Facebook & Twitter & Pinterest, Oh My! Communications Strategies For The Small Anti-Violence Organization

Alyson CulinDevelopment & Marketing DirectorOrange County Rape Crisis Centeralyson@ocrcc.org

What Is Communications?

• Marketing:• The action or business of

promoting and selling products or services.

• Communications:• Imparting or exchanging

of information or news.• Means of connection

between people or places.

• Should be a strategy, not a checklist.

Who is Your Audience?

• Constituency:• Donors• Volunteers• Board of Directors • Staff • Grantors• Community members• ??

• Considerations:• Age• Gender • Orientation• Ethnicity• Geography• Interests• Values

Communications = Content + Delivery

Content – Ideas?

• Program updates• Service opportunities• Agency in the news• How to get involved

• Volunteer needs• Call for donations• Upcoming events• Advocacy opportunities

• Volunteer spotlight• Day-to-day staff stuff

• Informational articles• DV 101• Legislative updates• Info about special

populations

• Thank Yous• Post-event debriefs• Post-campaign• To specific people

Delivery – Platforms?

• Website• Newsletters / Annual Report (print or email)

• Blog• Social Media

• Facebook• Twitter• Pinterest• Instagram…

• Word of Mouth

Word of Mouth

• Especially relevant in small towns

• Have good services• Train your staff/board:

Elevator Speech• Agency mission• Services offered• “What I love about the

agency…”

• Confidentiality issues

Website – Most important thing!!• Attractive design, easy to update, user-friendly• Consider all audiences: clients, donors, volunteers• Put yourself in the user’s shoes:

• Client: Can you find info about services easily? Can you find the hot line number easily?

• Donor: Is it easy to donate? Are there too many pages to click through in order to donate?

• Volunteer: Is it easy to find info about volunteer programs, how to apply, and who to contact?

• Considerations• Help line info should be easy to find. Quick Exit button.• Simple and short. ~ 6th grade reading level.• Spend $$$ on SEO

Newsletters & Direct Contact

Print

• Might be better for older audiences.

• Looks more formal• Might be more likely to be

read (??)

Electronic

• Takes less time, skill• Cheap or free• Easier to manage

contacts • Easier to create good-

looking materials• Easier to segment lists• Users can manage their

own subscription

Newsletters – Considerations??

• Don’t email too often• Don’t write too much• Put a name/ face to your

communications• Make sure replies go to a

person.• Always respect requests to

unsubscribe – you are legally required to!

• What do/would you use your email marketing system for?

Social Media – Is It Worth It?• Goal: What would be the goal(s) of using this platform?• Audience: Does our audience use this platform?• Knowledge: Do you have someone (staff, volunteer) who

is very familiar with the platform and who can commit the amount of time needed to it?

• Resources: What kind of content would we put on this platform? Does that content already exist, or would we have to recreate it? Do we have the resources (time, talent, treasure) to create that content?

• Trend: Is this platform just a trend? Is it outdated?

Social Media Platforms

YES!

eh sure

Probably No

Probably No

Facebook• Everyone’s on Facebook!• Have a Page, not a Profile.• Content

• Easy to find stuff to post from other sources

• Easy place to put your own stuff. Can do link/photos/videos.

• Suggested 2-3 times per day. Minimum: Once per day.

• Use the content scheduler!• Interactivity

• Algorithm: Shares > Comments > Likes

Twitter• Overrated • Mostly only insiders talking to each other• BUT. Set it up, push FB notifications to Twitter, walk away.

Pinterest• New, fastest-growing platform.• Audience: women• Image-oriented = difficult• Content and vibe of platform doesn’t really match goals

Instagram• New, fast-growing platform.• Audience: young people• Image-oriented = difficult• Creation-oriented = difficult• Content and vibe of platform doesn’t really match goals

Blog • Content commitment = high• Time commitment = high• Suggested minimum = once per week• Absolute minimum = once per month• Interactivity

• Push to other platforms

Pitfalls• Resources: Need time and talent• Decentralization: easier to produce content, difficult to

control message• Mission drift• Hot issues• Inappropriate comments & trolls• Special concerns: Safety

• Personal over-sharing• Over-sharing about others, identifying details, etc.• Images

• Must have clear communication and protocols for people who are working on marketing

Takeaways

• Go where the crowd is

• Create a strategy, not a checklist• Consider resources &

ROI

• What is one idea from today that you want to try to implement immediately?