5 Pandemic Social Media Tips for School Owners

Social platforms have taken many twists and turns over the past few months. In this blog we provide some excellent guidelines for engaging online. Social media is becoming an important means of connecting, especially right now. With the interruption of in-person interaction, audiences are looking now more than ever to social media to connect with other people, businesses, and online content.
 
Our basic human need as students, instructors, parents… is to connect with others. Therefore, we need to be smart and safe about how we utilize the internet, especially social media.
 
Here are 5 things to help navigate social media right now in this pandemic time.
 
1. Keep Emotions In-Check. It’s very easy to be upset or emotional about current events, but we shouldn’t let that cloud our judgement when it comes to what we post, share, or comment. The best practice is to take a minute to reflect and maybe cool down before hitting the “Post” button. You never know what unwanted responses you could incur without taking a minute first to digest your thoughts. If you feel something you posted could be misinterpreted, hit the edit button and rewrite your post or comment. Changing a post is better than leaving it out there, as less people will see the original post.
 
2. Disney Dojo is Key. This one is fairly straightforward, as a business; don’t post anything that you wouldn’t want your students to see. If it wasn’t made for the mat, it probably isn’t made for the internet. Your social media presence is a direct reflection of your school, remember that.
 
3. Don’t use hashtags or trends if you’re not sure what they represent. If you find a cool trend or hashtag, we recommend you do your research first! Make sure you understand the origin and message of a trend before joining in… If you don’t you may be unintentionally joining a movement that may not be in alignment with your school’s mission and be a negative experience for your audience. Using hashtags just to increase your views or likes is not recommended. Not all fame is good publicity.
 
4. Be Positive. Right now people need to see the good in the world, and especially how martial arts impacts our culture positively. Share stories of motivation, transformation, and communities coming together. People will appreciate it and want to join in. Being positive is not only the right thing to do, it’s also a great strategy for increasing your reach, and who doesn’t need a bigger audience right now!
 
5. Take time to talk to your team and make sure you are all on the same page! Dissuade your employees from befriending students on their personal pages. Make sure they understand that posts they share to their personal pages and content they post can be interpreted as being an extended reflection of the company they work for. Knowing this up front will help them navigate their own personal posts.

There is a lot to navigate and these are only a few tips to consider as you move forward this year.