empowerla tux guide
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Department of Neighborhood Empowerment200 North Spring Street, Suite 2005, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tel: (213) 978-1551 • EmpowerLA.org
EMPOWER YOURSELF • EMPOWER YOUR COMMUNITY
CUT
NEIGHBORHOODCOUNCIL
TUXGuide
Technologyand
User Experience
,
“The great myth of our times is that technology is communication.” -Libby Larson
“You can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you.
You have to come to them sometimes.”- Winnie the Pooh
Technology: Hardware & Software used to create and communicate e.g., radio, computers, telephones, satellites, printing presses, pencils, apps, social networks, video cameras, etc.
User Experience: the overall experience of a person using a product such as a website or computer application, especially in terms of how easy or pleasing it is to use.
Our greatest opportunity to engage is to embrace technology and
focus on user experience!
The Four Cornersof the TUX Universe!
The Four Cornersof the TUX Universe!
Foundations Secrets of the Universe Organizing: Equipping your council to succeed Blogs: Improving how you post Website & Connectivity
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910121314
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Resources Gadgets Creating a TUX Policy Social Media Terms for Newbies Next Steps Check List
Metrics 10 Things to Measure Measuring Tools
Accessories Social Media: Platforms at a Glance 3 “Do’s & Don’ts” of Social Media The Demographics of Social Media Social Media & Connectivity
Your WEBSITE is the home to all your other outreach efforts online. It’s the one platform where you control and own all your content, and it’s the place where you store and collect all your content. How it’s built, how others interact with it, and how you organize your team will affect how useful it is.
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Secrets of the Universe
Things Must Work Do your links work? Is there content on all the pages accessible through the menu bar? Are photos and graphics properly displayed? Is it found through searches?
Things Must Connect Does your website link back to other city sites? Does it connect to your Social Media pages? Can you connect to your page through Social Media? Does your page directly connect people to the board and committees.
Things Must be Accessible Do you use direct simple language that anyone can understand? Is your site available in different languages? Do you use language for people outside the Neighborhood Council “Bubble”? Is the content useful for both those involved and not involved alike?
Things Must Be Dynamics Is your website more than a static information page? Do you update news? events? reports? Does your page interact with social media or other Neighborhood Councils? Do you upload videos and pictures?
Things Must be Enjoyable Are the colors easy on the eyes? Are the words easy to read? Is it organized in a way where information is easy to find? Is the content enjoyable and useful?
Things Must Be True Does your website abide by the Brown Act and the new posting policy? Does it use the city seal appropriately? Are authorized people updating the site?
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Equipping Your TUX Team
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Improving How You Post
KeywordsUse keywords in your title, in the first paragraph of your post, and in the titles of image files.
Pics and Vids Pictures and Videos are still the most clicked-on content all over the web.
LinksCreate links to any organizations, events, sites, or content you referto in the post.
SEO Be sure your site is equipped with a “Search Engine Optimization” plugin that creates “meta-tags” for each post.
TagsUse tags or keywords to label each post for internal searches.
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Websites and Connectivity
You’ve built your site and have been posting content, but how do you make sure stakeholders see it? It always comes back to Connectivity: connecting with others to maximize
your outreach impact.
Connect by Linking
The more you link to other sites on the
web, and the more that sites link back
to you, the better success you have
being found online. So link back to
organizations, such as EmpowerLA,
that also link to you.
Connect by Promoting
Offer your partners links
for links in return. If you post
about an event outside your
council, perhaps the event
hosts can also link to your
website as a partner.
Connect by Informing
Be sure to list your website on all your collateral. It should be on printed paper and promotional material. Also, include it in unique
places such as the slides in your meeting presentation, or in you
social media posts.
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Once you’ve built your digital foundation, you can enhance your outreach by using different social media platforms that connect you with others and share the information you create with a wider audience.
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Social Media Platform Comparison Chart
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Social Media Platform Comparison Chart Cont’d
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Best and Worst Times to Post
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3 DOs and DON’Ts
DO Create guidelines for all posters and content creators to ensure
consistent messaging and voice.
DON’T Let anyone start posting without
recognizing your own guidelines, Brown Act Requirements, and your online strategy.
