ICT for Successful OrganisationsSocial Media

Plymouth Guild

Julie HarrisCOSMICRegional ICT Champion SW21st April 2010

• A champion for ICT in your region• To see local infrastructure support organisations

• Operate more efficiently in its day to day work• Be more effective in its reach and influence

• Voice, representation, advocacy• Signposting sources of help• Strategic support

Regional ICT Champions

Materials have been prepared by a number of the ICT Champions

FACTS• We spent 119 billion minutes on the internet in Feb 09.

[Global Online Media Landscape”, Nielsen, April 2009]• UK online shoppers spent £4.6 billion during Christmas

2008. [IMRG Cap Gemini e-Retail Sales Index]

Three BARRIERS to USE (from Freshminds – April 2009)• No affordable ACCESS to the internet• No INTEREST in the content on the internet• No KNOWLEDGE of how to get on-line

The Internet

Social Media

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8

BUT• 25% of adults have never used the internet [ONS 2008]• 70% of people living in social housing aren’t online – which is

28% of everyone not online [Oxford Internet Survey 2007] • 70% of people over 65 have never used the internet [ONS 08]

Our understanding and use of social media is important to help organisations outreach to groups and communities

• Once connected 17% increase in communication with friends & 14% increase with family [Freshminds, April 09]

• 25% more confident in finding work [Freshminds, April 2009]

The Internet

Photo: flickr.com/photos/briansolis/

Social Media / Networking – the major types

•What is it

•Why should you care

•How it’s being used - for our organisations

•Impacts / risks

•How to get there

Social Media Guidelines

•Professional

•Responsible

•Credible

•Responsive

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• Increases speed of communication – no faster way to spread your message than through social

networking. • Widens message to people/groups that would normally

be missed using more traditional methods – ‘viral’ campaigns hugely powerful creating awareness extremely efficiently

• Deepens to build new and different networks – communities of interest to bounce ideas off

and share experiences

• Generate on-line conversations and awareness about the organisation or campaign, a consensus of opinion or shared learning about ideas

• Joins together communities who are interested in the similar things, have the same likes or are striving for the same objectives.

• Commoncraft Video explaining Social Media

Why social media?

• Advocacy

• Awareness

• Fundraising

• Inspiring action

• Influencing change

New Media solutions provide additional ways of delivering/promoting your message.

Old Media (phone, letter, e-mail, newsletters, press releases etc) still have their place

Think of New Media as additional tools in your tool kit.

Audio - Podcasting

• A news feed with a media sound file attached that can be picked up by a feed reader.

• Can be downloaded to portable audio devices (such as MP3 player or ipod) to be listened to on the move.

• Turns flat written statement into a vibrant personal story• Captures background sounds / effects / laughter of the

project• ‘Audacity’ – free software for recording and converting to

MP3 to load to the web http://audacity.sourceforge.net/• Commoncraft Video explaining Podcasting

Audio – Podcasting

Visit

On-line web logs or journals BLOGS

• Used by 65% of active UK internet users, who have created 17.8m blogs

• A diary detailing events in a periodical fashion. The name is taken from ‘weBLOG’

• Keep staff up to date about what individuals are doing • To provide a periodic record of what you have been doing

to feedback to funders • To provide case studies of events and parts of your work • Generates evolving conversations as other contribute to

the topics you raise• Commoncraft Video explaining Blogs

Online journals - Blogging

Visit

Video Sharing

• Used by 84% of active UK Internet Users • Upload and share videos that you can take on any digital

camera or mobile phone.• Once uploaded these can be included on your own

website• Videos tagged for easy searching by visitors• Allows comments and conversations to build about the

video content or message• Offers many ways to to promote your organisation and

its campaigns ... and all for free.

Video Sharing - YouTube

Visit

Micro-journals

• Built on the SMS mobile phone technology • Mobile phones are most accessible form of mobile media • Allows users to send and read other users' updates which

are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.• Updates displayed on user's profile page and delivered to

other users who have signed up to receive them.• Can be used to alert masses of people, quickly, efficiently

and cheaply – about an event, report or campaign • Powerful to ‘ask the (worldwide) audience’ a questions

and collate responses – much easier than by email• Commoncraft Video explaining Twitter

Micro-journals - Twitter

Visit

Twitter : Reports events AS they happen not AFTER they have happened

Listening to the web - Inbound

• What are other websites saying about your organisation?• What are organisations you support saying?• What are the relevant stakeholder reports and funding

opportunities that are being published• RSS enabled feeds automatically can be picked up to be

read at your leisure in a feed reader (such as Bloglines or Google Reader) without you having to re-visit each website

• Content aggregated into a single easily readable interface • RSS feeds can be converted for email delivery• RSS feeds from others can be embedded in your website

