Students Consulting For Nonprofit Organizations:

SPCA of Tompkins County

Holly Garbacz Jenny Greenland

Michael McGinley Emma Silen

Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................... 3

WEBSITE SWOT ANALYSIS ........................................................................................ 4

WEBSITE OVERVIEW ................................................................................................... 5

WEBSITE MOCK-UP ...................................................................................................... 6

FACEBOOK OVERVIEW .............................................................................................. 7

FACEBOOK WORKOUT ............................................................................................... 8

TWITTER OVERVIEW .................................................................................................. 9

TWITTER WORKOUT ................................................................................................. 11

CHELTENHAM ANIMAL SHELTER CASE STUDY .............................................. 12

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION .......................................................................... 16

FUTURE IMPLICATIONS ........................................................................................... 18

2

Executive Summary

As a strong non-profit in need of social media and website redesign expertise, the SPCA of Tompkins County (SPCA) approached Students Consulting for Nonprofit Organizations (SCNO) in the Fall of 2014 in order to seek help in developing a stronger social media presence, redesigning a main website, and implementing search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. Through a semester-long engagement cycle lasting from September 2014 to December 2014, a team of four SCNO members focused exclusively on developing social media recommendations to improve follower engagement for the SPCA of Tompkins County. This consisted of analyzing the SPCA's current social media platforms, suggesting improvements, and developing a social media workout for the SPCA. For the current SPCA website, SCNO has completed a content analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for the current website, as well as suggestions for tab reorganization. These suggestions will help users to be able to better navigate through the SPCA’s main webpage. SCNO has also created a mock-up of a new main webpage for the SPCA, which utilizes the suggested changes. For the SPCA’s social media platforms, SCNO focused exclusively on the Facebook and Twitter accounts. For SPCA’s Facebook page, SCNO has completed a content analysis, identifying what content attracts the most attention from followers, as well as suggestions for further engaging followers. SCNO created a weekly Facebook workout for the SPCA to implement. For the Twitter, SCNO conducted an analysis of the current page, identified areas of improvement, and created a Twitter workout. SCNO also conducted a case study of a similar animal shelter as an example of an organization the SPCA can model its posts after. The purpose of this section is to help increase traffic to the SPCA’s social media platforms by targeting which content attracts the most attention from current followers with the goal of gaining more followers while engaging the current ones. In terms of search engine optimization, SCNO researched the most effective strategies to incorporate into an existing webpage and provided information on how the SPCA can utilize these strategies. SCNO has also created a guide for the SPCA to follow to implement SEO strategies into an existing website as well as information for implementing strategies into a newly created website.

3

Website SWOT Analysis

We have created the following SWOT analysis to identify internal areas of strengths and weaknesses and external areas of opportunities and threats for the SPCA of Tompkins County website. Strengths

• All necessary content is included • Social media channels are connected to the website • Website navigation is easy • Layout prioritizes many of the most important functions of the organization

Weaknesses • Poor overall layout which requires too much scrolling • Out-of-date look • Search bar does not work • Some important information is not easily accessible

Opportunities

• If reciprocated, “businesses that care” can improve SEO • Sponsors can be made more visible or have more attention drawn to them • More modern integration of social media platforms with website • Improve navigation

Threats • Social Media platforms are poorly represented on homepage • Poor navigation may disable visitors from finding vital information • Unreciprocated partnerships with competing shelters may detract attention from SPCA • Outdated appearance may turn visitors away

4

Website Overview

Suggested Tab Organization By reformatting the current tabs on the top of SPCA's homepage, users of their site will be able to better navigate their website. We suggest that SPCA have as few tabs as possible (currently there are too many choices for each drop-down menu). Many of their existing menu options can be consolidated. Below is a suggested list of new tabs and sub-tabs: Adoption

• About adoption • Adoption forms • Adoptable pets

o Lead to page with available dogs, cats, and other pets Donations Services/Education

• Education • Local Animal Services

o Animal Cruelty and Animal Control • Lost Pets • Spay and Neuter

Youth

• Youth Volunteering • Youth Donations

Volunteering

• Foster FAQ • Volunteer FAQ • Information for Scout Troops

About Us

5

Website Mock-up

Here is an example mock-up of a homepage for a new SPCA website. The homepage was created using the website Weebly.com.

