Group text thread keeps a scattered team connected

My last blog post demonstrated how easily group texts can lead to miscommunication. But recently, I found some very effective ways to use them.

Recently I helped chaperone my son’s Model U.N. club on its trip to the state conference. Two adults were attempting to keep track of 14 teens scattered all over a bustling university campus at an event with 1,400 attendees. How could we find each other?

I typed each student and chaperone’s cell number into a group text and started a thread. “Please check in on the steps of the student union at noon. — Leslie”

Each person could hit “reply all,” and message the whole group, continuing the thread:
“Our committee is running late. Be there in 10 minutes. – Andrew.”
“Which room is the General Assembly in? — Carina”
“The GA is in Room C-12. – Zane.”
“Proposing a resolution to ban weapons of mass destruction. Need a speaker from the national defense committee to present in support. – Zane”
“I’m on it. Be there soon. – Joey.”
“Don’t forget to bring your pass for tonight’s social. — Josh”

Wow—that was handy! That got me thinking about how this would be useful at work. How about crisis response?

When an incident occurs, usually the team is scattered across the school district, with some at meetings in various schools, some traveling immediately to the incident site, and some remaining at the office. A group text thread set up in advance can be a way to quickly notify everyone simultaneously in a way they will likely pay attention to, and to keep the whole team in the loop as information emerges.

Be sure to run a test to ensure all your numbers work before disaster strikes. At the start of an incident, remind the group to sign each post to clarify who is saying what.

For example:
“Channel 2 is asking about a rumored bomb threat at the high school. What’s happening? – Leslie”
“Calling the principal, and heading there now. – Cindy.”
“Students reported something a student said. Calling a fire drill as a precaution. – Kim”
“Police just arrived. Calling neighboring schools with a heads up. – Kathleen”
“Instigator identified and questioned. Police say threat is not credible. – Cindy”
“Students returning to class. – Kim”
“Working on a letter to parents. Translations needed? – Leslie”
“Spanish & Russian, please. – Kathleen”
“Translation team standing by. – Alex”
“I will brief the Board. – Denice”

No doubt this strategy will also prove useful on our summer vacation. Disneyland, anyone?

A Comedy of Errors, Text-Message Style

With the constant communication that comes with cell phones, social media and texting, this English major has been mourning the loss of a crucial plot device – in comedies and tragedies alike – miscommunication. Without it, there would be no “Romeo and Juliet” and no “Taming of the Shrew.”

Worry no more, literature fans! This week I discovered the modern version, through the use of text messaging.

Arriving early at work on a big deadline day, I got a text. Looking at my phone, all I saw was a phone number, with three blank faces and a tiny square with a photo of my boss, so clearly the message was from him to the team.

INCOMING TEXT: “Stomach flu hit with a vengeance. Can’t come in. All the documents for today’s project are printed on the table in my office, except for four documents that are on my desktop. Can someone please print those for the 9:30 meeting?”

MY TEXT: “Happy to help. Headed to your office right now. Take care of yourself. Do we need to cancel the afternoon meeting?”

I then searched high and low on my boss’s computer for the documents and the files. I was not finding ANY of these items.

INCOMING TEXT: “What afternoon meeting?”

MY TEXT: “I can’t find the files. Still looking. I will try the finder. Or is it in the maroon folder?”

INCOMING TEXT “Ugh. On the desktop. Four files. Try the round table.”

The round table had nothing on it. The computer had nothing on it. I tried his desk.

MY TEXT: “Did you mean the top of your desk, or the computer desktop?”

INCOMING TEXT: “The computer desktop. Sorry—I would be there if I could move.”

ENTER BOSS, STAGE LEFT

ME: “What the heck are you doing here in your condition? You should be home in bed!”

BOSS: “Huh? I’m fine. What are you talking about?”

At this point, I abruptly realized I was searching in the wrong office, because Kathy was the one who was sick. Going to her office, I found all the documents.

Moral of the story: If you are not sure who is texting you, ask immediately. Not only will you save a lot of time, but you will eliminate the risk of divulging confidential or confusing information to the wrong person. And whenever confusion persists, try an old fashioned tactic and pick up the phone.

How our community’s mass shooting changed my mind about Twitter

This week’s shooting at the Clackamas Town Center mall happened in the heart of our school district.

One of our students was shot and remains in serious condition. Another student’s uncle was killed. Untold numbers of our students, staff and their families were among the 10,000 holiday shoppers and employees in the mall at the time of the incident. Our community remains in shock.

Before the shooting, I figured I had my social media bases covered with Facebook. I wasn’t sure I needed Twitter. After the shooting, I changed my mind.

Here’s why.

