Fox Valley Humane Association Social Media Handbook | Last updated May 9th, 2013 1
Prepared by:
Kaitlynn Snyder
Tyler Kerns
Ben Popp
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Fox Valley Humane Association Social Media Handbook | Last updated May 9th, 2013 2
Contents
Social Media Plan................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 Situational Analysis ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Client Publics ...................................................................................................................................................... 5 Objectives ............................................................................................................................................................ 5 Monitoring and Evaluation Recommendations .................................................................................... 6
Social Media Manual ............................................................................................................................. 7 YouTube ............................................................................................................................................................... 7 Facebook .............................................................................................................................................................. 8 Twitter .................................................................................................................................................................. 9 LinkedIn ............................................................................................................................................................ 10
Social Media Policy Draft .................................................................................................................. 11
Recommendations .............................................................................................................................. 15 Google Alerts ................................................................................................................................................... 15 Google Tools .................................................................................................................................................... 15 Square Version of Logo ............................................................................................................................... 16 Dashboard ........................................................................................................................................................ 17 Role Models to Follow ................................................................................................................................. 17 Internships ....................................................................................................................................................... 18 Social Media Trends ..................................................................................................................................... 18
User Notes .............................................................................................................................................. 19
Fox Valley Humane Association Social Media Handbook | Last updated May 9th, 2013 3
Introduction
Social media has proven to be a cost-effective marketing channel for nonprofits. It provides a way for organizations to reach their publics for little to no cost. It's essential for an organization to have a strong online presence.
Each social media platform serves a different purpose, thus not every platform makes sense for every organization. It's important to understand the target audience the organization desires to reach before choosing which platforms to join because some platforms are more effective than others at targeting specific public.
This social media report is intended to guide Fox Valley Humane Association (FVHA) in its social media efforts. Throughout the report, you'll find an analysis of FVHA's current social presence and recommendations on how to improve FVHA's current accounts. Overall, we feel FVHA should focus most of its efforts on video and photo creation as well as improving the FVHA LinkedIn page. Additionally, the report contains specific objectives and recommendations of a monitoring tool to help measure the objectives.
Social Media Plan
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Situational Analysis
SWOT analysis of current social media use:
Strengths
Overall messages on social media platforms are strong Effective use of photos to create emotional connection Timely responses to engagement Social accounts are website are linked Fair use of Facebook applications such as Petfinder.com, Events, and Calendar
Weaknesses
Poor Facebook profile picture Weak presence on top social media platforms such as YouTube and LinkedIn Lack of integration of social accounts; link to Twitter account from Facebook page Twitter handle (fvhatweet) should be more descriptive
Opportunities
There are many other Facebook applications that would be beneficial to FVHA such as a How you can help app that lets fans donate right from the Facebook page. Use Facebook Insights to better understand fans engagement with the FVHA Facebook page. LinkedIn is a possible source to connect and find business partners, sponsors, and donors. Switch to a nonprofit YouTube account so FVHA can accept donations right through its YouTube channel.
Threats
Limited time and/or resources available for social media Not all content will appeal to all publics: potential adopters verse donors
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Client Publics
Potential Adopters
Potential adopters want to see the fun, happy, enthusiastic side of FVHA. Facebook and YouTube would be most effective for reaching potential adopters.
Volunteers and Foster Families
Its important to keep volunteers and foster families connected with FVHA. FVHA should use social media to create awareness and show people the benefits and value of volunteering with FVHA. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube would provide the most value to this audience.
Donors
Donors are important to all nonprofit organizations, and social media can be another communication channel to reach potential donors. LinkedIn and YouTube should be used to target potential donors.
Objectives
The overall goal is to enhance FVHAs web presence through the use of social media platforms. The following objectives are intended to help FVHA meet this goal.
1 Increase fan engagement (number of comments, likes and shares) on Facebook by October 2013. 2 Increase the number of Facebook Page likes and Twitter followers by 15% by October 2013. 3 Join Pinterest and Google+, and switch to the nonprofit YouTube account by the end of June 2013. 4 Collect $500 in donations through social media accounts by April 2014.
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Monitoring and Evaluation Recommendations
Increasing the time allocated to managing the FVHA's social media presence would be beneficial. We recommended spending 30 minutes per day on all social media efforts.