6

Facebook Overview

The SPCA of Tompkins County has a strong Facebook presence with over 8,500 page likes and 500 visits. After conducting a content analysis of the Facebook page, SCNO has the following suggestions for further improvement. Content that attracts the most attention

• Pictures of the animals that need to be adopted • Pictures of the animals who have been adopted, along with short explanation of how they are

currently doing • Great reviews • Articles about the organization posted in the Ithaca Journal • Posts about what people have donated • Videos of the animals

Suggestions

• Update the cover photo more often • Add more videos of the animals • Keep posts brief- the shorter the better • Update the profile picture more often • In about section add to the public transit section- example – buses that stop by the shelter • Add more to the description in terms of listing local events and dates or supplies that are always

needed • Promote upcoming events more – post more before event happens • Post more about the current staff so the audience can get familiar with who is working there

7

Facebook Workout

Here is an example of a week of postings the SPCA can use to generate content. It is important to note that posts about upcoming events can be posted as needed. Monday

• Post information and pictures of animals that need to be adopted • Cat and dog of the week, any new smaller animals too

Tuesday

• Post stories about animals that have been adopted • Include any happy ending stories. If possible, photos with their new families. If not, photos of their

time at the shelter Wednesday

• Create posts about the supplies that are currently needed • Consider linking to an amazon wish list, or directly to a website to buy any supplies • Make it as easy as possible for people to contribute

Thursday

• Post any articles that the SPCA has been mentioned in • If there are no new articles, share a relevant article from a similar page that readers would be

interested in • Happy stories from other shelters, new scientific developments, specials on pet supplies, etc.

Friday

• Post videos of the animals in the shelter that need to be adopted • Video should show the pet's personality, and how they interact with people. Show them at their best.

This may be the final push to get an animal adopted *Post about events as needed

8

Twitter Overview

Twitter is an essential social media platform that can assist companies with community outreach. Overall, the SPCA’s Twitter account is in good condition. The SPCA has a large number of followers and is following a lot of users as well. Linking the SPCA Twitter and Facebook accounts is very effective for having a steady stream of content. This along with identical Facebook and Twitter handles increases the SPCA’s efficiency in posts as well as keeping consistency across platforms. We also commend the SPCA’s frequency of posts. Daily posts serve as a good way to keep the SPCA’s followers interested as well to increase the likelihood of gaining new followers. We also applaud the SPCA’s current use of pictures as a majority of posts. People prefer simplistic posts, so pictures are very effective. Finally, we feel that having the SPCA biography as the tagline is a smart idea- It immediately gives all potential followers a brief synopsis of what the SPCA of Tompkins County stands for. Strengths of the current Twitter

• A lot of followers, and following a lot of people • Linked to the Facebook page • Pictures are effective • Frequency of posts • Use of the SPCA biography in the tagline • Facebook and Twitter handles are the same

9

Twitter Overview

Areas of improvement Even though we think that it is good that the SPCA linked the Twitter account to Facebook, we do recommend adding some variety in posts. A large proportion of the SPCA’s Facebook friends also follow the SPCA Twitter page, so they are reading the same thing twice. Many of the followers will not pay much attention to the Twitter if the same information is constantly repeated. They will be much more likely to pay attention if some of posts are different. We suggest posting an article at least once a week to gain attention from followers. These posts are different than posting pictures because they are more informative and alert followers to new information they may not be aware of otherwise. The SPCA can also post fun facts as tweets- these can include informational facts about animals that would be useful to the SPCA’s followers and fellow animal lovers who most likely have pets. Examples of this include:

• The Newfoundland breed of dog has a water resistant coat and webbed feet! • Did you know that 3 dogs survived the sinking of the ship Titanic? 2 Pomeranians and a Pekingese!

Next, we suggest including weekly or biweekly tweets with a link to the SPCA donation page. The SPCA can include a fun fact about where/what the donation would go to, which will make users more willing to donate because they know exactly where their donations go. The SPCA can also include a donate link in the Twitter bio to alert followers of where they can go to donate. To further diversify posts, we suggest that the SPCA consider posting YouTube videos as tweets as well. These posts can include short videos from the SPCA YouTube account or from other accounts of cute animals or informative pieces about how the followers can take care of their pets. These videos are likely to attract a great deal of attention from followers. This is also a great way to highlight any events the SPCA has recently hosted or been involved with. To keep the Twitter page looking updated, we suggest that the SPCA change its cover photo monthly. This could be a place to feature a new animal that is up for adoption. It can also be used to highlight any upcoming events the SPCA is hosting in the near future.

