56. Tips and Strategies for School Social Media With Andrea Gribble
On this episode of Mindful School Marketing, Andrea Gribble, an ardent social media enthusiast, shares her passion for helping schools showcase their daily achievements and share their stories with the world via social media. In this episode, we cover powerful social media techniques to engage and captivate your school community and how to tackle common obstacles in independent schools’ social media management with ease. You’ll also learn how to leverage popular hashtags and trends to boost interaction within your school community while developing authentic, consistent, and imaginative content for your social media platforms.

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About Andrea Gribble:
Andrea’s passion is helping schools recognize their daily awesomeness and sharing that story with the world. She’s built a team that celebrates hundreds of schools across the country! #SocialSchool4EDU provides full social media management and runs a vibrant online community that provides ongoing professional development for school social media champions. She also hosts a weekly podcast, Mastering Social Media for Schools, and is the author of the new book Social Media for Schools: Proven Storytelling Strategies & Ideas for Celebrating Your Students & Staff – While Keeping Your Sanity.
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Aubrey: Welcome to Mindful School Marketing, your go-to podcast for personal and professional growth. Tara: We’re school marketers, business owners, and moms passionate about connecting other school professionals with tools and strategies for success. Aubrey: We love solving problems, exploring new ideas, and thinking outside the box. Let’s transform your school and life starting right now. Tara: This episode is brought to you by Inquiry Tracker. Easily manage all your inquiries, tours, open houses, and applications with a system designed by K through 12, education, marketing, and admissions professionals. Welcome to Mindful School Marketing. I’m Tara Clave. Aubrey: And I’m Aubrey Burch. Today we’re joined by Andrea Gribble. Andrea’s passion is helping schools recognize their daily awesomeness and sharing that story with the world. She’s built a team that celebrates hundreds of schools across the country. Social School for EDU provides full social media management and runs a vibrant online community that provides ongoing professional development for school social media champions. She also hosts a weekly podcast mastering Social Media for Schools. I highly recommend you check it out and is author of the new book, social Media for Schools Proven Storytelling Strategies and Ideas for Celebrating your Students and Staff Well, keeping Your Sanity. Welcome, Andrea. We’re so glad to have you back on the podcast. Andrea: It is good to be here. Uh, how are you guys doing today? Looking great Aubrey: and so excited for this conversation. Tara: Yes. Thanks so much for coming back and joining us to talk about your book. Um, we’re so excited to hear more about it and to tell people about your book and, uh, what all the great resources that are included. But let’s start with a little review in case people haven’t listened to you before on our show or on other shows. Tell us just a little bit about your background, Andrea, and about your company. Andrea: Yeah, well my name’s Andrea Gribble, and I am coming at you from Wisconsin, which you quickly can pick up from my accent. Um, I was laid off back in 2014 and I thought it was the end of the world, but it actually led me into this world of social media. And then I discovered schools needed help with social media. So now I’ve built a business that solely focuses on helping schools celebrate their students and staff. Um, I have six kids now. I have two daughters and four stepsons, and my gosh, two of ’em are actually graduating this year. And I, and then I’ll have only two left in high school. It seems crazy because, um, my youngest daughter was in first grade when I started this business back in 2014. Um, but I, I just have a passion for getting those. Stories out there because parents like me, we don’t really get to find out what’s happening at school. Uh, but through the power of social media, Facebook, and Twitter and Instagram and more, uh, you know, parents and the community can really get an inside look at the amazing things that are happening inside our schools. And what Aubrey: a service that you provide, because I think that social media is so, such a powerful tool, yet it can be so overwhelming for those of us working in schools and not sharing, not sure where to start and everything like this. Um, but before we dive into kind of delving into your new book and kind of how that came to be, I, I would love to hear your story around making this book. Like, can you tell us a bit like what, why did you decide, yes, I need to write a book about this? Um, and how do you hope this book, uh, will influence our wonderful people working in schools? Andrea: Well, I’ve worked with schools now for nine years, and early on I started sharing advice and things that were working, not because I knew it all, but because if I found