DO Post pictures, videos, survey questions, and messages of less
than 60 words
DON’T Post anything you have doubts about posting.
If you have to think about it, you probably shouldn’t.
DO Post consistently across platforms, social media content at least once a
day, and blogs at least once a week.
DON’T Over post! Especially if the content you create
is exactly the same on all your platforms. Vary your content to match each platform’s audience.
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Demographics
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Adding
Sharing
Mentioning
Social Media and Connectivity
Search out organizations, people and influencers who may have interest in your council and add or follow them.
Share other people’s content and posts and make sure they know about it. Once you share, make sure you have something to say about the shared content.
On Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and pretty much all other networks use the “@” character to mention others. Mentioning someone in social media is the same as calling out their name; it grabs their attention.
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Connect by...
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The only way to know
if you are reaching out
to people online is to
measure it. Fortunately,
most networks have a
built in system to help
you do so.
Me
tric
s
10 Things to Measure
1. Page Likes
2. FB Content Shares
3. FB Content Views
4. Page Views
5. Twitter, Instagram Followers
6. Twitter Retweets
7. Partner Connections
8. Unique Website Visitors
9. YouTube Views
10. Klout Score
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Empo
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LA -
Mea
sur
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To
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Measuring Tools
There are different ways to view your analytics. Google analytics will help you with your website. Facebook and Twitter have built in analytics. Online software such as Statigram and Hootsuite can also help.
Meet Klout
Klout gives you a score measuring how effective you are at reaching out, measuring how many people follow you, how often your content is shared or commented on. It’s a simple number that tells you if you’re getting better or not. Obama has 99. EmpowerLA has 52 (as of 6/19/2014).
Where is your council on the scale?18
The internet is full
of tools that can be
used for managing
social media as well as
creating and editing
content such as photos
and videos.
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Gadgets
Here’s a list of online/digital tools we love to use. Some require paid accounts, but be sure to inquire about government/non-profit discounts.
Hootsuite: (FREE) Online software that organizes the feeds from your different Social Media accounts in one place. Allows you to schedule and post content. Hootsuite.com
Jotform/SurveyMonkey: (FREE) Online software that helps you create comprehensive surveys that match your “look” and also provide detailed reports. We use them for RSVPS, sign-ups, and surveys. Jotform.com or SurveyMonkey.com
Prezi: (FREE) Create dynamic looking presentations with this online software. We use it at events to reinforce ideas. Prezi.com
Piktochart: (FREE) You too can create awesome infographics of your collected data, or other listed ideas. Piktochart.com
MailChimp/Constant Contact: (FREE) Email Marketing platforms where you can manage your lists and also send branded emails and newsletters. MailChimp.com ConstantContact.com
Glossi: Online tool for making digital magazines. Glossi.com
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Gadgets cont’d
Google Drive: (FREE) Create a folder that is shared with your team and owned by a central Council account. We use this so that no matter what folks are working on, someone can always check and pick up where they left off if needed. Great way to track work and content. Drive.Google.com
QR Code Generator: Use QR Codes on your printed materials and signage for people to scan. It can send them to your website, a video, or even create a contact in their phone.qr-code-generator.com/ (you can google others)
Pixlr: An online tool for editing photos. Pixlr.com
Muut: (FREE) If you want to create an online forum for your stakeholders, use Muut. It can be integrated in your website. Muut.com
Drop Box: (FREE) Another file sharing application that is also available across devices. Dropbox.com
Evernote: (FREE) A productivity app that syncs across your phone, tablet, and computer where you can store files, photos, ideas, content, etc. and share folders with other people. Evernote.com
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Creating a TUX Policy
The best way to ensure that your content comes from one voice is to post in a timely
manner and within two sets of TUX guidelines, one that is based on the law and the other that is based on your strategy.
Things to consider: What is your digital strategy for posting content? What is your hierarchy of oversight? Do you have a Communications or Outreach Committee? Who posts Agendas and Minutes and is there an automatic connection to social media?
Things to consider: What is the Agenda posting policy? When are Agendas and Minutes posted? Who maintains the passwords and access and administration authority? What email accounts are used to anchor the different services that belong to the Neighborhood Council?
An official TUX Policy from your council will clearly define appropriate behavior according to the laws, rules, and policies that govern Neighborhood Councils.