10

Twitter Workout

Twitter provides the SPCA with the opportunity to have a live feed into the organization. Post when anything fun or important happens at the SPCA. If possible, try to tweet at least three times a day. Below is an overview of when and what to tweet. In the morning Tweet about any new developments at the shelter, any new supplies that are needed, or any new animals that have come in and are ready to be adopted. Midday Use this time to feature a pet or cute moment at the shelter. This is a good time to post a photo of an animal that will catch people’s attention when they are scrolling through their Twitter feed during their lunch break. Afternoon/evening Tweet information about any adoptions that have taken place during the day and/or a relevant tweet from another organization. Further ways to engage with other organizations include:

• Whenever there is a tweet that readers will appreciate, retweet it, and consider interacting with the original poster.

• If for any reason the organization cannot tweet any of these specific events, candid photos are always appreciated and will keep people checking the page daily.

• Every day, try to interact with three new people, three people the SPCA has already interacted with, or three similar organizations.

Reply to tweets directed at the SPCA as quickly as possible, and stay updated on any hash tags that the organization has used. People may be interacting with the SPCA through using these hash tags and may be waiting for replies. Also search "SPCA of Tompkins County" and variations regularly.

11

Cheltenham Animal Shelter

Case Study A case study is an exploratory analysis of a person, group, event, or organization. Case studies are often useful tools to use in analyzing both strong and weak points of social media platforms for business organizations. The purpose of a case study is to compare platforms between similar organizations and to analyze areas that could use improvement as well as to point out commendable areas of said platforms. The Cheltenham Animal Shelter is a good organization to use in a case study for the SPCA. They are also a rescue and re-home based shelter. The shelter cares for about 1,000 animals annually and relies greatly on the public for funding, re-homing, and volunteers in taking care of the animals. They offer a wide variety of services alongside being a shelter, including dog training, neutering, and boarding. Although most of the Cheltenham Animal Shelter’s posts are similar to the posts of the SPCA of Tompkins County, there are some slight differences. Below are some ideas for Twitter posts that the Cheltenham Animal Shelter practices: 1. This post is an individualized thank you to an employee of the shelter commending her great work. Special shout outs to co-workers represent stability within an organization as well an overall appreciation for employees. Support for employees and co-workers is an admirable quality that people like to see. This also aids in making the organization more approachable for the general public.

12

Cheltenham Animal Shelter

Case Study 2. This post is a personalized thank you for a fellow company that donated to the Cheltenham Animal Shelter. This is a good way to increase the SPCA’s sense of community. This idea of personalized thank you posts can also be applied to sponsors, individual donations, family donations, etc. For example, if you get several donations a week, chose one or two donators to tag in a post and thank them for taking the time to donate to SPCA. The post could even include what the donation was put towards, such as a new bed for an elderly animal, or a holiday gift for the animals. 3. The Cheltenham Animal Shelter also has holiday themed events. Twitter (and other social media platforms) are a great way to promote these events and get new potential adopters and donations in the door. The tweet shown below is promoting a holiday event, including the exact link to the website that further describes the event. There is also an opportunity here for holiday themed videos. Show your followers that the animals get spoiled around the holidays just like humans do.

13

Cheltenham Animal Shelter Case Study

14

Organization of the Twitter page is also useful to help user navigate the page as easily as possible. Overall, the SPCA of Tompkins County has good organization of the Twitter page, but there is one thing that stands out on Cheltenham Animal Shelter’s page that the SPCA lacks. When a user clicks on posts to view it larger or to post a comment, relevant contact information for the animal shelter appears below the picture. For example, in this post there are pictures of animals, the phone number for the organization, the website hyperlink, an email address, and all the social media hyperlinks. This is a great idea. It is conserved across the entire Twitter page; meaning whenever a post is clicked on this information is always in the same spot. If a follower is interested enough in a post to view it larger then they have a higher likelihood of contacting the shelter or supporting them on another platform, thus having the contact information and all social media platform handles right alongside the post is a good idea.

Another difference between the Cheltenham Animal Shelter and SPCA of Tompkins County is the use of YouTube. Although this is a different platform from Twitter, many of their posts include videos from their YouTube page. Videos are becoming increasingly popular in social media. In general, people on social media enjoy video posts. When a post is a video, the majority of people who see it will watch it, regardless of their interest in the content. Therefore, if you post videos then the vast majority of your supporters on all of your platforms will want to watch it. This is a great way to increase publicity as well as promote animals that were recently adopted, recently received by the shelter, even just fun or silly leisure time videos! Another effective and commonly used method is “personalized” videos for individual animals. As you can see below, there are specific videos for animals. These videos range from introductions to the animals, where potential owners can get a glimpse of the animals, to their journey through the shelter and into new homes. This can be especially helpful when used to promote the adoption of particular animals.

