The new year, which happens to be the middle of the academic year, is the peak time to begin something new. Social Media is the main source of information for students, so this is where you start! Make the platforms a place for excitement and a flurry of interest surrounding the yearbook! Create a buzz and undercurrent of enthusiasm as you build a presence on social media. The common sources are TikTok and Instagram Reels, YouTube shorts, and Facebook Reels. Video content drives the push for successful communication. Focus on creating a presence on TikTok and Instagram, the top two.
Begin the process by creating TikTok and Instagram handles for the yearbook. The students will want to be involved and create their own. Set up your pages and start posting and engaging your student body, their families, teachers and staff, and the community.
Let your students lead:
Students are already well-versed in social media, and they will work quickly. Let them lead in their creativity because they are fluent in the language and culture of social media. Select several students to be the videographer/editor, a caption writer, and the one looking for new trends.
Each has a distinct role. The videographer uses the camera to record and create content. Not only do they need to use the camera to film, but to understand how to incorporate sounds and text, and to make interesting transitions. The one who writes captions needs to draw viewers to the post. The other team member looks for new trends. Then they incorporate their content to complement the new trend into the yearbook context. The entire class plays a role by being a part of the content that they film.
Make it a fun activity for students:
Select a time on Friday that becomes "Social Media Fridays" and you create content with your staff. It will become a festive fun time that your students will want to be a part of at the end of the week. Pay attention to your posts and the likes. Try to make the material interesting and engaging, which also results in team unity. TikTok especially intrigues viewers with its varied content. When the student body watches TikTok and sees the yearbook information, they will be pulled into the messaging. Be easy on yourself and upload the same content onto Instagram. Double the exposure for less effort.
Here are some fun examples that students have used to promote their yearbooks.
Start a hashtag:
Developing a unique hashtag sparks trends and you want the trends to gain traction in your school. Share all your yearbook-related content under the hashtag. For example, #schoolnameyearbook24-25 ensures your posts are easily recognized. As you attend school events, use hashtags to gather content. Encourage students to post photos and include your yearbook hashtag. The more that students respond with hashtags, the more the content grows and excitement builds toward the completed yearbook!
Collect content for the yearbook:
Need content for the yearbook? Use the social media platforms to get it. Develop a poll on your Instagram story and ask students to fill it out. What is your favorite winter break memory, which place serves the best coffee, dedicate a spread to the responses. Or, post a Google drop box link and collect footage from your students.They could start off by sharing pictures from their time on break, and utilize this tool throughout the year to publish important content of school events.
Get the whole school involved:
Ask your students to reach out to their peers and ask them to follow the yearbook social media accounts. Let the staff video students during lunch hour to create yearbook content, after the students have given consent. This is a way for the student body to feel connected to the yearbook before the book becomes a reality. Plus, students may become interested in joining the yearbook staff after seeing the fun you all have.
Take over the school’s Instagram account:
A significant method to highlight the yearbook is to ask permission to use the school's Instagram account for a week or two. Many parents follow Instagram more than TikTok, so this is a way to get the parents involved in the fun yearbook content.
Showcase the front and back covers, do a sneak preview of a page spread, and interview staff members about working on the yearbook. Create fun reels of some behind-the-scenes moments, and use reminders of dates for purchase, pricing, etc. Use the hashtag for every post!
When you use social media, you are bringing the yearbook to students, staff, and parents. They see they are a significant part of its creation. Students will love to see their school in an online space. Increased student interest will boost the quantity of yearbooks ordered without it costing more. Social media presence for the yearbook will become a tradition.
Review our social media checklist below to keep your yearbook content on track!
Copyright © 2025. TSE Worldwide Press. All Rights Reserved.
Contributor: Jessica Carrera, Associate Editor at TSE Worldwide Press and Marketing Coordinator at United Yearbook, holds a B.A. in English with a concentration in writing from Biola University. She aspires to touch the lives of others through her words.
Editor: Donna Ladner obtained a B.A. in Education and a minor in English from California Baptist University, and a M.S. in ESL from USC, Los Angeles. After she married Daniel, their family moved to Indonesia with a non-profit organization and lived cross-culturally for 15 years before returning to the U.S in 2012. Donna has been working as an editor and proofreader for TSE Worldwide Press and its subsidiary, United Yearbook since 2015.
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