So you want to go beyond professional yearbook shots to integrate a bigger picture of student life? It’s a concept that more schools across the nation are starting to use within their yearbook strategy, as technology and social media continue to become a bigger piece of campus life. Going along with that, selfies and quick shots of school events taken by students and posted across social media has become a trend that you can use to your yearbook’s advantage — if you know how to access it correctly.
Social media hashtags can help you get photos from the student perspective, for an even better yearbook spread!
Hashtags are a way that students share their posts and photos with other people interested in the same topics online. They’re also a great piece of tech for teachers looking to create a modern, engaging way to connect with students. They’re added to the end of a status update, which then makes the post searchable by anyone using that same title. Your team can use this to your advantage in the yearbook by creating specific hashtags for big school events — and below, we’ll tell you the top ways to integrate this hashtag culture into the photos you nab for your publication.
#MySchool
When you’re thinking about all the events that take place during the year, the most obvious way to use social media hashtags to your advantage is to create one main concept that can be used throughout the span of the entire year. This way your students don’t have to worry about what the latest hashtag is for a particular event — they can use the one that’s probably already saved into their phone. It also means that students will be more likely to use the hashtag regularly, because it’s not designated for a specific sport or event.
#MySchoolSoccer
Filtering through thousands of photos and trying to figure out where each one is from can get a little overwhelming. For your own sanity, creating separate tags for different sports can be an easy way around this. This will help you and the rest of the yearbook team stay a little more organized as you’re sorting through pictures. It might also lead to more specific photo engagement, since students can use a hashtag specifically for the sport they’re interested in checking out online.
#MySchoolProm
Part of the fun with school dances isn’t just getting to the dance, but getting ready for the big event! And that’s not just for prom, but all of the big dances and productions the school puts on. Creating a hashtag like this one allows you to grab a glimpse into what actually goes on before each event: getting ready, taking photos with mom and dad, going to dinner, etc. And these can really beef up your usual features in the yearbook with pictures straight from the participants!
#MySchoolChoir
Creating individual hash tags for each of the groups and clubs on campus can do more than just give you great photos for the yearbook; it can boost camaraderie among those group members! They’ll have a blast posting fun pictures at different events with each other, and this gives them another way to directly communicate across their own network of peers. And since more camaraderie typically means more school spirit, everybody wins!
Tech for Teachers Meets the Student Eye
The majority of your yearbook is geared towards the students, and integrating some bits of student life from their point of view can be an exciting change for your publication. Using hashtags to collect photos throughout the school year is also a great reminder that social media is a useful tool for connecting and sharing — you never know who will check out the pictures you’re posting.
And as you’re developing awesome new hash tags for the student body to use (for different events and clubs), remember that more isn’t always better. Sometimes, it will be easier for you to manage a few great hashtags for the remainder of the year, instead of a bunch of barely used ones. So get out there, get creative, and capture some great digital moments along the way. I can’t wait to see all the new pages you come up with using awesome pics from the student perspective!
