South West Forum - Social Media Workshop 23rd June 2010

Using Social Media Effectively

23rd June 2010

“Social Media. They get all excited about gleaming technology and clever gizmos. They talk in acronyms and begin sentences with: “Did you know you can..” The rest of us just want to get on with campaigning, fundraising or service delivery. We want to talk about the people we work with, the communities we’re in and the issues we’re passionate about. We want to find and talk to people who can help us get change, deliver services or make a difference”.

Well, Social Media is about all that, telling stories and having conversations, having a space to do that … it just happens that the space is on a computer.

(From ‘How to use New Media’ - Media Trust).

Old media - Web 1.0 . . .

. . static websites with no interaction, text heavy content.Information was just fed TO viewers

(Others – if you dare!)

New media - Web 2.0 ...

. . is interactive websites, open comments allowed, conversations and social networking WITH viewers encouraged

Rise of ‘Homo Interconnecticus’ 2009 was the Year of Social Media

Facebook use in the UK is now 23 million, a third of the population, up from a fifth in 2008

In Jan 2010 Facebook had more global visitors than Google

Research claims that social networking is slowly replacing email

Statistics show that 25% users are aged 35 - 44

The story so far...

1/3 of the country and more than 50% of internet users are on Facebook

Use of social networks and blogs now accounts for almost 23% of time spent on the internet in the UK, which is a 159% increase over the last 3 years

Social networks are different to broadcast media

• Social networks are relational not transactional tools.

• Social media rewards– Generosity– Other-centeredness– Helpfulness

• 20-to-1 rule

you should make 20 relational ‘deposits’ for every marketing ‘withdrawal’

• Relevance is key – its all about engagement

• Tailor made for community organisations, volunteering and voluntary action!

The internet as a friendly conversation

The art of conversation is to listen more than you talk – it’s a two way process

• Read and Listen – find out what is happening already

• Link and Share – and link again! Its these links that keep the conversation flowing

• Comment and Feedback – agree or disagree, this is what builds communities around a topic

• Say “Thank You” – as social media is more about the links, introductions and relationships than the technology

• Be Helpful – share what you have and you’ll be amazed when you get back!

(http://podnosh.com/social-media-help/what-makes-the-web-social/)

• Gain new volunteers and donors - Dogs Trust, Whizz Kidz, Milton Keynes Make a Difference

• Virally promote your cause or brand – Bullying UK, i-volunteer.org.uk

• Campaign - NUS persuaded HSBC to drop high charges on student overdrafts after getting support of 5,000 Facebook users

• Cheap or free to use – main cost is time

• Easier to engage with stakeholders

Why are they relevant?

2008 our research found that less than 25% were using social networking

Main barriers:

Lack of knowledge/confidence

Lack of business case

Access

Mixing personal and professional networking

Voluntary sector usage...

28 (23.9%)

35 (29.9%)

47 (40.2%)

7 (6.0%)

0 (0.0%)

NAVCA Chief Officers

(Surveyed June 2010)

When asked what organisations had on their website:

• 20% - online picture and media storage

• 15% - RSS feeds

• 10% - Podcasts

But when asked about external social media sites used:

• 17% - Facebook for their cause

• 9% - Youtube

• 7% - Flickr

[nfpSynergy – Virtual Promise 2008 (groups with <£1m turnover)]

2009 after our 1st round of NSS training

– Prior to training, 35% had a profile on at least one social network

– After training, 80% had a profile on at least one social network

– 15% are also blogging

Voluntary sector usage...

Time for work!

1. Think of a one-line scenario that your community has experience of, or that’s related to what your organisation does

3. Spend FIVE minutes expanding on this, describe and write down the scenario / your communitye.g.- local community support organisation helping young mums- national campaigning body raising awareness of drug use- regional network promoting communication about funding

etc.

GOALS

Think about:

The issues the group faces

Goals you would you like to achieve

Challenges to meeting these goals

Communication needs

---

ENGAGEMENT

Now think of :

Possible engagement methods

Ways you’d like to work

Ideas that could help the group

---

How are you communicating now

What is your cause or campaign?

What are the issues and challenges you face?

What is holding you back?

What methods of communication are you using?

What are their limitations?

Communication messages

What is the message?

• We know WHO we are talking to

• Now need to look at WHAT we are saying

• Find out the most suitable communication method and best WAY to say it

Addressing concerns• “I worry that it’s not finished” – in fact often a half formed blog post can be more inspiring

and create a bigger conversation than a polished piece.

• “People pretend to be someone they aren’t” – the social web is about individuals not corporate viewpoints. You’ll find your voice weakened if you ‘spin’ ... And others will see through it!

• “I worry about being in a vacuum” – follow the tips, linking, connecting and conversing and soon people will do the same for you – it’s true!

• “ How do I measure success?”– if you’re reaching the right people it’s quality not quantity that counts

• “ What happens if I ignore people?” – they invest time reading what you say so do the same for them.

(http://podnosh.com/social-media-help/what-makes-the-web-social/)

Social Media in Practice

Marketing – Fundraising - Productivity

The main Social Media Types

•An organisations’ activities

•Which tools are the best

•Examples of use

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Objectives – What do you want to do?

Audience – Who are they? Where are they?

Strategy – Pick a guided plan with a path that fits

Implement - Match to right social networking tool

Sustain – Engage & converse, monitor & revise

OASIS was developed by @JohnSheridan [email protected]

Establish if Social media is right for you

• What is your organisation trying to achieve?

• What are the goals you think social media might be able to help you with?

