Why Social Media Marketing for Teacher Authors

Kassaundra  00:00

Your plate is overflowing and your time is precious. So today we’re starting at square one and chatting all about the WHY behind Schooled in Socials and what you can expect that way, every time you press play, you will be confident that this podcast will serve you. 

Kassaundra  00:17

So teacher authors, go ahead and reheat that cup of coffee because I’m your host, Kassaundra Foster, and we’re about to get Schooled in Socials. 

Kassaundra  00:24

All right, welcome to the first episode of Schooled in Socials. I’m so excited to finally bring you all this teacher podcast that will help you up level your teacher author business using social media. So we’re talking all about the WHY today, behind Schooled in Socials, because one of my big philosophies is that you shouldn’t put something on your plate that isn’t worth your time and your energy. So today I’m laying it all out for you so you can make sure that this podcast is just what you need. So let’s jump in. 

Kassaundra  00:24

First things first. Who am I and why am I out here giving advice to teacher authors about social media? Well, I’m actually a former teacher myself. I taught ELA, middle school – that was fun, for about five years, and then I became a preschool special educator. And so I have eight years of teaching experience, but I have since transitioned out of the classroom so that I can be home more with my son, who just turned four years old. 

Kassaundra  01:43

I really became interested in social media back during the pandemic. So in June of 2020, we had been kind of locked up in our houses for a while. I was doing telehealth for my students from home, my husband was furloughed, and I was just really looking for a way to connect with other people outside of our own four walls. And at that time, my son was about 18 months old, and so we were really getting in to feeding, and I was really enjoying making his food for him and having him in the kitchen with me. And so I just started to start an Instagram page called Teddy’s Plate, all about that journey. And when I started, I had basically zero knowledge of Instagram and how to grow a social media account. 

Kassaundra  02:37

But the beautiful thing was is I met all of these moms who were also on the same journey and loved cooking for their kids and loved cooking with their kids, and one of them happened to be a social media manager in her day job, and so she started teaching us best practices when it came to Instagram in order for us to grow our followings and potentially monetize our accounts. And I just didn’t really know that was a thing that existed before she talked about it and talked about what she did at her day job. And for the first time, I finally saw a clear path on how I could do something I was interested in, while also still being in education and getting more time with my son, which was what I desperately craved since he was born. 

Kassaundra  03:33

I wanted to stay home with him, and so I started figuring out how I could be a freelancer and work from home, and so I turned into a social media manager for teacher authors. Now my heart has always been in education, so even though I’ve left the classroom, it just made so much sense for me to support teacher authors reaching their goals. And that’s really one of the reasons I’m so excited for this podcast is because now I know, even if my one to one services might be booked out, there are all of you out there who I can help here. As you already know, I’m really passionate about education. 

Kassaundra  04:16

So why am I so passionate about helping teacher authors with social media? Because we all know that there is so much you can be doing with your business. You’re making products, you’re writing descriptions, you’re probably doing some form of long form content, like a blog or a podcast or YouTube videos. So why am I saying, “Hey, you should also be using social media for your teacher business.” Why is that even important for you? There’s two really big reasons why, and that is, one, the power of connections, and two, the power of humanizing your business. 

Kassaundra  04:59

So let’s talk a little bit about connections, just like my previous story, if I had not made a connection on social media, I would not be here, owning my own business, bringing this podcast to you. Connections on social media are so powerful. Social media allows you to interact with your fellow teachers in a way that some of your other marketing tools, like blogging and email, just don’t you’re easily able to have one to one conversations with the people who need your resources the most, and that is gold, because you can figure out what teachers need, and they can learn about you and the value that you can provide them. 

Kassaundra  05:44

The second part here is the power of humanizing your business. Social media allows people to see the person behind the business, and that is so important for teacher authors, because you are an integral part to the resources you create and how you create them. Your experience as a teacher, whether that is still ongoing in the classroom or whether that’s previous experience, is the cornerstone of how you create your resources and what resources you create, and so letting people in on that and letting them get to know you helps build so much more trust in you and in your brand and your business. 

Kassaundra  06:30

And finally, when it comes to these two things, utilizing the power of connections and humanizing your business to show people who you really are, have had such an impact on the teacher authors I work with reaching their goals for their teacher author business, I have seen results, not just for one person, but many. And so I know social media can work for you, and honestly, I wouldn’t be here, putting out this podcast for you if I didn’t think it was worthwhile and it could work. 

Kassaundra  08:18

I have some really strong philosophies when it comes to social media. The first one is around sustainability. I am here to bring you all the strategies that can work for marketing your resources on social media, but I will never advocate that you do something that steals your peace. We’re here to build a habit around social media, because it’s a marathon, not a sprint. This is not the place where I’m going to talk about quick hacks to go viral. That’s not really the guru vibe I want to give off here. I want to make sure that what you’re doing on social media is sustainable, and it’s not burning you out, because there are so many other things around education and in your life that can lead to burnout, and social media just doesn’t have to be one of those. 

Kassaundra  09:14

Now, when it comes to the podcast, here are some things that you can expect moving forward. We are really going to talk here about organic growth, so that is going to be growing your social media platforms and your business without paying for things like Facebook ads. We’re going to talk about how you can bring people in without having to use your dollar bills.

Kassaundra  09:42

The second thing is short episodes, because I know your time is precious. As a former teacher and as a mom, I know that you are probably going to be listening to this on your drive into school in the morning, while you’re cooking dinner, maybe as you’re getting ready to go to bed at night, and you just don’t have a lot of time. So you can expect powerful information and actionable steps in short episodes so that you can digest it and use it right away. 

Kassaundra  10:17

So there you have it, the who, why, and what that you can expect from Schooled in Socials. If all of this sounds exactly like what you need or what you want to learn about, I cannot wait for you to hear all of the episodes I’ve got planned to help make social media marketing easier for you. And if this isn’t exactly what you’re looking for, that’s okay too. I’m giving you permission to turn off this podcast, save your peace, and find what you need. Also, one last thing, don’t forget to enter the launch giveaway. It’s running until April 11th at 12pm Eastern Standard Time.