Social Mention is a good tool to monitor what others are saying about FVHA. Go to http://www.socialmention.com/ and type in Fox Valley Humane Association, or other phrases related to the organization. The results will provide insight into what the media is reporting about FVHA. Share the positive content to the respective social media outlets; some content may be received better than others on certain social media sites. Thus, its important to evaluate what publics will be most receptive of the content, and post it to the social platform where they are.
Use a service like Bit.ly or Owl.ly to track the popularity of links. Not only will these applications tell you how often your links are being clicked but will also shorten up your links.
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YouTube
Recommendations for Channel Improvement
Switch to a non-profit YouTube Channel. This immediately sets up a Donate Now button Create playlists. Organizing the FVHAs videos into related groups will make it easier for visitors of the channel to find the videos theyre interested in.
Recommendations for Video Content
Happily ever after videos. Share inspirational adoption stories. Foster care testimonials. Have those who have participated in the foster care program share their experience(s) with fostering animals. Many people are wary about fostering animals for many reasons so these videos will help to connect with and reassure those who are on the fence about foster care. Tour of Facility. This is your time to shine and show off the unique design of the inside of the Fox Valley Humane Association. Highlight the Fox Valley Humane Associations staff members. An example of a staff highlight video would be a video introducing Sarah Hartwell, Meet Sarah Hartwell, our Events and Marketing Assistant. How-to and tips/advice videos. This is a great opportunity to gain exposure by simply sharing knowledge the staff already has. Examples of videos include how to groom long-haired dogs appropriately and 5 tips for taking care of puppies. Video of events and speakers. Video encouraging volunteers
Social Media Manual
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Facebook
Recommendations for Page Improvements
Include links to all other social media accounts in the About Page. We recommend categorizing the titles of the photo albums based on animal type. For example, create an album titled Dog Adoptions and upload all new dog adoptions to that album and then include the date they were adopted within the photo description. Use Facebook Insights to get a better understanding of how fans are using your account, and what you can do to make the account more popular and successful. Create a photo album showcasing current adoptable pets. This will need to be updated regularly. Utilize Facebook apps: Causes - creates donation campaigns on the nonprofits Facebook. Visit the website to learn more: http://www.causes.com/about?ctm=home. Fundrazr similar to Causes, it can be used to create and manage campaigns or projects. FVHA could use this to raise money for a large event, new shelter, medical equipment, and more. Visit the website to learn more: https://fundrazr.com.
Recommendations for Content
Fill-in-the blank posts are a great way to get people talking. The posts can be as simple as "Fill in the blank: my pet of choice is ___________! or Fill in the blank: the quirkiest / most unique pet name Ive ever heard is __________. We suggest posting about community events such as the 5K runs/walks sponsored by other nonprofits in the community, upcoming fundraisers and more. This will help to build relationships with other organizations as well as community members. Share current news stories happening within the humane society industry and statistics of the number of animals in need of a home. This will help to show potential adopters that just one adoption can make a difference. The hope is that viewers will comment, repost and spread awareness to a larger audience. Include call-to-actions within the posts to encourage viewers to interact with the page. Here are two examples of ways to include a call-to-action: Post a picture of an animal that says Like if you think Im cute! Post about an upcoming event such as John Lambert will be at the Copper Rock in Appleton tomorrow morning from 9 11AM. Share this post to spread the word!
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Twitter
Recommendations for Page Improvements
We recommend changing the current Twitter handle, @fvhatweet, to a phrase thatd be more recognizable by followers such as @foxvalleyhumane. Tweet or retweet others such as the National Humane Society. This will help keep the FVHA twitter followers engaged and growing. Along with retweeting other non-profits, it is also good practice to retweet followers and to reply to followers as often as possible. This will provoke followers to retweet FVHA, thus giving FVHA the long tail reach it needs. Follow on a 1:1 ratio meaning follow as many people as they follow you. This can be beneficial for a number of reasons: Youre likely to get more followers if people see you follow in return. People liked to be followed. People will be more likely to mention or retweet you if they see that you also retweet and mention your followers. People will get an email telling them that youre following them, increasing your brand recognition. Tweet between four to six times per day. It is important to have the right number of tweets spread throughout the day to ensure that FVHA gets noticed. If applicable, use Twitter as a tool to build the FVHA e-newsletter list. For example, send a timed tweet every couple of weeks such as Sending out an e-newsletter tomorrow. If you want a copy, please subscribe!
