2025 School Social Media Survey Results

We know that most schools are using social media… but how, exactly? As a social media manager, what are the biggest challenges you face? And how common is it for a school district to let students create content for the school pages?

I really wanted to know the answers to these questions, so that’s why I conducted our annual School Social Media Survey!?

I’m blessed to say that #SocialSchool4EDU is connected to a LOT of social media managers from across the country. We had 553 responses to our annual survey, which took place in January 2025, and today, I’m very excited to share the results!

It’s easy to have tunnel vision when it comes to our own school’s social media, but this data will help you understand the big picture of trends and strategies.?

What is Your Role Within Your School or District?

The first question we asked was about the respondents’ roles within their schools or districts. There were over a dozen different roles reported:

What is your role within your school or district?

• 28% – Communications/PR Director or Manager
• 23% – Communications/PR Specialist or Coordinator
• 10% – Social Media/Digital Communications & Website Manager
• 7% – Community Relations Director/Specialist
• 6% – Admin Assistant
• 6% – Marketing & Communications Director
• 5% – Other
• 4% – Teacher
• 3% – Marketing
• 3% – Superintendent/Principal/Assistant Principal
• 2% – Enrollment/Admissions
• 2% – Technology Director/Coordinator
• 1% – Director of Advancement

What Type of School Do You Work For?

What type of school do you work for?

• 75% – Public
• 18% – Private
• 4% – Charter
• 3% – Other

I always like to know the breakdown between public schools and other schools, and it’s no surprise that two-thirds of survey respondents work at a public school. If you’re curious about what kinds of schools selected “Other,” this includes educational service centers, voluntary aid schools, and career tech centers. Wow!?

How Long Have You Been Involved with Social Media?

The vast majority of our survey respondents have been working in school social media for at least one year:

How long have you been involved with social media for your school or district?

• 11% – Less than 1 year
• 30% – 1-3 years
• 21% – 3-5 years
• 22% – 6-10 years
• 16% – More than 10 years

I can’t believe that I’m actually in the very last category! I’ve been helping schools with social media since 2014, so that means I’ve been doing this for 11 years. I can tell you firsthand that there has been a LOT of change in this space over the years – and that’s an understatement.?

Which Social Media Channel(s) Do You Manage?

This chart should provide reassurance for you if you’re among the majority of school districts that are focused on just one or two platforms. Simplicity is your friend! Facebook and Instagram are both under the Meta umbrella, making it easy to reach the majority of your audience through these two platforms.

What social media channel(s) do you manage for your school or district?

• 98% – Facebook
• 88% – Instagram
• 52% – YouTube
• 48% – Twitter/X
• 45% – LinkedIn
• 6% – TikTok
• 5% – Threads
• 5% – Nextdoor
• 3% – Bluesky
• 2% – Pinterest
• 1% – Other
• 1% – None
• 1% – Snapchat

Since I’ve been conducting this survey for several years, I’ve also noticed a few interesting trends when it comes to platforms that schools are using:?

• More schools are adopting Instagram, with usage rising from 79% in 2022 to 88% in 2025. Improve your Instagram skills by jumping into my membership group, which just completed a stats-soaring Instagram Challenge!
• Fewer schools are relying on Twitter, with a sharp decline from 74% in 2022 to 48% in 2025. If you still run Twitter/X and have seen diminished reach and engagement, this data point could help you make the decision to stop using the platform (More information about your options, here).
• More schools are using LinkedIn, with usage rising from 37% in 2022 to 45% in 2025. While most people correlate LinkedIn with recruiting – likely a key concern for your district – it’s also excellent for reaching men, retaining your current staff, and more.
• TikTok usage for schools remains low at 6% in 2025. Some schools are enjoying success on the platform, but it’s not a priority for 94% of schools. Instagram Reels are a great alternative if you want to embrace short-form videos without launching a whole new platform!

Social Media Platform Set-up Skills

I recently wrote a blog about how to properly set up your Meta Business Portfolio because so many schools run into issues with this. In the 2025 survey, we asked people to rate their confidence level with their platform setup:

I feel that I have all of our social media channels set up properly for the district. I am confident of my set up through Meta Business Manager/Portfolio.