something that worked, I wanted to share it with other people. The problem is I do talks and I do trainings, and they’re hour at a time and you can’t possibly fit. Everything into a one or two or even three hour session. So I had had it on my kind of radar that I’d love to write a book. That’s really helped schools guide through the whole process of setting up a system and working the branding and how to tell a good story. The overwhelming part is Aubrey and Tara. As you know, social media is constantly changing. So to write a book is really like, you can’t totally write a book that’s gonna work as far as how to run Facebook and Twitter and Instagram, which is a, in a, a struggle in and of itself because they’re, they’re always changing. Um, but finally, you know, after nine years of really dedicating myself to, you know, this area, I felt like now’s the time. I have experience working with hundreds of schools. I have a community of hundreds of people and I didn’t write this book on my own. Um, I got help from an editor that has experience, but I also gathered more than 50 different stories from, uh, private schools, public schools, charter schools. All of that is inside of this book. And so, um, I just want more of those stories. Uh, out there for schools, and there’s some, some things holding people back because they don’t have the right systems. They don’t know what type of content to share. They don’t know the right way to engage. And so my goal of putting this together was get this book and it, it ended up to be a a, a a. Big one. It’s about 300 pages. Um, but it definitely, you can go to the part that you need most and you can have that sitting on your desk to be like, okay, where do I go from here? What’s the right method? What’s the right strategy for getting these stories out to more people? And uh, it’s been really fun because I’ve been sharing about this for years. So this is really assembling all of that work, all of those interviews that I’ve done and putting it together in one, one little manual. It’s such Tara: a great resource and I’ve not seen anything like it, um, before. So I think it’s just, it’s also. Well needed and I’m sure, um, that it’s gonna be very successful. Um, I’d love to talk a little bit about, I mean, we work with small schools. Aubrey and I mostly work with small schools that have limited resources, you know, small staff, people wearing many hats and also limited budget. So can you share some strategies from the book that might be helpful to the leaders of these small schools specifically and their, and their Andrea: teams? Well, I think one of the biggest things is setting up a system that works. Um, social media is challenging. Most small schools don’t have a des designated communications person. Even if you do like specific social media training for schools, It doesn’t really exist. I mean, there’s some training out there, but most of it’s geared towards businesses, right? And not necessarily towards schools. Uh, of course Aubrey puts out a lot of content trying to help schools. I do. And, and some other companies that focus on the K-12 school unit. But, um, there’s just not a lot out there. So bottom line, setting up a system where, Everybody can be part of telling the story, um, but there’s a one point person that’s actually managing the social media is really key. So my first chapter is all on setting up systems and if you can get those systems set up from the get go. You are going to have more, uh, probability of success because you are gonna have a system and not just, you know, we call it a process, not a project. It’s gotta be an everyday thing that’s happening. Those stories have to be told. So you’ve gotta get a system that works. So we really talk about setting up an email address, having your staff. Send in those pictures or those little videos and then select the person on your staff that has a passion for social media. This is really important, so you know you need somebody that’s passionate for it, that’s tech savvy. It’s not a full-time job. But they’ve gotta have some time in their schedule. So if you have that kindergarten teacher, you have that library media specialist, you have that, um, administrative assistant that has a passion for it, they can do that In addition to their other duties with some of the strategies that I provide in regards to saving time, getting content from other people, scheduling things out. We talk about batching, which is basically like meal prepping. But for social media, okay, so we’re scheduling things out. I’ve got it on my calendar today. We’re talking in in April. I’ve gotta get my seniors scheduled out in my small little school. We only have 28. Good. You know, goodness gracious, I don’t wanna forget one of those 28, uh, but I wanna celebrate them in the right way, but I also have to get information from them. So some of that takes a little bit of time. But then I can sit down and I can schedule those things out. So I think those are some of the key things that small schools will really get out of this. And again, I wrote this book because I continually see schools struggling with this. So we gotta get back to the basics. And if we can get those things set up, you