The Private School Leader Podcast Episode 121: 3 Reasons Why You Should Start Your Own Instagram Account At School
I want to tell you something about myself. I am not a fan of social media.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I can definitely zone out while scrolling through reels on Instagram.
The algorithm will always keep sending me videos of dachshunds, basketball highlights, drone shots of the boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ and clips of my favorite stand up comedians: Nate Bargatze, Sebastian Maniscalco and Jim Gaffigan.
I’m just not a fan of how social media makes people feel. A lot of comparison is happening when we see others taking that cool vacation, wearing that new outfit, driving that new car, or posting pics of their latest trendy home decor.
Also, everyone is mad about something and the comments section is to be avoided like the plague
So, if I don’t like social media, why am I doing an episode about why you should start a school Instagram account if you don’t already have one?
Well, I will admit that I have my work cut out for me today. But, I feel strongly that this is something really, really important for you to do as a school leader. On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, I am going to give you 3 Reasons Why You Should Start Your Own Instagram Account At School.
Thank you for listening to the podcast every week. You are making a difference in the lives of the students, teachers and parents at your school. I know that what you do is difficult, exhausting and lonely. Your hard work inspires me to keep making weekly content to try to encourage and inspire you as you serve your school.
Thanks for all you do,
Mark Minkus
Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.
Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course. Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more!
What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.
Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help.
I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1.
Being a private school leader is a VERY difficult job. You have to make hundreds of decisions every day, and you have to keep everyone safe, increase enrollment, keep the parents happy, keep the board happy, motivate the teachers, deal with student discipline, beat last year’s test scores and come in under budget.
That can lead to you feeling tired, discouraged and stressed out. I’ve been there. That’s why I created THRIVE Academy just for you. THRIVE Academy is a digital course that will help you get out of survival mode and get back to feeling energized at school. To learn more, go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/thrive
I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale
I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step by step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide!
I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide
I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week!
Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode121
Please write a review of this podcast and help the algorithm push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at mark.o.minkus@gmail.com Thanks!!
I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks!
I am excited to share a brand new resource with you. It is a 9 page pdf called: “How To Use Verbal Judo To Have Better Conversations With The Parents At Your School” What is “Verbal Judo”? "Verbal Judo" is a communication strategy that focuses on using words effectively to de-escalate conflict, resolve disputes, and achieve positive outcomes in various interpersonal interactions, particularly in high-pressure situations.
George Thompson and Jerry Jenkins wrote a book called Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art Of Persuasion. So, I have taken several important strategies from the book and applied them to your life as a private school leader. Grab your free copy of “How To Use Verbal Judo To Have Better Conversations With The Parents At Your School” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/judo
TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome to the Private School Leader podcast, where private school leaders learn how to thrive and not just survive as they serve and lead their schools. • • I strongly believe that it is possible to have a long and happy and fulfilling career as a private school leader. And my passion is to help you figure out exactly how to do just that right here on the Private School Leader podcast. And I'm your host, Mark Minkus. • • • So I want to tell you something about myself that you may not know. • • • • And if you've been listening to the podcast for any length of time, and shout out to, uh, those of you that have been listening since the beginning over two years ago, thank you so much. • But, you know, I've talked about myself a little bit and, you know that I have three daughters and that I've been married to my wonderful wife for 34 years and just, you know, love college football and Coke Zero and Thanksgiving dinner and, you know, a couple other things that you might have heard along the way. But something about myself that you may not know is that I am not a fan of social media. • • Not a fan of social media. And now listen, don't get me wrong, I can, I can zone out • while looking at reels on Instagram. And, you know, the algorithm always keeps • • sending me, you know, videos of dash hounds and basketball highlights and drone shots of the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey. And, • and especially my favorite would be, you know, clips of my favorite stand up comedians, which, by the way, are Nate Bargatze, Sebastian Maniscalco and Jim Gaffigan. Um, if you never check their stuff out, highly recommended. But, • uh, you know, my algorithm always wins. It sends me some great stuff. So I'm not, you know, I'm not opposed to zoning out on Instagram, but I'm just not a fan of how • • social media makes people feel. You know, there's a lot of comparison out there that's happening. • You see someone that's got, um, you know, a new car or on a vacation or a new