Communication Audit:

Genesis Home

Melody Goforth, Allison Orman, Meredith Richards and Jillian Ferraro

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

School of Media and Journalism

December 1, 2015

2

Table of Contents

Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………3

Introduction………………….………………………………………………………………6

Statement of Need/Problem………………………………………………………….7

Methodology………………………………………………………………………………...8

Observation………………………………………………………………………….8

Content Analysis…………………………………………………………………….8

Survey……………………………………………………………………………….9

Interviews…………………………………………………………………………...9

Audit Diary………………………………………………………………………………….10

Results of the Audit Process………………………………………………………………...12

Content Analysis……………………………………………………………………..12

Survey……………………………………………………………………………….17

Interviews…………………………………………………………………………...20

Conclusions and Recommendations………………………………………………………...21

SWOT Analysis……………………………………………………………………..21

Recommendations…………………………………………………………………..25

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..27

Appendix A: List of Content Sources……………………………………………………….29

Appendix B: Codebook and Code Sheet………………………………………………….....30

Appendix C: Results from Qualtrics Survey………………………………………………...31

Appendix D: Interview Responses…………………………………………………………..32

Appendix E: S.W.O.T. Analysis Chart……………………………………………………...33

3

Communication Audit:

Genesis Home

Executive Summary

Genesis Home is a nonprofit located in Durham, North Carolina, whose mission is

focused on raising awareness about the prevalence of homelessness. The organization desires to

spread its message to as many people as possible which emphasizes the need for a solid and

effective public relations plan in both external and internal communication. The findings

presented in this audit indicate the effectiveness of the client’s current communication strategies

and techniques in both external and internal communication. After conducting necessary

changes, Genesis Home will have a strong and developed communication strategy that will allow

the organization to even more effectively fulfill its mission statement.

The start of the research process included observation of the client’s website and a

content analysis of its social media presence. This provided the group with information on areas

such as the client’s message quality, delivery and audience communication that created a starting

point for delving into further research. The organization has a strong mission statement as well as

an effective and user-friendly website. The website contains a number of great photos that

engage and educate visitors, and the tabs are well organized for easy accessibility. This is

important for those looking to volunteer, donate or learn more about the client’s services.

However, replacing some of the broken links found on the website would be a necessary and

positive change for the website.

The purpose of the content analysis was to gain an initial understanding of the client’s

current external communication efforts in terms of its level of engagement with its target

audiences on Facebook and Twitter. This was done through comparing the client’s current social

4

media presence with similar nonprofit organizations in the Durham area to see which posting

strategies and topics appear to be most effective. Genesis Home’s mere 30 posts over the past six

months indicated that the client should post more frequently; however, this only provided a

starting point, as it was also important to know what types of posts would be more attractive to

the target audiences. The client’s post topics on Facebook were fairly balanced, with 43% of the

posts being related to the community, 23% about increasing donations, 33% focused on

volunteers, 17% discussing news articles and 30% on human interest stories. While this balance

can be argued to present a strength in the client’s use of social media, the lack of a solid posting

schedule hinders the overall effectiveness of the content posted. In addition, when compared to

the Urban Ministries of Durham Facebook page, the client’s format of posts contained less

variety than that of Urban Ministries, especially in terms of including photos in its posts. This

suggests that the client should incorporate more forms of multimedia such as photos and videos

in order to provide more visuals for its audiences. These results also applied to the client’s use of

Twitter, as Genesis Home is inconsistent in its posting on this platform and does not include any

photos or videos in its tweets. However, 43% of Urban Ministries’ tweets contained a photo.

Through conducting a survey of Genesis Home staff and volunteers, the group was able

to collect accurate and relevant information related to the client’s external and internal

communication. The survey analyzed respondents’ thoughts on how the client can improve its

external communication, with a particular focus on their social media habits. In terms of internal

communication, the results indicated that staff and volunteers were able to accurately

communicate the client’s message to their peers. This presented the idea that the client contains a

strong internal structure, as respondents overwhelmingly believed that “Genesis Home has a

5

well-organized internal structure for its employees and volunteers” that ensures that volunteers

and staff are educated and aware of the client’s mission statement and purpose.

Although the survey did not primarily focus on internal communication, this is further

explored in the interviews with volunteers. The respondents’ opinions on the client’s external

communication were first addressed by asking respondents to indicate their level of agreement

with the statement “Genesis Home has strong external communication skills in making their

goals and purpose of the organization known to the public.” The mean average of 3.72 for this

statement presents the idea that most respondents did not fully agree with this statement. The

results of the respondents’ social media habits revealed that Facebook should be the client’s

primary digital communication channel while also suggesting that traditional communication

such as email subscriptions should be utilized as well. The results also identified posts about

personal stories and spotlights to be of greater interest to the respondents.

In further observing the client’s current internal communications strategies, it was

important to utilize information collected from volunteer interviews. Although these volunteers

indicated that they were initially pleased with the informal ease of Genesis Home’s internal

communication, there is room for improvement in relation to strengthening relationships with

volunteers through inviting them to various client events. This was revealed when interview

participants indicated that they have not had the opportunity to attend an event at Genesis Home,

which could partly be due to a lack of informing volunteers about these events. With this in

mind, the issue can be resolved through the creation of a structured calendar of events that will

present volunteers with more opportunities to stay connected outside of their weekly volunteer

hours.

