Rotary Assembly: Social Media 101

Social Media 101

What is all the hype about?

Click above to watch video.

What are the key sites?

Who uses social media?

LEARN THE TECHNIQUES.

FACEBOOK DO YOU THINK IN FRIEND GROUPS?

Pros & Cons

• Pros• Wide [International] Reach• Built-in Fan, Group and Event Pages• “Foundation” Platform

• Cons• Younger [majority] Demographic • Tougher platform to navigate

initially

What you can do:

• Pros• Share & Comment Quickly• Create a Fan Page• Create Events• Create a Group• Judge success with built-in metrics

Tips, Tricks and Techniques

ENGAGE – Don’t push! Focus on developing relationships.

Be consistent & timely. Using Facebook (and all Social Media) takes

time! Ask questions to engage your audience. Create a group to communicate with

existing members. Create a Fan Page to pull in new members. Create Events to publicize actual events.

TWITTER DO YOU THINK IN 140-CHARACTERS?

Pros & Cons

• Pros• Amazing way to ‘crowd-source’ information• Quick, to-the-point updates• Interface with other platforms• Add followers in geographic area• Younger [majority] Demographic with higher

levels of education, on average

• Cons• Tougher platform to navigate initially• Not as effective for a consistent link for

details

What you can do:

HashTag to crowd source information Short 140 character posts @ Tag other users and re-tweet

posts Follow other users to quickly gain

information Search map of nearby users to add

people in geographic vicinity

Tips, Tricks and Techniques

Search using #s to quickly get up to date on a topic.

Connect with Facebook to reduce overhead admin time from managing both platforms.

Don’t be ‘fake.’ Start conversations and follow others with

interesting and engaging content. Follow members close by your geographic area. Follow existing organizations (like Rotary

International) to learn about upcoming events and programs.

LINKEDIN DO YOU THINK IN RESUMES?

LinkedIn: The Professional Social Network• Designed for “professional”

connectivity• Your Profile is in a Resume/CV

format • This can be augmented

with “apps” that allow you to post professional portfolios, slideshows, and other multimedia formats

• Instead of “Friends”, you build “Connections”

• You build Connections through direct invitations and “Groups”, which allow you to connect with fellow Group members

• Your connections can endorse “Skills” that you self select via key words, these are tracked in your profile

LinkedIn Groups: The Gateway to the Network

• Groups are the heart and soul of LinkedIn

• There are thousands of “Groups” which revolve around a specific topic, institution, or industry• Example: The Official Rotary International group has 45,000+ members• The Project Manager Network has 405,000+ members

• These groups allow members to post jobs, discussion topics, use a members directory to connect directly with members, take polls, and track updates• Discussion topics can be “Liked” so that the most popular topics stay at

the top of the Group page• The current top Discussion in the Official Rotary Group is: “Is it time to

revist our New Member sign up criteria? We have had to start declining membership to our club, have you?

• Groups are often used by recruiters, job seekers, investors, and prospective entrepreneurs who are seeking opportunities

LinkedIn: Pros and Cons

• Pros• You can view “People who Viewed my Profile”, and link to their

profile• Due to the nature of LinkedIn, people are ready to “talk business”

and are typically more open to first time introductions to new Connections

• Groups allow for Discussions/topics to reach a targeted audience • Events can be shared with a large number of people, even if they are

not direct connections; via Groups• Job postings are readily available (in both Groups and in a stand

alone section) with strong search tools to filter by key words, categories, or seniority

• The network is free to join and also offers more advanced features to paid members

• Cons• LinkedIn is a “freemium” service

• This membership is typically utilized by sales and marketing professionals to reach their targets

• Many Groups end up have dozens of discussions where the original poster gives a link to an “interesting” article, this can be useful but becomes repetitive

LinkedIn: Using within Rotary

• Make your Club digitally visible• Many people use key words to

search for local or topical Groups to join, having your own group may draw in prospects, especially if it is an active and robust Group

• Rotary already has a strong presence on LinkedIn• The Official Rotary International

group has 45,000+ members• This and other Rotary Groups

can be used to partner with new clubs and send out marketing material for upcoming initiatives

• Increase the value of Rotary membership• Allows a forum for posting job

and partnership opportunities• Enables members to connect on

areas of shared interest and passions

INSTAGRAMDO YOU THINK IN IMAGES?

Pros & Cons

• Pros• ‘Instantly’ upload images to web via

SmartPhone• Sync with existing platforms [Facebook,

Twitter, etc.]• Use #s to crowd-source visual information• Large younger, more affluent demographic

• Cons• Younger Demographic• Lack of information share benefit [generate

Buzz vs. teach or engage audience]

What you can do:

Take quick photos from your mobile device.

Apply neat effects to photos! Upload immediately and share out

with other platforms. Add #s to crowd-source details. Follow other Instagram Users to keep

up to date on events and happenings of community.

Tips, Tricks and Techniques

Take photos of outings to quickly update members and guests.

Tell a story with photos.

DEVELOP A STRATEGY.

Tips to Consider.

Start Small. Do what makes sense for your club. You have the skills as a networker. Only

the medium is changing. Realize successful social media takes

time to do right. Be intentional with your approach.

Steps to develop your game plan. Assess your Goals.

Who do you want to reach? What message(s) do you want to send? What do you want to result from your

approach? Assess your available resources and time.

How much time can you invest per week? Assess the available tools.

Which platform makes the most sense for your goals and time?

Steps to develop your game plan. Give a member the opportunity to

manage. Agree to your platforms. Agree to your messaging. Agree to your schedule for posting.

Develop check-in points with the board. Based on your goals, are your efforts

working? Why or why not?

Questions?

KATIE GASTONKatie.rose.gaston@gmail.com916-743-4255

MICHAEL ANDERSONmanders623@gmail.com310-804-6563

Facebook.com/rotaractlbwww.rotaractlb.org