Part 1 Facebook

The advent of technology and social media has changed the student’s journey drastically. Students and families now have the privilege of instantaneous access to real-time and crowd-sourced information which has ultimately changed the tools available to educators for student trip promotion. If social media is an integral aspect of many people's daily lives, why not use social platforms to promote your class trip to Washington, DC, Williamsburg or New York City? With over 2 billion active users, Facebook is still the most widely used social media platform and therefore an excellent place to begin.

1. Create a Facebook group page

Creating a group for your class trip is your first step in networking with parents, students and even your colleagues. Start by giving your group a cool name using your school mascot, for example: "Washington, DC Traveling Warriors." Then share information about your trip by posting trip dates, the sites you'll see and where they can register.

2. Reach out and connect

Once you've set up your group page, start connecting with people right away. Time is of the essence! Your group page acts as a helpful communication tool which allows you to quickly answer questions parents may have about the trip, and to communicate details or changes in an accessible way. Writing messages on the Facebook group page allows for all trip-related messages to remain in one place, rather than emails which can get lost, deleted, or buried in the inbox.

3. Create an event

Use Facebook to build attendance for your informational trip meetings by creating an event. As an added bonus, events can also help drive potential donors to your fundraisers.

Tip: Save yourself time by sending your donors to MyTourFund.com, the exclusive free fundraising platform from School Tours of America.