to conduct thorough research and to entertain the troops. Always entertain, especially at the start of any presentation. Break the ice, wake them up, and banish the nerves.
The one lesson I haven’t yet learned is how to squeeze a ton of information into an hour-long time slot. I’m working on that.
Here’s a sample of the comments submitted by my colleagues:

  • Surprisingly good. I feared a corporate presentation. It was nothing of the sort. Learned a lot of cool things.
  • Great — full of information. Current.
  • Evelyn’s presentations are always great. Sometimes I leave with my head spinning from all the info, but it’s always good.
  • Her facts and presentation say it all…..your head is in the sand if you did not listen…..but I still have great fears about it…..my board is adamantly against it….
  • May have been too much information in such a short amount of time.
  • BEST PRESENTATION AT CONFERENCE.
  • Loved the hands on practical tips
  • Evelyn McCormack is a social media guru.
  • The best social media “application” workshop I have ever attended.
  • Evelyn is one of our most informative speakers — although she has presented on this general theme before, every time she has new information and valuable advice. I am a fan!
  • Great presentation, lots of good info! Excellent speaker.
  • Evelyn is always on the cutting edge of social media and this was the seminar I was most looking forward to in advance of the conference. I was not disappointed!!
  • Fabulous resources shared by Evelyn. She shared new apps that I wasn’t aware of, unlike some other sessions where it was the same ol’ social media apps being promoted.
  • There is no one better on social media than Evelyn.
  • Thanks to SchoolMessenger for supporting the NSPRA Conference. (I second that!)
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Posted in Communications, education, facebook, Public relations, schools, Social Media, Twitter

Sidewalk Chalk and Other Cool Ideas

Jul15
2011 1 Comment Written by Evelyn McCormack

Papillion-La Vista's Facebook Page

At the National School Public Relations Association conference, held July 10-13 in lovely San Antonio, Texas, I attended umpteen professional development seminars, most focusing on — yes, you guessed it — social media.

One of the best social media presentations was conducted by the communications team from Papillion-La Vista School District in Nebraska, where communications director Annette Eyman and communications specialist Kala Morrissey laid out what their District is doing in the social media world. And let’s just say, they’re committed.

Among other things, Papillion has one of the best social media policies I’ve seen among districts. It includes thorough Facebook use guidelines, and even a security manual about social media, written to instruct its staff. Papillion does not permit staff-to-student “friending” on FB, for example.

In addition, extensive training has taken place at Papillion so that each school can create and populate its own Facebook page, linked, of course, to the District page.

And Papillion is spending the summer using their social media to offer parents tips, especially about summer reading and learning games. A super idea for an otherwise slow news season.

One of my favorite ideas, which I hope to steal this fall, was Papillion’s decision to use sidewalk chalk on the walks leading up to their elementary schools last September, which said “Find Us on Facebook” in a way that couldn’t be missed, especially by new parents. The idea is still valid, unless (as it just so happened in Papillion) it rains on opening day.

And down the road for Papillion? A mobile app for the district.

You can find Papillion-La Vista's Facebook guidelines on the District Facebook page. The District is also liberally using Twitter and YouTube. It's nice to see.

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Posted in education, facebook, Public relations, Social Media, Twitter, youtube - Tagged

Snow Days and Webinars

Feb16
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Evelyn McCormack

nominate-meThere’s nothing like being sent home early, because of a thick and growing blanket of snow, because I can get back to learning more about social media at my kitchen table.

Today’s learning experience was provided by the EdSocialMedia Summit, a conference held in Chestnut Hill, MA, for private school officials centered squarely on the topic of using social media to promote your schools. Because I have two important presentations coming up in March and July, I tuned in. And, surrounded by falling snow and with a space heater aimed directly at my frozen toes, I learned.

Jesse Bardo of the Northfield Mount Hermon School, located in Mount Hermon, MA, walked us through that school’s Facebook page and presence. Among other points Mr. Bardo made:

– Use Facebook Insight for your fan pages to track and analyze your hits, your fans, and they visit and use your site. The free Insight tool allows you to look at your fans based on gender and age range, for example.
– Plan out how you will post to Facebook and other social media sites; don’t just post in a haphazard way.
– Get your fans involved in the site by providing them with richer browsing experiences. Always link to other places when you have that opportunity. (Your district’s Flickr account, Wikipedia, etc.)
–Pur your Facebook fan page address everywhere, including on your website, the school’s business cards and in your email signatures.