6

Introduction

Genesis Home is an organization that works to end homelessness for families with

children by providing housing and supportive services to foster independence. Keeping families

together has always existed as the primary goal of the organization, as it envisions a community

without homelessness in which everyone lives in safe and sustainable communities while also

showing compassion to neighbors in need. Genesis Home is located in downtown Durham,

North Carolina, where it offers temporary shelter for families as well as various services that

provide resources and enrichment for parents and their children staying on-site. Apart from its

unique function as a homeless shelter for families with children, Genesis Home’s case

management and enrichment programs set it apart from other organizations. The case

management program at Genesis Home allows residents to work with a case manager who assists

them with financial planning and setting successful goals for the future. The organization also

seeks to provide residents’ children with various programs and activities—some of which

include after school tutoring and raising money to send children to summer camp.

In providing its various programs to residents, Genesis Home heavily relies on the work

of volunteers who assist in hosting birthday parties, family nights and other resident activities.

However, the organization also consists of a well-established Board of Directors and staff. Key

figures in the organization include Executive Director Ryan Fehrman, Director of Development

Robin Temple and Volunteer and Circles of Support Coordinator Tasha Melvin.

Although Genesis Home’s mission is unique to the community in that it serves homeless

families, there are other organizations that exist within the Durham area that serve the homeless

population as well. Some of these local organizations include Urban Ministries of Durham,

Durham Rescue Mission, Durham Affordable Housing Coalition and Durham Housing

7

Authority. This presents Genesis Home with the challenge of presenting material that will help it

stand out among other organizations.

Genesis Home has recently announced its plans to merge with Durham Interfaith

Hospitality Network in the creation of a new organization and is working on various rebranding

efforts in preparation for this change. While Genesis Home’s website is one of its current

communication strengths, its weaker social media presence presents the idea that the client could

further improve its communication channels to reach its target audiences and increase overall

engagement.

Statement of Need/Problem. Genesis Home’s primary public relations need is to

increase awareness of the organization among its target audiences. The primary audience the

client is trying to reach are donors while also trying to attract and retain new donors. This

directly coincides with one of the client’s long term goals to increase engagement and develop a

special events plan that will attract this audience and others. In addition, the client also wants to

increase awareness among the Durham community. These external areas of need will be

discussed throughout the communication audit.

One area in which the client wants to improve its external communication is its various

social media platforms. Genesis Home has two accounts on social media—Facebook and

Twitter—where its frequency of posting is primarily inconsistent. On Facebook, the client posts

as little as once a week while on occasion posting up to five times in a given week. In addition,

the frequency of posting original content on Twitter ranges from once a month to five times a

month. The inconsistency of these posts indicates that the client does not have a fully developed

social media strategy and posting schedule. Rather, the amount and frequency of these posts is

8

primarily sporadic and follows no type of pattern. With this in mind, the audit will further

analyze both the frequency of posts and their content while providing suggestions for the client.

The client’s upcoming merger with Durham Interfaith Hospitality Network presents an

additional public relations issue, as the combining of these organizations will require a joint

approach to not only external communication but internal communication as well. With this in

mind, it is also important to also focus on Genesis Home’s current level of internal

communication. This can be analyzed through conducting surveys and interviews among staff

and volunteers to examine their impressions of the client’s communication efforts as well as their

thoughts on its effectiveness. This will allow the client to identify the current internal

communication strategies that are working and those that may need to be changed.

Methodology

This section presents the methods used to conduct the communication audit. The initial

research conducted for the client included a general observation of its website. In our research,

we also incorporated various research instruments that pertain to content, quantitative and

qualitative analyses.

Observation

In order to become more familiar with the client’s online presence, the group first

observed the content available on the Genesis Home website. These observation efforts included

taking into account the design of the homepage, amount of relevant and updated content and the

presence of any creative or attractive material such as visual imagery. The results from these

observations will be reflected in the S.W.O.T. Analysis.

Content Analysis

9

Genesis Home’s overall public relations need to increase engagement emphasized the

importance of including a content analysis of its social media in our research. The content

analyzed was sampled from the last six months of social media posts on Facebook and Twitter

from March 28, 2015, to August 28, 2015. The time frame of this sample was chosen in order to

present the client with accurate information on its current social media presence and engagement

with its target audiences. In addition to taking posts from Genesis Home’s Facebook and Twitter

accounts, content from Durham Interfaith Hospitality Network and Urban Ministries of Durham

were also analyzed (See Appendix A for list of content sources). To conduct this analysis, the

group created a codebook defining the categories and variables to be analyzed. A code sheet was

also developed in order to record and calculate results (See Appendix B for codebook and code

sheet).

