There was some interest in my recent post on ESA schools‘ twitter use, so here goes round two: below is a chart of how many followers each of the ISL schools have on Twitter.
Here are the Twitter handles of the ISL schools:
@BelmontHill, @BrooksSchool, @BBNAlumni, @GrotonSchool, @lawrenceacademy, @MiddlesexSchool, @milton_academy, @NoblesGrads, @roxburylatin, @NewsFromSGS, @StMarksBB, @ThayerAcademyMS, @GovsAcademy, and @TheRiversSchool.
I suggest you check them out if you’re in the business. Which is your favorite use of Twitter?
While many still feel that Twitter is both narcissistic and petty, it has proven to be a powerful tool when used in the right ways. Developing a Twitter following and putting out compelling content can do many things for a school.
Alumni will be reminded every day of what their school offered them and continues to offer current students. They see pictures of the chapel during an all school meeting, 30 second clips of a class, articles posted in the school newspaper, and pictures from the swim team’s recent victory. These little updates help alumni remember their school fondly and keep in mind the ongoing, vibrant community on campus.
Twitter is also a very useful tool for building a sense of community among alumni. The best feeds I’ve seen manage to portray the school in a positive light while talking about specific alums and what they’re up to. I imagine that people who stay connected in this way are far more likely to come to reunions, send their own children to the school, and give back to the school with either time or donations.
I’ve become a Twitter/LinkedIn-aholic since I started my internship! You can find me @aclaytondunn. Twitter is appealing to me as a way to both distribute and find great content.
Twitter gives me a convenient list of people who have signed up to receive my thoughts, links, etc. When I find a news article that makes me want to scream or hear about a new startup making an awesome product or read a great blog by a venture capitalist, I want to share it! But I can’t constantly email links to all my friends, because then I wouldn’t have any. So I use Twitter.
I also use Twitter to get a continuous stream of content that I’m likely to find interesting and relevant to me. I get breaking news alerts and can watch a news story unfold, I hear about new ventures and investments, new perspectives and products–I even follow what NASA is up to. Twitter keeps me up to date with information that’s relevant to my life.
To skeptical readers, give Twitter a shot! You may be pleasantly surprised. To schools, keep at it; tweeting to your alumni may have a greater impact than you’d expect.
EverTrue!
Aaron