know, celebrating your students and staff is gonna be way easier. Aubrey: I love this. First of all, Tara and I are big fans of setting up systems and I mean, I love that when your first chapter is all about systems and that that is a, that is a win right there. Setting up a system, making your life easier, making sure you can get your job done, as well as, you know, social media, which could become a job of itself. Right? But I love that you’re focusing on that, that’s so important. Now I’m, I’m curious like. As we’re looking at independent schools right now, like, and you work so much with them on social media, I’m so interested to hear it like what are the key challenges you see independent schools struggle with in regards to social media, and how do you think your book can address some of these challenges? Andrea: Well, I think it’s, it really comes down to what is the right content. I had somebody just reach out about their Instagram page and they’re like, I’m, you know, we’re not growing in followers. And it’s like, well, are you giving the people what they want? Are you utilizing Instagram reels? Are you using Instagram stories? Are you sharing photos of. Students and staff and you know, having engaging things to share because if you’re not, then why would people follow you? Um, so I think that is, I mean, you gotta have that system, but then you’ve gotta have the content that really engages because that is what drives. Eyeballs to your content. Um, I, I, we may have talked about this last time, but on Facebook specifically, which is the number one channel that we use for all the schools we serve, we, we do social media management for 86 school districts across the country. And, and our number one channel is always Facebook. And when you’re sharing things on Facebook, you just because you have a thousand followers doesn’t mean your posts reach a thousand people. You’ve gotta have likes, comments, and shares, but those aren’t all created equal. So a like is worth like one point on this hypothetical scale, a comment is worth seven points. A share is worth 14 points or more because a. You know, they, that person might be connected to hundreds and hundreds of people. So you really wanna drive after those comments and those shares because Facebook says, Hey, this is really important. So how do we get that Dr, that engaging content? I specifically talk about the types of content that is gonna do well. We’ve got things like asking questions and hopefully this is gonna air soon, but, you know, an alumni roll call, what year did you graduate? It’s a simple question. Everybody knows Tara Aubrey. Uh, 1996 is the best year, just by the way. Um, but everybody knows that and they can answer very easily. You know what it does? It drives engagement cuz they’re putting those comments in. It also gets your community used to commenting on your page, even though that might not be super related to your school. Uh, but there’s things like teacher appreciation Week is coming in, uh, at the beginning of May. Who is your favorite teacher? We’ve had schools literally get thousands and thousands of responses to that bec and not, not because they ha they’re all their followers, but it’s because it’s an engaging question. Facebook shows it to more people. People love telling stories about their favorite teacher, tagging their teacher, putting pictures in of their. Class from, you know, 1972 or whatever. It’s, it’s just, uh, really key. But we’ve got to give our community what they want to see and frankly, that’s always changing. I mean, uh, you know, Instagram reels and TikTok and has hasn’t been on the. On the radar, you know, for that long. And I’m, I’m sure there’s other things that are coming into play. There always are. Um, we don’t have to always jump at the latest thing. Um, but I think we really have to do Facebook well and we’ve got to celebrate those everyday things, but then drive in that engagement, those call to action, all of that. So that, that’s kind of my advice. I Tara: love the favorite teacher. As a matter of fact, I just redid my website and on my team page, I had everybody on my team list their favorite teacher as part of their bio because it’s, it’s like those stick in your, in your mind. So I love Aubrey: that, that idea. Yeah, I can list all my favorite teachers. Andrea: I love Aubrey: it. And I, I love how you mentioned just now about giving your community what they want and that, that might change, but it’s, it’s listening to them and to figuring out, you know, what are the things that really engage them and make them want to comment or share or something like that. So thank you for that, that tip. That’s amazing. Now I’m curious, um, because I know we were talking before we hit record about the process of writing a book, right? It is an intense process. Uh, but as you’re putting this book together and watching it, you know, come to Prince, like what was, what’s your favorite part of this book and why? Andrea: Well, I think my favorite part of this book, well, there’s a couple things. One, every chapter comes with take action. So I am big and I know you guys are like, training is great, learning is awesome. If you don’t do anything with it, Is