CL201 Using Social Media to Build Community

I’m Alexandra

I do digital media, including social media,

for NeighborWorks America

Goals for Today

1. Understand the value of communications planning

2. Evaluate if social media is right for your goals3. Plan your next steps

Setting Expectations

My goal is not to convert you all to using social media

My goal is to help you understand the possibilities of social media usage in your community

Agenda

Introductions• Part 1: Communications Planning• Part 2: Social Media OverviewBreak• Part 3: Making Decisions• Part 4: Planning session

Break into groups

1. Your name2. Where you’re from3. Why you’re in this class

Hello my name is:

Part 1: Community engagement

What does

community engagement look like in your neighborhood?

Engaging means two-way communication

– Starting the project– Continuing the project– Announcing completion of the project

Does your action plan have a communications plan for:

?

Who do you need to reach to make your project successful?

1. Fill out the profile in your folder2. Review profiles3. How should you adjust

communication to adjust for different people?

4. What do they have in common?

What actions should these people take as a result of your communications?

What do you need to say?

When do you need to say it?

How will you spread the message?

What is your communications strategy?

Part 2: Social Media Overview

Creative Commons license: Jason A. Howie

Time for Social Media Bingo!

Creative Commons license: Darwin Bell

What is social media?

A two-way form of digital communication between:

1. Peers

2. People and organizations

3. People and government

My definition of social media

Source: Neil Perkins, “What’s Next in Media” via SlideShare

The Social in Social Media

Why is this so important?

People are more invested when their opinions and contributions are valued

How have you done outreach in

the past?

Have you used online tools?

Which of those tools enable two way communication?

• Knocking on doors• Posters• Leaflets• Telephone tree• Local events

Yes

No

“Social media” doesn’t just mean

Facebook and Twitter

Source: Creative Commons, Yoel Ben Avraham

Some tools are specifically for

community engagement

What social media can do

• Enable real-time, two-way communication between neighbors

• Help build momentum for change• Track progress or concerns on issues• Include people who are shy or physically

disabled

What social media can do

Example Success: GivingTuesday

Case study: Debra Askanse, The Power of the NetWork Weaver, slide 35

Example 2: NeighborWorks Week

NeighborWorks Week on Twitter

NWW Photo Contest 2013

75 photos entered

955 votes

263 new Facebook fans

Example 3: Community Interviews

#1: Mobile is continuing to grow

The number of people accessing the internet via a mobile phone has increased 60.3% to

818.4 million in the last two years.

Creative Commons

Key Social Media Facts

#2 Older users are getting into social media

On Twitter the 55-64 year age bracket is the fastest growing demographic with 79% growth rate since 2012.

The fastest growing demographic on Facebook’s and Google+ are the 45 to 54 year age bracket at 46% and 56% respectively.

Source: GlobalWebIndex study via JeffBullas.com

Key Social Media Facts

It’s not just the kids

http://www.nw.org/network/SocialTechResources/tgordonaarp.wmv

Who’s using what social media?

Source: Pew Center for Internet Research, via DocStoc

Caution:

Social media is not

magic

Social media pitfalls

Some things to keep

in mind before

getting started

Social media pitfall #1

It requires internet or a data plan

- People with lower incomes are less likely to use most social media

- When they do use it, it’s often on a mobile phone.

Social media pitfall #2

Social media doesn’t replace face-to-face interactions

or shared experiences

Social media pitfall #3

• People need to be using it already for it to work– Don’t talk into the void– Join the party

“Communities already exist. Instead [of creating a new one], think about how you can help that community

do what it wants to do.”Creative Commons

Social media pitfall #4

It only works if you’re working it! – You or someone on your team needs to monitor

your social presence and be responsible for regular updates

– Social outreach needs to be a part of your overall communications strategy

Part 3: Making Decisions

Let’s take a step back.

Creative Commons license

What tools will actually work for your project?

Who are you trying to reach?