Survey

For quantitative analysis, the group conducted a survey that was distributed internally to

Genesis Home staff and volunteers on October 9, 2015. The use of a survey for research will

allow for the collection of more accurate and relevant information concerning employees’

thoughts on the client’s current communication efforts and suggestions on how they can be

improved. The questionnaire was created through the use of Qualtrics software before being sent

to Tasha Melvin who then sent the link to the target audience. In regards to the sampling frame,

the group particularly used purposive sampling in the distribution of the survey in order to target

qualified respondents based on their identification as staff or volunteers at Genesis Home and

allow them to participate voluntarily. The collection of surveys lasted approximately two weeks

and resulted in a total sample size of 40 respondents (See Appendix C for survey results).

Interviews

10

Two email interviews were conducted with current Genesis Home volunteers to gain

additional opinions of Genesis Home’s current public relations and engagement efforts. These

email interviews were coordinated through Tasha Melvin. A list of eight questions was created

and sent to Tasha to distribute to the volunteers. The eight original questions were asked as

follows:

How did you initially hear about Genesis Home and how did you get involved? How often do you volunteer at Genesis Home? Have you attended any Genesis Home events? How often do you talk about Genesis Home with your friends and family?

Are you/have you been involved in any other nonprofits and how do they compare to Genesis Home? How does Genesis Home communicate with you? Do you feel that it is easy to stay connected and informed about Genesis Home? Do you have any ideas/suggestions that you think would improve the communication of Genesis Home?

Respondents were encouraged to answer the questions at whatever length they felt

sufficed. The responses collected through the volunteer interviews allow the group to receive

deeper insight into Genesis Home’s current communication efforts with volunteers that were not

expressed in the results of the survey. For a complete list of questions and answers, see Appendix

D.

Audit Diary

To begin the audit process, Allison Orman visited Genesis Home for an initial

consultation on September 1, 2015. During this consultation, Allison met with Director of

Development Robin Temple in order to gain a better understanding of Genesis Home and its

expectations. During this meeting, the group member was also able to meet Executive Director

Ryan Fehrman.

On September 11, 2015, Melody Goforth and Allison Orman visited Genesis Home in

order to complete the volunteer orientation and also meet with Robin Temple and Tasha Melvin.

11

Melody and Allison were able to collect more specific and personal information about the work

of Genesis Home and the plans for the merger.

On September 16, 2015, Meredith Richards visited Genesis Home to complete her

volunteer orientation. Meredith was also able to ask specific questions pertaining to the client’s

current communication strategy as well as meet the staff.

On September 24, 2015, Jillian Ferraro visited Genesis Home in order to complete her

volunteer orientation.

Each member has individually researched and analyzed the Genesis Home website,

Twitter account and Facebook page. The group has also coded the content on these sites in order

to better understand the information that each contains and how it effects engagement.

Allison Orman sent interview questions to Volunteer Coordinator Tasha Melvin on

October 2, 2015. The detailed volunteer responses from the interview can be found in Appendix

D. These questions were then distributed to two Genesis Home volunteers through email in order

to gain their responses.

Melody Goforth and Meredith Richards created a Qualtrics survey on October 6, 2015,

and an email with a link to the survey was emailed to Robin for distribution among staff and

volunteers.

Throughout the audit process, the group maintained weekly communication with Director

of Development Robin Temple through e-mail correspondence. In these emails, the group

updated Robin on the progress of each research method as the audit was being conducted. The

first draft of the audit was sent to Robin on September 24, 2015. A final copy of the audit was

sent to Robin on December 1, 2015.

12

Results of the Audit Process

This section includes the results from the audit process and the research instruments used

to develop a thorough analysis of Genesis Home and its current external and internal

communication strategies. A content analysis and survey were conducted to observe the client’s

level of external communication while results from interviews with volunteers will be used to

discuss the client’s internal communication efforts.

Content Analysis

By researching and comparing Facebook and Twitter accounts for Urban Ministries and

Durham Interfaith Hospitality Network with the client’s social media presence, we were able to

gauge Genesis Home’s position in the marketplace and highlight areas where it can improve its

social media content. Although these other organizations are not necessarily competitors, it is

important to understand how Genesis Home compares to other nonprofit organizations in the

Durham area that work to prevent homelessness. All three organizations have similar mission

statements and we predicted that their approaches to social media would be more or less the

same. Our findings were consistent with that prediction. Genesis Home has 718 followers on

Facebook and 426 Twitter followers. Comparatively, Durham Interfaith Hospitality Network has

338 Facebook Followers and no Twitter account. Urban Ministries has a slightly more popular

following, with 2,070 followers on Facebook and 1,234 Twitter followers. While Genesis Home

and Urban Ministries both have a somewhat substantial social media following, there is much

more room to develop and improve the client’s social media presence.

Analyzing the Facebook content developed by these organizations helps measure the

differences in their social media engagement. Genesis Home posted 30 times over the past six

months, averaging 0.1667 posts per day. On average, these posts received 1 like, 0.4 comments

13

and 0.4 shares. At first glance, these statistics imply that the client’s lack of consistent posts

results in a lack of engagement as represented by “likes,” “comments,” and “shares” on

Facebook. In addition, analyzing the content of the posts in terms of their format gives an

indication of what areas the client is focusing on most on social media. Looking at the content of

the posts, 87% of these posts contained information about the organization, 30% contained a

photo and 17% were posts about upcoming events. Additionally, 50% of the posts contained a

link to an external site, such as the Genesis Home homepage, or an outside news article. Note

that many of these posts fell into more than one category for content. Genesis Home utilized

multiple forms of media in their Facebook posts well. Looking at the topics of the posts, 43% of

the posts were related to the community, 23% were targeted towards increasing donations, 33%

focused on volunteers, 17% discussed other news articles and 30% were human interest stories.