it really worth it? No. So I’m really proud. Um, it’s at every end of every chapter, it’s a, you’ve got this. And so it, it has some check marks in regards to, okay, review your district values and your goals, identify your goals for the next term or year, communicate consistently and celebrate your students. Measure your goals, you know, um, and I also put a workbook, uh, that’s absolutely free. It’s downloadable on my, um, website when you purchase the book. You can grab that. And so that’s really helpful. I’m really proud of that. The other thing that I’m super proud of is all of the examples from schools across the country, um, because I. Like I learn every day. I am not really an expert. Like I, I spend a lot of time and I’ve learned a ton. Most of my teachers are the people that are out there doing social media every day. Um, and, and looking at what they’re sharing and seeing what works because I can see the comments and shares and likes, right? So I’m just constantly learning. So I am really, really proud that we were able to feature, you know, every chapter of this 20 chapter book starts with a. Case study. And then within it there’s different pullouts of people using and putting into practice what I’m teaching. So it’s not just like hypothetically really high level stuff, it’s take action stuff and examples of how it’s really worked in schools. And that’s why I think it’s gonna be such a great resource for my re you know, the readers out there. Tara: I love that. And a workbook too. That’s awesome. What I mean, this is just a, just a great tool and resource. I’m so excited, um, for schools to have this in their toolbox. Um, thanks for sharing that. I’m gonna ask a, like a specific question cuz I did, um, Look over your book. And one thing about social media that always baffles me and baffles my clients is hashtags. I know you have a section in your book about hashtags and I’m gonna, as a web person, I’m just gonna say it’s very confusing because when you have a blog on your website, there are categories and tags that you can use with your blog posts, and I think people get confused a lot and they think that tags on a website are the same thing as hashtags. On social media, and I just wanna put out there that they are not the same. And using tags on your website will not connect at all to your social media tags and don’t use a lot of tags on your website. So I’m gonna make that little point, but then I would like to ask you to, to explain hashtags, how to use them properly and um, and what they are, how to, how to figure out which ones to use. And also maybe even if there’s time and if you’re interested in mentioning chat G P T, because I’ve used it a little bit to generate some post content and it puts hashtags all over the place in those. So I don’t know if that’s good or not. So maybe you can just enlighten us all about, about Andrea: hashtags. Yeah. Well, I think everybody now knows what hashtags are, right? It’s a way to search for a common topic, um, to bring people together, um, that are talking about the same thing. So I wanna really make this simple for schools. What is your hashtag that you use for your school? If you can’t answer that, just like I could answer that I graduated in 1996, if you can’t answer your hashtag, you got a problem. That’s your number one thing. Going viral and getting all these fancy hashtags that are trending is all cool and stuff, but doesn’t really matter because you mostly wanna reach the people in your community. So first of all, one hashtag. For your school or district is really important. Okay. Um, and if you have so many hashtags that when somebody is tweeting something out or putting something on Instagram and they’re like, oh my gosh, what hashtags should I use? Um, should I use the one about being future ready, or should I use the one about our athletics, or should I use the one. You’ve lost, like you need, it needs to be really clear that you’ve got that one strong school hashtag. So that’s number one assignment. And I’ve got a lot of great ideas, uh, examples of really good hashtags in the book that I have, you know, just shared that are from across the country. Okay? Uh, you want something that invokes some pride and that it’s unique. It has to be unique. Guys, if it was hashtag Go Vikings, There’s a lot of schools out there that have Vikings for their mascots, so that’s not good. You’re not gonna find stories for your school, and the hashtag is not just for you to use as your school, but other people are gonna start using it, right? So that’s why that clear communication and clear understanding of what’s my hashtag. Now the next thing is using additional hashtags to try to get your content found. And again, you can use some trending things, but what I’m gonna recommend is if somebody was searching for something in your area, what would they search for? Are there some key terms like your, the name of your city or the name of your county, or if there’s some kind of, uh, Tourism hashtag that they could follow, that’s gonna end up bringing them into your school. Because think we’re all trying to attract students and when parents and are looking for places to live or whatever, you know, you want