The families deciding about your school or camp have already seen your Instagram. They formed an opinion before they ever called to schedule a visit. Most moved on without you knowing they were there.
Social media is the first impression now, not a supplement to your other marketing. The question is whether yours is working.
I started in a classroom.
After a short stint in the NYC art world, I spent years teaching high school history in New York City, the last several at one of the city's most competitive public schools. I spent most of my time figuring out how to take complicated, abstract things and make them clear enough for a teenager to actually understand and care about. That instinct, translate first and explain second, is still how I work.
I moved into social media consulting because I kept seeing the same pattern: organizations with real missions and real stories, posting occasionally, getting nowhere, and not quite knowing why. Not because they weren't trying. Because nobody had ever given them a clear system.
I built Get Social With Garin to solve that specific problem.
I work with independent schools, summer camps, and mission-driven organizations to build custom social media strategies and teach their teams to execute them. The emphasis is on that second part. My job isn't to hand you a plan and leave. It's to make sure your team understands it, believes in it, and knows how to run it on their own. That's what makes the work last.
The organizations I work with don't need someone to press publish for them. They need a strategist. Someone who speaks their language, understands the rhythms of their year, and can translate what matters to them into content that actually reaches the people they're trying to find.
That's what I do.
I have an M.Ed. from Teachers College, Columbia University. I'm based in Westchester County, New York. I run a small practice by design, a handful of clients at a time, so the work gets real attention.
Most Organizations are Already on Social Media
Being on it and using it strategically are two very different things.
Without a clear strategy, social media becomes one more task someone handles because it's on the list. Content goes up. Results are hard to measure. Nobody is quite sure what it's actually doing for enrollment, applications, or donor engagement.
That's the starting point for most of the organizations I work with. The issue isn't effort. It's direction.
Why It Works
Hiring a full-time social media role means a salary, benefits, and hoping you find someone who genuinely knows this space. Most schools aren't there, and they don't need to be.
I bring specialized social media expertise to your team without the overhead of a full-time hire. You get a strategy built specifically for your organization and the training your team needs to execute it confidently. Because my background is in education, your team doesn't just receive a strategy. They understand it. They can explain it. They can keep it going.
REAL RESULTS, CLEAR STRATEGY
In April 2024, Albuquerque Academy brought me in to build a strategy for their main Instagram account. What started as a single engagement has grown into nearly two years of work together, now spanning the school's main account and four auxiliary programs.
In the first year, the main account saw:
251% increase in reach
100% increase in content interactions
2,000% increase in new followers
6,900% increase in link clicks
Over two years, the work extended to their advancement programs:
22% growth in Day of Giving participation from 2024 to 2026
816 total gifts on their record giving day, 10% over their previous highest
38% increase in first-time donors
These results came from showing up consistently with content that had a clear purpose, a defined audience, and a standard that reflected the quality of the school.
"Garin's ability to translate complex program goals into high-impact, creative strategies has significantly boosted our digital presence and engagement. I cannot recommend Garin highly enough for any school or organization looking to turn their social media channels into powerful engines for promoting their mission and growing their impact."
— Amy Eglinton Keller, Director of External Relations, Albuquerque Academy
HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER
Every engagement starts with a free 20-30 minute discovery call to make sure the fit is right and the approach makes sense for your organization.
From there, there are three ways to work together:
Social Media Starter Kit ($750): A focused audit of your current social media presence, delivered as a recorded video walkthrough with prioritized recommendations your team can act on right away.
Social Media Strategy Package ($2,500): A complete, custom strategy built around your goals and team, with a 3-month content plan, a strategy presentation, and two follow-up calls.
The Strategy Partner ($997/month): Monthly strategic advisory for organizations with a strategy in place that want consistent support to keep it working.
*Onsite Days and hourly consulting are also available.
If your organization is ready to build a social media presence that actually does something, I'd like to hear from you. Tell me where you are and where you want to be, and we'll figure out together whether working together makes sense. That first call is always free.