The Yearbook World of Scott Geesey
from Jostens Yearbooks of central/northern Pennsylvania
ARCHIVE - MARCH 29, 2020
LET'S TURN THIS LEMON INTO LEMONADE: Dealing with the Coronavirus Situation, Part 3...
Hello! Ready for another week of this "adventure?" Here's hoping that this virus hasn't touched you and your area. As I write this, who knows how long this will last? Some states have already shutdown school for the year. Here's hoping we don't join them,
Many schools have started some form of online learning, and many have done some fun outreach to students via online video and audio like greetings messages from teachers. Maybe you have seen some of these on social media. If YOUR school hasn't tried it yet, why not this week?
For advisers and administrators out there, our Jostens Renaissance folks are starting a new online series of twice-a-week sessions designed to help during this crisis. Every Monday and Friday at 12 Noon you can watch live sessions on Facebook and via Twitter with ideas and tips for any school. And afterward look for a recap on our main Renaissance website at www.jostensrenaissance.com. Definitely worth watching - and sharing out to YOUR audience!
Please take some time to check out what they are offering, follow them on Facebook, and then see how you can use their materials with your audience.
Don't look now but Wednesday is April 1 - April Fools Day. Who would have thought we'd all be stuck at home right now. APRIL FOOLS - well, not this year...
More observations and ideas from this crazy situation...
As I write this my home county, Centre, has been put in a "stay at home" order for the next week, probably longer, and I expect other nearby counties will join that list in the next week.
But no matter, we have PLENTY of work to do in the coming weeks. Some ideas...
HIT FINAL DEADLINE: For those spring books everywhere that are still working away, let's finish up THIS week. School schedules are so unpredictable this year so it's important to stay on the original yearbook and ship schedule.
And for fall book schools (and spring supplement schools) it's important to just keep working during this long stretch. Staying on task is crucial right now no matter what the rest of the school year holds,
My expectation is that we'll be home the rest of April but then return to school for May and at least early June. Let's see if I'm correct...
HOW ARE YOU WORKING REMOTELY AS A TEAM?: If your school is now doing online learning I assume you already have a plan to stay in contact with your students for English, science, math, etc. So what's the plan for keeping regular contact with your yearbook group?
A lot of folks are now using or at least trying some online video outlet to stay in touch face to face. Zoom and Skype seem to be the most popular. For my Jostens advisers be on the lookout for a message from me this week on other online video sources - there are actually a long list of them.
Unfortunately some of them apparently gather private information as you use their service and then sell that info to other outlets so BEWARE, do your homework on the service you use.
TRY SOCIAL MEDIA: Yeah, beating the proverbial dead horse here but this crisis has really shown why EVERY yearbooking effort out there should have at least one social media outlet to stay in touch with their audience and gather needed information.
This is actually a great opportunity to diversify your yearbook storytelling and make your effort much more educational. Yearbooking should always be about much more than just making pages in a book. It should be about telling as many stories as possible and keeping them for a lifetime. Social media can only help with gathering information, communicating with your audience and telling more stories.
And if you're looking for ideas on how to get started, you're in the right place - check out the March episodes of The Yearbooking Report right here in the right column. Social media specialist Jordan Weber shares insights on getting started and what to do. Watch the video for the CliffsNotes version but listen to the podcast for the full story.
HOW TO FILL EMPTY PAGES: Everyone has them in their fall yearbooks or spring supplerments. And if school totally shuts down for the year - no spring sports, no Prom or spring trips, maybe even no Graduation. All the same stuff that always gets covered in the spring every year.
So without all that same stuff, it's time to tell stories on OTHER stuff, and we're surrounded by those stories. All you have to do is take the time to look. There are great individual or group stories in every town.
Examples? What are students doing at home during this break? Maybe get stories from 20 students, with information and at least one picture from the student (maybe a fun selfie.) Perhaps someone is catching up on reading books - which ones and why? Someone else started an exercise program - what exactly are they doing? Another is transforming their garage or room into something new - what and how? Someone else has discovered they like cooking - what are they making?
Then design pages with a quarter page for each student story - there's five pages of great material to be remembered forever. Try to reach students who aren't normally covered a lot in the book to expand your storytelling - the "popular" kids get covered enough.
I know there are groups of people trying to help others in need in every community. In my town some ladies from my church are "safely" getting together to cook soups and meals for those in need in the area, and that number is sadly pretty large. I'm sure you have something similar where you live, and some groups include students. Find out who they are, then gather info and pictures and tell THEIR story to be remembered forever.
JOSTENS LOOK BOOK NOW ONLINE: I've mentioned here that Jostens won't be shipping out the new Look Book anytime soon - after all if school is closed, who would get the book? But we HAVE posted the new edition online at issue.com for everyone to check out and enjoy, this year with more pages and more schools than ever.\
And congrats again to three schools in the neighborhood who made the book this year - South Williamsport High, Tyrone High and a picture from Danville High (from last year's photo contest winners) - as well as this year's honorable mentions and last year's winners of the Jostens Yearbook Program of Excellence Award.
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If we assume that this hiatus will stretch for weeks, or maybe for the rest of the school year, a challenge here is to organize your efforts by each week. Have an online group meeting perhaps on Mondays to go over what stories will be covered or needed that week. Then stay in touch each day either online, by email or text or phone, or using a service like WhatsApp or something similar.
For your staffers it's all about gathering info and pictures and telling stories. For your editors it's all about keeping everyone on task, working to arrange your book or supplement as material comes in. And if you have a social media staff it's all about regular communcation with your audience. Normally that might only be twice a week but in this extreme instance I'd say make it every day.
And remember - your Jostens team (me, our friend Micah Martin in State College, our entire crew) is here to help and support you. Reach out anytime with questions, problems...or if you just need someone to converse with. As your trusted partners we're here for you!
Here's our chance - once again let's turn this lemon into some really tasty lemonade! Let's make 2020 a truly one-of-a-kind year to always be remembered!!