In the world of social media, storytelling and authenticity are the words of the moment. And it’s no wonder; with the amount of content out there, it’s natural that the real moments and stories audiences can connect with rise to the top.
There’s no doubt your school or district’s social media is the ideal outlet for telling the authentic story of your students and staff–and ultimately your school and/or district. We’ve rounded up 10 social media content ideas that can help you do just that: Tell your school’s story on social media in an authentic way that resonates with not only those within your school, but also the community and stakeholders who support it.
1. Student Achievements
Students work really hard, and their efforts are pretty incredible. Showing off a wide range of student achievements does a number of positive things. First, it encourages a culture of gratitude and support; second, it makes students feel appreciated, seen, and valued; finally, it shows your community the great things happening at your school, which happens to be the type of content they want to engage with. Once you get the ball rolling, you’ll be surprised how quickly your audience and community will be rooting for your students on your socials.
You probably already have ideas of achievements well-worth posting about; don’t be afraid to get creative in ways that strengthen student-to-community connection, especially for underrepresented groups and students. For example, consider shouting out a random act of kindness or a courageous display of leadership.
A social media management platform that prioritizes collaboration is especially important here since it’s impossible for a single person to be where all the great moments and achievements are happening. Class Intercom allows for unlimited users, which means administrators, staff, and even students can upload ideas for achievement posts in just a few seconds, and permissions that range from contributor to moderator to administrator ensure your school’s social media workflow is collaborative, safe, and secure.
2. School Spirit
When it’s Friday afternoon and school gets out in two hours, just before the first football game of the season, the energy is palpable. This energy and these moments are precisely the authentic, on-the-ground content your audience and community crave.
Pep rallies and student sections are rife with student interactions, wide shots of school spirit, and opportunities to give the cheer squad, dance team, and band some love. Any emotion or commotion you see, capture it! These photos and videos spread your students’ school spirit to your social channels—where they show your community that your students are proud to attend their school; they also encourage your audience and community to support their students and attend school events. The best part? You can use this content year-round to round out your social media calendar.
3. Mascot Fun
Mascots provide fun, genuine, branded content that entertains your audience and amplifies your school’s brand. Most school mascots have a backstory–and some even take on a life of their own. Be sure your audience knows the history of your mascot. Does it have a name? How did it get it? Shout out fun facts about your mascot and add some fun photos, especially if you have a student who dons a costume. Take it even further and have a #mascottakeover where your student mascot captures event content from their perspective (think selfies with the spirit squad and fans, crowd photos, and sideline shots), or assign another student to capture some great photos of your student mascot in action (think dancing with the band, hanging with the cheer squad, or celebrating a huge play). This type of entertaining content leaves your audience wanting more—and encourages them to attend events so they can join the fun.
4. Spotlight Posts
There’s no better way to bring inclusivity and representation to your school’s social media than recurring spotlight posts. What’s more, they show appreciation to the person or group being spotlighted–and your audience and community gets to learn about the people who are living your school or district’s story. These posts tend to get lots of engagement–the friends, family, and supporters of the person or group featured are happy to comment and share, making this content the perfect way to expand your reach in your community.
Whether you’re spotlighting a senior student, alumni, the chess club president, or your lead bus driver, it’s best to keep spotlights simple and fun. Use an engaging photo that shows the essence of the person. Ask a few simple questions—some relating to their role at your school and some that pull back the curtain on their personal life.
What’s your favorite part about being a bus driver?
What makes you proud to be a senior at our school?
What’s your favorite restaurant and dish in town?
Finish this sentence: I’m happiest when…
Better yet, have your students conduct these short interviews and create these posts. Create a template and upload it into your Class Intercom content library and use the modify feature to fill in the person’s name, picture, a standout quote from their interview, and their role at your school. Save the full interview for the photo caption.
A #TBT Twitter post uploaded in Class Intercom and awaiting moderator approval.
5. Throwback Thursday
Most of us have heard of #TBT. It’s the perfect way to share your school’s history and past impactful moments–especially if you’re looking to round out your content schedule. Whether it was 20 years ago or last summer, share the memories and moments that make your school special. They’re the threads of your school’s fabric, and by knowing your school’s past, your audience will become even more interested in its present and future.
