Getting Started with Social Media

Introduction to Developing a Social Media Strategy

Alliance for Community Media ConferencePittsburgh, PA July 10, 2010

This presentation is licensed by Vanessa Rhinesmith (vanessarhinesmith.com) and Colin Rhinesmith (cctvcambridge.org/colin_rhinesmith) under a Creative Commons Noncommercial Attribution Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

[Getting Started with Social

Media]

Image courtesy of fredcavazza available on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Before You Begin:

It’s tempting to jump right into social media and set up a myriad of accounts, but before you begin be sure to:

1. Determine your organization’s goals

2. Develop a communications plan

3. Know how social media fits

[Step 1: Determine Your Organization’s

Goals]

What Is Your Message?

Tips for Defining Your Organization’s Message:

Review your organization’s mission and objectives

What are the key characteristics of your organization, your mission and organization’s primary purposed?

Identify what you want others to think of when they think about your organization

Determine if your message differs based on the intended audience

Make a bulleted list of the top three to five most important message items and share them with everyone in your organization

Your message should be considered whenever you’re talking about your organization, whether your talking to donors or writing up a press release or drafting a grant proposal

[Slide by Vanessa Rhinesmithhttp://vanessarhinesmith.com]

Why Would You Want to Publish on the Web:

Before diving into the web, ask yourself:  

Why do you need an online presence?

Who is your audience?

What experience do you want visitors to have when they visit your website, blog or social network (i.e., Twitter or Facebook)?

What are your strengths going into this project? What are your weaknesses?

How much time do you intend to dedicate to social media? How many resources?

How much can you afford to spend on social media as a communications channel?

Are You in Control of Your Digital Identity?

You, and only you, should be in control of your organization’s online reputation. Here’s a few tips to help you maintain control of your web presence:

What does the web say about you? Be sure to do a basic Google search to see what conversation have already taken place or are taking place as we speak

How to take control? Search Google daily, better yet, set up daily Google Alerts (containing your organization’s name) and have these alert delivered to your email each day

Are you part of the conversation? If someone else is talking about you, your organization and/or your cause, then you should be open to joining the conversation (i.e., contributing to a blog or forum)

How to make the web work for you? Having a solid, updated website with a blog is a great place to start

[Step 2: Develop A Communications

Plan]

Developing a Communications Strategy

Exercise:Ask yourself the following questions:

What is your organization’s mission?

Who is your target audience?

What is your message?

How will you communicate that message?

Audience:

It’s easy to get caught up in what you want to communicate, but be sure to first identify your audience – it starts with them

Write out the type of audience or audiences that you want to focus on: What are their key characteristics? What are their communication

preferences and informational needs?

Create a Survey, They Work!

Surveys are a quick (and easy) way to learn a more about your community. In return, they offer invaluable information prior to the creation of a social media centric strategy.

Types of surveys: Phone Calls Paper Based Surveys Web-based

Survey Monkey http://surveymonkey.com Basic: Free (100 responses per survey) Monthly Pro: $19.95/mo. (1000/mo.) Annual Pro: $200/year (unlimited)

[Step 3: Learn How Social Media Fits]

Where Does Social Media Fit in Your Strategy?

Sequence of Execution:

Review your organization’s mission

Develop a message (i.e., communications strategy) that supports your organization’s mission

Identify your target audience

Determine how social media will support your communications strategy

Create consistent – not overwhelming – messaging across all communication channels

The Four R’s:

Receive feedback from your community/members/audience

Review all feedback

Revise your communications (including social media) strategies based on the needs of the community

Re-implement or adjust your strategy

Conclusion:

Remember that blogs, social networks and other social media platforms are just tools – and tools are only as good as their users: Take your time learning how to use the

tools effectively Identify which tools work for you and

the needs of your organization Respect your capacity and the

resource/time capacity of your organization

Be flexible and adapt to the tools that are the most valuable to your community members and intended audience(s)

[Resources]

Resources:

We Are Media – http://www.wearemedia.org/

Beth Kanter – http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/

Frogloop – http://www.frogloop.com/

Idealware.org – http://www.idealware.org/

Net Squared – http://www.netsquared.org/

Non-Profit Technology Network (NTEN) – http://www.nten.org/

Socialbrite – http://www.socialbrite.org/

Social Media Guide for Non-Profits – http://nonprofitsorgs.wordpress.com/

Tech Soup – http://home.techsoup.org/pages/default.aspx

Zen and the Art of Nonprofit Technology | http://zenofnptech.org/

Resources:

[Blogging] How to blog without the time sink - http://www.contentious.com/2007/09/05/how-to-blog-without-the-time-sink/

[Social Media Tips] 11 Guidelines to Social Media Success, 2007 - http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/071018-085826

[Social Media Tips] 10 Simple Steps To Social Media Success In 2008 - http://searchengineland.com/10-simple-steps-to-social-media-success-in-2008-13087

 Users/Influencers] Social Media Power Users and Influencers: Part I - http://thefuturebuzz.com/2008/09/24/social-media-power-users-and-influencers-part-1/

[Community Management] Essential Skills of a Community Manager - http://www.chrisbrogan.com/essential-skills-of-a-community-manager/

[News/Information] Getting Local: The Future of the Web - http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/allyson-kapin/radical-tech/getting-local/

[Content Strategy] WeAreMedia: What's Your Social Content Strategy? - http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2009/11/wearemedia-social-content-and-deep-engagement.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bethblog+%28Beth%27s+Blog%29

Resources:

Center for Social Media | Who is doing social media training? -http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/future_of_public_media/who_is_doing_social_media_training/

Beth Kanter | Your organization’s social networking strategy doesn’t have to be like mastercard – you don’t have to be everywhere! - http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2008/11/your-organizations-social-networking-strategy-doesnt-have-to-be-like-mastercard---you-dont-have-to-be-everywhere.html

[Wikis] Wikis Still Slow to Catch on internally, Externally - http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2008/12/wikis-still-slow-to-catch-on-internally-externally344.html

[Twitter] Step-by-Step: How to Set Up A Nonprofit Listening Post - http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2008/12/stepbystep-how-to-set-up-a-nonprofit-listening-post-twitter-part-1-.html

[ROI] Is It Worth It? An ROI Calculator for Social Network Campaigns - http://www.frogloop.com/social-network-calculator

[ROI] The ROI of Social Media - http://nten.org/blog/2008/01/11/the-roi-of-social-media

[Facebook] Using Facebook for Your Nonprofit - http://www.techsoup.org/community/facebook/

[Facebook] How to Build a Facebook community - http://www.socialbrite.org/2009/10/09/how-to-build-a-facebook-community-14-levers-you-need-to-be-pulling/

Thank you!

Colin Rhinesmith, Community Media & Technology Coordinator

Contact me:colin@cctvcambridge.org617-661-6900 ext. 126