Don’t Take a Vacation from Facebook: Seven things to Post on Your School’s Page

I just returned home from vacation. I spent seven days in Gatlinburg, TN, with my family. We had a great time in the Smoky Mountains, whitewater rafting and at Dollywood riding the debut of the first wing coaster, Wild Eagle, in the U.S. From there, we drove to Sandusky, OH, to spend Saturday at Cedar Point. This is our favorite amusement park because of its thrilling rollercoasters.

If there is one thing you should know about my family, it is that we love rollercoasters. The higher, the faster, the better!

Since we only had time to be there one day, I purchased a fast lane ticket. This saved us hours and we were able to ride our favorite coasters multiple times.

The Top-Thrill Dragster launches you at 120 MPH up to a height of 420 feet and straight down in less than 20 seconds. The Millennium Force goes up just over 300 feet and races down at a blazing speed of 93 MPH. And finally, the Maverick drops you at a 195 degree angle with curves, loops and a 70 MPH launch mid-way through the ride. If you like rollercoasters, you would love this park! It is the rollercoaster capital of the U.S.

In fact, if you want to check out some of my pictures, you can go to my Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/rick.newberry.

Speaking of Facebook, it is important to continue to tell your school’s story throughout the summer. While summer is filled with vacations for you and your families, don’t take a vacation from Facebook.

It’s easy to tell your school’s story on Facebook during the school year. With classes, games and activities every day, you can easily take a picture and post it to your page with a caption to tell your school’s story.

However, the summer months are very different. I am often asked what a school marketing director should post on Facebook during these quiet months.

The following are seven things that you could post on Facebook each week—one post every day—to tell the story of your school during the summer:

1. Pictures of your Staff on Campus – A few weeks ago, Sandy Johnson from Lakeland Christian School posted a picture of their receptionist in the main office and asked their fans to click “like” if they appreciate her. In just five hours, this post received 117 likes. I just checked and there are now over 200 likes! This is a great way to get your fans involved and engaged in your Facebook page.

2. Faculty Stories – You can use your summer posts to tell stories about your faculty. Since faculty typically don’t work at your school in the summer, tell stories of what they are doing. Perhaps they are involved in service projects, professional development, research, a trip, or some other interesting job? These are great stories to tell your fans.

3. Summer Vacation Picture Contest – Ask your fans to post a picture of themselves wearing a school T-shirt on their vacation. Encourage your fans to show your school on vacation all around the world. You could even create a contest and award some cool prizes based on the best photos posted.

4. Summer Improvement Progress – The summer months are typically spent doing some improvements at your school. There is a lot going on this summer on your campus—take time to show what’s happening on Facebook!

5. Throwback Thursday – In my previous post about showcasing your graduates, I recommended that you post an old yearbook picture for your “Throwback Thursday” post. This is a great idea worth mentioning again.

6. Did You Know? – There are many things that you can post under the heading of “Did you know?” This is a great way to communicate some impressive stats or interesting tidbits about your school.

7. On-Campus Activities – Even though you don’t have classes and students this summer, there are many things happening on campus. From summer camps to alumni dropping by for a visit, these are great photo opportunities to showcase on Facebook.

There are many posts that you can include on your school’s Facebook page this summer. I hope this list helps you to tell your school’s story.

What are some other summer post ideas that work well on Facebook?

Are you planning to ride any rollercoasters this summer? (Post a picture of you in front of a rollercoaster on the Enrollment Catalyst page to share your story!)

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