Include an engaging photo or video of the moment or memory, and why it’s important to your school. Celebrate a past championship, an impactful speaker or visitor, a past student who went on to be incredibly successful, a jaw-dropping one-act performance, etc. Ultimately, #TBT is an ideal way to revisit past moments, stories, and content that are important to your school—and that will connect with and inspire your audience. Use it to your advantage!
6. Lunch Shenanigans
Ask students what their favorite part of the school day is, and many of them will tell you that it’s lunch. It’s when students are most at ease, and it’s when laughter, friendships, and school community are on full display. Why not capture and share these joyous (and often silly) moments? Make lunch duty a little more fun and interactive for the assigned staff member by having them collect this content during their shift, or assign a student from each lunch period to capture great moments once a week. This is also a great opportunity to give your lunch staff (cooks, servers, etc.) some much-deserved appreciation, and don’t forget to capture the interactions between students and these valuable personnel. These real, fun, and captivating moments are the kind of content that connects, inspires, and performs.
7. Student Takeovers/Day in the Life
Social content that highlights student perspectives is fascinating for your audience who isn’t in the building or on campus regularly. Plus, handing the mic to students via social media is THEE strategy for authentically telling your school’s story. After all, they’re the ones living it!
Allow a member of your social media team or the leader of an under-represented club to document their school day, highlighting the most interesting and engaging moments. An introductory post or video of the student to kick things off is a nice touch. Students can use the Instagram or Facebook stories feature, create posts that show the highlights of their day, or both. Be sure to leverage a social media management platform that allows for workflows that integrate feedback and approvals. This way, nothing is published without teacher or administrative approval. Ultimately, showing your audience what “a day in the life” looks like for different students gives them a front row seat to students’ experiences. Plus, it adds a little personality!
8. Behind the Scenes
The biggest and best moments at your school make for great social media content; of course your audience wants to see these. But only showing the highlight reels can make your channels feel a little monotonous and inauthentic. The solution? Shore up those big moments with behind-the-scenes storytelling that shows a little vulnerability.
Think time lapses of set up and take down of events (plays, fundraisers, etc.), students preparing for a big project or test, moments from a team’s final practice before a big performance, or an in-progress feature of a student’s art project. This kind of content shows the humanity and day-to-day progress of students, staff, teams, and groups, which makes your audience increasingly invested in your school’s social media content.
9. Engagement With The Community
Administrators, teachers, and students are incredibly involved in the communities who support their schools, and there’s no better content to bridge your school and its community than these interactions. Announce and document blood drives, internship programs, concession stands—any initiative, event, or moment when your school comes directly in contact with your community. You’ll be surprised at the engagement and subsequent reach these posts get, especially if you tag the business or group who partnered with your school.
10. Upcoming Events
This may seem like a no-brainer, but letting your community know about upcoming school events in an organized, engaging fashion is what turns your social media audience into supporters. Each quarter, mark all planned events on your social media calendar, then work backward to schedule the posts that will announce each event. A week’s notice, plus a reminder the day before, works well. Two posts for each school event might feel like a lot, but the good news is these posts are perfect for getting students started on social media content creation for your school. Sports tend to reign here, and they’re certainly important, but don’t forget to announce upcoming concerts, plus speech and debate tournaments.
Encourage students to think like journalists when building these posts. The who, what, when, why, and where are important. Just as important is drawing your audience in–and making the event sound so intriguing that the viewer couldn’t possibly miss it. The accompanying visual or video can help do this. Try to go beyond a simple graphic with text that announces event details. Announcing your school’s upcoming spring concert? Capture your audience’s hearts, minds, and attention with a video clip of a cool moment from last year’s performance—or a teaser that shows the band or choir practicing to achieve perfection. Next, use some snappy copy that hooks and intrigues your audience. Our choir and band students are on track to WOW their audience during their upcoming spring concert. Trust us: You don’t want to miss it!
Getting Started
There’s no doubt that communicating your school or district’s story through social media builds a bridge between your school and its community—and when you prioritize content that features authentic moments that are original to your students and staff, you’ll grow and engage your audience.
Class Intercom provides administrators, teachers, staff, and students a safe and secure platform to gather, curate, publish, archive, and report on social media content, so you can focus on creating content that strengthens the bond between your school and its students, staff, and community.