outfit or even at a cool restaurant. And, • • uh, I've even heard of comparison when it comes to home decor and how that makes some people feel bad. • And then on top of that, even worse is, is that everybody's mad about something. You know, the comment section is to be avoided like the plague because • • everyone's going to be, you know, yelling in capital letters and exclamation points. And you get enough of that, • • your subject line when you get an email from a parent. • • • So if I don't like social media, then why am I doing an episode about why you should start • a school Instagram account • if you don't already have one. Well, • • I'll admit I have my work cut out for me today. And I do feel really strongly that this is something really, really important for you to do as a school leader. And I just need you to trust me and settle in and listen. Because on today's episode of the Private School Leader podcast, I'm going to give you three reasons why you should start your own Instagram account at school. • •
With Parent Academy, you'll go from feeling anxious and stressed to feeling confident
But before we do that, I want to remind you that I've been where you are • • and you're like, well, okay, specifically where, well, • • where is • • • having a parent living rent free in my head when I'm trying to fall asleep • or when I'm at the dinner table or at church or driving to work or taking a shower. And I just, • • I'm consumed with anxious thoughts, • sick to my stomach just thinking about certain parents. I've been there • and, you know, parent issues • used to dominate every single aspect of my work as a private school leader. And I was stressed out all the time and I didn't know what to do and I didn't have a plan, but I had plenty of anxiety and fear and insecurity. • • • • But that's why I created Parent Academy, • • because I want you to have a plan. • • • And with Parent Academy, you will go from feeling anxious and stressed out about working with parents to feeling confident, calm and relaxed. • • Want to hit you with that again. With Parent Academy, you'll go from feeling anxious and stressed • • to feeling confident and calm when you're working with parents. • • • And it's an online digital course where I've taken my 33 years of experience of working with thousands of parents and put together a step by step framework for you to build those effective partnerships and reduce your stress. • • And then I teach your teachers • • • in two 45 minute webinars • how to build effective relationships with teachers. So I'd love for you to find out more. And you can go to the privateooladerleader.com • • /parentacademy • • and I like to give you free things. Uh, everyone loves free things, especially if they're helpful to you as a private school leader because your job is hard enough. • And I want to give you a free resource called the Top 6 Ways to Protect your school from a lawsuit. • • This is a 10 page PDF • that can help you keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. And we know that litigation is expensive and time consuming and it's really, really stressful. • • And this common sense guide can help you be More intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. So you can grab this at the privateschooladerleader.com Ah, lawsuit again. That's a free guide for you called the top six ways to protect your school from a lawsuit. And that's over at uh, the privatescoolalider.com • • lawsuit. And then one last thing is, is that I do have a couple of coaching spots open right now and I would love to hear more about • you and your school and your biggest problem and want to work with you to help you solve the biggest problem that you're dealing with right now at school. • And so you can check out more about working with me one on one over at the privatescgaleer.com coaching. I'd love to work with you one on one. •
I'm going to give you three reasons why you should start an Instagram account
All right, so before I give you the three reasons • • • • why I think you should start an Instagram account, a school Instagram account for you as the school leader, I want to just tell you quickly about how I use social media. So I started posting to Twitter back in 2012 • • and then I migrated to Instagram and did Instagram and Twitter Starting around 2018 I guess. • And um, • kind um, • of got away from Twitter, but um, um, you know, posted on Instagram, um, um, for starting in 2018, 2019. • But my relationship with social media is a one way relationship. • And if I'm going to recommend you to give you three reasons why you should have an Instagram account, • • I want to make sure that you understand that I'm not talking about • • • you • doing things. That's a two way street. • • I really strongly believe that it needs to be a one way relationship. And what I mean by that is is that my relationship with Instagram is that I post, • • period. • • • Okay. I don't look and see who liked it or how many likes I got or I don't, you know, care about. I don't really follow people or care about following people. I guess at the beginning when I started my account I followed some people. But um, um, • you know, it's a one way relationship. This is me putting something out there. Photos. And we'll get into the what in a few moments. But • • the, • • the KE here for me so that this doesn't become, • • • • uh, a way. I don't want you to use Instagram in a way that is going to suck you in. • • I want you to use Instagram in a way that is going to • • be a positive for you and for your school and for your reputation and your brand and retention and all the other things we're going to talk about in a moment. • • But in my experience, the best way to do that is for it to be a one way relationship. So I'm going to give you three reasons why you should start your own Instagram account at school. And then I'm going to give you a couple of do's and don'ts at the end of the episode. And then finally I'm going to tell you, you know, what my school Instagram account is so you can check it out and just get some ideas • about, you know, what I've been talking about here on this episode.
