School Facebook Page

[7UD9]

Hi All

 

I didn't see a better place to put this thread, please move if there is somewhere more suitable.

 

I've been asked to create a school Facebook page, the hope is to use it to publish news items/updates and further engage parents and students. Has anyone done this and is there anything to be aware/cautious of before diving into it?

 

Thanks

[3s-gtech]

There's an aspect to be cautious of - your workload. Running and administrating a school Facebook page can actually be quite a lot of work - do you have the free time?

[Joanne]

I have. Lock it down as much as possible... although I thought I had disabled comments... turns out that does nothing.

 

Most annoying things: - parents messaging the account for weird reasons... I just reply with please contact office

 

Then more recent, pupils 'reviewing' the page and generally messaging the account. I just report the accounts as underage because I'm mean like that.

 

As for updating it, people e-mail me what they want on and I copy and paste it. A few seconds work at most. I also upload the newsletter once a week, 2 minutes max!

[7UD9]

There's an aspect to be cautious of - your workload. Running and administrating a school Facebook page can actually be quite a lot of work - do you have the free time?

 

Social media stuff is being written into my job description, along with a bump up the scale to reflect the extra work.

 

I have. Lock it down as much as possible... although I thought I had disabled comments... turns out that does nothing.

 

Most annoying things: - parents messaging the account for weird reasons... I just reply with please contact office

 

Then more recent, pupils 'reviewing' the page and generally messaging the account. I just report the accounts as underage because I'm mean like that.

 

As for updating it, people e-mail me what they want on and I copy and paste it. A few seconds work at most. I also upload the newsletter once a week, 2 minutes max!

 

Thanks for the info, so you've found no way to stop commenting on posts? Does reporting the posts then hide them from public view?

 

Thanks

[Joanne]

You can delete comments. I haven't had the need to do that yet and we are in a pretty deprived area. If you want to take a look I can PM you url to the page.

[synaesthesia]

We do, but we keep it minimal so it doesn't impact on workload too much. It's linked to our Twitter account, so anything posted on Twitter automatically goes to FB. Things like sports successes, events, reminders and sometimes photos too such as renovations etc.

[7UD9]

You can delete comments. I haven't had the need to do that yet and we are in a pretty deprived area. If you want to take a look I can PM you url to the page.

 

Ok, deleting them would be ok if they were to happen. Please send a link, that would be userful.

 

We do, but we keep it minimal so it doesn't impact on workload too much. It's linked to our Twitter account, so anything posted on Twitter automatically goes to FB. Things like sports successes, events, reminders and sometimes photos too such as renovations etc.

 

That's a good idea and something I hadn't thought of, I already run out Twitter page and keep it active, that would save time!

 

Thanks

[rad]

Create a Twitter page while you are at it and link the two together, that way you are attracting more people to your news stories.

[sarahstacey]

Hi,

 

We have a fb, twitter and linkedin. I set them up but someone else updates them. I'm just asked for help when they get stuck.

We did have one instance of a negative comment which we deleted and then contacted the person to invite them to talk to us directly about their issue. That's the only downside we have seen. We post as synaesthesia commented sports successes, events, photos, reminders etc.

[SovietRussia]

I have. Lock it down as much as possible... although I thought I had disabled comments... turns out that does nothing.

 

Most annoying things: - parents messaging the account for weird reasons... I just reply with please contact office

 

Then more recent, pupils 'reviewing' the page and generally messaging the account. I just report the accounts as underage because I'm mean like that.

 

As for updating it, people e-mail me what they want on and I copy and paste it. A few seconds work at most. I also upload the newsletter once a week, 2 minutes max!

 

Some of our delightful kids review our page and give it 1 star as they hate school - it now looks really bad.

Edited February 9, 2015 by SovietRussia

[clareq]

We have linked Facebook and Twitter pages - they became the focal point of the community last year when we lost five students in a car accident. Very few negative comments, which we quickly hid and contact the poster. Posts to the page are hidden until approved, and only I and my boss have admin rights.

[Cache]

Some of our delightful kids review our page and give it 1 star as they hate school - it now looks really bad.

 

There's a way to stop that - I think it's removing the address somewhere and then it separates the location and ratings so they can no longer leave reviews

[Sylv3r]

We have a Facebook page which is regularly kept up to date, and we've just passed the 3,000 likes mark this week.

 

Communication is key, yes we have the odd sarky comment from a parent, but generally we leave them on as it makes them look like a fool more so than us.

[CAM]

1) Most important, make sure it is secure. Limit access only to those who need it and ensure you follow good password practice (strong password, unique and keep the E-Mail account it is linked to equally secure as well). This is especially true if you link to Twitter as well, the last thing you want is to see one account in the trio of FB, Twitter, E-Mail compromised and take the rest with it.