your school to show up. So I think that those hashtags are the ones that are most important to look at. You can look at different, um, social media accounts in your. Community in your area, in your county that are being used. Try to use some of those. But those are the ones that I think are the most important. Um, again, going viral is cool sometimes cuz sometimes it’s not for the right reasons. Um, but uh, going viral is neat and when you reach a million people that might be like, oh my gosh, we made it. Um, but just reaching thousands, uh, hundreds is really awesome because think of. Otherwise, how many people would know about certain things? Not many. So if you can reach one more, that’s really good, but it’s really important to reach the people that are closer to you. So that would be kind of my. Um, suggestion on hashtags. Does that help? Yeah, I think Tara: so. I mean, do, do people like use those? Do they, they click on it and then they look at what else is there? People search through that. Is that how it’s used? I don’t typically do that, so I’m curious as to how it’s actually used Andrea: by. Yes. So they’re probably not necessarily gonna search on the hashtag that you had put in your post, but if they are searching that hashtag, which they can, so like even on Instagram now, just like you can follow an account, you can follow a hashtag so that those hashtags are gonna show up in your newsfeed. Um, and so, yes. That is how they find them. I mean, it’d just be like when you’re watching, you know, the, the N B A finals or whatever, and there’s hashtags that you can follow and people are commenting about that. They could be searching up some hashtags about your, your area or your city or that topic. Um, and then find it. I mean, if you’re doing something really special about. Stem or steam or you know, some of those things, you can obviously use those hashtags and maybe somebody’s gonna find you and identify it and oh my gosh, there’s somebody wants to make a donation to your school because they saw all of the cool things that you’re doing with your students. You, you never really know. Um, and so that, that is definitely a possibility, but that’s the purpose of hashtags is, is to show up and maybe gather new, new followers, a new audience, and all of that. Tara: That’s really helpful. I wonder if I shouldn’t even be using them at all in some cases because they’re probably not really doing anything, but they look cool. Maybe when you have a whole bunch at the bottom of your post. Andrea: Yeah. And, and it can be confusing. And then you just asked a little bit about chat, G P T. Yeah. Certainly exploring some of that. My friends over at Class Intercom, I know are doing some, um, uh, presentations on that and we, we asked, we just asked the question in my membership community, like, how are you using chat g p t? And so a lot of people are utilizing it for a first draft, so it can really generate some creative writing. I know that I specifically used it for a fourth grade activity. Um, some kids were working on something, some hands-on learning. And it gave me some colorful language that I was able to use and incorporate and, and yes, it will throw in some hashtags because you just say, write me a social media post about, and you know, can put it in there. Um, but we definitely don’t recommend having that, your final copy. Um, you know, writing press releases and things like that can also make your job easier. So I think right now in education, we’re just looking at how can this tool, when we’re so strapped for time, Um, and, you know, we don’t have a big staff. Um, how can this tool help enhance what I’m doing and maybe make things a little bit faster, but still be authentic. Um, where we may all have heard of the story of, um, you know, a condolence being written and then at the end it said created by like Chad, g p t. So then they’re like, A bot created this. Like, how authentic is this from the. From the school, you know, so we’ve gotta be careful. Um, I think we’re still learning a lot, but there is some capability for just social media writing that could lead to more engagement, which is what we want. And, um, I’m learning a lot and I think every time I get, uh, you know, kind of opened up to, oh, I could write it this way, it’s gonna enhance. The way that I can write all the time too. So, um, anyways, but there’s, there’s obviously a lot to unpack with that and I’m definitely not an expert, but that’s what I see what I’ve seen so far. Tara: Yeah, thanks for sharing that. It definitely is something that I’ve explored and, um, I think sometimes we get blocks when you’re, when you’re, especially when you’re trying to generate social media content every day. It does give you some ideas sometimes, so, um, I’m glad to hear that, that you’ve tried Aubrey: it too. I’m excited to, I mean, I would love to see where this goes in a year, so, because I do think we’re in this trial, this kind of try it out. And C mode with chat, g p t and all sorts of AI pieces. But, um, I’m very eager to see where we’re gonna be in here, but I do think it is helpful for perhaps, you know, like you were mentioning Andrea, like taking, you know, maybe there’s a word they