The way we consume content has changed. Less and less people are consuming content via newspapers, magazines, TV etc. These products are in the saturation stage; the future is in interactive media.

Smartphones have taken interactive media to a completely new level and now with the rise of the tablet device, interactivity is an essential core element for all content. Why? Because people like to interact, communicate and engage with the author.

Does your school push news, blogs, events etc. to an end-user? Whether it’s a piece of content is pushed to a pupil, parent, alumni or the local community, a school app can improve the accessibility and availability of the content your school creates.

People don’t always have a computer nearby but they do always have their mobile. Do you have urgent news such as school closure? Only a smartphone app will ensure quick and easy updates like this.

By creating an app your end consumer does not need to open their web browser, type in an address, wait until the entire site loads and then navigate through your website. This is not good user experience for your consumer.

Pre-Web 2.0 businesses, schools and organisations used to push messages to an audience and then that was it. It was left to consume and there was no follow up. Now, with technology advances the consumer of content is accustom to communicating with the author.

Businesses have adjusted to meet these needs and your school should be no different. School apps can be designed to allow your school’s parents, pupils, alumni etc. to communicate and engage with you creating a mutual flow of interaction.

School apps can be integrated with social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter so that your end user can tweet, share, like and more actions that your audience is familiar with. Why is this good for your school? It’s advocacy. School apps help your audience advocate content

840 million apps were downloaded in the UK last year; imagine how much content was pushed out to the world via apps alone. In order to stand out you need your team of advocates to push your content out there. If a parent is using your iPhone school app, for example, they can easily share your content with other parents via email, Twitter, Facebook and many more.

The reason school apps help advocating is partly down to their great ability to share via the platform the consumer wants. Another reason is simply because apps are fun! There is no limit to how far you want to push your app; it can be as fun, creative and engaging as you want it to be.

By having something that connects directly with the end user, on their terms, and that is fun to connect with means that it will be shared with peers.

School apps should be part of a multi-channel, multi-platform, integrated communications strategy that takes time and knowledge to develop. Content is just a small part of what your school app could achieve and there is no limit to this.

Are you interested more in how apps can benefit your school? Do you have a creative idea for an app? Get in contact with our apps team and we will be happy to talk anything apps, mobile and social.

Look out for more tips coming soon on how apps & mobile can help your school with its marketing campaign. 

Google+ is the coolest new thing on the web, everyone in the social world is talking about it. According to Mashable, in its ‘first three weeks, Google’s competitor to Facebook and Twitter has amassed more than 10 million users, and its users are sharing more than 1 billion pieces of content daily.’ It’s become a hotbed for early adopters, tech luminaries, marketers and businesses around the world.

Now it is opened to the public - invite free. We are extremely excited about the potential Google+ has within schools and education. Some schools are still yet to adopt social media but we believe Google+ is the one for schools. Why?

Targeted Sharing with Circles

Unlike Facebook you don’t add someone as a friend, you simply follow them - ahem, Twitter. But what makes it different to Twitter is that you have the ability to group these people you follow into different groups - or Circles as they’re known on Plus. I believe this is one of the main reasons Google+ is going to become huge in the education world. The ability to group people into circles allows a great amount of 'targeted sharing’ and helps build and nurture relationships with specific groups without the pain of having unnecessary news or information filling up people’s feeds which is a problem on Twitter and Facebook.

What could a Circle be? We think the basics should be 'Parents’, 'Students’ and 'Public’ should be the groups that are essential. Once a suitable level of students are engaged on Google+ then go niche with subjects and topics such as 'History’ and 'WWII’. This allows not only engagement and relationship building and student collaboration but also the ability to be able to teach and help the student with and problems.

Privacy

A recurring problem that schools find with social media is the lack of privacy and that everything is public. But this is especially not true with Google+. By having a 'Public’ Circle you can choose which  information you wish to share out to the public.

Teach with Hangouts

Many educators have found Skype to a be a hugely popular tool in the classroom. The ability to bring guests have speakers into the room and help better the student experience has been a great asset. However, Skype is a desktop app and many people have wished for a web app that can be accessed anywhere. Now its here, and better! Google Hangouts can allow up to 10 people at once to be part of a video conference. Being able to see up to 10 experts on a subject discuss their passion is very exciting.

