why is social media important in engaging staff & empowering vulnerable people?
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Why is social media important in engaging staff & empowering vulnerable people?TRANSCRIPT
Why is social media important in engaging staff and empowering vulnerable people?
Thursday 13th February 2014Emily Wightman- Social Media Manager
Social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they
create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks
(Wikipedia)
Social media is your opportunity to enhance social communication.
Social Media is here to stay!
82% of the UK population are
online.
Are you?
What can social media do for your organisation?
Establish and develop your online presenceEmpower people who use your services
Develop or refine your communications strategyCommunicate with people you work with or support
Optimise FundraisingGet you noticed by the people you want to get noticed by
Recruit employees and volunteersEngage with people who are hard to reach
Develop new contacts, partnerships and collaborationsSave you money: Reduce costs of traditional media
Engage staff and people who use your servicesIncrease your Social Return on Investment
We asked 208 social organisations how they resource social media at their organisation:
Internal communicationForum: Like a ‘message board’, an online discussion site where people can
hold conversations in the form of posted messages
Blog: Encouraging information sharing at all levels and provide a platform for all employees to post ideas and feedback. Connecting employees who
do not work in the same location by creating an online community for discussing work projects/ideas
Private Facebook group: staff are invited to join the group in which they can then ask questions, share ideas/events and discuss the development
of your organisation and services you provide
Collaboration boosts creativity. Encourage internal knowledge-share and help build a tightknit culture at your organisation.
Social media and engaging your staff
Staff should be involved in the social media conversations that organisations have, within the parameters the organisation agrees
Nobody knows your organisation better than the team you work with, so let them represent your organisation online
External communication
Social Media Strategy
• Develop a measurable objective• Establish your target audience • Know your capacity, who manages your social media?• Select relevant social media platforms (create a #hashtag)• Monitor your progress / scale• Give your organisation a personality / voice
Original source
Social Media PolicyA social media policy will help staff make appropriate decisions about the use of social media such as blogs,
social networking websites, podcasts, forums, message boards or comments on web-articles
A policy outlines the standards you require your staff to observe when using social media, the circumstances in which you will monitor your use of social media and the action you will take in respect of breaches of this
policy.
What should be included in a social media policy?
• Clear and structured guidelines for employees-• Standard email address• Logo• Organisation information• Privacy settings• Response time• Overall responsibility
• Organisation objectives• Comply with the law on discrimination, data protection and
safeguarding• Organisational communication parameters (what you can &
can’t say on behalf of the organisation)• Copyright
Empowering vulnerable peopleSocial media is a far more "equal" means of communication with people
you support in a scenario of inevitable power imbalance. It is much more:
• comfortable • convenient • "detached"• interesting
People you support can contribute at a level with which they’re comfortable
Social media gives a more powerful voice to the people you support.
How to encourage participation
EventsFacebook groups (private if necessary)
Online support groupsPhotos
CompetitionsFeedback
Raising awareness of the benefits of online services and how to access them is crucial is
engaging and empowering vulnerable people
Barriers• Costs• Equipment • Access• Nature of need or disability/vulnerability• Basic IT skills• Lack of understanding• Safeguarding
As an organisation, how will you overcome these?
Communicating with people who have learning difficulties
Social media is a fantastic tool to communicate with people who use your services, but digital media such
as Facebook and Twitter are platforms that can require an ability to converse by standardised
methods, and can be heavily text based.You Tube/Open My EyesPinterestInfographic (Welfare Reform Act)
20% of people will read text, while 80% of people will watch a
video with the exact same content
Helpful LinksCan Social Media Be A Support System for Victims Of Domestic Violence? http://
bit.ly/1kvzxpHEasy Ways Non-profits Can Succeed In The Social Media World http://bit.ly/M5272U
20 Things to Tweet About http://bit.ly/1loP2h8 Charities missing out on £665 million by not interacting online http://bit.ly/MET5JY
Charities and social media http://bit.ly/1f9lsa6 Social Media Explained http://bit.ly/1oaFsAZ
Disabled consumers’ ownership of communications services (Research Document) http://bit.ly/MFd4Iu
Staying safe on social media http://bit.ly/1dEC3BH Platforms to create infographics: http://piktochart.com/, http://infogr.am/ ,http://visual.ly/
Ten tips to help engage your residents online http://bit.ly/1lvCPHD Tweepi: Build a relevant and effective Twitter following http://bit.ly/1fqqn8v
Hootsuite: Social Media Management Platform http://bit.ly/1dloR6w The Extent and Nature of Social Media Usage Within UK Social Organisations That Support
Vulnerable People http://bit.ly/1dgqGnZ
0845 271 3081
Download our White Paper: The Extent and Nature of Social Media Usage Within UK Social Organisations That Support Vulnerable People
Contact The Media Bubble
Social Media mind map to be added when go to print