By: Tanya Hyatt
I know without a doubt that I’m preaching to the choir when I say having a social media presence is extremely important for businesses nowadays. But with all the social media channels you can choose from, where do you focus your attention when you’re trying to reach teachers specifically? And once you find the channels you’ll target, how do you use them effectively? And lastly, how can you leverage social without a social media marketer on staff? Or if you do have one who’s new to the edtech industry, what are some quick tips to get them started?
Please keep in mind that this is not meant to be a comprehensive list, nor does this list focus on social media advertising. Learning the ins and outs of social media and how (and when) the multitude of channels can be leveraged is a hefty undertaking. Instead, the intent of this quick list is simply to get you started and establish your day-to-day social media strategy. Now that we’ve gotten the disclaimer out of the way, let’s dig in.
- Social media posts are more about brand awareness than sales conversions.
If it’s lead conversions you are looking for, then you should really be looking at leveraging ads and other digital strategies. Now, I’m not saying that conversions can’t come from social media posts, because they absolutely can! But keep in mind that posting day-to-day content on your channels and crafting advertising strategies for your channels require two different game plans and will typically have two different roles in building your sales funnel.
Teachers tend to use social media for community and connecting with other teachers, but also in search of ideas, educational trends, current news, professional development, solutions and resources—especially free ones. After all, they spend a staggering amount of their own personal money on their classrooms! (Yes, I’m speaking from experience). Teachers will follow companies that provide relevant information on any of these topics.
Teachers who are also influencers are looking for content they can get behind and use, and that means looking across different social media platforms as well as seeking out recommendations from other teachers. They followers they gain from this process can make teachers very powerful advocates for your brand. In fact, a growing number of teachers essentially work a second job as influencers on Instagram. Businesses are starting to sit up and take notice of just how powerful their voices are and the influence they have on decision-makers. So, in an indirect way, social media can potentially impact your lead pipeline—but you have to be patient and strategic.
- Determine the right channel to use.
I’ll talk about specific numbers of the main social media channels in my post next week, but to give the big picture on how edtech marketers can use social media to connect with teachers and use their platforms for brand awareness, I’m going to give you some highlights of a few of the heavy hitters.
While each of the main platforms has a similar goal of creating a sense of community engagement and a flow of information, the educators who use them (and the way they use them) differ. For example:
LinkedIn tends to appeal to administrators more than teachers. While teachers on social media tend to look for tips and deals, LinkedIn is focused more on professional connections, professional development, and decision-maker information that can be actionable.
Facebook is widely used by teachers to connect with people (obviously), including other teachers who are also their friends. So, this is a double dip into both personal and professional use. They tend to interact with businesses on Facebook that offer them the information they seek, such as ideas they could use in their classrooms and free or discounted products and solutions. Give teachers free lessons they can use right away, a daily tip or writing prompt, or a powerful educational quote they might want to share with their students. If you want to create quick brand awareness, run a contest and give them a chance to win a classroom set of free composition notebooks or free STEM equipment. You’ll see happy teachers sharing all over Facebook!
Pro tip: Facebook has strict rules on how you run promotions on their platform. If you plan on using a giveaway as a marketing strategy, make sure you read up on their rules beforehand.
Pinterest is often overlooked by edtech marketers, but 74% of teachers responding to a recent MDR survey said that Pinterest was their number one channel for professional use. Teachers use this platform to find ideas, classroom decorating tips (which is really popular before back to school), activities, and downloadable resources. This is also why Teachers Pay Teachers is so widely successful marketing on Pinterest and Instagram!
Instagram is another visual platform that allows teachers to connect, share, and find ideas. Teachers will usually have a personal account and a separate classroom account to show what they’re doing in the classroom, share ideas and tips that work, and display student work examples. Because Instagram is primarily visual, craft your feed posts using images or short video clips—or leverage Instagram’s Stories option that allows you to create a limited-time slide show of sorts using little (if any) text. The latter is great for conferences, tradeshows, and workshops!
Pro tip: Instagram is huge on using hashtags, so as a marketer, spend some time learning about what Instagram hashtags are popular in your market and add them to your posts or ads.
Twitter is a popular source of bite-size bits of information. Just like the other channels, teachers use Twitter for both personal and professional reasons. Professionally, they may use Twitter to follow companies and professional organizations that provide industry news and can keep them up-to-date with current trends. Like on Instagram, hashtags are a huge aspect of communication on this platform. You can filter, watch, and take part in conversations that have included specific hashtags. Again, invest a little time leaning what hashtags will benefit your posts. Adding images to posts can also boost engagement—just make sure you are using relevant and appropriate images.
- Avoid being sales-y!
Remember that, unlike advertisements, social media posts are aligned to brand awareness. Teachers want you to be authentic and aligned to their needs. Save the sales-speak for ads, landing pages, and for infrequent general posts. Remember why and how your target audience is using social media channels for professional use.
Pro tip: Share stories that showcase not your product, but the successes of the educators who use it. Post pictures and short video snippets. If a teacher is intrigued enough, they’ll visit your website to learn more.
- Be loyal to your own brand, including its voice.
Our parents used to ask us, “Would you jump off a bridge if your friends did?” The same idea goes for brands. Just because you see a post from another brand getting attention on social media doesn’t necessarily mean you should jump on the bandwagon and lose your company identity or voice in the process. For example, just because IHOP pulled a name switcheroo that skyrocketed their brand awareness and caused a ton of publicity doesn’t mean that’s a good idea for everyone. Customers want you to be consistent and true to your mission and values. This is what helps establish trust and makes you memorable in educators’ minds.
- Create content that brings value to educators.
Whether your target audience is math teachers or superintendents of rural districts, create posts that they want to interact with. Don’t post something just for the sake of posting. Make it meaningful! Before you share anything online, always ask yourself, “What value am I providing my audience in this post?” You’ll know that you’re on the right track when you see people commenting, liking, sharing, and even following you if they don’t already.
- Create a schedule and use analytics to learn and adjust.
First, create a social media schedule and try to stick with it. As you learn more about your audience preferences and make adjustments, you’ll have to tweak days and/or times., as well as continuously adjusting to meet changes in the market and your business. But being as consistent as possible helps establish expectations from your followers. Applying your understanding of how your audience is using each of your social channels, develop content that is relevant and useful for both your audience and the channel you’re using.
Second, use analytics to learn more about your audience, including who they are, when your posts are getting more hits, and what posts are resonating with them.
Pro tip: Invest a little time digging through your analytics to find out what days and times seem to be the sweet spot for your posts getting traction. Learn more about who is actually using each of your channels. Is one resonating more with decision-makers or teachers as influencers? Are videos and real-life images getting more traction? Sometimes it takes a series of test posts to find out this information, but it will be well worth the effort in the long run. Ultimately, your audience will thank you for understanding and paying attention to their needs!
As I mentioned, this is hefty topic, and it will take some time investment to get your strategy in place. To help you along, next week I’ll talk about the current state of the different social media platforms in order to get you thinking about how you can use them to connect with teachers.
Of course, if you want help with social, reach out to us! We’re here to help!
Thanks for sharing!
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