Recruiting Volunteers Online

Social Media, Website & Volunteer Recruitment Sites

Thursday, March 17, 2011

What’s out there in the digital world?

I. Volunteer Recruitment Websites

• VolunteerMatch.org

• Idealist.org

• 1-800-Volunteer.org

• VolunteerSolutions.org

• Others?

www.volunteermatch.org

II. Your Organization’s Website

Volunteer Opportunities:

• Easy to find?

• Clearly specified?

• Simple to contact you?

Get it on your home page.

Think like a volunteer.

• What does this volunteer job involve?(the position description)

• What skills do I need?

• What hours can I volunteer?

• Who do I contact?

Don’t forget the photos/ stories.

• Do volunteers LOOK like they’re

having fun?

• Are you recognizing individuals who are making a difference?

• Are you showing diversity?

III. Social Media

The conversation has changed from “should we use social media”

to “how do we use social media?”

Social media in a nutshell is…

• A digital conversation. It’s not all about your organization but it is all about your mission.

• Another communication tool—not a replacement for more traditional forms of PR

• Growing in use and functionality everyday by all generations.

The most widely usedsocial media tools are…

Social Media Planning Basics

• Consider your audience. What age groups are you targeting?Are they on Facebook or Twitter?

• Set some goals.

• Listening/ responding are critical.

• Link, link, link!

• Measure your success.

If you only go one place on Web 2.0, go to Facebook

• 150 million active US users.

• Most active users log on at least once per day

• Average time spent on Facebook is nearly 1 hour

How to get more volunteers on your nonprofit’s Facebook

page

• Talk about specific upcoming opportunities in a way that encourages conversation.

• Thank the volunteers you have, share their stories w/ photos, video, etc.

• Ask volunteers to share their stories and experiences.

3 ways volunteers can attract more volunteers using Facebook

1. Post an update about their volunteer experience on their personal Facebook profiles.

2. “Check in” at your agency with their smart

phone when they arrive to volunteer.

3. Post photos of their volunteer experiences on their personal your organization’s Facebook page.

What to include in your social media guidelines & in your plan

Guidelines for appropriate content by volunteers (and staff) when talking about your organization.

Consider Twitter for…

• Virtual volunteer recruitment.

• Younger demographics.

• Continuing education and peer networkingfor YOU, as a volunteer director.

Who to follow on Twitter

• HandsOnNetwork

• Volunteer Florida

• VolunteerMatch

• Energize Inc.

YouTube

• It’s easier than you think.

• Demographic is 18-54 years old.

• FREE nonprofit program allows you to link directly to any page on your website from your video.

Get a flip camera.

Blogging

• Requires some time & commitment.

• Best posts are short, conversational and provide value-added.

• Great to drive traffic to your website.

• Link on your Facebook page and newsletter.

• Use guest bloggers!

How do you know if you’re successful with social media?

• Engagement. Are people posting about their volunteer experiences? Responding to your posts with “likes” and comments?

Evidence that other people love volunteering is a great way to recruit a new volunteer.

It takes

a village.

Building engagement is key.

How do you know if you’re successful?

• Awareness. Do more people know about volunteer opportunities? Informally survey your new volunteers to see how they found out about you.

How do you know if you’re successful?

• Web traffic/ Click throughs.Are visitors coming to the volunteer page of your website from Facebook/ Twitter? Google Analytics (free) can tell you.

Thank

you.