Social media webinar

November 2016

Welcome

What we’ll be covering today

• Recap of key principles of using Facebook and Twitter and how Crohn’s and

Colitis UK can help you

• Social media best practice from volunteer groups at other charities

• Our top tips: timing and frequency of posts, finding and managing content,

getting the right people to events and hashtags

• Do’s and don’ts and managing risk

• And most importantly… your questions!

Why use Facebook?

• Setting up a page is a good way for local groups to keep members informed of

their events and activities

• Good place to share photos

of events

• Please note that it shouldn’t be

used as a discussion site

Key things to remember about Facebook

When setting up a Facebook page, local Groups should ensure that:

• The name for the page follows the standard format ‘Crohn’s and Colitis UK xxx Group’

• Personal email addresses and telephone numbers are not used when setting up the page

• The page must include the Crohn’s and Colitis UK logo and charity numbers

• The Discussions Board App is not added to the page.

• The wall settings are set so that only the administrator can post to the wall

• The option for fans to post anything to the site is disabled

• Anyone can become a fan, regardless of whether they are a member.

Other key points about Facebook

• You can advertise your group’s Facebook presence in

your newsletters, on your webpage, and in other Group

literature.

• You may choose to post items on behalf of fans if you

think it is appropriate – for example information about

fundraising activities, photos from Group events.

• Please check your page regularly (preferably daily) in

order to monitor comments and messages.

Crohn’s and Colitis UK resources to help you

with Facebook

• Read our Facebook guidance for advice, including setting

up, managing and changing your page

• Why not follow the pages of some local groups? See our

handy list

• Finally, don’t forget about our advertising policy

How to create events on Facebook

• Lots of groups like to keep fans informed of events by

creating an event for their Facebook page

• You can do this by clicking ‘event/milestone’ by the area

where you normally add a post to your wall

• You’ll get more people to your events with a fun title and

clear explanation of how it will help people, or why it is

unique or different

Who is using Facebook well?

Edinburgh group• Talking about forthcoming events

• Sharing photos of events that have

taken place

• Helpful, friendly style of communicating

How are other charity volunteer groups using

Facebook?

• Local NCT

groups use

Facebook to

publicise events

• Groups play an

important role in

being the face of

the brand in local

communities

• They’re upbeat

and positive in

the way they

communicate

How are other charity volunteer groups using

Facebook?

• Macmillan groups

use Facebook to

share fundraising

stories, local events

and appeals for help

e.g. recruiting

volunteers

• They share a good

range of content and

always have a call to

action

• They sometimes

share relevant info

from the central

charity, e.g. about

national campaigns

Our top tips

• Try to post 1-2 times a day, if possible

• Facebook insights is a free tool to help you see how your page is doing. You can access it by clicking on Insights at the top of your page, then clicking the sections on the left

• Check out the ‘posts’ tab under that tool to find out when most of your audience are online, and then post during that time. You can either post yourself at these times or use a free tool like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule your posts

More of our top tips

• Make sure you talk about all your group’s upcoming events and news, and also share posts about how they have gone e.g. photos

• Why not use your page to thank people who’ve helped you e.g. fundraisers, or ask for volunteers, if you need them?

• Planning content will save you time. You could write down a few ideas for the week ahead

• Try to use an image (e.g. photo) or graphic using our brand where possible- it means people are more likely to engage with your post

• Ask fans to share your posts and bring people to events

• You don’t have to but can include hashtags for your area e.g. #stalbans

Why use Twitter?

• Good way to tell members about your activities

• Great tool to spread news and raise awareness

• Spread the word so that our charity can help more people

Key things to remember about Twitter

• Twitter users can subscribe to the tweets of others by ‘following’ other users. This means that as well as your own tweets, you will see the tweets of those whom you follow. Equally, anyone who chooses to follow your tweets will become one of your ‘followers’.

• You may wish to follow: other Groups, local healthcare providers, IBD-related organisations, local venues, fundraising campaigns etc. You would hope –amongst others – those members of the Group that have personal Twitter accounts would become your followers, so as to keep up-to-date with Group activities.

• Other users of Twitter may interpret who you choose to follow as an endorsement of their goods or services. It is therefore very important that you operate in line with the Newsletter Advertising Policy and do not follow the organisations set out in the Twitter Guidelines

Other key points about Twitter

• We strongly encourage you to complete the Profile section

to make your twitter account engaging and welcoming.

• The profile photo must be the Crohn’s and Colitis UK logo.

