WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA? It is the interaction where people exchange information in a virtual community or network.
How is this done? Blogging and social networking.
YouTube reaches more adults between 18-34 than any one cable network. Twitter’s fastest growing demographic is people between 55-64.
A quarter of all smartphone users between 18-44 don’t remember the last time they didn’t have their smartphone at their side......
Why is social media important to us as Rotary club presidents and your public image chairs?
1. Donor Outreach – It helps us steward, connect to, and cultivate donors.
2. It’s usually more interesting than an annual report.
3. It is so easy to share the stories and photos, which increases public awareness.
4. Social media values emotional stories.
5. It makes our organizations more transparent and accountable.
6. We can get instant feedback or instant silence and see what hits nerves.
STEPS TO MAKING CONNECTIONS HAPPEN:
1. Create a committee to brainstorm content, keep an eye out for stories, take photos, be online champions of your organization, and train and motivate others.
2. Plan – How will you define your success? Will it be new members, more people at your event, more likes on your posts?
3. Organize – Make a spreadsheet and see how many likes, followers, readers you have and see if they increase. You can sign up for Google Analytics to help you with that. If your club/district doesn’t have a URL, make one and try to be consistent. Save all your usernames and passwords so that you can pass them on to the people who come after you.
4. Make a policy. Who is in charge of the social media? What are the criteria for blocking someone from your page?
5. Pick and Choose where you want to be. Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? YouTube? SnapChat? Like other Rotary clubs and organizations affiliated with your local club and/or district.
6. Listen to what people on your site say.
7. RESPOND! Check your site once in the morning, once at lunch, and once at night.
8. Create the content that is awesome. Tweet about meetings, events, members, success stories, share important community news and Rotary news. Share Rotary International content on its social media pages. intersperse that with your own local content.
9. MAKE IT PRETTY – Like we talked about in the last newsletter, people like it when things are pretty. Use photos.news.. Share Rotary International content on your social media pages.
9. MAKE IT PRETTY – Like we talked about in the last newsletter, people like it when things are pretty.
10. See how you’re doing. Measure your results.
11. Celebrate when good things happen, like when you have 100 Twitter followers.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT FACEBOOK
Facebook is where people talk to friends and family and share things that happen. Facebook is also a place where people find out about local events. It’s about making a human connection. It’s also about fun.
HOW TO CAPITALIZE ON THAT
Share “behind the scenes” photos and video. Show your club having fun. Share stories that are successful. Ask questions to people on your page. Think Light. Think Easy. Think Fun. Try to include photos, videos, and links.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT TWITTER
You have to be quick. You can only use 140 characters at a time. It is the place of links. This isn’t the place to be personal. It’s the place to get people to retweet your stuff and to get your message out there as well as to drive people back to your site. Think – statistics, quotes, and links.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT YOUTUBE
This is the second largest search engine in the world. There’s even a program for nonprofits www.youtube.com/nonprofits It is all about the video. There’s a pretty decent guide to storytelling here www.startstorytelling.com