Twitter is now a mainstream information source:
In the first hour of a crisis, information gathering is key. Much was rumor, but some was fact. Twitter was a go-to source for breaking news, with sources ranging from the Sheriff’s office to the news media. During and after the mall shooting, a lot of information we needed first surfaced on Twitter.

Twitter is a research tool:
Following the event hash tag (#ClackamasShooting), I was able to tweet a personal question to a friend of a victim on Twitter. She confirmed the identity of the injured survivor, our student.

Twitter is where teens live:
If our students are there, we need to be there, too. One of our students posted inappropriate comments about the incident on his Twitter feed. Many respondents were angry, and made threats against him. Knowing this, we were able to have district staff and his friends contact him immediately. They urged him to make a public apology and then to log off.

Twitter is a lifeline:
With 10,000 people in the mall at the time of the shooting, people across our community used this tool to get quickly in contact with loved ones. Whether they discovered their loved ones had safely left the building or were protected by the lock down, they were relieved to hear the news quickly.

Twitter is a rumor mill:
This is the way to find out what the community is saying and feeling during an incident. What better place to correct misinformation than at the place where rumors spread?

Responding to this situation, we used all the tools in our toolbox, including auto-dial phone calls, parent emails, Facebook, the website, our list serve and the telephone.

Twitter was our tool of choice for on-the-go, up-to-the-minute information and rumor control in an evolving situation. I need this tool. The next step is to use it more to master the medium and explore new ways to use it.  I encourage you to do the same.

Convocation: the Next Generation

Convocation was a long-standing tradition in our district. It was the one opportunity each year to gather our entire team for an inspirational start to the new school year. From the staff choir to the guest speaker to the video, the event was motivational and unifying.

For the past three years, we cancelled convocation because the economic downturn resulted in lost staff workdays. While our superintendent made the rounds of September staff meetings, the moment of district unity was lost.

This year we created a workable compromise: a virtual convocation! With planning and some expert technical help, our team pulled off a live-streaming webcast that we simultaneously broadcasted to more than 30 schools and work sites.

We broadcasted it on our cable access television channel and straight to the computer of any employees who were unable to leave their desks.

What did it take? A massive server. An on-location production company ($1,400). And a test run the night before to troubleshoot issues like radio interference.

Our convocation had a studio audience of 75 employees. It included a “pre-game” slide show of highlights from each school and department. We had brief presentations from the school board chair, association leaders and our new interim superintendent. And of course, the video.

In just one hour, we accomplished what used to take half a day, giving teachers a gift of planning and staff development time.

Was it the same as a packed high school gym? Not quite. But for that moment in time, we were all together, remembering why we work in education. Employees felt moved. Energized. Appreciated. Mission accomplished.

Three ways to use Skype for school PR

I am learning a lot from my 13-year-old this summer. How to sleep in. How to make a perfect s’more. And best of all, how to use Skype.

Skype is a social media tool I’ve wanted to try for many months, and once I finally sat down to figure it out, it took me five minutes. Five minutes to sign up, search for contacts and place my first call.

It’s easy, it’s fast and it’s free! Now I’m excited by the possibilities for school PR. Here are a few ideas that will make Skype a must-have tool:

Include out-of-town school board members in public meetings:
Worried about an absent board member missing an essential vote? Set them up on Skype before they depart, and then have them participate in the public meeting via video chat. By pivoting the laptop, the absent Board member can watch all the proceedings as a full participant.

Connect parents with your multilingual outreach team:
If your bilingual staffers are geographically scattered or few in number, use Skype to quickly connect an interpreter or outreach specialist with newcomers in any school or office. Training school secretaries on Skype makes every school a welcome center, and starts new families who don’t speak English off on the right foot by connecting them with a friendly staffer who speaks their language. This strategy could be used any time you need an interpreter, especially in an emergency situation.

Interact with your NSPRA chapter:
Need to share advice with distant colleagues? Want to start an APR study group? Hoping to save travel costs for an expert conference presenter? Just dial them in via Skype. The free version of Skype enables easy audio conference calls with up to 25 participants. And for as little as $5, Skype Premium lets you host a multi-person video chat with up to 10 participants.

Five ways Facebook can boost teacher morale

Layoffs, budget cuts, large class sizes and the news media’s war on education means morale is plummeting for school employees. How can PR professionals change the conversation, and demonstrate the many ways teachers continue to go the extra mile?

Facebook is a tool you can use to publicly celebrate, reward and appreciate teachers and staff across the school district. Here’s how:

1) Tell a story: Give parents, students and staff a glimpse of some of the magic moments happening in your classrooms. Shine a light on an amazing turnaround story about how a teacher helped a single student or a group of challenged kids succeed. Describe the innovative projects teachers use to engage students in learning.

