why we use social media

© 2005, CARE USA. All rights reserved.

1. Raise awareness around CARE’s work

Why We Use Social Media


2. Build trust by encouraging an open dialogue, providing customer service and transparency




3. Cultivate potential donors and action takers


4. Continue the conversation

What are CARE’s goals on social media?


What are CARE’s goals on social media?

5. Integrate social sharing with other communications channels


• Drives awareness and actions• Introduces new audiences to our work• Dynamic environment – constantly growing and changing

What will social media do for us?


Tips for writing great social content

Photo, video or status updates should:• Tell an emotional and personal story in less than 200 words. Videos, ideally, should be

between 15 seconds and 2 minutes (though interviews can be longer).• Offer an opportunity for the audience to learn more by providing a link, photo or video

that provides greater context. Social media updates are supposed to be short- the idea is to provide a “teaser” to convince your audience to learn more. Be sure to provide an opportunity for them to do so.

• Showcase an intimate component of our work. If someone who didn’t know much about CARE was at your side, what would surprise or impress them? Often it’s the small details that make people feel the most connected – not the numbers and big picture summaries.

• A photo should pique someone’s interest and make them ask, “What is going on and why should I care?” Photos or videos of people in action, unusual looking objects or surprising scenes often accomplish this most successfully.

• Make sure to tie your story back to CARE. If it represents a component of one of our programs, explain the goals of the program. If it represents a larger issue, explain what CARE is doing to help.

• Direct quotes from staff are a great way to connect people to the work CARE’s doing.• Be easy to understand. Remember, social media followers are not your colleagues. They

will not understand the complicated aspects of CARE’s work, so keep it simple. A good test is to ask if your teenage self would understand what you’re writing. If not, start again.

• Grab attention right away. On social media, you're competing with tens of thousands of other people and organizations. Even if your photo has a cool story to tell, if it isn’t attention-grabbing, people won’t click to learn more.


Use this checklist to find out:

Can it be explained in 10 seconds or less? Can your audience get more information? Will your audience know what you want them to do?Is it emotional or personal?Is it intimate?Will it encourage conversation? Will it motivate the user to take action? Will everyone find it interesting? Would my 15-year-old self understand it? Does it matter right now?Can you follow up?

Is your content compelling?


Best practices

• It’s ok if people respectfully disagree with you• Respond in a timely manner – it’s expected• Attribute someone else’s ideas easily “via @NAME”• Post corrections instead of deleting• Work with your media team if contacted for interview

or publications• Password protect your computers and mobile devices

to avoid hacking• If you see something, say something• Don’t promise opportunities• It’s ok if you don’t always talk about CARE, as long as

you focus on our issues


Using social media as an employee…

• State the views expressed are your own• Would you be comfortable with your post appearing in a

news outlet?• Remember what you say will reflect on the organization• Talk about your experiences!

why we use social media

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