Listening to the web - Outbound

• Tell others what you are doing• Easier for supporters (individual and peers) to keep up with

your events and news• RSS enabled feeds automatically can be picked up to be

read at their leisure in a feed reader (such as Bloglines or Google Reader) without them having to re-visit your site

• RSS feeds can be converted for email delivery• Your RSS feed can be embedded into other organisations

websites• Commoncraft Video explaining RSS

Listening to the web – RSS readers

Image Sharing

• Used by 49% of active UK internet users • Many contributors to these sites allow you to use their

photos free of charge, they usually only ask to be credited.• Can be difficult to source good quality photos for websites

and publicity, especially without significant cost• Build on-line journal of images relating to your project with

tags to enable easy searching and commenting by others• More striking than a report or case study on paper when

presented to funders, trustees and stakeholders• Access to photos anywhere so freeing up server space• Commoncraft Video explaining Image Sharing

Image Sharing - Flickr

Visit

Social Networking

• Used by 60% of active UK internet users• Community websites that link people who share interests

and activities or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others.

• They provide various ways for users to interact, such as chat, messaging, email, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging, discussion groups and more.

• Commoncraft Video explaining Social Networking

Social Networking - Facebook

Causes

Dog’sTrust

BustsForJustice

Social Networking - Facebook

Social Networking - Facebook

Social Networking - Specialist

Social Networking - Ning

Niche networks that you can create yourself.

Youth WorkOnline

Collaborative working

• Software that allows a disperse groups of people to work collaboratively towards shared aims.

• Create, edit, and link pages together in a variety of document formats

• Create collaborative websites - perhaps the most popular example is Wikipedia

• Share in discussions and meetings on-line• Commoncraft Video explaining Wikis• Commoncraft Video explaining Google Docs

Collaborative working - ooVoo

Visit

Collaborative working - Doodle

Visit

Collaborative working - GoogleDocs

Visit

• Access to a GLOBAL audience enabling many voices• F R E E!!! (in most cases)• Your ideas and messages can be shared & spread very quickly • Can take on a creative life of its own• Very high profile – the latest ‘buzz’• Portrays the human voice of your organization • You want share ideas in progress and let others join in and help• It may be messy – so be prepared to deal with this • You are already clear in your aims, but open to contributions

• Tracking sites can be time consuming – so have a clear plan• Needs fast internet connection (ADSL / Fibre) – rural issues• Can be intimidating if not used to using the internet / technology• Fickle – constantly changing ‘current fashionable product’• Impossible to control – groups may take your message and

spin it, so it is important to listen to the social networks

• Be prepared for your organisation to change how it works

• Looser control on organisation message and authorization - won’t work if your message is written in stone, not electricity

• Invest time in staff learning new skills and the time to make it an organizational habit

Which One is Right for your organisation?

Blog - informal project progress? Forum - for supporters to discuss? Social Network - build cause awareness? Twitter - short project updates? Video / Photo sharing - our annual report? RSS - what are others saying?

A combination of all of these and more!

Select those that are right for the organisation

Have the safety net in place

• Have a policy in place covering staff use

– Is it any different to office chat or reading the

newspaper?

• Have usage guidelines and fact sheets (e.g. Twitter Guide)

• Don’t be afraid to admit it didn’t work

• Take ALL staff on the journey!

Social media - reflections

• What ideas do you have for your use?

• How do you think organisations need to make more of social media?

• How could the groups you support be more effective in their campaigns by using social media?

• What gaps are there in supporting them?

• What was the best idea which came from the session?

Finding your Way!Photo: flickr.com/photos/worldwidewandering

INSERT ICT CHAMPIONS LOGO

Time for a Break

Finding your way

• Objectives - what

• Audience - who

• Strategy - pick a path that fits

• Implement - match the tool

• Sustain - measure, adjust

Plymouth Guild – working digitally together

• Existing online resources• Sharing expertise• Where are the gaps?• What more can be done?

• Digital marketing strategy?• Digital skills sharing?

Action Planning

Work in 4 Groups – -Threats-Opportunities

-Objectives-Audience-Strategy-Implementation-Sustainability

Action Planning

-Feedback from each group

Useful Links & Contacts

• NAVCA www.navca.org.uk

Local Infrastructure Organisations providing general support services may also provide ICT services

• ICT Champions

for ICT answers in a box www.ictchampions.org.uk

• Capacitybuilders www.improvingsupport.org.uk/ict

• Knowledgebase www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk

Useful Links & Contacts

• AbilityNet www.abilitynet.org.uk

• IT4Communities www.it4communities.org.uk

• CTX www.ctxchange.org.uk

• NCVO ICT www.icthub.org.uk

• Open Source www.osalt.com

• Commoncraft http://www.commoncraft.com/

Thank You

www.swict.org.uk

julie@cosmic.org.uk

01404 813226

cosmicjulieon Twitter, Facebook, Skype and Oovoo