The Theory & Uses of Social Media
Steve Womersley: Loddon Campaspe CLC
Social Media’s premise
A connected world is a better world.
“Our mission isn’t to become a public company, our mission is to make the world more open and connected.”
Mark Zuckerberg18 May 2012
If it’s true that a more open and connected world is a better world...
then it must also hold true that an insular and unconnected world doesn’t work.
What does this mean?
• We don’t know who shares our values • We don’t know what others are doing• They don’t know what we’re doing• We work in opposition (not in partnership)
with those who share our values and aspirations
Uses of Social Media
• Promotion (news, events, stories, value)• Sharing (aka content curation)• Social action and campaigning• Fundraising• Website traffic• CLE and Advice delivery• Reaching new constituents• Recruitment (volunteers)
1. Take the plunge
Image: santimolina
1. Take the plunge
• Trust your staff to use social media responsibly• Don’t block Social Media channels• Don’t let internal opposition thwart curiosity,
interest or enthusiasm• A connected world and a risk averse world
can’t coexist
2. Social Media policy angst? Suck it up.
Image: ohlittleheart
2. Social Media policy angst? Suck it up.
• Templates abound for adaptation and use• Social Media Policies should be a guide and a
working document not a hurdle• You’ll stuff up sooner or later and that’s fine.
Social media is a (by and large) forgiving universe
3. Know where you want to go
Image: iwinatcookie
3. Know where you want to go
• Draft a communication plan (goals + targets)• Employ a Communications Worker (2-4 hours
p/w per social media channel)• Communications Worker = skills and
inclination to drive, innovate, learn, play • Don’t rely on volunteers• Assess progress and update plan as required
4. Remember: Small is Beautiful
Image: pj_vanf
4. Remember: Small is Beautiful
• Free/low cost apps level the playing field• Small non-profits aren’t hobbled by lengthy
chains of command• Non-profits the earliest adopters and most
creative users of social media• It’s all relative:
LCCLC May 2012 (<70 fans, reach 609) LCCLC May 2009 (0 Fans, reach 0)
Twitter 101
Sign Up
• Free• one email address per account• Pages accessible without account, eg
Loddon Campaspe CLC’s Twitter page
Glossary
• Tweets• Handles (eg @GossipGirl_Bgo)• Hashtags (eg #auslaw)• Links (eg http://t.co/tN0NC38o)• Replies• Retweets• Favorites
Profile pages
• Links back to website (eg www.lcclc.org.au)• Note consistent design elements• Tweets, Following, Followers• Follow tab• Favorites• Lists (will details later)• Recent images
Home page (after sign in)
• Tweets (NB no longer just LCCLC tweets)• Australia trends• @ Connect (Interactions/Mentions)• # Discover (Stories/Activity/Who to
follow/Find friends/Browse categories)• Direct Messages/New message
Exercise #1
In Melbourne today with @rightsagenda to present Social Media training to Community Legal Centre workers http://www.fclc.org.au/cb_pages/event_details.php?mevent_id=959 #auslaw
• Question 1Why use @rightsagenda not Human Rights Law Centre or Phil Lynch?
• Question 2Why add the link to the Federation’s events page?
• Question 3 Why use the #auslaw hashtag?
Sign In
Username Password
lcclc justice
clc4gv justice
naclcbruce justice
Exercise #2
• @LCCLC find @NACLCBruce and subscribe to CLC Tweeps list
• @CLC4GV find @NACLCBruce and subscribe to CLC Tweeps list
• @NACLCBruce visit Lists/Member of and choose only ONE list to Subscribe to
Excercise #3
QuestionWhat should @naclcbruce do when @lcclc and @clc4gv subscribe to clc-tweeps?
