We all hope our school’s social media posts promote engagement, participation, and that feel-good spirit we all love. But what happens when the art teacher, JV baseball team, science department, newspaper club, and guidance office decide to create their social media accounts and start representing your school?

Suddenly, your school’s brand is scattered across multiple platforms, each with different logos, messages, tones, and levels of activity. When families and fans search for your school, they might see 12 different accounts, none of which you can access. 

While the intention behind these accounts is good, these “rogue accounts” can quickly become a headache for maintaining a cohesive and professional online presence.

In a survey by the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) and the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), over half of the respondents reported encountering mock or fake social accounts representing schools or public school districts.

However, only about one-third successfully verified their organization on social media platforms. Additionally, 59% of respondents said their schools have faced accounts that harass, intimidate, or bully students.

It's time to hunt down and (respectively) rein in these “accounts gone wild.” By centralizing your social media efforts, you can ensure consistent branding, increase visibility, and maintain control over your school’s narrative.

The Appeal of "Going Rogue"

Engagement and Participation

Teachers, coaches, and other school community members naturally want to share their perspectives and activities. They see social media as a great way to connect, whether it’s the art teacher showing off student projects or the baseball team sharing game highlights.

Now, we're all about engagement, but despite the intentions, several problems come with the unauthorized use of social media accounts.

The Impact of Fake Social Media Accounts on Your School's Brand

• Inconsistent Branding and Outdated Logos: Each rogue account might use different, skewed, or altered logos and styles, leading to an inconsistent representation of your school. Some may use old logos that don’t match the current branding, and this inconsistency can confuse followers and weaken your overall brand image.
   
• Inactive Accounts: Often, these accounts were created with good intentions but quickly became inactive. An inactive account gives a poor impression to anyone who stumbles upon it, making your school look like it doesn’t maintain an active posting schedule.
   
• Difficulty in Controlling the Narrative: With many different accounts, ensuring that the shared content aligns with your school’s values and messaging becomes even more challenging. There’s also the risk of conflicting information, inside jokes, or inappropriate content being posted.

Now, we LOVE The Fenn School and its 2,400+ Instagram followers who are engaging with its 1,360+ posts. However, the two posts by a “JV basketball” account could use a little love and would probably be better served by posting their content through the main account. Just an idea!

One Account to Rule Them All: Funneling Content Through the Main Account

• Increased Exposure: Instead of spreading your audience thin across many small accounts, you can gather all the followers in one place. More people will see it, and followers won’t have to search through multiple accounts to find updates about your school. That increases the chances of your posts being seen, liked, and shared—the original goal of the rogue accounts in the first place.
   
• Consistent Voice and Branding: Whenever someone sees your school’s name or logo, it should look the same and send the same message. When multiple rogue accounts use different logos, colors, and styles, it can make your school’s brand look messy and unorganized. Using one main account ensures that all content follows the same style and message and uses the correctly branded logos, colors, and tone of voice.
   
• Best Practices in Posting: When you post from one main account, it’s easier to follow social media guidelines and best practices, such as what types of posts work best on each platform, the best times to post, and how to engage with followers. The admins managing the main account can be trained to know what works best on each platform, whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, or X (Twitter.) But with rogue accounts, it’s harder to control the quality and timing of posts, which can lead to missed opportunities and lower engagement.

Exceptions for Specific Departments

Now, there may be an exception or two… and that’s the admissions and athletic office. The admissions team needs to respond quickly and directly to questions from prospective families, and having a separate account allows them to focus on providing detailed information and support to those interested in enrolling.

The athletics department also shares so many updates and scores that it makes sense to remove your marketing office as the “middleman.”

Keep Reading: Social Media for Schools | Strategies for Admissions Offices

Criteria for Exceptions

If other departments want their own accounts, set clear guidelines for when this is allowed. These criteria might include having a clear purpose for the account, a plan for regular updates, and a commitment to maintaining the same branding and voice as the main account. Make sure you can log into the channel or be made an admin!

Each exception should be carefully considered to ensure it adds value and doesn’t dilute the main brand.

Steps to Consolidate: A Unified Social Media Strategy

So, how do you handle multiple accounts? The best approach is to consolidate efforts and focus on building a strong, unified social media presence under one account per channel.

Audit Existing Accounts

The first step in managing rogue social media accounts is to identify all of them or as many as possible. Conduct a thorough search on all major social media platforms to find every account associated with your school. This includes accounts run by teachers, sports teams, clubs, departments, and even students.

Make a list of these accounts and note which ones are active and inactive and how often they post. This audit will help you understand the full scope of the issue and plan and prioritize your next steps. If you can discover who’s running the account, encourage them to funnel their stories and updates through your marketing and communication office and post on the main account.

Establish Your School's Social Media Policy

Create clear social media policies that outline who is allowed to create and manage accounts. These guidelines should specify what kind of content is appropriate, how frequently accounts should post, and the importance of using official logos and branding. The policies should also explain the approval process for any new accounts and the consequences of not following the rules. Providing detailed guidelines helps ensure everyone understands the importance of a unified social media strategy and their role in it.

Plus, if you find an account has violated your social media policies, it will help your case when shutting it down and enforcing disciplinary actions.

Academy of the Sacred Heart makes it clear that “No Social Media accounts may be created on behalf of the Academy of the Sacred Heart” and sets the limits for using official logos and branding. 

Communicate with Your Staff

After establishing the guidelines, communicate them clearly to all staff members. Make sure everyone understands the benefits of a centralized social media presence and how it helps the school’s brand. Offer training sessions for staff who will be contributing content to the main account. Clear communication ensures that everyone is on the same page and knows what’s expected of them.

Promote Your Official Social Media Channels and Accounts

Similar to ‘Iolani School, promoting your official social media channels and handles is helpful to avoid confusion, so share your official handles in newsletters and on your school's website. You can also use clear, consistent branding and verified badges where possible to ensure that your audience knows which accounts are legitimate.

Centralize Login Information

To maintain control over your school’s social media presence, centralize all login information for existing accounts. This means having a secure, organized way to store usernames and passwords for each account.

Only trusted individuals should have access to this information. If possible, use tools that allow multiple users to manage accounts without sharing passwords directly, like LastPass.

Monitor and Enforce Policies

Regularly monitor all social media activity related to your school. This includes the main account and any approved additional accounts. Keep an eye on the content being posted, how often accounts are updated, and the engagement they receive. If you notice any accounts that aren’t following the guidelines, address the issue.

Key Takeaway

Reining in rogue social media accounts is essential for maintaining a cohesive and professional online presence for your school. By keeping a consistent social media strategy that follows the same voice, tone, and style, you can make sure that your social content is as successful as possible.

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.