used or a phrase and you’re like, huh, that would be really good. I should incorporate that. Or maybe like, it just give you a. Start to edit. Um, because I do think it’s important for schools to really look at what they’re putting out there and make it their own as well. So, um, thank you so much for mentioning that. It was funny because, um, my son just turned 11 and. My sister-in-law used chat, g p t to write him a birthday poem. So I’m like, what does chat g PT not do? Andrea: Right. Aubrey: So anyways, um, let me, uh, ask you this. You know, you, I’m curious, especially now, you’ve answered this question before on our podcast, but I think this is an important one because I’d love to hear. You know, uh, on this podcast we talk about mindfulness and how it applies to schools and marketers. Um, I’m thinking like, in terms of social media and maybe also in terms of your book writing experience, like how have you, you know, experienced mindfulness or seen it live out, um, in what you Andrea: are doing? I. Well, the important thing, uh, uh, that I even included in my book is kind of the byline, which is proven storytelling strategies and ideas to celebrate your students and staff while keeping your sanity. I’m really big on that. Um, you know, I used to wear my phone on my hip like a badge of honor. Like I’m important. I need to always be on, and it’s just not sustainable. Um, you, you’re going to get burnt out and I’ve seen that. Happened to so many people. So, um, I think it’s very important, you know, we have all this technology, uh, but sometimes it, uh, it’s 24 7, so we need to be, um, really creative on, on doing boundaries. And so I have a chapter, um, actually in the book and it’s all on avoiding burnout and, uh, so there’s some real keys that you need to take in order to protect yourself. From that, um, writing this book was certainly a struggle for me. Um, but I do lead a team of 30, um, stay-at-home moms and I try to be a leader of not just, I practice what you preach, right? Walk the talk. Um, do, don’t just talk. So, um, so I, it’s been a struggle, but I. Really had to, I had a really busy fall and I actually, um, recently shared kind of my struggle with my own mental health and anxiety and depression. And it was, it was challenging. What I really had to do was compartmentalize. I had the book that there’s things due by certain dates, but I had a bunch of travel and it’s like I cannot work on the book until this time. And then I put in my calendar two hours each day. When I knew I was gonna have time to work on it, I put in two hours each day over like two weeks. You can get a lot done when you’re like, okay, this is designated time. Um, and it made, made it all manageable because then I could focus on what I needed to, and it wasn’t like looming. I, I knew I had time to work on it. So I think, you know, there’s a lot of strategies and I, I share, um, you know, 10 different tips to avoid burnout in the book. Um, but for me, scheduling my time, I. Um, is really important. I also use Asana now, which has changed my life and I might have talked about this last time, but, um, you know, I am a writing down person. I have my written calendar right in front of me, but sometimes you have those to-do things and then you have to write ’em the next day and then you have to write ’em the next day. Well, in Asana I can just put it in there and put my due date and I don’t, I can move it out if I can, but it’s, it stay helps me and my team stay much more organized. So those are some, I guess, Mindful tips. Um, I’ve got a lot of other things that I’m continuously working on. It’s a work in progress for me. Um, but I, I am feeling really good with my balance right now. Um, and yesterday I took a nap day, my book launched. I took a nap cuz I was feeling a little under the weather. And, um, I’m proud of myself for that. Right. And I needed it. Yeah. So, Tara: That’s great. Thank you so much for sharing that. It’s really important. Um, I just listened to a podcast and I’m gonna mention it because of what you talked about with your scheduling, your time for writing, and I know we love to talk about books and podcasts. Um, anyway, the, it was a Hello Monday podcast and she had Daniel Pink and they were talking about a book that he wrote a while ago called When, and it was all about timing. I don’t know if I’ve not read it, but that’s on my list now. Um, Kind of like finding the ideal times for things and when you know, if you’re a morning person, you know that that’s when you’re gonna be scheduling your, your most. Focused time and that type of thing. So, um, uh, hearing you talk about using that time and blocking it off for writing, uh, and the pressure that that puts on you also, um, I think is, is a really important point to make, whether you’re writing a book or trying to accomplish other things in your, in your job or your life. So, um, and thanks for sharing your, you know, your experiences recently too. Um, I’m glad you’re doing well. Andrea: Thank Tara: you. So we’re gonna jump into rapid fire questions and since you’ve been at guest before, we’re not gonna ask you all of them, but we did talk before we started recording about a couple things that may