LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network, and while many schools seem to have focused on other social media channels, their LinkedIn pages don’t always get the attention they deserve.

With all there is to juggle, it’s not surprising that time and resource constraints were some of the biggest social media challenges for schools and districts, according to a recent survey by #SocialSchool4EDU.

However, creating a LinkedIn page for your school shouldn’t be ignored, and optimizing your LinkedIn account is a great way to support social media for your school or district. Unlike Facebook, Instagram, and other social media networks, LinkedIn is a professional hub where schools can connect with alumni, industry pros, and potential partners.

It also serves as a place for your extended school community to showcase achievements, programs, professional development, job openings, and more, which can attract prospective employees and expand your reach.

A brief check-in can help your school's LinkedIn strategy and still do it all: announce important news and events, grow your community to reach alumni and potential staff, and monitor your social performance.

From tracking analytics to nurturing your community to posting engaging content, we've curated social media optimization tips and LinkedIn ideas for your school to increase engagement without sacrificing your valuable time.

LinkedIn Page Strategies for Schools

Creating Your School’s LinkedIn Content Strategy (30 minutes)

Setting goals is the most important part of a social media strategy for your school. Are you trying to increase awareness, engage with alumni, or attract potential new staff? Having clear objectives will help you decide how to optimize your LinkedIn profile and make it stand out, all while you create purposeful content (even when you’re in a time crunch.)

Content Calendar

Once your goals have been set, you can start thinking about creating content. Creating unique, fun, and engaging content can be difficult and stressful when time is short! One tried-and-true way to combat this is a social media content calendar. They are easy to make and help ensure you don’t miss important dates or events.

To get started, use a spreadsheet or download Finalsit'es free Social Media Calendar for Schools to instantly access 120+ fresh content ideas and social content strategies from schools across the world! You can use one calendar for all your social media platforms or have separate calendars for each.

Types of Content

To maximize your social media presence on LinkedIn, post at least twice each week. OK, great, but what types of social media posts can you quickly produce that still resonate with your audience?

Website Content

If you publish content to your school website, it could also be posted to your LinkedIn. You don’t have to brainstorm brand-new ideas when you can cross-promote pre-existing content. Don't forget that photos and videos, blog posts, news, calendar updates, announcements, and awards are all great content for LinkedIn!

Staff Spotlights

These posts might take a little longer to create, but they perform surprisingly well on LinkedIn. You can spotlight staff when they win awards, join your school, or celebrate a milestone.

Lee’s Summit School District showcases its staff's achievements on LinkedIn through thoughtful posts and engaging images. Don't worry if you don’t have a savvy photographer on hand; a well-designed graphic can be just as effective!

Pro Tip: LinkedIn posts with images, graphics, or videos receive 2X more engagement than text-only posts. Make sure you include some sort of media with your post.

Alumni Updates

Reconnecting with alumni on LinkedIn is a great opportunity for schools to rekindle relationships and leverage the professional networks of their graduates. A simple way to engage alumni is by sharing their accomplishments.

Moses Brown School does a great job celebrating its alumni by recapping alumni events and sharing alumni spotlights.

You should also encourage alumni to share their memories, photos, and experiences from their time at the school on LinkedIn. User-generated content fosters engagement and nostalgia while strengthening the alumni community.

Community Engagement (15 minutes)

Acknowledging and engaging with comments, questions, or feedback builds a sense of connection and trust with your audience—you show that their voice matters. Responding, liking, and sharing make your school or district more personable and let you better understand your target audience's needs, preferences, and pain points.

Durham Academy reposted a community member's LinkedIn post they were tagged in. This shows that they listen and actively engage with their audience. Other examples of community engagement on LinkedIn could be reposting or commenting on staff or alumni posts, liking community members' posts, or responding to comments you receive.

Engaging with Groups

You can also create alumni networking groups on LinkedIn to highlight and celebrate accomplishments and promote alumni events. Take 15 minutes a week to respond to comments, re-post exciting alumni accomplishments, and connect with your community.

The Hun School of Princeton's alumni group is a great place to ask questions, comment on members' posts, and like and share. With an audience that's connected by similar experiences and interests, your engagement can be exponential.

Monitor Analytics (15 minutes)

You might be wondering, “What data points should I analyze”? Engagement — measured through likes, comments, shares, and saves—is the easiest way to tell what content resonates with your community.

Find insights into your audience's behaviors, preferences, and patterns by looking into your LinkedIn Analytics to show the impact of your content and what connects your followers. You can also compare your content's performance to competitors' posts or activity.

Understanding which posts generate high engagement allows you to refine your LinkedIn strategy and tailor content to suit your audience's preferences.

Keep Reading: Apples to Oranges: Measuring KPIs of School Marketing Content

Monitoring your LinkedIn analytics doesn’t have to be a long process. Simply look at the data, recognize what is or isn’t performing well, and put that knowledge in your back pocket for when you’re creating content.

Key Takeaways

You don't have to be your school's full-time social media manager to make an impact. Even a few minutes each day can help with your school’s social media optimization, boost your following, and make it feel less like your LinkedIn is a full-time job.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As the Social Media and Content Specialist, Hailey oversees Finalsite's social media accounts and helps grow its online community. Following her time at the University of Kansas, where she took up rowing, Hailey is a fitness enthusiast who enjoys playing soccer and running.