Because Genesis Home will be merging with Durham Interfaith Hospitality Network in

January, it is critical that we understand its social media presence as well. Its Facebook following

was significantly smaller than Genesis Home’s, but DIHN had much more engagement with its

followers. Over the course of six months, Durham Interfaith Hospitality Network also posted 30

times, averaging at 0.1667 posts a day. It averaged 8 likes per post and an average of about 0.4

shares and comments on each one. The tonality of all of the responses from users was positive.

In terms of content, 60% of the posts included info about the organization. 53% of the posts also

contained a photo, but only 7% pertained to upcoming events. 23% contained links to external

sites, which is significantly lower than Genesis Home. There was also a lesser variety of post

topics, with 20% being about the community, 6% about donations, 33% relating to volunteers,

3% linking to outside articles, and 27% being human interest stories. Overall, Durham Interfaith

14

Hospitality Network utilized photos and highlighted success stories on their page well, but failed

to integrate different media platforms to the same extent that Genesis Home did.

In comparison, the Urban Ministries of Durham Facebook page has the largest following

with 2,070 followers. It is similar to Genesis Home and Durham Interfaith Hospitality Network

in relation to its consistency of posting because it only posted 29 times in the past six months,

averaging around 0.1611 posts. Genesis Home and Urban Ministries had very similar results.

Urban Ministries’ posts, on average, received only 1 like, 0.44 comments and 0.69 shares. Of all

of the responses, 92% were deemed positive, while 8% had a neutral tonality. Of the posts, 86%

contained information, 47% included a photo, 7% had a video, 14% pertained to an event, and

66% also included a link to an external site. While Urban Ministries did not promote many of its

upcoming events, it did well in utilizing photos and external articles to grab users’ attention on

the page. In terms of post topic, 55% of the posts dealt with community issues, 31% targeted

donors, 14% related to volunteers, 31% discussed outside articles, and 31% involved human

interest stories.

Although Genesis Home does not differ from organizations such as Durham Interfaith

Hospitality Network and Urban Ministries in its Facebook usage, there is marked room for

improvement. If Genesis Home were to increase its average amount of posts per month, it would

gain a much needed advantage over other similar nonprofits who do not utilize social media as

frequently. In addition, Durham Interfaith Hospitality Network gained attention on its page by

using photos and graphics that attract users’ attention. These photos were typically about the

people that they have helped and success stories from around the community. Human interest

and success stories are important to highlight, because it shows donors exactly how their

donations are benefitting the organization and the community. These types of posts are also more

15

likely to be shared on Facebook. Genesis Home should also focus on incorporating many

different types of media as well as partnering with and tagging other organizations in their posts.

The Facebook algorithm is such that posts with more media or tagged pages receive more

attention, and remain at the top of users’ timelines. By doing this, Genesis Home could position

their page so that users regularly see their Facebook posts or even appear in the trending topics

of conversation.

In addition to analyzing Facebook content, it is important to look at Twitter as well to

understand Genesis Home’s social media presence. Genesis Home has a total of 426 followers

on Twitter while Urban Ministries has 1,235. Durham Interfaith Hospitality Network does not

have a Twitter, which is an important consideration in the upcoming merger. There were a total

of 11 tweets over the past six months. Genesis Home averaged 1.4545 retweets per tweet and

0.5454 favorites. The majority of the tweets were sent between 12 p.m. and 4:59 p.m. Only one

was posted after 8 p.m. and two were posted before 12 p.m. This means that 73% of the tweets

were posted in the afternoon. It’s important to pinpoint the time of day that users are using

Twitter the most and make sure that Genesis Home is posting at times when the site is the most

active. Typically, this after 5 p.m. when people return home from work. Therefore, although

Genesis Home is doing well with posting in the late afternoon, it would be wise for them to

consider tweeting more frequently, and more consistently during the evening hours. Of the

tweets, 91% contained info about the organization and 50% also contained a link to a website.

Genesis Home did not utilize any photos, videos or events for its tweets, which is an immediate

area that can be improved.

Urban Ministries is a prominent organization, so we decided to analyze the local

chapter’s Twitter account that focuses on the Wake County area. The account has a stronger

16

following than Genesis Home but only tweeted a total of 7 times over the past six months. That

is basically one tweet per month, which is extremely low. In order for users to be interested in

the organization, it is important for nonprofits such as Genesis Home or Urban Ministries to

tweet more frequently. Urban Ministries was retweeted on average 0.714 times and favorited by

users 0.4286 times. The tweets varied in the times of day that they were posted. 29% were posted

in the morning (12 a.m. - 11:59 a.m.), 57% were posted before 5 p.m., and only one was posted

after 5 p.m. In terms of content, 100% of the tweets contained text and info about the

organization and 43% also contained a photo. Even further, 71% of the tweets included a link as

well. Unlike Genesis Home, Urban Ministries did a much better job at using mixed media in

their tweets, despite the low number of total posts.