 

2) You are not posting on your behalf but representing the company/school. Remember this when you like a post or follow someone. Following the Gary Glitter Fan Club and liking the audiobook translation of Mein Kampf will be the equivalent of nailing said material on the sign outside the school along with it's reputation and your job.

 

3) Know what's causing drama on the Internet and avoid it like the plague. Keep even minor or trivial politics out of the page or you end up on the receiving end of a Twitter or Facebook :censored:storm which is a headache to deal with as your page gets flooded by opinionated morons and trolls. This includes seemingly petty and inoffensive stuff like PC Master Race (just don't do it).

 

4) Review what teachers want to put on there, don't just copy/paste. Make sure the spelling and grammar is correct to avoid the page showing a poor reflection of the school. Also a good chance to review for offensive or copyrighted material (beware Getty, Portakabin, etc). Also make sure teachers aren't giving out more information than they should in breach of data protection and safeguarding (example, posting individual exam results in a summary sheet on the page).

 

5) Don't feed the trolls. Don't reply to them either.

 

6) Make sure you and your safeguarding officer have a plan in place for handling the sensitive issues you will encounter when kids reply, etc.

 

7) And last but not least, don't post memes. Many rage pics. Such childish. So annoying.

 

Since when is this admin task a technical issue?

Once created, if you must, quickly pass the credentials on like the hot potato it was handed to you !

 

He's already said it is being written into his job description with extra pay.

[Danp]

Yes, we have Facebook and Twitter with plans to branch out to YouTube, Flickr, Tumblr, Instagram more as I have only touched on these so far.

[7UD9]

Since when is this admin task a technical issue?

Once created, if you must, quickly pass the credentials on like the hot potato it was handed to you !

 

It's a task I intentionally took on, I already update the website and social media is being added to my job description with a pay increase to reflect the extra workload. It all came about because a member of teaching staff took it upon themselves, without consulting the school, to create a Twitter account, in less than 24 hours the password had been guessed and it was defaced. As the Head did want a Twitter feed, I volunteered to get it running. As it's now expanding to Facebook I've taken on the role properly.

 

There's a way to stop that - I think it's removing the address somewhere and then it separates the location and ratings so they can no longer leave reviews

 

I'll take a look at that, thanks for the tip.

 

1) Most important, make sure it is secure. Limit access only to those who need it and ensure you follow good password practice (strong password, unique and keep the E-Mail account it is linked to equally secure as well). This is especially true if you link to Twitter as well, the last thing you want is to see one account in the trio of FB, Twitter, E-Mail compromised and take the rest with it.

 

2) You are not posting on your behalf but representing the company/school. Remember this when you like a post or follow someone. Following the Gary Glitter Fan Club and liking the audiobook translation of Mein Kampf will be the equivalent of nailing said material on the sign outside the school along with it's reputation and your job.

 

3) Know what's causing drama on the Internet and avoid it like the plague. Keep even minor or trivial politics out of the page or you end up on the receiving end of a Twitter or Facebook :censored:storm which is a headache to deal with as your page gets flooded by opinionated morons and trolls. This includes seemingly petty and inoffensive stuff like PC Master Race (just don't do it).

 

4) Review what teachers want to put on there, don't just copy/paste. Make sure the spelling and grammar is correct to avoid the page showing a poor reflection of the school. Also a good chance to review for offensive or copyrighted material (beware Getty, Portakabin, etc). Also make sure teachers aren't giving out more information than they should in breach of data protection and safeguarding (example, posting individual exam results in a summary sheet on the page).

 

5) Don't feed the trolls. Don't reply to them either.

 

6) Make sure you and your safeguarding officer have a plan in place for handling the sensitive issues you will encounter when kids reply, etc.

 

7) And last but not least, don't post memes. Many rage pics. Such childish. So annoying.

 

He's already said it is being written into his job description with extra pay.

 

Thanks, mostly common sense and all things I already keep in mind with the Twitter and website.

 

Thanks to everyone for the input, lots of good info and tips!

[Joanne]

Some of our delightful kids review our page and give it 1 star as they hate school - it now looks really bad.

 

I got one of those. I reported the post, reported the kid as having an underage account here: https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/209046679279097

 

Then they get removed! Although, that's assuming you are at a primary school....

[Joanne]

@7UD9 I've PM'ed you the URL. I personally dislike the boring things we post on there, but I guess it is stuff people need to know!!

[7UD9]

No training or guidance though by the sounds of it.

 

I'm plan to see what training is available and apply for anything I think will be of use.

 

@7UD9 I've PM'ed you the URL. I personally dislike the boring things we post on there, but I guess it is stuff people need to know!!

 

Thanks, I'll take a look later today.