Having your school Instagram account is good for business and student retention
So let's get into it. The three reasons why you should start your own Instagram account at school. • Reason number one, • it's good for business. • • • Okay, so what do I mean that it's good for business? Again, I'm talking about • having your own personal Instagram account, a school Instagram account, not your private Instagram account. But this is where you're posting • • things that are happening at your school. Things that you see when you're walking around the school, um, um, things at events, things in the hallway, things at the basketball game, things that are going on that are cool when you're walking around and you see pop into classrooms and all these different things and you're just putting that out there and I'll talk about suggestions on how often and you know, all the different things later on. Just don't worry about that right now. Just think about the reasons why this is good. And so reason number one is it's good for business. So • um, I'm going toa give you um, a few ways here, actually four quick ways that it's good for business. • • So having your school Instagram account • • is good for student retention. • And I believe that a key to student retention, uh, is photos of happy kids doing interesting things. • And I'm just going to say it again. I think that our messaging, • • a lot of it boils down to • • • photos of happy kids doing interesting things • • and getting that • into the eyes and the brains of the parents and the grandparents and the donors and the alumni • • • as often as possible. And you know, we'll talk in another episode about what that could look like on your website or in a weekly parent memo or things of that nature. But right now we're talking about your school Instagram account, your personal school Instagram account. • And so • • • • happy kids doing interesting things helps to fill the narrative void and that increases student retention. Because • • especially kids when they become tweens and teens there's a narrative void because when they come home the parents are like well, what'd you do at school today? Nothing. Did you learn anything? No. Did you do anything fun today? Uh, no. And so then day after day after day of that at the dinner table or from the back seat of the car, creates a narrative void. And one of the things that helps to offset that is when the parents are actually seeing photos. These photos are so powerful, • • and the parents are paying a lot of money for this service that we're providing. They want their kids to be happy, and they generally believe that. But this really, really helps with student retention. They need the constant reminders. They, they enjoy that surprise and delight when they see a child, their child, um, doing something interesting, or even a kid that they know from their kid class, or it doesn't even have to be a kid that they know. It just gives them this, this, um. Think about it this way. It is just a constant. • • • Let's say that you're building. You're building a brick, a house made out of bricks, okay? And you're building this beautiful mansion out made out of bricks. • • • Um, if you put one brick or two bricks a day on that, • um, wall, that is the one wall in the mansion, okay, it's going to take a while, it's going to take time, but you're making progress every day. And it's constant. And it's small, but it's constant. And then eventually you're gonna have this beautiful home. • • • You know, I want you to think about it as these little bits of these little bricks, these little things that you're building. You're building a narrative with the parents that our school is fun, the kids are happy, they're doing interesting things, and it's worth it. And when that's what the parents believe, student retention is going to be high. • • So it's good for business because it's also good for teacher retention • • • because if you're out and about, and I'll talk later about, you know, how having your, • • • • • um, Instagram account at school will help you be out and about in the school more often. It'll get you out of your office more, • • • • that you're popping into teachers classrooms, • • and that helps them feel supported, helps them feel seen. And when I'm posting something about, you know, their. They're doing this experiment in science, or they're debating this topic in social studies, or they're reading about this specific, • • • um, author or a poem or this artist in art class, whatever it might be. • • Um, you know, • • several of my teachers follow • • my Instagram, and so if I'm posting stuff that they're doing. Don't you think that that makes them feel supported and feel seen? And it does. And it helps with teacher attention, helps with school culture too. • Another way that it's good for business is with recruitment. • You know, your Instagram is public facing for not just current families, but for prospective families as well. • And you know, they can get a sense of you as a leader. • Are you competent, are you passionate, are you fun, are you warm? You know, and you're like, well, how does that come through? It does, you know, eventually with just the photos that you post and • • • the captions, • • um, • it gives you vibe, it gives, • • you know, it kind of your brand. • Um, and it doesn't have to be complicated. You're not a social media influencer and I'm not trying to turn you into one. I just want it to be that you're out of your office, that you're using this amazing camera that you carry around all day long in your smartphone and that there's a way for you to put out into the world • • what you're seeing. • Because it's super frustrating