<p>Social media has shifted the landscape and broadened the concept of educational branding. Developing a BrandED mindset and strategy in the digital age is necessary in today?s educational climate (Sheninger, 2015). Social media tools provide school leaders with opportunities to share successes on a frequent basis with stakeholders. This immediate sharing of successes could be a powerful tool for schools to proactively shape their public image (Scott, 2011).
This mixed methods study explored experiences of public school superintendents and principals using social media to communicate with stakeholders as a component of their communications and public relations strategy to establish a brand presence.
The research questions were:
1. To what extent do superintendents and principals use social media tools to communicate with employees, students, parents, and community members?
2. Is there a significant difference between superintendents and principals with respect to the use of social media tools among the following groups: employees, students, parents, and community members?
3. Is there a significant difference between superintendents and principals with respect to the branding strategies they include in their use of social media tools?
4. Is there a relationship between the use of social media tools and following demographics: gender, years of experience, level, urban/suburban rural?
5. How do superintendents (n=4) describe experiences using social media tools to communicate as a component of their communications and public relations strategy to establish a brand presence?
6. How do principals (n=5) describe experiences using social media tools to communicate as a component of their communications and public relations strategy to establish a brand presence?
The quantitative instrument was administered to State Superintendents (N=14) and Principals (N=78). Significant differences were found between superintendents? and principals? branding strategies when using Facebook; using blogs with students between urban and suburban school leaders; using Twitter between elementary principals compared to middle and high school principals; and using Facebook between elementary and high school principals. The qualitative findings revealed nine themes between superintendents (n=4) and principals (n=5).
The results from this study may provide guidance to school leaders developing a social media public relations strategy to establish a brand presence
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10276907 |
| Date | 11 May 2017 |
| Creators | L?Etoile, Nicole |
| Publisher | Johnson & Wales University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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