The hiring season is around the corner for school districts seeking to find the best teachers to teach in the fall. Most school leaders know it’s a good idea to market their schools, but what they don’t know is what they are getting wrong about the work.

Appetgy, a company helping schools build their brands, surveyed the websites and social media presences of 1,000 American schools. Here’s what they found:

• Disconnect 1: Schools don’t show up on social media.
• Disconnect 2: Schools are inconsistent about how and when they post.
• Disconnect 3: Schools don’t build their brand on social media.

These three disconnects can make it more difficult to attract prime candidates without an effective digital strategy.

“Any superintendent can get started on this and implement these basic strategies and get results,” said David Allan, vice president of marketing and media for the Little Rock, Ark. company. He challenged the concept of thinking of the hiring season as recruitment.

“It’s really a marketing effort. You’re selling the job of applying for a job in your district,” said Allan.

The company’s research also concluded among 1,000 American millennial teachers three factors deemed important in determining where they teach: school culture, location and school leadership.

He encouraged school leaders to build a careers webpage. Those that do will stand out, he said. The goal is to promote your school culture on social media and turn your hiring process into a hiring experience.

The fixes for your digital strategy are simple and lead to advocacy marketing, according to Allan.

• Connect with anyone, but not everyone
• Create meaningful personal connections
• Think systematically about how and where to connect
• Tie these moments back to the district brand

It’s good advice, too, as the job postings will soon go live.

“Create an experience for applicants so whether they join your district or not, they can recommend your district to another person,” he said.

(Lesley Bruinton is president-elect of the National School Public Relations Association and a contributor to AASA’s Conference Daily Online.)