AnswerTweet about it, egWant an up-to-date list of Australian CLCs on
Twitter? Subscribe to https://twitter.com/#!/NACLCBruce/clc-tweeps and I’ll keep you posted. Sweet! #auslaw
Exercise #4
• @LCCLC Find the Local Media Tweeps list and see how many members you can add from Search (Bendigo/People)
• @CLC4GV Find the Local Shepparton Tweeps list and see how many members you can add from Search (Shepparton/People)
• @NACLCBruce Find the Oz Human Rights Champions list and see how many members you can add from Search (Human Rights Australia/People)
3rd Party Applications (eg Hootsuite)
• manage multiple accounts from one place• shorten links• schedule posts and tweets• Analytics• Allow you to edit retweets
Using Social Media for Communication and Promotion
• Value (branding)• Events (CLE, launches etc)• New services (eg outreach)• Newsletters• Causes and campaigns• Fundraising • Employment and Volunteer opportunities
“In our 2010 survey of 271 Facebook users, 38 percent said they would definitely or probably look for a Facebook page for an organization with which they were considering volunteering. This climbs to 43 percent for respondents who said they use Facebook daily.”
The Nonprofit Social Media Decision GuideOctober 2011
What’s worked for us?
• MadMimi emails for CLE events (1 week prior)• Kooky newsletter titles• Video teasers (eg BYBD)• Media follow-up from tweets• Direct messages to media• Support from unexpected Facebook quarters• Facebook = behind the scenes, sneak preview,
lighthearted• Frequent blog posts = increased website traffic
What hasn’t worked for us?
• Spreading ourselves too thin• Crowdsourcing• Facebook?
Communications and Promotions groundwork
Get your website house in order
• CMS-based, easy to update, delegated responsibility
• Simple and logical structure• Unique URL if possible
Make a good first impression
• Consistent online channel designs• Quality avatar of your logo
Build a digital photo library
• People process info better with images• Recruit students or volunteers• Buy a decent digital SLR and skill up• Explore Creative Commons• Spend a penny, don’t use poor quality images• Lookout for photo or video opportunities• Prioritise fresh photos but access photo library
if necessary
Subscribe to online resources
• Web 3.0 is constantly evolving• You’re always playing catch-up• Subscribe to Beth’s blog, iTango, Heather
Mansfield etc• CLEWS Resources (NACLC website)
Principles to apply re communications and promotion
Prioritise story telling and the visual
• Social media thrives on stories• Don’t just broadcast information or ask people
for stuff, tell them your story and inspire them to act
• Hard pitches don’t work
Remember, it’s not all about YOU
• Don’t just broadcast what YOU are doing, share content that will interest those who follow you or who regard you as the expert in the field
• Tweeters who include links in their tweets are the most frequently retweeted
• Thank people for following, mentioning you
Calls to action
• Every post, tweet etc should prompt visitors to do something (eg to follow a link, bookmark a hashtag, share your post)
Knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone
• Ensure visitors can access your social media channels via your homepage
• Ensure your email signature links to your URL and social media channels
• Post to every channel you manage, on the proviso that...
The medium sets the tone
• Each channel requires a different tone of voice, length etc
• Facebook more personal than Twitter• Find out what works best for each channel you
manage and craft posts/tweets etc accordingly• Resist the temptation to link Facebook,
Twitter, blogs etc
Be fleet of foot (or better still, prepared)
• Social media never sleeps• Today’s blog post is tomorrow’s fish and chip
wrapper• Stretch your coverage as wide as possible• Share the load (eg multiple Facebook Admins)• Anticipate and schedule tweets, posts etc
(using hashtags)• Law Week Sash: VLF blog post
One hour later...
Have fun
• Keep the “Social” in Social Media• Social media rewards humour, creativity and
the visual• Don’t post a photo of a bunch of suits at your
project launch; show them a photo of your Principal Solicitor with his pants down
Track your progress
• A simple spreadsheet is fine• Pay attention to Facebook Insights to see what
works (ie what people respond to) and change course as you need to
• Subscribe to Google Analytics• Some 3rd Party applications provide analytics
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