Pay Attention to Your Digital Footprint

“Your digital footprint paints a portrait of who you are as an educator, leader, school, or district. Make sure it conveys your true values and work.” – Eric Sheninger

In the age where billions of people have taken both their personal and professional lives online you better be cognizant of your digital footprint.  With each Facebook post, email, Instagram photo, comment on a blog, YouTube video, Skype call, etc. you are leaving a trail that can be seen, searched, or tracked. Basically all of your activity on the Internet leads to the creation of a digital identity and footprint.  Check out the short video from Common Sense Media below that nicely sums up the facets of a digital footprint.

In some cases you might think that you have everything under control, right? Wrong! Your digital footprint is not only formed by what you post, but also what others put online about you. As Wikipedia explains there are two main classifications for digital footprints: passive and active. A passive digital footprint is created when data is collected without the owner knowing, whereas active digital footprints are created when a user for the purpose of sharing information about oneself by means of websites or social media deliberately releases data. Educators who have embraced a brandED mindset understand how important their digital footprint is to him/her.

It can seem daunting to not only keep tabs on the digital footprint that you are actively crafting, but also on what other people are creating at times unbeknownst to you. Here are some free tools that you can begin to use right away to track both your active and passive digital footprint.

Google Alerts

This free tool allows you to monitor the web for content that you specify. My advice is to set up alerts for your name as well as that of your school and/or district. When I was a principal I had an alert set up for New Milford High School so that anytime content was shared specific to my school on the web I could either read or react if necessary. Now I have alerts set up for different iterations of my name including Eric Sheninger, Mr. Sheninger, and Principal Sheninger. Each day I receive an email with news of what people write about me on the web from Google. Set up your Google Alert(s) today using these simple steps or refer to this simple video tutorial.

Mention

Mention is a solid alternative to Google Alerts and in my opinion is much better. It allows users to monitor any keywords related to you, your professional brand, your schools/districts, or anything else you want to monitor.  The alert settings are much more robust than that of Google Alerts.  Not only can you set it up to monitor the Web (news, blogs, videos, forums, images), but you can also have it monitor mentions on Facebook, Twitter, or an array of other social media services if you want. What is even better about Mention is the variety of ways you can access and be notified of new alerts (website, Google Chrome extension, desktop application, apps for iOS and Android). Check out the Mention site or this brief tutorial to get started.

Tweetdeck and Hootsuite

These applications not only enhance your Twitter experience, but they also allow you to create different columns or categories in your respective dashboard. Each column or category in a sense becomes a search based on the keywords you identify (i.e. Twitter username, your real name, hash tags, school/district name, etc.). 

The above tools will greatly assist you in tracking your digital footprint, especially in terms of what other people post about you. A brandED strategy not only employs these tools, but also some common sense tips to help you actively create a positive digital footprint. When posting content online always:

• Keep it professional and focus on your work
• Remember your role within the school and/or professional community
• Think before you post
• Be consistent
• Don't be afraid to engage

For a few more bonus tips check out the image below.

Developing a BrandED Strategy

Here is a reality check for everyone that does not believe in the value of branding in education.  Your brand is what stakeholders and others say about you as well as your district/school.  Social media has changed the landscape and broadened the concept of branding to education whether you like it or not. Your digital footprint is not only crafted by what you create and post, but also what other people and organizations create and post about you.   Just do a simple Google search and see for yourself. You might very well be surprised what’s out there in regards to you and your school/district.  

Now more than ever educators, leaders, schools, and districts need to begin to think about a brand strategy. This is essential to not only control the narrative but to also be proactive in order to deal with negative content that can tarnish an image while influencing the perception of key stakeholders. It is important to differentiate between a brand in the business sense and one in education. A brand in business is meant to sell. On the other hand, a brand in education is meant to build support, admiration, and respect for the honorable work you do each day for kids.  