Recommendations for Hashtags to Follow and Use
Hashtags are a great way to target a specific or trending topic as well as a specific public. For example, the hashtag, #grantwriting, can be used to grab the attention of potential donors. Use hashtags sparely. We recommend using one to two hashtags per tweet. The list below provides an idea of some of the current hashtags being used by nonprofits. - #nonprofit - #donate - #grantwriting - #MuttMonday - #FelineFriday - #sm4np (Social media for nonprofits) Fox Valley Humane Association Social Media Handbook | Last updated May 9th, 2013 10
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the social media of professionals. On here FVHA can recruit eager volunteers, post job positions and connect with potential donors and businesses.
Recommendations for Page Improvement
We recommend changing the public profile URL to something more easily searched such as linkedin.com/foxvalleyhumane. To do this go to Edit Profile>Edit Public Profile> Link the FVHA Facebook page with the LinkedIn profile. The FVHA LinkedIn profile currently has 23 followers compared to 3,450 Facebook fans. Promoting the FVHA LinkedIn account on Facebook is an easy way to attract Facebook fans to LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a good way to connect with potential donors. We suggest posting significant FVHA events and success stories. The posts can be similar to Facebook post but should be written in a voice that will connect with the professional LinkedIn audience. Commemorate FVHA sponsors when they contribute with a thank you post. The frequency of LinkedIn posts can be much lower than Twitter and Facebook. We recommend posting to LinkedIn one to two times a week.
Recommendations for LinkedIn Groups to Join
Joining groups on LinkedIn is a great way to show what your organization is about and to receive information from other organizations and people with interests similar to your organization. Groups also allow your organization to contribute in discussions about topics related to your organization, which improves your visibility to other potential publics.
The Humane Society of the U.S. ASPCA.com Pet Friendly, Animal Lovers World Society for the Protection of Animals - WSPA PETA
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This is an initial draft of a social media policy for FVHA. A social media policy is intended to outline the organizations guidelines and principles of communicating online for employees and volunteers. This is an initial draft as creating a social media policy is an ongoing process and can take a couple months to complete. Use the following as merely a guideline and mold it to fit with FVHA values and beliefs.
Fox Valley Humane Association Social Media Policy
This policy governs the publication of and commentary on social media by employees of Fox Valley Humane Association and its related companies ("Fox Valley Humane Association "). For the purposes of this policy, social media means any facility for online publication and commentary, including without limitation blogs, wiki's, social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube. This policy is in addition to and complements any existing or future policies regarding the use of technology, computers, e-mail and the internet. Fox Valley Humane Association employees are free to publish or comment via social media in accordance with this policy. Fox Valley Humane Association employees are subject to this policy to the extent they identify themselves as a Fox Valley Humane Association employee (other than as an incidental mention of place of employment in a personal blog on topics unrelated to Fox Valley Humane Association). Before engaging in work related social media, employees must obtain the permission of the Stephanie Wisnet or Sarah Hartwell. Publication and commentary on social media carries similar obligations to any other kind of publication or commentary. All uses of social media must follow the same ethical standards that Fox Valley Humane Association employees must otherwise follow.
Setting up Social Media
Social media identities, logon ID's and user names may not use Fox Valley Humane Associations name without prior approval from the Stephanie Wisnet or Sarah Hartwell. Social Media Policy Draft
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Don't Tell Secrets
It's perfectly acceptable to talk about your work and have a dialog with the community, but it's not okay to publish confidential information. Confidential information includes things such as unpublished details about our software, details of current projects, future product ship dates, financial information, research, and trade secrets. We must respect the wishes of our corporate customers regarding the confidentiality of current projects. We must also be mindful of the competitiveness of our industry.
Protect your own privacy
Privacy settings on social media platforms should be set to allow anyone to see profile information similar to what would be on the Fox Valley Humane Association website. Other privacy settings that might allow others to post information or see information that is personal should be set to limit access. Be mindful of posting information that you would not want the public to see.
Be Honest
Do not blog anonymously, using pseudonyms or false screen names. We believe in transparency and honesty. Use your real name, be clear who you are, and identify that you work for Fox Valley Humane Association. Nothing gains you notice in social media more than honesty - or dishonesty. Do not say anything that is dishonest, untrue, or misleading. If you have a vested interest in something you are discussing, point it out. But also be smart about protecting yourself and your privacy. What you publish will be around for a long time, so consider the content carefully and also be cautious about disclosing personal details.