as a leader when your school feels like the best kept secret in the world and you're keeping the secret from the parents. • • So, um, it's not just about current families, it's not just about teachers, but it's about, you know, potential recruitments, prospective families. And you know, some of your pictures are going toa end up on the website or on the Facebook page for the school or in the parent memo because • • they're going to be good pictures. They're going to be interesting, happy kids doing interesting things. And a lot of my stuff has ended up in a lot of other places in the school. So it's good for recruitment. And then finally the way it's good for businesses is that it's good for fundraising. Because here's the thing, over the years • • that I've been posting, you know, our school goes up to eighth grade and a lot of kids, • • uh, who get to be into middle school, they'll follow me • • and their parents will follow me. And I'll talk later about how once you have this Instagram account, how do parents find out about it? Because, you know, you're sitting there thinking, well, yeah, I hear Mark saying about posting these photos, but like, how do the parents even know so that they can follow me? I'll give, I'll give you that in a little bit. • But my point is that when kids graduate from our school at eighth grade, • • they don't unfollow me. The parents don't Unfollow me. So now these are alumni and alumni parents who I've been posting for a long time, even though our school only goes up to eighth grade. You know, a lot of these kids, they've graduated from, um college. Many of them graduated from high school. Their parents, • • you know, these are now alumni, alumni, parents, • • • and that's where your donors are. And so • • what are we always trying to do? We're trying to keep that connection. What is your college trying to do, for crying out loud? I graduated from • • • Penn uh • State University • • • in 1990, • • • um, • • • • 35 years ago. And I'm still. I still get emails from them about the alumni association. Okay, My point is this. You're trying to get, • • • • • um, parents, uh, graduates, alumni parents, grandparents. You're trying to keep them to have a continued connection to your school, to kind of know what's going on, to kind of feel that nostalgia and that connection, because they're more likely to give. • Well, one of the ways that this connection • • can occur is through Instagram. And I'm telling you, it can lead to goodwill and it can lead to donations. So having your, um, own Instagram account at school • is good for business. • All right? Reason number two is that it's good for you. • It's good for you. • • And the first reason it's good for you is more dopamine. • • So I said, happy kids doing interesting things. • • When you're out and about in the school and you're taking pictures of • • happy kids doing interesting things, you're going to get a dopamine hit and another one, and another one.
Three reasons why you should start your own Instagram account at school
And here's the thing. When I open up my, um, Instagram and I just kind of, like, look back through old photos, it makes me so happy. I'm getting • dopamine hits just thinking about it. And so my point is, is that it's good for you for so many reasons. • • And we'll talk about a couple more here in a second. But • • • • • • our brains are marinating in cortisol, okay? And so we just need to offset a lot of that stress and anxiety and cortisol and fight or flight with some dopamine. • And happy kids doing interesting things • • is going to give you a dopamine hit. You take a picture, you post it on Instagram, you just kind of get into the habit of doing that, and it's going to be more dopamine, less cortisol. • The second reason • why it's good for you is because it's fun. • • • • • • • • You know, school is supposed to be fun, and there are fun things happening at your school. • • And it. The problem is, is that we • • • often • • get so • • tied up • • with the things that we are responsible for and the tyranny of the urgent and everyone else wanting us to adopt their definition of urgent that we don't get out and about much, as much as we would like to. And then • • we're not interacting with the fun parts of our school. • • And so school is supposed to be fun. And when you are posting on Instagram, it's fun. So, for example, you know, kids in the hall on a spirit day, or the sixth graders at the lunch table, whether, you know, at our school, • • • • • um, if it's nice weather, it's out of the picnic tables, or it's. • If it's in the cafeteria, you just walk up. And here's the thing. Tweens and teens, they're always up for a photo to be, you know, and they're gonna mug it up for the camera. That's fine. • • The more that they mug it up for the camera, the more happy and fun that. I mean, they're happy. You're not. This isn't manipulation. This isn't like, okay, smile. And they look miserable. All day long, you see happy kids. • • The parents need to see happy kids • • because when their kid rolls home, • • • • especially if they're a teen or a tween, • • do you think that the expression on that kid's face • • • after a long day of school and maybe a practice or two, um, and then they've got homework to do and blah, blah, blah. Do you think the expression on that kid's face matches what you usually see at school? No. They're two different things. So what is the parent seeing? • • They're seeing • • • • unhappy kid or tired, grumpy kid. And I get it, that's a teenager. That's their job when it comes to their parents. But you're seeing a different kid. How can we help the parents see what their kids look like at school? • • • • I'm telling you, this is the way. And so whether it's kids in the hall, kids, it's a lunch table that are mugging for the camera. Um, • • • • • • building a snowman at recess. Um, • • • • • • • it could be kindergarteners painting a picture, or seventh graders testing out their. The robot that they built in technology class with kids • having fun. • • • And when you're • • around kids having fun, you're having fun. • • So the three reasons why you should start your own Instagram account at school. Number one, • it's good for you. Reason number two, • • it's good for. Excuse me. Reason number one, it's good for business. Reason Number two, it's good for you. And reason number three is it makes you a more visible leader. • •