Source: Waggener Edstrom

The Social Media Funnel

Copyright 2013 CommunityOrganizer2.0

It’s not about you

Engagement and Trust

Engagement and Trust

It’s about the community

Engagement and Trust

Listen

Involve them in the cause

Participate in their conversations

Love your supporters – respond quickly

What actions should people take?

What tools will you

use?

Select the tool(s) based on your goals

Source: FrogLoop.com via Allyson Kapin “Which Social Media Platforms Are Worth Your Time and Energy?”

Select the tool(s) based on your audience

Source: Pew Center for Internet Research, via DocStoc

Part 4: Planning time

Creative Commons license

Get out your Communications Planning Worksheet List which tools match to which of your action plan communications needs

How will you divide your time?

Listen, Communicate, Create, Track

Time on Social Media

Listening

Communicating

Creating/Experimenting

Tracking

30%

30%

25%

15%

Source: Danielle Brigida, National Wildlife Fund, Portland NTI symposium

1. Listening Tools

Search hashtags and trending topics Google Alerts

Comprehensive blog searches on topics or organization names

More resources on bethkanter.org

2a. Communicating by participating

Go to where your people are

Join the discussions on your topic

Balance your storytelling with responding to others

2b. Communicating with effective messages

A Attract attention People are flooded with information. Your message should attract attention quickly

I Generate interest Get your audience to relate to and care about your message or issue.

D Encourage a desire to respond

Your communication needs to motivate and persuade people to act by convincing them that what you say is true and important.

A Prompt action Recommend a clear, specific action and be sure it is something your audiences feel they are able to do.

Source: Adapted from: Kingham, T. & Coe, J. (2005) The Good Campaigns Guide: Campaigning for Impact, NCVO Publications, London.

3a. Experiment with MessagingWhat messages work well?

-Are you sure? Did you test them?-Do some groups of people respond differently?

Experiment with Messaging: ExampleOxfam International wanted to create a message that would encourage people to pressure their governments to invest in education in developing countries.

Source: Message in a Box Tactical Tech

"Basic education helps break the cycle of poverty“

Vs."Education is every child's right"

Group huddle: practice your core messaging

Try posting similar messages at different times of day or different days in the week

Try slight changes to your message depending on the tool you are using to distribute the information (Twitter vs. Facebook vs. flyers vs. blog)

3b. Communicating experiments

Listen, Communicate, Create, Track

Time on Social Media

Listening

Communicating

Creating/Experimenting

Tracking

30%

30%

25%

15%

Source: Danielle Brigida, National Wildlife Fund, Portland NTI symposium

We are here

4. Tracking

TwitonomyTweetReach

Facebook Insights

Hootsuite

Internal metrics

1. Frequent posts2. Posts promote core business activity3. Posts thank partners4. Post engage followers5. Channel shows regular growth

Criteria for effective social media

1. Frequent posts:Posts should occur at least twice a week

Ideally: • Once/day for Facebook• 2-3 times/day for Twitter

Effective social media

2. PromotionPosts should mention what your cause will offer the community

Why?• Show your cause/organization’s value

Effective social media

3. Partners

Posts should acknowledge/thank partners and funders – build the relationship online and offline

Effective social media

4. EngagementProof of audience through a like, comment, retweets, mentions, etc.

Effective social media

5. GrowthNumber of followers should increase regularly

Tip: Growth may be slow until you hit a critical mass. It will relate closely to how often and how well you use social media.

Effective social media

Final section: Recap and

closing thoughts

Sample Plan: Pocket Parks in St. Paul, MN

Goals for today – How did we do?

1. Understand the value of communications planning

2. Evaluate if social media is right for your goals3. Plan your next steps

How can we make

time for social

media?

Send me any questions at:achaikin@nw.org

Follow NeighborWorks America social media on:

Good luck!

Further Reading/Resources

•NTEN – nten.org

•Beth Kanter – bethkanter.org

• Debra Askanase – communityorganzer20.com

Online Resources

•Social Tech Symposium – bit.ly/SocialTechNTI

•The Networked Nonprofit

•Measuring the Networked Nonprofit

Books