Looking at Genesis Home and Urban Ministries’ Twitter accounts, there are significant

areas for improvement. Neither organization utilized hashtags at all. Genesis Home could

consider developing their own hashtags, or capitalizing on popular ones, in order to increase its

notability. As previously stated, increasing tweet frequency and tweeting more in the evening

could also increase users’ awareness of Genesis Home. The client should incorporate more

varied media platforms, such as sharing photos, videos, vines, other articles and events from the

organization or in the community in order to establish rapport with those in the Durham area.

Furthermore, Genesis Home should consider the possibility of initiating Twitter campaigns that

highlight awareness for homelessness, build on other organizations’ current campaigns and

provide info about the successes of its own organization. Through the establishment of a solid

social media marketing plan, the client can fine tune the areas in which its social media presence

needs work and work to present attractive content that keeps followers up-to-date on the

happenings of the organization while also attracting new followers.

17

Survey

Demographics of the Sample. The survey had a total of 40 participants; however, out of

the 40 participants, 38 completed the survey. Of the 25 respondents who stated their gender, 84%

of them said they were female (N=21) and 16% (N=4) said they were male. The average age of

the 22 respondents who entered in their age was 47, but there was a relatively wide range of ages

represented in the sample, with 20 being the youngest and 83 representing the oldest respondent.

Twenty-five respondents stated their area of occupation. Fifty-two percent of respondents

(N=13) put “other” while 20 percent (N=5) said they were in business related careers and 16

percent (N=4) said they were involved in social work. This shows that the demographics of those

who work for Genesis Home or have donated come from a wide variety of career paths— not

just social work. Finally, of the 25 respondents who said how far away they lived from Genesis

Home, 40 percent (N=10) live 15-20 minutes away, 32 percent (N=8) live 25-45 minutes away,

and 24 percent (N=6) live 5-10 minutes away. By analyzing this data, we found that the average

respondent to the survey was a 47-year-old female who is a local and most likely lives in the

Durham/Chapel Hill area. It is important to note that, although this is our average respondent,

respondents to our survey do vary in each of these categories.

Survey Results. In understanding Genesis Home’s level of external communication, the

group found that it was important to understand its communication with volunteers and donors.

Through this method, the group was also able to gain some information on the client’s internal

communication. This communication was analyzed through a survey that revealed what

information volunteers and donors were sharing about the client to their peers. However, the

survey primarily focuses on staff and volunteer opinions of the client’s effectiveness in the area

of external communication, particularly with social media.

18

Word-of-mouth is a crucial way for nonprofits to gain notoriety, and we asked

respondents if in the past six months, they had told anyone about Genesis Home. Seventy-seven

percent said "yes" and only 23% said "no." Those who did share information about Genesis

Home mostly said that they shared Genesis Home's mission and news of the merger with family

and friends. This presented the initial idea that the respondents’ ability to accurately

communicate the client’s message to others indicated a strong internal structure. This is further

supported by survey questions that asked respondents about their current perceptions of Genesis

Home's communication efforts. When asked their level of agreement with specific statements,

respondents overwhelmingly believed that "Genesis Home has a well-organized internal

structure for its employees and volunteers." However, upon asking about the client’s external

communication, the survey yielded different results.

On a scale of one to five, with five being "Strongly Agree," there was a mean average of

3.72 for the statement "Genesis Home has strong external communication skills in making their

goals and purpose of the organization known to the public." This means that there was more

discrepancy in the responses to the question and that more respondents did not agree with this

statement. In response to the statement "Genesis Home's full list of services is well known in the

community,” the mean average was 2.84, showing that respondents mostly disagreed or had

neutral feelings about this statement. Overall, many seemed to feel that Genesis Home does an

average job of communicating its goals and information to the public but that it was not quite as

well known in the community. In addition, this revealed that while volunteers and donors

consider the client to have a strength in internal communication, there is room for improvement

in terms of external communication.

19

The next goal was to understand respondents' social media habits and which

communication channels they prefer to receive information. Through analyzing results related to

social media, the group was able to analyze internal perceptions of the client’s current level of

external communication in relation to social media. Additionally, the findings indicated which

communication channels would be most relevant in attracting the client’s target audiences. 15

out of 21 respondents said they used Facebook the most, with Twitter being second (N=2).

Snapchat was used the least by all of the respondents (N=11). However, 40% of the respondents

(N=10) never use social media to learn more about nonprofit organizations and 36% (N=9) only

use it 1-2 times a month to do so. A majority of respondents (92%, N=23) also preferred for

Genesis Home to communicate with them primarily through email. This shows that Genesis

Home should be using its Facebook page as its primary digital communication channel while

also indicating that other forms of communication, such as email and traditional media, should

be utilized as well. In terms of traditional communication, 64% (N=16) of respondents said that

they use newspapers to hear about organizations in the community; 64% (N=16) said they also

use email subscriptions and 52% (N=13) said that they use television. Mailed subscriptions and

fliers also had high ratings as well. Therefore, for Genesis Home's target audience, traditional

media channels are still considered an essential way of communicating with the public.

