community links: engaging communities through social media

www.community-links.org

Using Social Media

Richard McKeeverCommunications Manager

Community Links

www.community-links.org

Community Links

• Multipurpose Community Organisation• Based in east London• Broad range of projects with 16,000 people every year. • 30 years of experience working with local people to

support children, young people, adults and families.• Share lessons with government through policy work • Consultancy Supporting practitioners to achieve social

change.

www.community-links.org

Why Social Media

• Build and strengthen networks• No cost (or low cost)• Disintermediation• Immediate• Own channels • Develop resources• Expectations of others

www.community-links.org

Newham ViewsOlympic Summer Project

• Multiple voices• Differing opinions• Content aggregation from:

Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, YouTube.

www.community-links.org

Working with others

• With The Guardian - #AdviceLive. Embedded journalist live Tweeting real time stories of advice sessions. Content from three UK centres aggregated on Guardian Money website

www.community-links.org

Themed Blog Weeks

• Featured Blogging weeks – e.g. media perceptions of poverty – with guest bloggers.

www.community-links.org

Video Storytelling

• EY2010 European Year against Poverty and Social Exclusion

• Projects across the UK supported to tell their own story

• Film making competition six finalists won video camera equipment and supported to upload short film to YouTube

• Judges viewed online and public vote for the winner.

www.community-links.org

Platform: “It’s Not about the Bike”

Tools for communication are varied – but always remember

• Audience• Tone• Engagement and amplification• Authenticity

www.community-links.org

Conversation or Broadcast?

“For the last fifty years the two most important communications media in most people’s lives were the telephone and television: different media with different functions. It turns out that the difference between conversational tools and broadcast tools was arbitrary, but the difference between conversing and broadcasting is real.”

Clay Shirky “Here Comes Everybody” Penguin NewYork 2008

www.community-links.org

Brevity

Source: http://russelldavies.typepad.com/

www.community-links.org

Tips and Resources• NFP Tweetup

www.nfptweetup.org

• Media Trust Top Tipswww.mediatrust.org

• Learning Pool: Quick Start Guide for those in or around Governmentwww.learningpool.com

• Social by Social A practical guide to using new technologies to deliver social impact www.socialbysocial.com

www.community-links.org

Contact

Richard McKeeverCommunications ManagerCommunity Links105 Barking RoadLondon E16 4HQ

email: richard.mckeever@community-links.org web: www.community-links.orgblog: www.community-links.org/linksUKtwitter: @comm_links facebook: www.facebook.com/commlinks