Social
media is about more than marketing and branding — it’s quickly becoming
an essential part of customer outreach for brands. In addition to using
social platforms to monitor conversations about their industry,
competitors, and products, companies are increasingly reaching out to to
their customers via the social Web to communicate messages about what
they have to offer. In fact, social media is transforming the way
organizations communicate — the many social tools that are available
today are very cost-effective compared to traditional approaches such as
email and online advertising. Blog posts and tweets enable businesses
to create communities, offer immediate feedback or assistance, and
promote their products and services.
A
surprising number of companies of all sizes have yet to use social
media as a communication tool. Socialcast has compiled an interesting
infographic that visualizes data from many sources, including
eMarketer, the Center for Marketing at the University of Massachusetts
Dartmouth, and Nielsen, about how Fortune 500 companies use social
media. The majority of companies studied found social platforms such as
blogging, social networking, and online video to be successful. (In
March of last year, I shared some data about about how Fortune 100
companies were using social media at the time.)
Communicating through Digital and Social Media
Today,
everyone from teenagers to seniors are using digital media to
communicate about the issues that are important to them. Social media,
in particular, can be a creative way to tell your story to a targeted
audience.
Digital
media, however, does not work in a vacuum. For it to be effective, it
should be integrated into a larger communications plan.
Social Media Tools
Blogs
Blogs
are a perfect place to tell your story – they do well in search results
and can drive media attention. If your organization already has one,
incorporate it into your plans. Write about projects, new ideas, and
volunteers making a difference and use it to recruit new volunteers or
keep your current network up-to-date and inspired.
Keep
it simple and don't be afraid to try new things. A post could be
anything from a single photo to a how-to guide, to a top-ten list, to a
behind-the-scenes look at the planning process. Get creative!
The
best person to write an organization's blog is the person who is most
excited to write it. Find someone that loves to write, is excited about
blogging.
Post
often and consistently. There are all kinds of theories about how often
to post on your blog. The most important thing is to be consistent. You
don't have to write once a day, but once a week is good. The rule of
"quality not quantity" is important to remember. This will also keep
your volunteers excited and revved up for the big day in January.
Listen,
respond, and engage with those who leave comments. Blog comments are
the ideal response tool. They provide a mechanism for you to receive
responses from the public, while allowing for a larger audience to see
your response.
Facebook
A
Facebook page can help volunteers become more deeply connected to your
mission. They can add themselves as fans, write on your wall, upload
photos, and join other fans in discussion groups.
You
can send updates to your fans regularly, which allows you to stay
connected with volunteers throughout the year and keep them informed
about other opportunities to serve with your organization.
Twitter
Twitter
is a microblogging network that allows you to make a post of 140
characters of text or less. It asks you to answer the question "What are
you doing?" However, it can be used for a variety of other mini-posts
including links to websites. Twitter also has its own terminology:
The quick posts are known as "tweets"
When people post messages, they are "tweeting"
When someone subscribes to your posts, they are "following you" and becomes one of your "followers"
Twitter can also be used via mobile devices and can provide an instantaneous connection to volunteers.
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