School leaders often say they wish they had more time at school
So I asked this question • • of my clients, my coaching clients, • • and the question is, you know, fill in the blank. I wish, I really wish that I had more time at school to do blank • • or it's been so long since I did blank, you know, at school. • • And you know, you might want to answer that question yourself. I really wish I had more time to do blank at school. Well, I want to tell you about 90% of the time the answer is the same. • • And they say that they wish that they were, um, able to get into classrooms more or able to get out and about in the school more often. That's about 90% of the time what I hear from coaching clients and what I hear from Thrive Academy students during office hours. • • • And so, • • you know, to further prove that point, you know, episode 95 • • which I'll link in the show notes@the privateschoolleader.com episode 121, • • • • • it's called how to be a more visible leader this year. That's one of the top three downloaded episodes • • out of 121 episodes. Okay. So • people, • • • school leaders that are listening to this podcast, • they want to do that. They're downloading an episode about how to strategically be able to do that more often. Okay. And then another one that was really downloaded a lot is a more recent episode and it's called, um, it's episode 117. It's called there's joy on your campus. It's just not in your office. • • And I want you to think about the inside of your office for a moment. Okay? Just picture it. You know, there's your desk, there's the thing that's hanging on your wall. There's the phone, • there's the computer, there's a chair. You know, just picture your office. Okay, • Now • • • I want you to think about, is there anything that's Instagram worthy in your office? • • • • • • Okay. Like, mhm. Probably not. Okay, so you have to go to the Joy and I'll link episode 117 in the show notes as well. There's joy on your campus, it's just not in your office. You have to go to the Joy and then just take pictures of the joy and post it. I know I'm making it sound easy, but I'm telling you, uh, there will be a little friction when you get started as far as like the how and the when and whatever, but it's, it'll be very, very easy and very intuitive and fun. Once you start doing it, okay, so you got to go to the joy and then photograph the joy and then post it. • • So those are the three reasons.
Every school should have a weekly parent memo, it can be in there
And then before we wrap it up, I just want to give you a couple more things. One is, how will people know • that I have an Instagram account? And then a few do's and don't. Okay, so how are the parents gonna know? So you just decide, let's say after you listen to this episode, okay, I'm going to do it. I'm going to start an Instagram account and I'm going to start posting. • • • • But how can the parents know? All right, so let's say that you have a weekly parent memo. I actually strongly recommend that every school have a weekly communication that, you know, regardless of how fancy it looks, it's. This doesn't have to be super fancy, but something that goes out on the same day at the same time. Um, um, once a week. • • But regardless of whether you have that or not, um, if you have a weekly parent memo, weekly parent email, um, it can be in there. You know, just. Hey, click here to check out, um, • • • miss, uh, so and so. Mr. So and so. Dr. So and so's, um, Instagram page. Okay, so that's one way to kind of announce it. And then it's just kind of there as a regular thing. • • Um, with a. Click here to follow. • Um, add it to your email signature. Um, click here to check out my Instagram. Um, you can. • • • Here's one thing that I do every year, I send welcome Back emails. • • Um, • • • uh, • • • • at my most recent school, I was in charge of fourth through eighth grade. And so every year I would send around the beginning of August, Welcome Back emails. One to fourth grade, one to fifth grade, one to sixth grade. And then at the bottom of that email, I would take screenshots of posts • • those same kids from the year before. • • • And then I would get. So I'm giving the parents some examples. And then, hey, click here to follow me to check out, you know, your kids doing interesting stuff. • • And just put that at the bottom kind of in like a P's. And that's, uh, A lot of parents are clicking and following because they, they want to see, • they want to see what's going on in school, but really what they want to see is their kid. • • Um, so I show the posts in welcome Back emails. • • Um, another is I share the link when I surprise and delight parents. • And so you've heard me talk about this before, that when I warm up my lunch, • • • • that, that takes about six minutes • • and I pull out my camera and I look at my photo gallery for the previous 24 hours. • • • And then I'm sending, you know, • • • three kids are smiling • for