Respect copyright laws
It is critical that you show proper respect for the laws governing copyright and fair use or fair dealing of copyrighted material owned by others; including Fox Valley Humane Association own copyrights and brands. You should never quote more than short excerpts of someone else's work, and always attribute such work to the original author/source. It is good general practice to link to others' work rather than reproduce it.
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Respect your audience, Fox Valley Humane Association, and your coworkers
The public in general, and Fox Valley Humane Associations employees and customers, reflect a diverse set of customs, values and points of view. Don't say anything contradictory or in conflict with the Fox Valley Humane Association website. Don't be afraid to be yourself, but do so respectfully. This includes not only the obvious (no ethnic slurs, offensive comments, defamatory comments, personal insults, obscenity, etc.) but also proper consideration of privacy and of topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory - such as politics and religion. Use your best judgment and be sure to make it clear that the views and opinions expressed are yours alone and do not represent the official views of Fox Valley Humane Association.
Protect Fox Valley Humane Association customers, business partners and suppliers
Customers, partners or suppliers should not be cited or obviously referenced without their approval. Never identify a customer, partner or supplier by name without permission and never discuss confidential details of a customer engagement. It is acceptable to discuss general details about kinds of projects and to use non-identifying pseudonyms for a customer (e.g., Customer 123) so long as the information provided does not violate any non-disclosure agreements that may be in place with the customer or make it easy for someone to identify the customer. Your blog is not the place to "conduct business" with a customer.
Controversial Issues
If you see misrepresentations made about Fox Valley Humane Association in the media, you may point that out. Always do so with respect and with the facts. If you speak about others, make sure what you say is factual and that it does not disparage that party. Avoid arguments. Brawls may earn traffic, but nobody wins in the end. Don't try to settle scores or goad competitors or others into inflammatory debates. Make sure what you are saying is factually correct.
Be the first to respond to your own mistakes
If you make an error, be up front about your mistake and correct it quickly. If you choose to modify an earlier post, make it clear that you have done so. If someone accuses you of posting something improper (such as their copyrighted material or a Fox Valley Humane Association Social Media Handbook | Last updated May 9th, 2013 14
defamatory comment about them), deal with it quickly - better to remove it immediately to lessen the possibility of a legal action.
Think About Consequences
For example, consider what might happen if a Fox Valley Humane Association employee is in a meeting with a customer or prospect, and someone on the customer's side pulls out a print-out of your blog and says "This person at Fox Valley Humane Association says that product sucks." Saying "Product X needs to have an easier learning curve for the first-time user" is fine; saying "Product X sucks" is risky, unsubtle and amateurish. Once again, it's all about judgment: using your blog to trash or embarrass Fox Valley Humane Association, our customers, or your co- workers, is dangerous and ill-advised.
Disclaimers
Many social media users include a prominent disclaimer saying who they work for, but that they're not speaking officially. This is good practice and is encouraged, but don't count on it to avoid trouble - it may not have much legal effect.
Social Media Tips
The following tips are not mandatory, but will contribute to successful use of social media.
The best way to be interesting, stay out of trouble, and have fun is to write about what you know. There is a good chance of being embarrassed by a real expert, or of being boring if you write about topics you are not knowledgeable about.
Quality matters. Use a spell-checker. If you're not design-oriented, ask someone who is whether your blog looks decent, and take their advice on how to improve it.
The speed of being able to publish your thoughts is both a great feature and a great downfall of social media. The time to edit or reflect must be self-imposed. If in doubt over a post, or if something does not feel right, either let it sit and look at it again before publishing it, or ask someone else to look at it first.
Enforcement
Policy violations will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination for cause. Fox Valley Humane Association Social Media Handbook | Last updated May 9th, 2013 15
Google Alerts
Google Alerts is a tool that allows organizations to see what is being said about them. The FVHA should make a list of keywords that people would likely use to search for them. Google Analytics provides a list of keywords that people use to find your website. Once the Humane Association has selected keywords to search for, Google Alerts will send out emails about what people are saying in relation to the keywords chosen. Possible examples of keywords could be The Fox Valley Humane Association or Animal Adoptions in the Fox Valley.