Cheltenham Animal Shelter Case Study

15

Overview Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine’s natural or un-paid search results. In general, the earlier (or higher ranked on the search results page) and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine's users. SEO can target different kinds of search, including image, video, local, academic, news, or industry-specific vertical search engines.

SEO can be used as an Internet marketing strategy. It considers how search engines work, what people search for, the actual search terms or keywords typed into search engines and which search engines are preferred by their targeted audience. The best time to implement SEO strategies is when working on a website redesign or creating a new website.

Implementing SEO techniques through the Weebly.com website or a similar website is simple and will help the SPCA of Tompkins County website to appear more often in different search engines. If the SPCA chooses to create a new website, we recommend utilizing the built in SEO wizard to help improve the website as it is being created. If the SPCA chooses to keep their current website, this information can also be utilized to implement SEO techniques into the existing site. The following page contains includes five simple and effective ways to increase search engine optimization for the SPCA. Through implementing these different strategies, the SPCA can increase the likelihood that it will appear in searches about animals in the Tompkins County area, adoptions, volunteering opportunities, etc. These techniques will make it easier for users to navigate through the website pages, be more user friendly on different browsers, and will help boost activity to the SPCA’s other social media sites.

Search Engine Optimization

16

Improve search engine optimization in five easy steps 1. Create unique and accurate page titles The first step in search engine optimization is to indicate page titles by using title tags. A title tag tells both users and search engines what the topic of the page is. You should create a unique title for each page of your site to make it easier for the search engine to pick up on what the page contents include. When writing the title for a page, make sure that it accurately describes the page’s content. Make sure to avoid using lengthy titles, because they will not be fully shown in search engine results. 2. Use the “description” mega tag Short summaries can be defined for each page of your website. A page’s description meta tag allows for search engines to summarize what each page of your website is about. The meta tag can be a sentence or two or even a short paragraph. These meta tags are important because they allow for search engines to gather further information about the page and be able to better sort the pages in terms of relevance to the user. 3. Improve the structure of URLs Personalizing URLs is another simple and effective way to increase search engine optimization. Simple URLs help convey content information easily for search engines. For example, if a user is looking to find information about the SPCA, the “about us” webpage can use the URL www.spcaonline.com/aboutus to make it easier for the user to find. When creating customized URLs, it is important to avoid using odd capitalization of URLs. Users will expect lower-case URLs and will remember them much better than URLs with both capital and lower-case letters. 4. Link other social media platforms to the webpage By linking the SPCA’s Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages to the main website, it will make the website appear further up on search engine results whenever one of the sites is searched for. This will help boost all of the social media platforms the SPCA currently utilizes. This can also be done with organizations the SPCA collaborates with in the area. When the two websites link to each other, it will increase the likelihood of both websites coming up in a search engine. 5. Optimize the use of images All images have a distinct filename attached to them. By writing a short description of what the image is (such as “adoptedpets.jpg” for a kitten as opposed to “image1.jpg”) it will increase the likelihood of the SPCA coming up in a search for pet adoptions. This can also be beneficial in the case that a user is viewing the website in a browser that doesn’t support images. In this case, you can utilize the “alt” attribute, which allows you to add alternative text for the image if it cannot be displayed. For example, if a photo of a cat is not showing up, the alternative text, “Pictured above is a photo of the seven pets adopted last week.”

Search Engine Optimization

17

To better maintain the SPCA's social media presence, SCNO recommends the use of a social media intern. An intern would ideally be a local college student who is interested in the SPCA's mission and has some background in communications. Here is an example posting that the SPCA could show on their website, craigslist, or send directly to students.

Future Implications

18

We recommend contacting the career services offices of both Ithaca College and Cornell University about sharing listings with their students. The Ithaca College Office of Career Services can be reached at: careers@ithaca.edu (607) 274-3365 Cornell University Office of Career Services can be reached at career@cornell.edu (607) 255-5221

The SPCA of Tompkins County is seeking a social media intern for 8-10 hours a week. As the Social Media Intern, you will be helping to raise awareness of the SPCA's role in the community, and establish and maintain relationships with donors and other local organizations. Duties Include:

• Regular updates of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube accounts • Outreach to other local organizations and businesses • Brainstorming and creating social media content and campaigns • Develop long-term strategies for the SPCA's social media use • Write a weekly update post to be shared across social media and to donors.

Qualifications:

• Passionate about the work of the Tompkins County SPC • Experience with various social media platforms • Previous experience in social media marketing preferred • Works independently • Good communication skills and strong writing abilities