Future

Google are constantly innovating and don’t expect Google+ to be the final product. However, do expect a great number of new features to be rolled out in the future. Some of the potential updates could include integration to Docs, apps and other collaboration tools.

Don’t Believe The Hype

Facebook is sometimes an awkward word within schools. Social media can often be overlooked by schools because of stories of teachers losing their jobs for what they’ve posted online. Fortunately, these are rare cases and there is protection in place to prevent sorts of inappropriate behaviour to be broadcasted.

Create A Policy

Schools should create a policy to show teachers what is appropriate to post on their personal page and what is not. But your school should also create a Facebook Page specific to your school. This creates a means by which your school can establish a controlled environment from which important and valuable content can be published. As well as a policy your school should create a plan of what content is to be published – photos, videos, personal information etc. This allows your school to plan for consent off parents or guardians before posting personal items.

What To Share

The most obvious thing to share on Facebook is your school news. This creates an excellent opportunity for your school to connect with your students, their families and prospective students. If your content is clear and concise then your audience will use your Facebook Page as their source of news.

Sometimes parents want to find out what their child is doing at school. Facebook offers a solution to this through updates on the Page’s wall. This is a simple, quick and convenient way for schools to share and parents to view.

It can also become an instant source for announcement. If the school has a closure people may rely on Facebook to give them this news. “Example School is closed today due to…” can instantly tell hundreds of parents and students of the closure.

Events

Schools can use Facebook Events to invite and also showcase past events. Events allow students and family to RSVP and to gain up to date information on changes to the event. If used to its full potential, Facebook Events can lead to an increase in the attendance to your school events.

Photos

Facebook can be a great way to engage with your audience through photos. You can use photos to show:

• School trips – prospective students can see what types of trips your school provide and get a feel for the school’s personality.
• Student work – this is excellent to use for students and parents. Showcasing a student’s work can show parents what type of work their children do and also heaps praise and reward for students. This kind of recognition could prove priceless for student motivation.
• School culture – every school has a specific culture, whether it be an historical, ideological etc. Using photos on Facebook can show what type of culture your school exhibits. Photos of charity work, fundraisers, founders days, celebrations etc. can really put across your school culture.

Videos

School events can be extremely fun and videos to showcase this can really provoke positive memories. Here are a few examples of what videos can be used on Facebook:

• Concerts
• Plays
• Sporting events
• Choir
• Interviews with students, teachers etc.

Social Community

Your school can harbour Facebook’s great ability to connect and engage. Students, parents and teachers can participate in a variety of online discussions.

Discussions

Your school can use the Discussions tab to create and communicate with your audience. Discuss school news, subjects, homework etc. and allow your students to participate and engage with each other. Parents can give instant feedback and can be used as a great research tool.

Polls

Schools have historically sent out ‘surveys’ to parents to request feedback on a certain subject. This costs money, takes time and doesn’t always get a reply. Using Facebook Polls can greatly increase the amount of information received due to its convenience.

Let us know how your school uses Facebook and how you have found it in the comments below. 

Twitter is one of the hottest properties on the web right now. It seems everyone is Tweeting but schools have not been as active as others.

Schools can heavily benefit from the use of Twitter and here’s why:

• Simplicity – the idea, the usability and the ease of use is so simple that anyone can adopt. Some people may be afraid to use new technology but Twitter is so easy to use anybody at your school can use it.
• Concise Communication – because you can only use 140 characters you must be concise. This allows students, parents and governors etc. to be able to understand your message a lot clearer and easier.
• Quick Communication – sometimes we all need to let people know of urgent information. Schools are no different. Twitter gives a direct link to parents and students of school news. For example, with one tweet you can let every student and parent know that the school is closed for the day because of snow.

• Variety of Platforms – you can use Twitter from almost everywhere: on your PC, laptop, mobile, smart phone, tablet device etc. This means that no matter where your target audience is you can communicate with them and vice versa.
• Excellent Learning Tool – you can learn so much more about your school and students by using Twitter. You can also keep up in real time with education news and hear other opinions. Asking your followers questions can be an essential research tool.
• Inspire – people share what inspires them and using Twitter allows you to have access to inspiration. It can help you and your students create something magical.

Twitter really is a great tool to use and it should have a place within schools.

Let us know what you have done to implement Twitter into your school!