Google Tools
Google offers many free tools that allow organizations to monitor their web presence. We recommend that the FVHA take advantage of Google Calendar and Google Analytics in particular to monitor their customer base.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is another free tool that is offered by Google that provides organizations with information about who their customers are, where they are from, what words they are using to get to your organizations site, and other demographic information. We recognized that your site is currently already using Google Analytics, so we recommend that you continue to use and monitor it. When using your Google Analytics it is sometimes helpful to look at the information with specific questions in mind.
1. Where are people coming from to get to our site? 2. How many people are visiting our site? 3. How are they getting to our site? 4. How long does the average person spend on our website? 5. How many pages on our site does the average person view? 6. What information do people spend the most time on? 7. What keywords are people using to find our site?
Recommendations
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Google Calendar
Google Calendar is another free and helpful tool that could be beneficial to the FVHA. It could be used to create schedules for volunteers that can be easily shared via email. Calendars can also be made for events that the FVHA is having that can also be shared with donors, newsletter subscribers, or other supporters. This could lead to an increase in awareness of the events held at the FVHA and improve attendance.
Square Version of Logo
The FVHAs current logo is great but may need some text. In order to maintain logo unity among all social media channels the logo (picture file) must be square. This will help keep the thumbnail picture on each social media page the same.
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Dashboard
The best option for a dashboard is Hootsuite. Hootsuite is overall the easiest to use and most available (its free). It will allow you to track your Facebook and Twitter in one dashboard and you will also be able to see trending topics and get access to statistics about your brand on social media in real time. Hootsuite can also be used to schedule tweets and Facebook posts so can spread out your posts throughout the day. It has also won social media tool awards and constantly gets updated to maximize understanding ROI.
Role Models to Follow
Below are examples of similar organizations for FVHA to look to for content ideas and how to effectively manage social media.
The Humane Society of the United States is the largest animal advocacy organization in the world. It posts meaningful content to its twitter and Facebook pages regularly and can be looked to for good content examples. The HSUS website includes a donation area, call to action, e-newsletter, and a blog. The HSUS YouTube page is a very good example of how to make a good YouTube account. It is a non-profit YouTube account so it has a donation button and it regularly posts new content.
The Wisconsin Humane Society is also another organization similar to the FVHA that could provide content ideas and examples of how to use social media effectively. WiscHumane post regularly to their Facebook and Twitter accounts as well. On Facebook WiscHumane has a photo album for each event and its Twitter account is very personable, with their mediator Allie posting photos and responding to followers often. The Wisconsin Humane Society also has a very active YouTube account that has been appropriately made into a non-profit account with a donate button on the page. Fox Valley Humane Association Social Media Handbook | Last updated May 9th, 2013 18
Internships
As a nonprofit organization that relies on emotional connections, video and photography are the most effective ways to reach your publics. We suggest reaching out to nearby universities to hire a student intern who specializes in the video/photography field. Internships are an important stepping stone to a students career path, thus they are eager to lend a helping hand while gaining personal experience.
UW Oshkosh Radio, TV, Film department has a professional internship program. Here is a link to connect and request for an intern: http://www.uwosh.edu/rtf/rtf- internship-provider-information UW Oshkosh Journalism department has a wide variety of emphasizes in public relations, advertising as well as writing/editing. For more information, contact Barb Benish, the Journalism Internship Coordinator and Instructor, at benish@uwosh.edu. Lawrence University has an art program in which John Shimon and Julie Lindemann are dual professors teaching photography, new media and film. You may contact them at shimon-lindemann@lawrence.edu for more information regarding their internship policies.
Social Media Trends
As the world of social media changes constantly, its important to make an effort to stay on top of the trends related to FVHA. Mashable is a well-known and highly praised social media news website. We recommend viewing and researching the new trends, tips and social media ideas posted daily by Mashable.
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Use this page to keep track of current login information for FVHA social media accounts.
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We would like to thank Stephanie and Sarah for giving us the opportunity to work with the Fox Valley Humane Association. We appreciate the time you spent communicating with us, and are grateful to have been able to work with such an honorable organization. If you have any questions regarding the content in this report, or would like to continue working with one of use, please feel free to contact us using the emails provided below. Thank you again for your time and commitment. Weve truly enjoyed working with the FVHA!
Thank you,
Kaitlynn Snyder, Tyler Kerns, and Ben Popp
Kaitlynn Snyder Snydek71@gmail.com
Tyler Kerns kernst81@uwosh.edu
Ben Popp poppb17@uwosh.edu
Summary
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