I spent the last two weekends presenting communication and public relations workshops for the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). TASB's Summer Leadership Institutes held in San Antonio and Fort Worth, attract several thousand School Board Members, Superintendents, and top level Administrators from districts all over the State of Texas.
Being one of the invited presenters is always an honor, and even though I am asked to share my knowledge with the participants ... it seems that I learn so much more from just talking to the audience before and after each session that I present. At both conferences this year I had more interest in the session I led on social media than on any other more traditional school PR session.
"Managing Social Media Before It Manages You" was the topic session presented. In this workshop the audience and I examined several tools such LinkedIn, SlideShare, Tumblr, Twitter, and others. We looked at how to use these tools from a personal/professional standpoint as an individual administrator, and also how a school district can use social media to get their news out to their target market
Probably the biggest fear I heard from participants in both cities about using social media in their school districts was "losing control". Many of them felt if they released their message and allowed the public to comment or re-blog, the end of society would soon occur. I know that I shared this same fear when I started using social media tools less than a year ago. What I have found was that if your message is consistent, if you treat your audience as equals, and if you quickly respond to their needs ... social media can be a gift from the heavens.
As this time, not all of our intended audience is on Facebook or using Twitter - so we still need to utilize traditional outlets to get our message to the audience we serve. But every day more and more people are using these tools and expect us to be there with them. How can we not embrace social media? The fears must take a back seat to the benefits that await.
To access the slides for the workshops I presented for TASB, go to my personal SlideShare account and please feel free to provide some comments.
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