Travis Warren, president and founder of Whipple Hill Communications, noted that you can monitor mentions of your school or district by searching Google this way: -site: nameofschool.org. That simple query will bring up mentions of your district and other sites created on behalf of your district. You can dump that information into a PowerPoint presentation, for example, and show it to your superintendents/heads of school.

Warren also noted that even though your school is mentioned elsewhere, try to refrain from slamming down other sites. Instead, embrace the fact that think well enough of your school to devote a website or a blog to it.

Another tip from Warren, and one that I can predict could become unwieldy for small PR offices — create a Wikipedia entry about your district and regularly update it. If you have well-known alum, you should list them on your Wikipedia page, with a link to their own Wikipedia entry. You can also go in and change their Wikipedia entry to make sure it mentions that they graduated from your school. In the White Plains City School District, one of my clients, we are bound to find well-known graduates we can add to the district’s Wikipedia entry.

A tip from Warren that I am likely to emulate: Using Flickr, the photo sharing site, as a place to build a photo archives collection. At Southern Westchester BOCES, we’re about to embark on a history project — and that will include wading through a basement full of old records, publications and photos. It will be a huge endeavor, but partly because of the social media possibilities, I am now looking forward to it.

To watch some of today’s EdSocialMedia Summit presentations, visit WhippleHill Live and learn something new. That’s what snow days are for!

Posted in collaborating, Communications, education, facebook, google, Public relations, RSS, schools, Social Media, Web 2.0

Presenting at Columbia University

Jan28
2010 3 Comments Written by Evelyn McCormack

I presented on Web 2.0 tools and technology at Columbia University last week, which was an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up. Just wandering through the halls at the Teachers College was enough for me. But I also spoke to a small group of educators taking a year-long public engagement class, including teachers from a sister school college, Diné College, a public institution of higher education chartered by the Navajo Nation. It was fascinating.
Although the educators from Diné described their Internet access as “spotty, at best,” they were nothing short of gracious in learning more about how we use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media tools here in my neck of the woods.

Columbia Univ Presentation
Posted in collaborating, colleges, Communications, education, facebook, Public relations, schools, Social Media, Twitter

Lip Dubs the Rage on YouTube

Jan19
2010 1 Comment Written by Evelyn McCormack

Gosh, to be in high school or college again.

Technology has changed the way kids learn, they way they have fun, the way they communicate and the way they sing and dance. Just take a look at what’s become all the rage lately –”lip dubbing,” a relatively new phenomenon that takes an age-old idea, adds a Flipcam, some creative planning and YouTube, to create and distribute some of the most clever videos out on the web lately.

Take Shorewood High School and Shorecrest High School, both located near Seattle, Wash., rival schools currently competing on YouTube to make the best lipdub video, with the help of a couple of clever video teachers and about 300 of their closest friends. Videotaped in one take with a handheld videocam, they show hundreds of students individually mouthing the words to Hall & Oates’ “Make My Dreams Come True” (Shorewood) and the Black Eye Peas’ “Heya” (Shorecrest), as the camera moves down hallways, into offices, around corners, outdoors and into lobbies and gymnasiums, every student performer knowing his or her cue (generally).

Shorewood has gone one step further. There, the school videotaped in reverse, with the main lip-syncers learning the lyrics to the song in reverse before shooting began. It’s a hilarious, fun-loving video that features a variety of tricks that look cool in reverse — balloons in the air, paper airplanes, that kind of thing.

Perhaps influenced by the popularity of “Glee,” Fox’s hit show about a bunch of high school theater and musical “nerds” that belong to a glee club, the lip dub videos are reproducing like white mice. Other high schools with lip dub videos include Florida’s Bloomingdale High (performing to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”), Hempfield High School in Pennsylvania (“Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus), and Sandwich, Mass., High School’s version of Bowling for Soup’s “High School Never Ends.” Colleges and universities are beginning to join in the fray, with Boston University, Suffolk University and the University of Quebec at Montreal creating more lip dubs.

On Suffolk’s video channel, the school explains that the video was created by students and the Office of University Communications, and provides “a tour through some of Suffolk’s buildings and streets of Boston.”

The Suffolk video was shot with a cast of 50 students, took six weeks to produce and was filmed in one continuous shot. The video was rehearsed for two hours, with individual “scene managers” responsible for the action in each separate location in and around the Suffolk city campus. The lipdub was filmed live and took three “takes”. Not only that, but the video ends with the Suffolk University seal.

Seems to me that these lip dubs could be awesome promotion, public relations and recruiting tools, particularly at the college and university level.