• Do you already have a website that you can update yourself?

• Are any of your target audiences already using social media (or are likely to soon)?

• Have you got the time?

Is Social Media right for your organisation?

Yes?

It is likely that social media will make a significant difference to your organisation

No?

Think carefully if this is the right time for you to be spending time on this area.

Step 2 – Pick one goal to pursue

Pick one goal to pursue

Marketing

What marketing goals might your organisation have?

Social Media Tools and MarketingSocial Media Marketing uses Frequency

Twitter Dialogue Viral marketing Signposting Relationship building

Throughout the day

Facebook Dialogue Campaigns Stories/images News Daily

YouTube Personal Emotional Engaging Instructional Weekly/Monthly

Blogs Discussion Stories/images Newsletters News Daily/Weekly

Websites Brand Central Hub Information Data management

Daily/Weekly

SurveyMonkey Questionnaires Targeting Planning Information gathering analysing

Fixed term

Social Media Tools and Marketing

• Quick and easy to set up and continue to develop• Draws people to the website• Raises awareness within sector

• Once set up it requires very little work• Spreads awareness• Draws people to the website• Links to blog

Why these Tools?

• High number of clients/potential clients have a facebook

• Links to blog

• Can have separate facebook page for business activities

• They have the technology to make it quick and easy

• It provides them with an extra web presence

• It gives a face and a personality to your organisation

Step 2 – Pick one goal to pursue

Pick one goal to pursue

Fundraising

What fundraising goals might your organisation have?

Social Media Tools and FundraisingSocial Media Fundraising uses/effectiveness Frequency

Twitter Ongoing story – use of #

Viral campaigning Signposting Relationship campaign building

Throughout the day

Facebook Dialogue Campaign central Campaign Recruitment

News/updates Stories/images

Daily / throughout the day

YouTube Campaign stories

Emotional Engaging News Daily / Weekly/Monthly

Blogs Discussion Stories/images Newsletters News Daily/Weekly

Websites Fundraising point

Central Hub Information Data management

Daily/Weekly

SurveyMonkey Research Polling Planning Information gatheringanalysing

Fixed term

Online Tools - CharityChoice, JustGiving etc

Donating Raising awareness Ongoing

Social Media Tools and Fundraising

Case Study

Haworth Cat Rescue Haworth Cat Rescue is an independent charity which runs a re-homing and adoption service for unwanted and stray cats and kittens.

300 cats & kittens a year

• Feeding

• Neutering

• Vets fees

• Re-housing

Fundraising Goals

• Regular monthly funding to help run the cat shelter

• Development of new centre fund

• Promotion and use of online retail shop (under construction)

• Promote affiliate marketing links with other products and services

How they use Social Media

• Facebook

– Announcements (new cats etc), stories, relationship building, In for a Pound group, cat picture tags from other Facebook users

• Website

– Donation buttons, affiliate links, stories, images

• Twitter

– Raising awareness, website traffic

• Blog

– New centre appeal, education, donations

Productivity/Support

Productivity and Support

Using Social Media Tools to help you to achieve your organisation’s goals.

Productivity = More efficient, effective, sustainable

Productivity Rules

1. Quick – save time

2. Easy to implement and use

3. Make a difference

Tools for Productivity/Support

• Communication

– Skype, Oovoo, Tokbox, DimDim

• Organising

– Doodle, Eventbrite, Delicious

• Collaboration

– Googledocs, Dropbox

• Allround useful

– Jing, PDFCreator, MS Office Compatibility

Step 2 – Pick one goal to pursue

Use by Local Support & Development Organisations

Some examples of how these organisations

are using Social Media tools

Visit

Visit

Causes

Dog’sTrust

BustsForJustice

VAR

Visit

Visit

Niche networks that you can create yourself.

Youth WorkOnline

navcaboodle

Niche networkfor volunteers

i-volunteer

Events AS they happen not AFTER they have happened

I asked – “Why does Twitter work for you?” In less than 7 mins I got 7 replies.

Twitter keeps me connected to folks I know & helps connect me to new folks & opportunities - also a serendipity engine

Great example - I asked if anyone knew where to find the list of NI7 LAs and the CLG webmaster tweeted back the answer

Twitter helps me to be connected with people and new developments, and helps to make new connections too

Twitter's introduced me to many other organisations with similar goals that I wouldn't have met, & sharing best practice

Twitter helps me build & maintain my professional network

Keeps me up to speed with others - via my phone - esp important when out of office

To keep track of topics/people of interest and discover new topics and people through the first set of people and topics

Back to work!

TOOLS

Think of social media tools to help you.

Mailing lists

Web forum

Blog, Twitter, Youtube, etc.

---

RESOURCES

You will need to find the resources for these initiatives.

Grant funding

Volunteer support

Selling services

---

Objectives – What do you want to do?

Audience – Who are they? Where are they?

Strategy – Pick a guided plan with a path that fits

Implement - Match to right social networking tool

Sustain – Engage & converse, monitor & revise

OASIS was developed by @JohnSheridan [email protected]

Social media - reflections• What ideas do you have for your use from this session?

• How could your organisation make more of social media?

• How could groups you support campaign more effectively by using social media?

• What gaps are there in supporting them?

• Has your organisation a social media policy or Twitter guidelines?

• Any Questions?

www.swict.org.ukRegularly updated blog from SW Regional ICT Champion – news, funding updates (ICT), events, etc

Email your news and updates, events and case studies to us – [email protected]

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Thank You

Julie Harris, COSMIC

[email protected]

@cosmicjulie