However, to further maintain and attract new followers on social media, it is imperative that the

client strengthen its external communication across various social media outlets.

With this in mind, the survey sought to determine what content on social media was most

appealing to Genesis Home's target audience. Respondents said that posts about upcoming events

(N=7), and posts with links to articles (N=6) were the most interesting in regards to the

organization. When asked to rank which post topics they were most interested in on social media

20

in regards to nonprofit organizations, the majority of respondents ranked posts about personal

stories and spotlights as the most interesting. In the future, Genesis Home should use this

information to post more events and personal stories in order to best engage with social media

users in terms of presenting relevant content.

Interviews

The interviewing of volunteers provided additional information on the client’s current

internal communication efforts that was not covered in the survey. Through the use of

interviews, the group was able to gain personal opinions from internal sources concerning the

client’s effectiveness in this area. The complete list of volunteer responses from the interviews

can be found in Appendix D. While volunteers are not full time, paid employees, they are less

frequent at Genesis Home which makes them important to interview because this means that

communication tactics would need to be much stronger in order to maintain contact and keep

volunteers “in the loop.”

Through the interview process, it was evident that Genesis Home has very successfully

advertised its opportunities for volunteering because both volunteers had discovered the

opportunity through an external site that directed them to Genesis Home.

There is a great opportunity to expand awareness through volunteers. Both of the

volunteers said they have not yet had the opportunity to attend an event at Genesis Home, so

creating an event that volunteers could attend would be a great way to increase awareness and

expand excitement and involvement among volunteers. Having volunteers who are excited about

Genesis Home is essentially free publicity. A central goal of Genesis Home is to expand

awareness and buzz in the community. When volunteers are well-informed and excited about

Genesis Home’s mission, they are able to spread the message and expand the circles of

21

influence. Seeing that both volunteers had expressed that they have not yet had the opportunity to

attend a Genesis Home event, it would be a great idea to create a volunteer appreciation dinner or

to invite volunteers to the groundbreaking event. Genesis Home could increase the participation

and involvement of volunteers with the happenings of Genesis Home through developing a

structured calendar of events. Having volunteers that are connected outside of their weekly time

in study hall will strengthen relationships inside the organization and will give the volunteers

something to be excited about while increasing their feelings of ownership in the happenings of

Genesis Home. Both volunteers stated that they do frequently talk about Genesis Home outside

of their time spent volunteering which is a great way for Genesis Home to get the word out about

their mission and work—through volunteers. It is also important to note that both volunteers

indicated that they were happy with Genesis Home’s use of email as its primary form of

communication with volunteers. In addition, both volunteers agreed that it was easy to stay

informed and connected with Genesis Home.

Overall it appears that Genesis Home volunteers are pleased with the method and

frequency of current communication with Genesis Home. Creating a volunteer appreciation

event or extending invitations for Genesis Home events to volunteers would be an effective way

to strengthen the relationship between the organization and its volunteers while also advocating

for the mission of Genesis Home.

Conclusions and Recommendations

S.W.O.T. Analysis

The S.W.O.T. analysis was conducted by the group in order to identify the strengths,

weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are related to the communication of Genesis Home.

The group was able to gather ample information to conduct this analysis through observing the

22

Genesis Home website, Facebook page and Twitter page while also conducting meetings with

Director of Development Robin Temple. The results from this analysis will allow the group to

better understand how Genesis Home might improve its communication and provide necessary

suggestions (For a complete S.W.O.T. chart, see Appendix E).

Strengths. Through observation of Genesis Home, it is evident that there are some

identifiable strengths as far as communication. For one, at first glance the Genesis Home website

is very eye-catching and clean. The mission of the organization is made very obvious through a

short blurb on the homepage and a featured Vimeo video. There is very clear direction on how to

navigate through the information on the entire website. The tabs located at the top of the page are

precise and accurate. This is a strength because it allows for potential donors or the interested

public to educate themselves on the work of Genesis Home. The website has many pictures on it,

which shows the activity of the organization and the variety of people and events that make up

Genesis Home. There are direct links to contact information, an online donation site and social

media pages. All of these additions to the Genesis Home website add to the effectiveness of

communication and the ability for the organization to communicate its message and mission to

the community. Genesis Home also has a group of motivated and enthusiastic staff and

volunteers who are excited about the organization’s mission. The response among volunteers

regarding current internal communication with the organization was very positive overall and

indicated that the volunteers find it very easy to stay connected and educated.

Weaknesses. One weakness concerning the communication of Genesis Home is low

publicity. On the website, under the “In the News” tab, there were outdated media appearances.

However, the primary concern in this area was the presence of broken links. This could deter

people that are looking on the website because they could potentially become frustrated and

23

disinterested. The most recent and accessible link was from 2013. In order for Genesis Home to

thrive as an organization and grow in awareness and exposure, they must become an

organization that is frequently mentioned in the news and media, especially with its new merger.

Another simple change that would improve the communication of Genesis Home would

be alphabetizing the items in the “Resources” tab. While there is a lot of great information found

in this area of the website, it seems overwhelming. If these items were to be alphabetized, they

would be clearer to understand and easier to navigate through. This is a simple change that

would make a big difference.