the camera at recess from the day before. Okay. So on the BCC line, I put • • the parent email address for those three kids on the subject line, put recess, attach the photo. • But then I'll also just paste my link to my, um, Instagram account in that email. It doesn't take very long. You can get really good at doing it quickly. And it's surprising toight because when I hit send, there's three different • • parents, um, • • maybe six different parents of those three children at work at different places throughout the day. And they're getting this surprise and delight email of their kid really happy at recess. But then it's super easy for them just to click and follow there. So those are just a few examples. There's a lot more, um, ways that you can get it out there. And it doesn't have to be that, • • • • • • that you feel like you have to put it on a billboard on the corner of the busiest intersection in your town. • Um, it will organically grow. • Um, and then you're going to continue to just remind, um, by having it in different places. Okay, so that's how people are going to find out.
Do post lots of pictures and videos of happy kids doing interesting things
And then let's finish up the episode with a few do's and don'ts. Okay. • • Um, and I will list these in the show notes because there's a few of them here and it's kind of might be a little hard to follow. • All right, do • • • • post lots of pictures and videos of happy kids doing interesting things. That's like the seventh time I've said that. Um, • • but • • pictures, little quick videos • of happy kids doing interesting things. Don't post kids that are on the do not photo list. • • So you're going to need to find out, you know, who those are. Um, and then what I do, honestly is, you know, part of it is I try to avoid those photos • • • • photographing those kids or groups of kids when that kid is in it. But I don't just not post if there's a photo that's great and awesome and interesting, but that kid happens to be in it. Um, what I do is I actually go in and put a little sticker, like a smiley face sticker, quote, unquote sticker over that kid's face and then post it. • Um, parents are fine with that. • You're not breaking any rules as far as do not photo. And you're also, then, you know, you don't have to Avoid taking pictures of this certain grade just because this kid is in half the photos. So, • • • • so do post pictures of videos and videos of happy kids doing interesting things. But don't • • post kids that are on the do not photo list. • • Do have a one way relationship with social media. • • Don't follow any current students or parents. Okay, so that's another thing that I really, • • • • • it's not that I try not to do it. I definitely don't follow um, • • • • • • • kids, um, current students. Um, I might follow a kid who graduates after they graduate in Ah, 8th grade, not even when they're in high school, but follow them when they get into college possibly. Um, so, • • • • and I'm not, I'm not following parents. Remember, one way relationship I don't care • • • • about, you know. Well, you followed that, you know, because that's the thing. If you follow this parent, then this other parent over here is going to get mad because you're not following them. So just don't follow anybody. This is a one way relationship. You're just putting that out there for them to see. You're not worried about • • following people because you're not going to go look at their stuff anyways. Okay, • • um, do, • • • um, • • • • • • do regularly post. Okay, so start out with just trying to post once or twice a week. • • • Um, • • over the years I worked up to where I was posting, you know, once a day, five days a week. • • Um, do regularly post. Don't beat yourself up when you are too busy to post. • • • Okay, do regularly post. Don't beat yourself up when you're too busy to post. • • • Do post the occasional MLK Jr. Quote on MLK Day or say Happy Thanksgiving, etc. You know, when it's a holiday, don't feel like you need to post a response to everything. • • • • So my point is, is that if there's like a school shooting or if there's something big going on in the news or you know, once you start posting quote unquote responses, you know, and that's a whole different thing as far as, as a school because if you have a school Instagram page, a school Facebook page, • • you know, more and more schools are just choosing not to respond • to things because they've gotten into this thing where they're responding to everything and no matter what they post, they • • make half the people mad. But • this isn't for that, okay? This is for videos and pictures of happy kids doing interesting things. So don't feel like you need to post responses to things that are happening in the world. If that's something your school feels like you need to do. Then that's on the school's official Instagram or Facebook page. Okay. And then finally, do walk around campus with an eye. For what? To photograph with that amazing camera that you have, • • um, in your smartphone. • • And then don't worry about the quality of the photos. • • • It's a little bit blurry. You know, this kid was running this, but nobody cares. Nobody cares. You don't have to be a photographer. • • • • It's just, again, • • it's fun, it's interesting, it's. Wow, they're really doing that thing. The kids are doing this. I didn't know they had a Thanksgiving • • food, um, • • drive. And I didn't know that they were given speeches and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay. It's like, yeah, exactly. All the things the parents didn't know • • • • here and there, now they know. • And so that just leads to so many positives.