Image credit: http://themarketingnutz.com/

The foundation of a BrandED mindset is focusing on sharing valuable content related to the mission, vision, and values of your school/district or what you embrace as an educator.  It requires a focus on strategies and ideas that are being successfully implemented to positively impact student learning. Here are some specific reasons why a BrandED mindset matters:

• Your brand will attract others to your work and that of your school. This can result in more qualified candidates applying for jobs, greater stakeholder support, or parents deciding to move to your district. It can also result in building a more vibrant learning network.
• It promotes recognition of amazing work that takes place in schools each and every day.  With social media, anyone can now craft an accurate narrative of how our schools are preparing students for success.
• A positive brand presence motivates and inspires your staff/co-workers as well as colleagues across the globe in terms of what is truly possible. Success is amplified in a way that others can then replicate it.  
• Your brand tells stakeholders about your school DNA. From logos, mascots, tweets, and hashtags a positive brand presence helps you tell the real story
• A positive BrandED presence clearly articulates to stakeholders what to expect from your district, school, or you as a professional.  This promise not only builds precious support but also invaluable relationships.
• A clear BrandED strategy helps you stay focused on your mission, vision, and values related to your work to ensure the success of all students.
• By reaching people at an emotional level, stronger relationships will be built with key stakeholders.  There is no better way to do this than consistently sharing ways that you are making a positive difference in the life of kids each day.

It is important to understand that a BrandED mindset is a natural part of being a digital leader. When you communicate consistently with social media and use it for public relations to tell your story, a brand presence will manifest itself. It will also form just by posting your own work, ideas, and thoughts on a variety of platforms. Whatever is the case keep these tips in mind to develop a mindset for a successful BrandED strategy:

• Be consistent
• Keep the message focused on work (school, district, your own) to provide value to stakeholders
• Engage in two-way communication to build and strengthen relationships
• Maintain a presence across a variety of platforms
• Build around the logo, mascot, name, etc.
• Review analytics and adapt when needed by embracing new tools
• Focus on transparency through honesty and sharing accurate information
• Monitor your brand presence using Google Alerts, Mention, and/or columns in Tweetdeck or Hootsuite

Developing a BrandED mindset and strategy in the digital age just makes plain sense. It begins and ends with the amazing work you and your staff are doing with students or to advance the profession of education. That's the hard part. The easy part consists of creating and then sharing content using a blend of traditional and new age (i.e. social media) tools. 

I am excited to have been able to expand on the topic of BrandED in my new book that I co-authored with Trish Rubin for Jossey-Bass.  Trish opened my eyes up to the concept of BrandED way back in 2009. Get your copy of BrandED today.

Leading With Video

There is no denying the power of video in society.  In a 2014 Forbes article, Richard Tiland makes some significant points when it comes to video and leadership. For example:

The use of video is so ubiquitous in our everyday lives; it has become part of our subconscious. We don’t even realize how much we know and learn from video—news, commercials, documentaries, even YouTube.  

As Tiland continues to explain, the use of video in society extends well beyond entertainment:

It has become a critical component in business, politics, communication, social media and even in music.   We need video to market and sell products, promote new ideas and share beliefs.

This paradigm shift has resulted in one of the most powerful tools available to leaders across the globe as explained by Tiland:

Ultimately, therein lies the power of video—the ability to effectively share beliefs and impact audiences worldwide from the comfort of their homes to the screens of their smart phones 24 hours per day, 7 days per week!

Image credit: http://success8760.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Power-of-video-infograph.png

Digital leaders know full well the power of video. As principal I routinely used video tools to improve communications, enhance public relations, and create a positive brand presence.  Leaders today can harness mainstay video tools to build better connections and relationships with all stakeholders while telling the story of their school/district in a way that was never possible. Video tools can also be used as pivotal learning tools that save precious time and money.  Below I break down four main categories of digital tools:

Archived video (moderate/long length)

YouTube has long been the video tool of choice for digital leaders. Principal Tony Sinanis has used it as a communication tool for years by having his elementary students deliver morning announcements.  As principal I used a tool called ZippSlip where I could record video messages to my parents that were then embedded as YouTube videos right into the email.  Using YouTube as a public relations and branding tool is a seamless shift when leaders record and then share school events focusing on students such as art shows, concerts, athletic events, and award ceremonies.  For videos longer than fifteen minutes leaders can take advantage of Vimeo for free.  Want to learn something new? Check out YouTube EDU.