Genesis Home’s primary area of weakness concerning external communication is its

social media posting. After conducting coding for Facebook and Twitter, it was evident that

Genesis Home did not have the proper or necessary frequency of posts. Since March, Genesis

Home has averaged between two and eights posts a month. Genesis Home posted 30 times over

the past six months, averaging 0.1667 posts per day. On average, these posts received 1 like, 0.4

comments and 0.4 shares. The number of “likes,” “comments” and “shares” on social media are

meant to represent the client’s level of engagement, and the low numbers in these statistics

indicate that Genesis Home’s current strategy is not working. In order for Genesis Home to

increase its community engagement and awareness among the public, its frequency of posting

needs to increase. Social media is a powerful and acceptable tool that, if not activated

successfully, weakens the organization’s opportunity for success.

Opportunities

Genesis Home is an organization that contains many opportunities to increase overall

awareness among the Durham community. The staff is excited and educated about sharing their

passion for ending homeless among families with children. Working to perfect the organization’s

24

communication strategy will allow the staff’s abilities and successes to be showcased more

effectively.

Genesis Home has a great base of enthusiastic and hardworking volunteers. A great

opportunity lies in creating more opportunities to involve volunteers in more events put on by

Genesis Home. These events could be an appreciation dinner or the ground breaking event. The

volunteers are great mouthpieces for the organization and the creation of more opportunities for

them to be involved in the happenings of the organization would allow volunteers to be even

greater advocates for Genesis Home. Therefore, volunteers can be useful external resources for

the client through educating the community about the work of Genesis Home.

Tapping into increased media coverage would be a great way for Genesis Home to raise

awareness about its merger, mission and work within the community. Gaining publicity will help

to attract people in the community that are interested in local events and happenings. Genesis

Home would benefit from a media list because it would allow them to have a more precise and

concentrated list of contacts. Director of Development Robin Temple expressed a great desire to

get the word out about the organization so having a focused and accurate media list would assist

in the execution of increasing awareness.

A great opportunity that is quickly approaching is the merger with Durham Interfaith

Hospitality Network. The merger presents the opportunity to create a fresh “buzz” about the

work of these organizations, with this event working to reignite public conversation about

homelessness and the organization’s plans to combat this issue. The excitement and promise of

this merger is great news for Durham County and a worthwhile topic for the media. Therefore,

Genesis Home should use the merger as an opportunity to become more visible, engaging and

25

effective in its communication efforts through combining its strengths with that of Durham

Interfaith Hospitality Network.

Threats. One threat to Genesis Home can be found in the local organizations that work to

combat the same cause. There are many local organizations— Durham Housing Authority,

Durham Affordable Housing Coalition, Durham Rescue Mission and Urban Ministries of

Durham— that are all dedicated to serving the homeless population in the Durham community.

Urban Ministries has a more popular social media following, with 2,070 followers on Facebook

and 1,234 Twitter followers. Genesis Home has 718 followers on Facebook and 426 Twitter

followers. While Genesis Home and Urban Ministries both have a somewhat substantial social

media following, there is much more room to develop and improve social media presence. This

is a threat to Genesis Home because it needs to make sure it is communicating its message in a

fresh and unique way. With multiple organizations that are communicating similar messages, it

is important that Genesis Home communicates a clear and unique message to the public that

specifies its mission and sets itself apart.

Recommendations

The APPLES Service Learning team for Genesis Home plans to use the data gathered

from its observations, social media coding, Qualtrics survey and interviews to develop a

comprehensive communication and public relations plan. Information collected from the survey

will provide concrete information that will allow the public relations plan to be more targeted

and specific. The ultimate goal of this plan is to increase awareness and engagement among the

public for Genesis Home. Through identifying weaknesses in the client’s current communication

strategy, solutions can be developed that will strengthen the merger with Durham Interfaith

Hospitality Network.

26

A primary focus of the APPLES Service Learning team is improving the client’s use of

social media. We believe that strengthening the social media presence of Genesis Home will

allow the organization to become more accessible and relatable to the public while also allowing

for the opportunity to increase engagement.

Seeing as the organization already has a Facebook and Twitter, an Instagram account

would be a great addition to Genesis Home’s already existing social media presence. The ability

to reach out to a younger public through Instagram will increase the reach of Genesis Home.

Instagram will allow Genesis Home to showcase different projects and monumental successes

instantly through photographs.

The addition of a weekly spotlight on all forms of social media— Facebook, Twitter, the

website and potentially Instagram— would create unity among the sites and attract greater

attention across all audiences. This could be accomplished through choosing a consistent day

each week and focusing on a person involved in Genesis Home, which would create both

excitement and interest in the client’s key messages. This would also be a great way to increase

the frequency of social media posting and allow people to become more familiar with the

organization.

The development of a detailed plan for the frequency and content of social media posts

will be extremely effective in creating a solid social media following. By expanding and

developing itself in the world of social media, Genesis Home will be able to keep the public

updated, informed and excited about the happenings of the organization.

A media list will allow Genesis Home to have a focused list of media contacts. This is

beneficial because Genesis Home will have access to the contact information of relevant and

27

efficient media sources. A precise and organized media list will allow the organization to more

effectively and efficiently keep the public information and engaged.