2) Post award nomination links: Give parents, students and educators the chance to nominate teachers and staff for awards, and watch the number of employees who win recognition build. From radio station and bookstore contests to professional associations, a win for any staff member makes them all stand proud. In addition to that, you’ll draw Facebook tributes from current and past students of the honored teacher.

3) Showcase moonlighters: Do you have staff members with hidden talents? The campus monitor who wrote a mystery novel? The history teacher who climbed K2? The counselor who’s a professional photographer? The dragon boat team from the payroll department? Post photos of them in action, and tell the back story even their co-workers don’t know.

4) Announce appreciation weeks: Take advantage of designated weeks to celebrate classified, certified and administrative staff, as well as school board members, school nurses, volunteers and secretaries. Ask fans for examples of how they are celebrating these events in their school, or ask them to share how one of the week’s honorees was a special help to their child. Remember, you can’t say thank you enough, especially now.

5) Show staff you’re listening: Likely, a good number of your district’s Facebook followers are employees. When you get them engaged in a conversation around a proposed change, show them you’re listening. Answer their questions promptly, and let them know you’ll forward their ideas, concerns and suggestions directly to district leaders. Then take what you learn and use it in your internal information campaign.

The Chardon Tragedy and Social Media’s Role in Times of Crisis

This week in Ohio (as well as across the nation) we were shocked to see the tragic events develop before our eyes at Chardon Local Schools, a relatively small school district near Cleveland. For those of us who work in education, the thought of students being in harm’s way is gut wrenching, so this tragedy has truly caused all of us to stop and reflect.

For me, upon hearing the news first on Twitter, I instantly thought of my good friend and Ohio School Public Relations Association colleague Ellen Ondrey, who serves as Chardon’s community coordinator. Ellen has served on our board of OHSPRA for years and is currently our treasurer. Hearing her voice on the live news broadcast, her clarity, focus, transparency and genuine care for her district reminded me, and likely all of us who do this for a living, of why we have committed to helping school’s communicate and be prepared in times of need.

In Ohio, our network of school communicators did what we do best: communicate and offer our assistance to our friends and colleagues at Chardon Local Schools. And of course, social media played a prominent part in that. OHSPRA took to its Twitter account and Facebook page to offer support and resources. We knew there would be ripple effects across the state and nation, and we wanted to ensure that we offered support on the issues of crisis planning and communication.

We also saw how social media played a role in the word spreading about the shooting, from students inside the school using cell phones and tweeting while the crisis was happening to how thousands used sites like Facebook and Twitter to offer condolences and support. Social media continue to shift how we communicate, both good and bad, but the questions to ask are whether your school district is using it effectively and in times of need and are you prepared for how to leverage it best?

I wanted this blog post to be an open discussion on your thoughts on crisis communications and the role of social media in these moments of crisis. I look forward to hearing your comments and ideas. Consider this a starting point to crowd-source some best practices or ideas on leveraging social media in times of crisis.

We continue to offer our sympathies to Chardon Local Schools, the community and especially the families.

Six Strategies to Deal with Negative Posts

Worried about negative comments on your Facebook page?  Don’t be.

Social media is an opportunity for two-way communication with your community. The occasional negative comment provides an opportunity to understand which problems need fixing, to clarify rumors and misconceptions, and to truly listen to community members.

What’s the best strategy to deal with a negative post?  Here are six tactics to respond effectively:

1)    Wait. Very often, an involved, informed parent will counter-post  in defense of the school district, or provide the needed facts to clarify a misconception. Having a parent leap to your defense can be more effective than anything you say.

2)    Ask questions. If a post raises a new issue or a situation you are unaware of, this is an opportunity! Find out more. If this is best done privately, offer your phone number and ask the person to call you. If you are hearing the same message from several people, post an online survey to find out more.

3)    Provide accurate information. If the negative post is based on a false assumption or a lack of understanding, this is your chance to open a two-way dialog and provide the facts. Don’t just do this on your social media site; look for opportunities to spread the information using several communication strategies.

4)    Forward comments to district leaders. Does the post raise a safety concern? A complaint  A suggestion? Many top district leaders are not social media users, or might have missed the post. Simply copy and paste the comment, then email it to district leaders. It’s important to also send them the positive comments, which can be a real morale booster for staff.

5)    Enforce basic ground rules. Whether covered in district policy or not, a few simple rules will keep your social media site under control:

• No profanity.
• No personal attacks on any person: student, staff, or community member.
• Offending posts will be deleted immediately.
• Two-time offenders will be banned from the site.

6)  If trolls have taken over, go dark. If you are overwhelmed by negative posts, click the “unpublish” box. Figure out a plan to deal with the situation, then turn your page back on when you are ready.