Archived video (short length)

Tools such Instagram have revolutionized the way leaders can share innovative practices in brevity.  With less than fifteen seconds, tools like this can capture short highlights that demonstrate the awesomeness occurring in our schools every day. These short video clips go a long way towards building a brand presence that extends well beyond a local school or district.  With such a short window to record, the excuses not to use these tools quickly fades. Want to use short video to support your learning? Well the popular walkie talkie app Voxer has you covered.  Voxer now allows users to take and share videos up to fifteen seconds in length.

Live video

Ustream set the standard for streaming video live, even in HD. When my New Milford HS students engaged in a book discussion on Drive with Dan Pink, I streamed the session live using this free tool and archived it to share with my superintendent and BOE.  The latest rage is Periscope, a free, live video streaming app for iOS and Android device.   As a “live video streaming platform”, educators can transmit live recordings of themselves to Persicope and Twitter followers.  Since Periscope is owned by Twitter it automatically links to your Twitter account.  Users get a notification anytime the educators you’re following do a live transmission. Periscope is great for catching glimpses of live presentations at conferences or sharing knowledge instantly using the power of video. You can re-watch any video from your followers for 24 hours after the live broadcast, but after that they disappear and are not permanently archived. For more information on Periscope check out these great resources:

• Periscope: top tips for using Twitter’s latest app
• The Scoop on Periscope: Broadcast Live Video to the World
• Periscope the School

Videoconferencing

Free applications such as Skype and Google Hangouts allow leaders to easily connect with both experts and practitioners. We used videoconferencing in my district to make better use of our precious time. In lieu of face-to-face meetings where we had to leave our buildings, I suggested to all of the building leaders across all schools to meet via Google Hangouts. The free group video chat feature was a game-changer for us.

Great leaders always strive to continuously improve professional practice.  Don't neglect the power of video to become a better communicator, learn on the go at times convenient for you, become the storyteller-in chief, and construct a school/district brand that will build greater support and appreciation from all stakeholders.

Building Parent Engagement: Tell Your School’s Story

The following is a guest post from Alison Anderson, who is a former teacher, tech integrator and now education blog editor. She is active an active member of the EdCampPDX planning team and continually focused on working to improve education for students in Portland and beyond. 

Parent engagement has always been a very bright spot on my radar when thinking about keys to success for schools. Lately, it feels important to distinguish between parent engagement and parent involvement. Both are important and something every school should strive for in order to create the most healthy student environment. But involvement, to me, can mean volunteering and spending time in the school and classroom- building those schools that have an instant sense of positive energy you sense the minute you walk in the school. 

Image credit: http://eventasticme.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/shutterstock_134112389.jpg

Today’s world is complicated - especially as technology continues to disrupt the different fields we have grown so used to living in. We can’t ignore that social media has completely transformed the way in which we receive and understand current events.  As this disruption starts to happen in our schools, we need to fully engage parents so that they not only understand, but feel absolutely comfortable with all the school practices and policies. 

How do you achieve that? With transparent communication and lots of it! Every school has a story, or a “brand” that captures the mission, the norms, the traditions and the values of the school population. 

As a school leader, communicating that “brand” is one of the most important jobs. But building a school “brand” is not like building a product. It’s not always easy and the steps are not always clear. There are some helpful resources emerging for administrators and edleaders who want to do this and do it right.