Conclusion

The client’s primary public relations concern focused on its desire to increase awareness

of the organization among its target audiences. The results from the research instruments

included in this audit provided valuable information concerning what needs to be improved in

the client’s message quality, delivery and audience communication. In terms of external

communication, the client’s inconsistent presence on social media suggests that the creation of a

social media marketing plan and calendar is necessary in improving consistency in message

delivery as well as the overall quality of information. Likewise, the client’s understanding of its

audiences’ interests should be reflected in the topics that are posted on social media platforms.

The group suggests that while posts on Twitter should be consistent, the client should primarily

focus on strengthening its presence on Facebook, as it is used more by the its target audiences. In

strengthening its internal communication, it is advised that a consistent calendar of events is

created and distributed to volunteers and staff in order to increase participation and overall

relationship quality with Genesis Home.

In moving forward, the client should take into account the suggestions laid out in a social

media marketing plan to immediately improve its frequency of posting on social media and

overall external communication efforts. In addition, the client should also take note of the

volunteer’s positive responses to its internal communication efforts and continue to communicate

with volunteers through its current methods. With this in mind, its internal communication can

be strengthened through building stronger relationships between volunteers and the organization,

whether that is through Genesis Home events or volunteer appreciation and recognition. Overall,

28

Genesis Home’s current external and internal communication efforts demonstrate the client’s

passion for its mission statement. However, this passion and dedication to its mission statement

can be further improved through the implementation of the suggested strategies indicated above.

29

Appendix A: List of Content Sources

Link to Genesis Home Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/GenesisHome?fref=ts

Link to Genesis Home Twitter:

https://twitter.com/GenesisHomeDrhm

Link to Durham Interfaith Hospitality Network Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Durham-Interfaith-Hospitality-Network-

100847643307038/timeline/

Link to Durham Interfaith Hospitality Network Twitter: N/A

Link to Urban Ministries of Durham Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/UrbanMinistriesOfDurham?fref=ts

Link to Urban Ministries of Durham Twitter:

https://twitter.com/umdurham?lang=en

30

Appendix B: Codebook and Code Sheet

Link to Codebook:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OUbvQoebHVCojAKYnPvYSfhHeIHOlGXX6wP

wsBVcxgc/edit

Link to Code Sheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1atGiB5fhbQsEzc4LIC57uyd0qLjL_rSIZBpUP6

DWHCc/edit

Note: Due to the length of the content for this appendix, a complete code sheet and codebook can be found at the end of this document.

31

Appendix C: Results from Qualtrics Survey

Link to Survey:

https://unc.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_4TNYDs9hJsXkwPX

Note: Due to the length of the content for this appendix, a full chart with these results can be found at the end of this document.

32

Appendix D: Volunteer Responses Two individuals were interviewed and their responses are as follows: 1. How did you initially hear about Genesis Home and how did you get involved? V1: Volunteer search online V2: I was looking for something productive to do with all the free time I had during the week when I was not working. I wanted to give back to the community and town that I grew up in so I did a search for volunteer opportunities on volunteer sites (found Genesis Home on either VolunteerMatch.org or through the Durham Volunteer Center website). 2. How often do you volunteer at Genesis Home? V1: 1 night per week with Study Hall V2: I volunteer for an hour once a week at the Study Hall. 3. Have you attended any GH events? V1: No, haven’t had an opportunity to date. V2: I have not attended any Genesis Home events. 4. How often do you talk about GH with your friends and family? V1: Frequently, when discussing how I spend some of my free time V2: I probably talk about Genesis Home at least once a week to friends and family, usually telling them about my time volunteering during that week. Also, in catching up with friends and family I will share that I am still volunteering at Genesis Home and tell them what the organization does if they are not aware. 5. Are you/Have you been involved in any other nonprofits and how do they compare to GH? V1: I have and they are comparable to GH. V2: I currently work at a nonprofit cancer support center in Durham. I also volunteer with Eyes Ears Nose and Paws, based in Carrboro as a puppy caregiver. Each are quite different roles to volunteering at Genesis Home, but all have the goal of improving the lives of the individuals they serve. 6. How does Genesis Home communicate with you? V1: via email, which is my preference V2: I receive emails from staff at Genesis Home. 7. Do you feel that it is easy to stay connected and informed about Genesis Home? V1: yes V2: Yes, whether it is through speaking to staff at Genesis Home in person or through email it is easy to stay connected. 8. Do you have any ideas/suggestions that you think would improve the communication of Genesis Home? V1: Not at this time V2: I do not, I feel the communication already established works well.

33

Appendix E: S.W.O.T. Analysis Chart

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

-clean and effective website -direct links to: contact information, donation site, and social media -motivated and enthusiastic staff -strong volunteer base that feels connected to the organization

-low publicity -several broken links on the website -the Staff tab is unclear: some individuals have headshots and some do not-missing -inconsistent social media posting schedule -absence of engaging other accounts through tagging and hashtags -Resources tab is not alphabetized which makes it difficult to successfully use

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

-word of mouth of volunteers -local media outlets in order to boost awareness

-the existence of many other organizations in the area with similar missions