A TUX Guideline Policy assists outreach team members and other content posters and creators in best practices that are consistent with your outreach strategy.
TUX Policy
TUX Guideline Policy
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Your TUX Policy
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Social Media Terms for Newbies
Activity Log – a log that shows you all of your scheduled content, as well as past content posted to your page.
Circles – a Google+ feature that allows users to put people together into specified groups. Through this feature, Google+ users have the ability to share updates with specific groups of people in pre-defined “circles.”
Cloud Computing - a type of computing where resources are retrieved from the internet through web-based tools and applications, rather than being stored on local servers.
Direct Message (DM) – a private conversation between two users on Twitter and Instagram
Fan – a Facebook user who follows a brand or business Page.
Favorite – an action that represents a user’s approval of a piece of content on Twitter.
Follower – someone who has chosen to receive your tweets in their Twitter timeline
Friend – a Facebook connection between two people. Both parties must agree to become “friends” before a connection is made. Hashtag – an interactive feature that allows social network users to relate a status update to a broader topic.
Like – an action that social network users can take to show their approval of a status update. In addition, Facebook users can “Like” pages in order to receive the Page’s status updates in their newsfeeds.
Lists – groupings of your followers that you’ve created and categorized so that you can find them easily.
Meme – a humorous piece of content that is generally recognized by society. Typically, memes are shared by many people and quickly go viral.
Mention – the act of including someone’s handle in your tweet. That person will then get a notification that they’ve been mentioned.
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Social Media Terms for Newbies
Page – a Facebook profile for a business or a brand. Facebook users can “like” pages but they cannot be friends with pages
Page “Like” – when a fan “likes” your page, anything you post or update will show up in their news feed.
Pin – a piece of content shared by Pinterest users.
Post Clicks – the number of people who clicked on anything in your post. This could include someone clicking on an image with a “see more” call to action or a URL you included.
Promoted Content – a way to increase the reach of a profile or a specific piece of content on social networks. Promoted content is paid for and thus an advertisement
Retweet – an action that allows users to share another user’s content on Twitter.
Rich Pin – pins that feature extra content, such as a map, product pricing, recipe details and more. There are multiple types of Rich Pins, including Place Pins, Article Pins, Product Pins, Recipe Pins and Movie Pins.
Share – an action that allows someone to publish content from another source. The content is “shared” to that user’s personal social network.
Status Update – a piece of content shared by a social network member.
Tag - a tag can be keywords that blogs, videos, and other content are associated with for internal and external searching, or it can be the process of associating other users, friends, followers with a post, photo, or other content on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Tweet – a Twitter status update.
Viral – a piece of content that is rapidly and organically shared.
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Next Steps Checklist
Ensure that your domain and hosting are owned by your councilUpdate your sidebars to include links to your newsletter, EmpowerLA, and other important links.Add widgets for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTubeReorganize your menu to directly connect to your board, events, and news.Create a Resources page to link to other groups and city offices.
Customize your Signature File to include contact information and link back to all your platformsSelect an online App to use for emails and newslettersCollect Emails at all events, and through a widget on your siteMake sure your emails contain links and social sharing bookmarks
Create a PAGE (not a group)Select administrators and adjust permissionConnect with other people and groupsShare other page’s content and share your own from your siteMention and tag others in your posts
Establish a council HashtagCreate Lists of Hashtags to followConnect with other groups and influencers on TwitterAnnounce Meetings, Updates, and any other content
Establish a Council hashtag (could be same as Twitter)Use popular tags to increase your followingConnect with other groups and and influencers, and feature their content
Create meaningful titles and desciptionsUse many keywordsMake sure it plays back on mobile devicesPromote it through other social media
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Website
Email/Newsletter
Youtube
Who’s on your TUX Team?
Job
Webmaster
Web Updates
Campaign List
Next Door
Media
Video
Photographer
Graphics and Layouts
Blogging
Name Contact
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Department of Neighborhood Empowerment200 North Spring Street, Suite 2005, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tel: (213) 978-1551 • EmpowerLA.org
EMPOWER YOURSELF • EMPOWER YOUR COMMUNITY
CUT
NEIGHBORHOODCOUNCIL
Notes