• BrandED Podcast- Superintendent Joe Sanfelippo and principal, Tony Sinanis interview innovative educators who are incredible tellers of their school’s story. 
• Make Your School House Rock: 10 Ways Principals Can Use Social Networks for Branding - new post from TreeRing, the innovative personalized yearbook publisher, full of resources and ideas for telling your school’s story effectively.
• Digital Leadership, by Eric Sheninger- New book for every edleader wondering how to use social media to engage, inform and inspire. (find one review here).
• Adjusting Course: Responding to the Needs of the 21st Century Student- great blog by Minnesota elementary principal Brad Gustafson, continually sharing how his school tells their story. 
• 10 Ways to Ensure Parents Won’t Need to Ask What Did You Do at School Today?- EdTech ideas for flattening those classroom walls and letting parents in. 
• Lewis Elementary Blog- best example of elementary principal, Tim Lauer, telling the school’s story using a wide range of digital technology in a truly effective manner. 

The more stories shared about what is happening within your school, the better your “big picture” becomes for school and community families. Schools build their brand when they share the stories that answer, “why do you send your child to that school?” That’s how a good reputation gets built. Parents and community members trust in their school “brand” and want to support school decision makers. 

Pillars of Digital Leadership Series - Branding

This post is the third in a series that will outline the foundational elements of my new book, Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times.  It is set to be published by Corwin Press on January 14, 2014.  Currently there is a pre-publication discount of 15% for any orders before this date.  Over the next couple of weeks I will introduce what I have come to identify as the Pillars of Digital Leadership, a conceptual framework for leaders to begin thinking about changes to professional practice.  My book will focus on each of these elements as part of a change process. It will illustrate them in action through the work of practitioners and provide implementation strategies. To view the entire series click HERE.

For this post I decided to turn to Trish Rubin, my education branding expert whose work and insight I highlight in Chapter 7 of my book.  Below are her thoughts on the importance of branding in education.  She has coined the term BrandEd as a means to impart the importance of leaders to establish a positive brand presence.  This specific chapter of the book will look at the role of social media in this process. 

Pillar #3 - Branding

Today's school digital leaders get excited about bringing business tools into their school organization. What I call being a BrandED leader is one foundational way to enrich school management in a digital age. Branding is a tool that has been part of strategic business plans for years. Brand attracts attention and influences audiences. A school brand needs to be positive and crafted to convey purpose. Bringing the process of BrandED thinking into the school's plan transforms and energizes.

Image credit: http://blog.creatinemarketing.com/blog/bid/181385/Do-You-Need-a-Social-Media-Education-to-Execute-A-Social-Strategy

A school leader can create a more connected community by leading the charge to develop a school brand. Private school and college leaders have used brand thinking for years to message their faithful communities. They know the value of a clearly communicated school brand and have benefited from the support of a well-defined brand in political and economic ways. Bringing this thinking into your role as a leader isn't just about style, it's about substance. A strong Brand identity leads to better communication and influence, and in our digital world, influence can be gained at the stroke of a keyboard. Lead your stakeholders to purposefully create a deep identity for your school that uniquely defines the character of the institution.

It’s a do it yourself world, and you can do this without a Madison Avenue advertising firm. Building a school brand is a serious element of school business.  In our noisy digital world, clearly communicated identity is the key to the positioning of your school’s consistent positive presence.  A brand benefits a school's profile and even its purse! Lead your school to BrandED success by identifying the “ROO” (Return on Objective) that brand brings.  Lay out a short plan involving all stakeholders to build the unique school identity. Start by defining your own personal brand as you lead the process. Be open about the shift to brand thinking. Explain why you are investing in educational brand.

Schools must clearly communicate a consistent brand message to their stakeholders to reach standards.  This can be done using myriad communication channels, in real time and online. Your school brand may even come down to one word. Making a Brand facilitation plan is your first ROO target as a BrandED leader. Reputation management of any product or service is key to keeping faith with a loyal audience and brand is about trust and reputation.  Build a BrandED identity, and then set the next ROO: share that identity in a busy information age. Successful BrandED schools are proactive, despite the pressure of the daily digital scrutiny of their audiences. A strong brand grounds communication in what matters most to the school. Positioning a school for success starts with a leader's confident steps toward a BrandEd plan.