Here’s the Suffolk video:

Posted in education, Public relations, schools, Social Media, video, youtube - Tagged , , , ,

The Blogging Life: 16 Months and 87 Countries Later

Jul20
2009 3 Comments Written by Evelyn McCormack

This blog has been around for 16 months, so it’s time to take stock. Some posts have been better than others, admittedly, and there have been dry periods, when other projects have distracted me from blogging for weeks. But I’m stickin’ to it until I literally run out of words.
Since I’m taking stock, I’ll be egotistic for a moment and share a few amazing facts about my readership. One of my favorite analytic tools is FlagCounter, which you can see in the right-hand margin of my blog. Flag Counter, among other things, tells you from where in the world your readers have visited.

School Communications 2.0 has received:

1,782 visits from the United States (I’m going to assume that 100 of those visits were from the author)

290 visits from the Philippines

243 visits from Canada

169 visits from the United Kingdom

141 visits from India

107 visits from Malaysia (who knew?)

77 visits from the Netherlands

66 visits from Australia

And the list goes on, with a good number of visits from countries in Europe, as you might expect. But it’s when the numbers begin to dwindle down to single visits that I’m reminded how awed by the Web I continue to be. Here are just a few of the visits that fascinate me:

4 visits each from Jordan, Vietnam, and Kenya

2 visits each from Croatia, Moldova and Oman

1 visit each from Mongolia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan and Morocco.

And finally, on March 27, I received a single visit from the Holy See (Vatican City State).

My guess is that someone at the Vatican stopped by to read my post about the Pope’s YouTube page. Perhaps the Official Papal Social Media Guy. Whatever. The point is, he stopped by.

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Presenting at NSPRA 2009

Jun29
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Evelyn McCormack
SAN FRANCISCO - JUNE 9: San Francisco Municip...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Here I am in beautiful San Francisco, where humidity has been banished forever, or so it seems, and cable cars are passing by my hotel window.

Oh yes, and this is a business trip — the annual National School Public Relations Association Conference. I will be presenting tomorrow morning on a topic near and dear to my heart — “Using Web 2.0 and Social Media to Reach Your Audience.” I’m hoping to persuade school PR people to jump on the Web 2.0 train before it’s too late!

Here’s a link to the presentation, which is now available on SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/evelynmccormack.

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Posted in collaborating, Communications, education, Social Media, Web 2.0 - Tagged , ,

Top of the 'Net

May25
2009 2 Comments Written by Evelyn McCormack

I hope to provide you with “Top of the ‘Net” every weekend, which will usually be a list of not-to-be-missed web discoveries. Tune in!

Just when you think the Internet is saturated and things can’t get any more interesting, you discover new sites and blogs that just blow you away. I love to stumble across sites that make me ask: “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Three such sites come to mind, each one notable for its creativity. You must check these out:

1. One of my favorite blogs is Cake Wrecks, a clever blogspot blog that’s been around for just over a year and is “eating up” the competition on Google page ranks. Here’s the tag line for this blog: When professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong. This is a hilarious site, create by Jen Yates, that feeds off the submissions of whacky looking cakes that readers have either made, ordered or received. Among other things, this site, and the others I list here, are successful because the owners write well. Look for great captions and subtitles. Here’s a sample cake photo from Cake Wrecks:

The title above this entry (which included a seriously long menu of “horse” cakes) was: Why beat a dead horse…when you can eat one?

Yates has written a book, naturally, and is selling a variety of T-shirts, affectionately called “Wreckwear.” Her contributors and fans (legions of them) are called Wreckies.

Now why didn’t I think of that?

2. Again, a site that lives and breathes based on the contributions of others: AwkwardFamily Photos. This one, which was featured on The Today Show last week, was also passed along by my work colleague, John Resanovich, who is always sending me cool sites. Warning: Before you go on AwkwardFamilyPhotos, take a bathroom break. Otherwise, you’ll have an accident from laughing so hard. These are some of the most hilarious photos you could imagine.

Here are a couple of samples from Awkward, also notable for its spot-on captions and subtitles.

This one is titled: Joy Ride

And this one is called Mommy-the-Pooh:

3. Finally, I must introduce you to Good Magazine’s examination of a series of photos of the insides of people’s refrigerators. They were produced by photographer Mark Menjivar, and collectively make a fascinating statement about what our refrigerators say about us. For example:

Here’s what the caption says:
Carpenter/Photographer | San Antonio, TX | 3-Person Household | 12-Point Buck | 2008

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