• Twitter is informal and friendly so helpful posts that

support your community are great

Crohn’s and Colitis UK resources to help you

with Twitter

• Read our Twitter guidance for advice, including setting up,

managing and changing your account

• Why not follow the accounts of some local groups? See

our handy list

• Don’t forget about our advertising policy

Who is using Twitter well?

Shropshire Mid Wales• Talking about upcoming events

• Responding to queries

• Sharing relevant, positive images

How are other charity volunteer groups using

Twitter?

• The RNLI’s

groups talk

about events

and their

activities

• They use good

imagery, e.g.

photos

• They share

stories about

what they are

doing

How are other charity volunteer groups using

Twitter?

• Macmillan groups use Twitter to promote events

and make appeals e.g. recruiting volunteers and

sharing fundraising stories

• They share a wide range of relevant content

• They often include a call to action

• They sometimes tweet about useful info from the

central charity

Top Twitter tip about how we can help each

other

• We can retweet and increase awareness of your group on Twitter

• Include our volunteer account @CrohnsColitisV for anything about volunteering, recruitment, awareness, activity, or events related tweets

• Don’t forget that we also have the main charity Twitter feed (@CrohnsColitisUK), our fundraising feed (@CrohnsColitisFR) and policy, public affairs and research feed (@CrohnsColitisPA)

• Feel free to include our fundraising feed if your tweet is just about fundraising, e.g. ‘We raised X amount… please RT!’

• Some groups like to tweet when they meet their MP e.g. “We met with our MP during Volunteers’ Week to discuss community involvement in X town” Do mention @CrohnsColitisPA and @CrohnsColitisV

• Please do share our @CrohnsColitisV tweets when you can!

Our other top Twitter tips

• Try to tweet 2-3 times a week as a minimum, if you can

• Tweet at times when you are more likely to see engagement. Morning commuting time, lunchtime and evenings might work well but test this with your audience

• You can either tweet at these times or use a free tool like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule your posts

• Twitter analytics is a useful free tool which you can access under the menu tab in the top right hand corner. It will tell you more about your audience and how your tweets are doing so it’s worth taking a look and planning content based on what you learn

• Don’t worry about running out of space when you include a link. Twitter will automatically shorten the link for you. Or you can use Bitly to shorten it if you want to measure how many people clicked on it

How to make tweets engaging

• Use an image

• Keep tweets short and snappy

and give people a reason to do

what you want them to do e.g.

click on a link

• An upbeat, friendly, warm tone

of voice works well

More of our top tips

• Do tweet about your group’s upcoming events and news, and also tweet about how they have gone. You could share photos

• Tweeting your thanks to fundraisers or volunteers who have gone the extra mile is a great way to recognise people

• Planning tweets will save you time. Try not to use exactly the same content as Facebook if possible. Even just tweaking the wording will help

• Ask fans to retweet you and bring people to events

• You can include hashtags! Read our Twitter guidelines for more advice

Using hashtags

• Hashtags will help your tweet be part of a bigger conversation. You can include them in tweets or use them to search what is popular for that topic

• We recommend #volunteer #volunteering #ibd #crohns #colitis #local #community #vol #vols #getinvolved. Also your local town/city name

• Events-based ones such as #worldIBDday #WALKIT are also good

• Feel free to include both local hashtags but also popular ones used all over the UK e.g: “We’re fundraising at #Shrewsbury Guildhall @ShrewsGuild this week. Have you spent/given your #firstfiver yet? Why not pop by…” etc

Do’s and don’ts for Facebook and Twitter

Do:

• Share a range of content about what you are doing

• Ask for help e.g. volunteers where needed

• Say thank you to fundraisers and volunteers

• Include a call to action

• Use images

• Be positive and upbeat

• Be responsive

• Share relevant info from the main charity

Do’s and don’ts for Facebook and Twitter

Don’t:

• Forget to use your accounts!

• Get into difficult conversations with people

• Follow the people we recommend not to interact with in our Twitter guidelines

• Try and do it all yourself if it’s too hard- get another volunteer to help you if you need to

• Worry about it being perfect- just remember how your group can help people and talk about anything relevant to that

• Use the acronym CCUK in any posts or hashtags

• Try and answer any questions you’re not sure about- just direct people to our information service instead

Questions

Thanks for listening

Zoe Amar MCIM

Director, Zoe Amar Communications

zoe@zoeamar.com

077 644 98168

@zoeamar

www.zoeamar.com