have changed since you were on the show. Um, so let’s start with, uh, like probably my favorite question, which is if you could put one book as mandatory reading in the high school curriculum, what would it be? And you said it may have changed since you were here before. Andrea: Yeah, well I’m always trying to do some reading. I’ve really picked up on my reading schedule lately and, oh, uh, while I was on vacation, I read the Energy Bus by John Gordon and he is an awesome author. I’ve bought like 20 of his books now. I’m, I’m reading The Positive Dog, uh, now cuz I’m, I need my kids to read that, uh, book. Um, but a lot of parables like, you know, tales that really. Uh, highlight some of the important things that are really all about success. And so I really recommend the energy bus. It’s like a 45 minute, 50, you know, hour read. It’s, it’s not a l a super long book. Um, but it’s really, really powerful. It’s got some great lessons in it. So, um, I or anything by John Gordon, he even recently had rolled the boat. With PJ Fleck. Um, my boys are big Minnesota and my husband are big Minnesota Gopher fans. So, um, he’s just got a lot of stories out there for leadership, for relationships, for teams, for kids, all of that. And so, um, I would definitely recommend, um, anything by John Gordon, but definitely read the Energy Bus. I’m excited. I will Aubrey: be adding that to my list. I feel like it might have been on one of my lists and then I’m, I’m leveling it up. I’m gonna push it up. Um, so I’m curious, you know, is there one in particular, one book in particular that you are reading rights now? Andrea: I. Yes, I, um, picked up John Maxwell’s, the 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication, and I am speeding through this book with my highlighter. Um, I actually was invited. I’m, we’re doing a little book club with some other entrepreneurial friends of mine, and so I’m super excited, but it just kind of talks about the power of communication a lot in speaking, and I do a lot of speaking. It’s been fun because some things I’m like, oh my gosh, I do that. Oh my gosh, I do that. Ooh, I could do that better. Um, and so I am really loving this book and I would say anybody in school communications would also benefit from this book because it’s not only written, um, words, but, but spoken and, you know, so, so the, the writing that you do in your day in and day out, uh, life is, is great. The, the one that I just read was on the Law of Simplicity. And it’s just talks about how if you need to give a minute speech, you probably gotta prepare much longer than if you give an hour speech. And it’s so true. Um, and I am kind of a little bit of a storyteller, so I could probably benefit from, uh, trying to simplify things down a little bit. But, uh, I love this book, John Maxwell’s great author. Uh, but this is his newest book. Tara: Thank you for sharing that too. I think we can wrap up now unless there’s any last advice that you Andrea: wanna share. No, I think, uh, keep telling those stories and if you’re looking for a tool, um, to help make it a little easier to give you the systems, I think my book is a great resource. Um, but otherwise I’ve got a ton of free content out there as you guys do, uh, plug into all of that. But just know that the work and the storytelling that you’re doing, It really makes a difference and it’s, uh, it’s important work. So thank you for, uh, leaning into that and thank you both for having me today. Tara: Thanks for sharing with us. Where can people find this book, Andrea, Andrea: and find it? Yes. Um, I’m on Amazon. Uh, the book is on Amazon. And, um, my website is the best place to find all the podcasts, the blog, the book, the everything, uh, social school, four edu.com. That’s the number four, so social school for edu.com. Check it out there and you can get all my contact information and, and, uh, resources there. This is a Aubrey: great, uh, release date, I think because people can, um, dive into this over the summer and as they’re heading into the fall. I think that’s just a wonderful, a wonderful thing for them to be doing, and I know I’ll be gifting this to many of my school clients as well. Thank you, Andrea, so much for being on our podcast again and sharing your welcome knowledge on social media and so much more. Thanks guys. Tara: Thank you. Bye bye. Aubrey: Inquiry Tracker is the all-in-one C R M solution used by over 250 schools. Easily manage all your inquiries, tours, and open houses. Key Instant Analytics help you manage and grow a robust pipeline, so end spreadsheets forever. Tara: The Smart Online Application System with Powerful Document Upload is a game changer. No school is too small or too big, and their Fast Start program will get you up and running in no time. Aubrey: Best of all the system is designed by K12 education, marketing, and admissions professionals. Check out Inquiry tracker@inquirytracker.net. That’s inquiry with me tracker.net. Tara: Thanks for joining us on the Mindful School Marketing Podcast. Aubrey: We’d love it if you pop into iTunes and leave a review. Five Star Preferred. Let us know how you like the show. It helps us improve what we’re doing and helps others find us too.