• 2% – Strongly Disagree
• 11% – Generally Disagree
• 27% – Neutral
• 39% – Generally Agree
• 21% – Strongly Agree

If you’re not sure how well you’re set-up, now’s the time to check! Reference this blog for a step-by-step guide.?

Self-Rating on Social Media Efforts

While we never want to obsess over the comparison game, it’s a useful exercise to check out other area schools to see how your social media stacks up. These results suggest that most people feel confident in their ability to use social media well, compared to their regional peers.?

Of course, we need to consider the people taking this survey! My audience is mainly made up of people who are very engaged with social media.

When comparing our social media efforts with schools/districts around me, I feel that our social media is:?

• 8% – Excellent
• 48% – Above Average
• 38% – Average
• 5% – Below Average
• 1% – Poor
• 1% – Not Sure

If you rate yourself lower on this scale, I encourage you that there is always room for improvement. My membership program can meet you where you are, because we offer specialized training sessions and targeted resources for every level of social media experience. I also offer a ton of free resources and videos to build your confidence and competence.

Top 10 Biggest Challenges With School Social Media

There’s so much potential for FUN when working in school social media, but there will always be challenges! “Lack of time” has always ranked as the #1 or #2 challenge for social media managers in my annual survey, which isn’t surprising.

Top 10 biggest challenges with social media for your schools or districts

1. Lack of Time
2. Collecting Content to Post
3. Staff Participation
4. One-Person Departments
5. Equity in Representation Across Schools
6. Engagement
7. Negative Comments and Misinformation
8. Photo and Content Quality
9. Consistency
10. Support from Administration

Do You Support Multiple Schools?

This year, we asked some new questions to assess how many of you are supporting multiple schools with social media. In most cases, this reflects someone who works at a district communications level, and they are responsible for overseeing and/or training many individual schools within their system.?

These results provide a fascinating look into the wide variety of ways that schools structure their social media responsibilities! Check out these charts:

I’m responsible for supporting individual school sites with social media training.

• 58% – No
• 42% – Yes

If the respondents answered “yes,” we had a few follow-up questions:

How many schools do you support?

• 27% – 1-5 schools
• 30% – 6-10 schools
• 25% – 11-20 schools
• 9% – 21-40 schools
• 6% – 41-90 schools
• 1% – 200+ schools

Do your school-based social media managers receive a stipend?

• 46% – No, it’s volunteer work
• 24% – No, it’s part of their job description – “other duties as assigned.”
• 21% – Yes
• 4% – It’s a mixture of stipend and volunteer work

Keeping Track of Affiliated Accounts

I’m always curious about how school communicators keep track of multiple school accounts, especially the bigger districts. I believe a reliable system is absolutely critical, especially with staff turnover!

I have a great system to manage all of the social media channels that pop up throughout my school system. I have an approval process and am able to gain proper access to help in case staff or admins change.

• 9% – Strongly Disagree
• 19% – Generally Disagree
• 31% – Neutral
• 24% – Generally Agree
• 17% – Strongly Agree

Allowing Comments on Social Media

Back in 2020/2021, many schools were flooded with negative and problematic comments on social media posts. This still happens when a district faces a significant conflict or controversy. Even today, I’m sometimes asked about controlling comments on social media.?

Spammy comments, of course, can be controlled with Moderation Assist, but this survey question specifically shows that the vast majority of schools allow people to comment on their social media posts:

My school or district always allows comments on our social media posts.

• 77% – Yes
• 17% – It depends on the type of content being shared
• 5% – No
• 1% – Other

The 17% of schools that take this on a case-by-case basis are generally limiting comments when the post is potentially divisive.?

Students as Social Media Contributors

We also asked a series of questions about student social media involvement, and I’m excited to see that more schools are embracing this strategy! While this still represents less than half of schools surveyed (41%), this rate has been increasing year over year.?

I believe that getting students involved with social media content generation offers them practical, real-life work experience and can significantly improve post engagement since student-driven content resonates well with their peers. Plus, even though it takes some work up-front to get students trained, having a system in place will eventually make your job easier, since you won’t have to create as much content.?

I recently heard from one of my members on a one-on-one call that since adding student contributors, their social media comments have actually gotten a lot nicer, because the community knows that students made the content. Win-Win!

Anyway, here’s the 2025 data:

Have you involved students in your social media content generation?

