Last year, eMarketer found that 58.5 million millennials are on Facebook and 43.3 million are on Instagram. Moreover, Pew Research shows that around 57% of Baby Boomers are active on social media as well.

So are millennial teachers surfing district social media accounts as they research schools? Only 22% of the teachers we surveyed indicated that they’d checked district or school social media when researching jobs. However, the open responses we gathered told a different story. “Social media is key,” one teacher told us. “I love being involved on campus and seeing exciting things happening at the school.” Another said she specifically looks for school leaders on social media.

Use social media to recruit teachers.

Here’s the kicker: according to our research, 22% of districts aren’t even present on social media. And less than half are active on both Facebook and Twitter. Therefore, it could be that candidates aren’t checking district social media because there isn’t much to see.

Like your careers page, your social media should be hitting the high points your recruits care about: your culture, your location, and your support for teachers. (This is also a great place to use those awesome photos you got for your careers page.) Your posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram should give your prospective candidates a window into what it’s like to work in your district.

Percentage of Districts on Each Platform

Show your teachers some love.

Your teachers should be a major focal point of your district’s social media presence. Promoting the great work your teachers are doing every day builds trust with your community, makes your current staff feel valued, and shows prospective hires that you’re a supportive school leader.

As you decide what to post on social media, start by gathering stories about your teachers and their classrooms. If the high school AP government teacher is holding a mock election, or first grade students are putting on a play, post about them. When in doubt, follow your social media-savvy teachers and watch what they post from the classroom. Sharing or retweeting current teachers’ content not only boosts your faculty’s credibility, but proves to prospective hires (many of whom are millennials) that you value innovative ideas.

Actively engage with teachers on social media.

You may already be involved in a few education Twitter chats—public Twitter conversations bound together by unique hashtags--but are you using them to your advantage when it comes to recruiting teachers? These chats can be a great place to find and connect with prospective teachers, especially ones already engaged in the issues and needs relevant to your schools.

If there are hashtags for teachers in your state or region (#CAedchat in California, for example), don’t hesitate to jump in on those conversations. And if you can tweet, retweet, and like from a personal account, rather than the official district account, even better. “I find that leaders who leverage Twitter (or similar media) to grow their [Personal Learning Networks] or connect with other educators and leaders are most effective,” one teacher told us. “I want to work with school leaders who are forward-thinking and part of the conversation.”

Staying active in your region’s Twitter chats gives you the chance to build personal connections before prospects even apply—and those relationships will help you stand out when they're searching for jobs.

Meeting millennial teachers where they are is as simple as using social media to brag about your schools. By sharing the good things happening in your district, you control the narrative that’s reaching these prospective new hires—and they help spread that message for you. (You can read more about growing advocates in The Advocacy Marketing Manifesto.)

Start by sharing teacher stories and posts—most of the work is done for you already! And then make sure to actively engage with educators through Twitter conversations and other social media to build lasting connections and stand out from the crowd.

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