Three reasons why you should start your own Instagram at school
Um, and so speaking of the positives, let's just wrap it up by reminding you the three reasons why you should start your own Instagram at school. Your own Instagram account at school. Reason number one, it's good for business. Reason number two, it's good for you. And reason number three, it makes you a more visible leader. • • • And • • with the call to action, I've actually got a couple. Usually I really try to limit it to one, but I'll put these in the show notes. • So call to action. If you don't have a school Instagram account, start one in the next week and make your first post. If you don't have one, start one. • • And if you need help, ask your most tech savvy colleague or teacher. Or if you have a teenager or young adult living at your house, it'll take you like three to five minutes at the most to get your first post out there. • • • Um, and if you are thinking, okay, this is all well and good, • • • • • • • but I'm trapped in my office. I just, I can't get out there. Why even start? I just, I haven't seen a kid in three days. Okay, I get that episode 115 is where the gold is for you on that specific issue. • • • There's joy on your campus, it's just not in your office. And so I'll link that in the show notes. But episode 115, • • listen to it or go back and listen to it again through the lens of having an Instagram account. And then it's so much fun. And then I'd love it, love it, love it if you would email me your link. Um, once you get started, you've got a couple of Posts. • • Um, you know, email me um, with the link to your Instagram. I'd love to see what you're up to. And • • • • um, • • • so again you could email me at mark.o.minkus@gmail.com
kusmail.com and um, • I mentioned before like well what I was going to give you my um, Instagram. I'll link it in the show notes but it's um, @markminkuscds . • • • • Um • • and so I know that's a lot but I'll take good care of you in the show notes. • Um, just one last thing again if you would please • • um, • remember to give uh, or to send or forward this link to another leader in your life, another leader at school. • • A uh, quick reminder about Parent academy, this online digital course. That's your step by step framework • • for building effective partnerships, reducing your stress. • • And again the best part, probably the best part I think it is, is Parent Academy comes with two 45 minute webinar trainings for your teachers with a 27 page printable workbook and guided notes and discussion questions and teacher resources that you can use with them. Um, at a PD you can onboard new teachers with it in the future. You get lifetime access to that. • • Check it out@the privatescgalutr.com parent acacademy and then real quick another free gift. The seven strategies to effectively deal with difficult teachers. • I want to help you with that. If you've got a couple difficult teachers to deal with, • • • how are you going to improve their performance? How you going to improve their attitude? Allgh, let me give you a free guide and help you with that. The privatescgler.com difficult is where you're going to grab for free the seven strategies to deal with effective. • • Excuse me. To deal with difficult teachers. So um, • • • this has been awesome. I uh, love posting on Instagram. It's so much fun. Um, • • check mine out at Mark Minka CDS to give you a couple of ideas • • and you know • • • I just ah, again I think it's good for you. I've enjoyed it so much and obviously I'm passionate about it but there are some good reasons to do it and um, I hope that you'll um, take me up on that and do that and so let's wrap it up.
Mark Minkus: Thank you for joining me today on Private School Leader podcast
I've been your host, Mark Minkus. I appreciate you so much and all the hard work that you're doing for those lucky kids and teachers at your school. Thank you for taking some time out of your precious, precious time that your uh, • time out of your week to join me here today. And I'LL see you next time right here on the Private School Leader podcast. And until then, always remember to serve first, lead second, and make a difference.