• 59% – No
• 41% – Yes

How have you involved students in your storytelling?

• 41% – Involve student assignments from classes like journalism, marketing, video, etc.
• 39% – Have a student internship or formal program led by someone in communications that meets on a regular basis (weekly or monthly)
• 35% – Create Reels or TikTok videos
• 27% – Instagram Story Takeover for 1 day
• 22% – Post regularly through an approval process
• 13% – Other
• 7% – Post regularly- directly to the social media platforms without an approval process

The “Other” category included responses like:?

• Sharing content from student-run clubs/organization accounts
• Asking students to submit student or staff nominations
• Including them in promos and thank you messages to the community
• Students share photos/videos
• Student spotlight articles or videos
• Have a segment called “Student Voice” that is written by students

If you answered no to above, why haven’t you involved students in your storytelling?

• 42% – I’m too busy to take this on.
• 29% – I don’t feel like I have the controls or tools to moderate what the students are posting.
• 20% – My administration will not allow this.
• 17% – I’m just nervous.
• 11% – I want total control over the social media channels. The decision is really up to me.
• 10% – Other
• 7% – I feel our students are too young.
• 5% – I haven’t really thought about it.
• 3% – I’m trying to get this started.
• 2% – There’s a cell phone ban for students at my school.
• 2% – I’m not sure how to start.

The “Other” category included responses like:?

• Can’t find students interested
• No one applied to the student internship
• Don’t have access to students
• Student population is those with special needs
• Not a priority right now
• Have too many schools to implement this fairly

Avenues for Professional Development?

There are tons of ways to keep up with social media best practices for your school, and many of our survey respondents turn to several of these outlets for training and support in their roles.?

Looking at prior year surveys, I can see that state SPRA and NSPRA memberships have increased. Back in 2022, 14% of respondents belonged to the state-level organization and 11% belonged to NSPRA, and now those percentages are at 53% and 38%, respectively.

What tools or training do you use to stay up-to-date on social media best practices?

• 81% – I subscribe to the #SocialSchool4EDU newsletter
• 53% – I simply search the internet to learn
• 53% – I am a member of my state SPRA (School Public Relations Association) chapter
• 38% – I am a member of NSPRA (National School Public Relations Association)
• 27% – I listen to podcasts
• 27% – I am a member of the #SocialSchool4EDU membership program
• 25% – I listen to the Mastering Social Media for Schools podcast
• 23% – I am in another organization or informal group that meets to discuss and learn the latest social media practices

My challenge to you is simple: Add one more tool to your toolbox this year! Whether it’s joining a national association or subscribing to a few more podcasts, continuous learning is so important in your role.?

Top 10 Goals or Focus Areas for Social Media in the 2024/2025 School Year

It’s always important to set goals for yourself and your school’s social media! These are the top 10 goals and focus areas from our survey respondents:

Top 10 Goals or Focus Areas for Social Media for Your 2024/2025 School Year

1. Increasing Engagement
2. Posting More Frequently
3. Including Students
4. Creating Video Content (Reels/Short Videos)
5. Improving Content Quality
6. Highlighting Day-to-Day Stories
7. Adding or Expanding Platforms
8. Storytelling
9. Equity in Content
10. Training and Streamlining Processes

“Increasing Engagement” and “Posting More Frequently” have always been the top two goals reported in my survey results! Here are a few resources to help you out:?

Increasing Engagement

• Blog: Drive Facebook Engagement with Seasonal Questions
• PDF Download: 20 Calls to Action
• Blog: Using Creative Writing to Drive Engagement on Social Media
• Short Video: How to Use Emoji Prompts to Drive More Engagement
• Podcast: How to Ignite Social Media Engagement with Students, Staff & Your Community

Posting More Frequently

• PDF Download: 100 Inspiring Ideas for School Social Media Posts (updated in 2025!)
• Blog: 14 Social Media Posts Your Community Will Love
• Podcast: The Simplicity of Sharing the Good
• Blog: Tips for Getting More Social Media Stories
• PDF Download: Instagram Reels Made Easy: Creating a System Worksheet
• Blog: How to Celebrate Your School Staff on Social Media

I hope you found this year’s social media survey as interesting as I did! If you provided input, I really appreciate the time you took to fill out the survey. Thank you!