Communication is the Key to Unlocking Doors and Hearts

In a recent newsletter sent by the American Schools Foundation Alliance, their front and center story was “Communication is the Key to Unlocking Doors.”

Those of us who know communications, know how true that is! The article goes on to say, “The link between communicating and raising money is clear.”

Now, the application of that idea to public schools may not be as immediately obvious to some as to others. But again – how true! Think about it: why would anyone want to spend money on something they know nothing about? I think the majority of people do not go into a store and say, “Give me something – anything, I just want to spend money.” Of course not!

Well, if we extend that reasoning, then, it makes total sense to me that we must always be communicating with our publics about our schools. If we don’t – they have no idea what they are paying for, and then why would they want to continue paying? Worse yet, if we aren’t communicating with them somebody else may be -- and it may or may not be the true picture.

It is true, communication is the key to unlocking doors and I would add, unlocking hearts. I’m sure the author intended this to mean two-way communication: Not just sending, but actually engaging and communicating two-way with our publics. That’s when we will start building relationships.

Dorreen Dembski
Director of Communications
Wisconsin Association of School Boards

In a School Choice Environment Who are Your Ambassadors?

Across the state, there are a multitude of news stories detailing the efforts of public school districts to market themselves. Billboards; newspaper, radio and television commercials; YouTube videos, and brochures have been some of the more common methods.

On their own, how effective are they in determining parents' decisions as to where to send their child to school? While these advertising methods may create awareness and peak interest, I would argue that it is really your school's formal or informal ambassadors or perhaps lack of, that play a critical role in how parents choose a school.

Brains on Fire blog recently wrote the following:

Maybe you’re not in a formal ambassador program or even consider yourself an ambassador of, well, anything really. But when you start thinking about it, you might be surprised that you choose or not choose to be an ambassador every day.

Case in point, if you’re a runner and like to run outside in public places (like downtown), more than likely you’ve been stopped and asked directions by pedestrians or even drivers. At that moment, you have a decision to make. Because in that moment, you can choose to be an ambassador for your city. You can choose to take the time to stop and get them where they need to go and wish them well on their way. You just became an ambassador. You just gave that person a “customer experience.”

My point is that you don’t have to be involved in a formal program to be considered an ambassador. You don’t even have to be a loud and proud evangelist to be considered an ambassador. We make decisions everyday when we interact with others. And many times, brands are a part of those interactions. So take the time to become aware of your conversations. Because those are the same ones your customers are having. And each and every one of those are an opportunity to make both your lives better.

Does your staff serve as ambassadors of your schools? When out in the community does the staff speak positively about the schools they work in? Do the conversations the staff have with friends and family enhance or improve your brand, or do they create or reinforce negative perceptions of your schools?

Beyond staff, parents and community members also serve as ambassadors of your district. Do your parents speak well of your schools? Have they and their children had positive experiences in your schools? If a parent had a complaint was it dealt with to the parent's satisfaction? Do you seek feedback from parents so that you are aware of existing problems, or does everyone else know except you?

While advertising is a way to get the message out about what makes your schools great, it needs to be supported by the conversations happening in your schools and communities. How can you impact those conversations?

Creating Social Media Policy

One of the topics that will be covered at WSPRA's February Social Media: Get on Board Workshop will be developing social media policy.

In Jason Falls article, What Every Company Should Know about Social Media Policy, he points out that only one in three companies has social media policy in place. He suggests that companies consider the following social media policies:

•Employee Code of Conduct for Online Communications



•Employee Code of Conduct for Company Representation in Online Communications


•Employee Blogging Disclosure Policy


•Employee Facebook Usage Policy


•Employee Personal Blog Policy


•Employee Personal Social Network Policy


•Employee Personal Twitter Policy


•Employee LinkedIn Policy


•Corporate Blogging Policy


•Corporate Blog Use Policy


•Corporate Blog Post Approval Process


•Corporate Blog Commenting Policy


•Corporate Facebook Brand Page Usage Policy


•Corporate Facebook Public Comment/Messaging Policy


•Corporate Twitter Account Policy


•Corporate YouTube Policy


•Corporate YouTube Public Comment Policy


•Company Password Policy

While this may seem like policy overkill, Falls writes:

"By having written policies for your employees in personal and company use, your customers or audience in their behavior in interacting with your company and processes in place for handling social media content production and user-generated content handling, you mitigate risk and keep your lawyers happy. In my experience, when policies are in place, the “no”s you are used to hearing from legal and compliance suddenly become “yes”es."

School districts are a rather cautious lot and rightly so. However, good social media policy can take the risk out of community building through social media and instead provide greater support of your mission to educate children.