Make Reading Your Brand: How Schools Can Become Influencers of Reading Engagement

Guest article by Dr. Lorraine M. Radice

Successful influencers capture a niche and develop content that attracts, engages, and cultivates what communities of people believe in. Social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok provide spaces for people with a creative vision to share their messages, build communities of followers, and even monetize their efforts through partnering with brands that fit their niche.  

Educators may turn to the concept of social media influence when reflecting on how to promote and perpetuate the importance of reading among students and school community members. We live and work in a time where media engagement is high and messaging matters in all types of industry. Education is no different.  

Here is what we know:

• National research shows that the number of children and young adults who say they read for pleasure has dropped to an all-time low since the 1980s (PEW Research Center, 2021)
• Social media use is on the rise among teens and adults (Common Sense Media, 2021)  

Building higher levels of engagement in reading is priority work. Engagement has declined but the value and importance of reading has not. Knowing that the number of young people who read for pleasure is steadily declining, educators must find ways to use what kids do find interesting to bring reading back into their scope of interests, passions, or academic commitments.  

One way to promote the importance of reading is to brand reading through a social media campaign. Generating content about reading and making it social elevates its relevance to school community members using similar methodologies as social media influencers. A branded campaign encourages school community members to join in on sharing reading-inspired content and popularizes the commitment to developing the reading lives of students.

4 Steps for a Successful School or District Reading Campaign 

Below are steps to develop a reading campaign in your district, school, or class as part of the work to prioritize reading in and out of school. These steps also help schools build students’ reading identities and habits.  

 1. Develop a vision for the campaign

The purpose of “branding” reading is to build a positive reading culture to support students’ engagement in reading. A thriving reading culture can inspire students to strengthen their identity as a reader; someone who reads often and from a variety of sources. Culture work also invites adults in a school community to bring their passion and creativity to the vision. The message is quite simple: reading is important. 

A reading campaign can promote a community embrace of reading, reading books of choice, reading often, conversations about reading, and cultivating reading identity. Sharing the vision and defining the message helps school community members know what is valued and that becomes the heart of the culture work you’re about to do. A clear vision allows for people to rally around the message and be a part of actualizing the work. 

 2. Design an image to represent the reading brand

An image for your reading campaign will represent the vision and make your school community’s commitment to reading recognizable. The image may be shared on school social media accounts. It may also be posted on bulletin boards in classrooms, in the school hallways, and on the school or district website. What we make visible to school community members is representative of what is valued. 

There are many ways to create an image for your reading brand:

• Collaborate with the art department and ask art teachers to work with students to design your brand image  
• Host an open submission opportunity where students can submit drawings or digitally created images to be chosen as the face of the reading campaign  
• Partner with a graphic design artist who specializes in design  
• You may also use artificial intelligence logo generators to create a sketch of an image that matches the theme of your school community and reading brand 

 3. Launch the campaign

Introduce your reading campaign to school community members via all the methods of communication you have in place—email, websites, school and classroom management systems, parent portals—by sharing the image and the vision for the reading campaign. Invite school community members, or followers, to contribute to the campaign by posting reading-related content from classrooms and school events on media sites as well as on the walls within the school buildings. 

 4. Generate content and spread the word

Content is not contrived. As the reading culture develops within the school, there will be exciting, authentic culture events and reading-related material to share. Ideas for content include:

• Book recommendations and reviews from students
• Top reading lists created by classes and students
• Virtual read-alouds from authors, administrators, and teachers on platforms like YouTube or Zoom
• Pictures of students reading in classrooms, book displays, monthly book selections, and student work related to reading 

Sharing content increases visibility of reading-related events, norming reading as a priority within the school community. 

Considerations for technology platforms

Access to technology and social media sites vary in school districts. Social media sites also have age requirements, and many school districts have privacy plans in place. You may carry out a media campaign via public or private platforms. While public sites like Instagram are widely used, you may consider posting content on a password-protected platform that only staff and families in your school district have access to. The purpose of the campaign remains the same whether there is public or private access. Consider consulting with leadership in your technology department to ensure that you operate within the school district guidelines. Navigating potential challenges is part of the innovation process and is typical when starting something new.

Educators are inherently influencers for positive contributions to the wellbeing of students. Product influencers may promote the latest trends, but reading culture is a commitment, not a trend. Embracing what students and adults are captivated by and what they are active in outside of school may help to share the message of the importance of reading.

About the author

Lorraine M. Radice, Ph.D. is an Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in a public school district in New York. Prior to her current role, she was a preK-12 Director of Literacy. Lorraine also works as an Associate Assistant Professor at Hofstra University. Her experiences as an ELA and TESOL teacher, literacy specialist, curriculum writer, new teacher mentor program coordinator, administrator, and higher education professor inform her practices. Lorraine earned a Ph.D. in Literacy Studies, a M.S. Ed. in Literacy Studies (B-12), AdvCerts in Educational Leadership and TESOL (K-12), and a B.A. in Childhood Education and Psychology.  Lorraine is author of the Foreword INDIES Award-Winning book, Leading a Culture of Reading, and Revolving Literacy.