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social media toolkit FREE

what’s inside:what is social media?•general tips and guidelines•how can I use social media?•this is who we are and what we do•social media in action•social media A-Z•

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what is social media?the basicsSocial media is a general label given to websites and online tools that allow users to interact with each other.

This can include:

• SocialnetworkingsiteslikeFacebook,TwitterandLinkedIn • ContentsharingwebsiteslikeYouTube,VimeoandFlickrwhereyoucansharevideos, photos,podcastsandandmore. • Blogs,forums,messageboardsandwikishelppeopletosharecommentsandviewsand gatherinformationforexampleviaonlinepolls • Socialbookmarksthatenableeasysharingofwebsitesandothercontent

Socialmediaismoreaboutconnecting,communicatingandbuildingrelationshipsthanthetechnology.

Why should I use social media?Becauseitcouldhelpyouandyourorganisationtogetthingsdone:tocommunicate,gainsupport,organiseyourselvesandshareinformation.

What level of computer expertise do I need? AnyonewhohasbasiccomputerskillsandknowshowtoaccesstheInternetcangetstarted.Mostsocialmediaisdesignedtobeasuserfriendlyaspossibleandlikemostthingsinlife,practisemakesperfect-themoreyouuseit,theeasieritgets!

Where do I start?Startwithyourorganisationandwhatyouaretryingtoachievethenthinkabouthowsocialmediamightbeabletohelpyou.Usingsocialmediaisnotanendinitself,ratherawayforyoutodowhatyouwanttodoinanewandeffectiveway.

It’simportanttobestrategicandrealistic.Haveaclearaim,identifythetasksandresponsibilitiesinvolved,decidewhoisdoingwhat.Perhapsmostimportantlythinkabouthowmuchtimeitwilltaketosetupandthenmaintainyoursocialmedia.Forexampleifpeoplepostmessageswhoisauthorisedtoreplyor“moderate”them?Howquicklyshouldtheydoit?

Social Media StrategySimonDuncan,theregionalICTchampion,hasproducedastep-by-stepguidetodevelopingasocialmediastrategy.It’saninepageno-nonsenseguidethatwillenableyoutodevelopanduseasocialmediastrategy.Theguideisavailableatwww.voscur.org/sites/voscur.org/files/socialmedia.pdf

What are the costs? Mostsocialmediacanbeaccessedforfree,aslongasyouhaveanactiveemailaddresswithwhichtocreateaprofilewith.Theremightbeotherequipmentcosts,suchasadigitalorvideocamera,butthemaincostwillbethetimeneededtosetupandmaintainwhateversocialmediayouuse.

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what is social media?Our top tips to help your organisation get the most out of social media.

Have a clear identityDecideonthesocialmedia‘voice’thatwillworkbestforyourorganisation.Thisneedstobeinlinewithwhatyourorganisationdoesandistryingtoachieve.Socialmediacanblurtheboundariesbetweenpersonalandpublicsoifyouarerepresentinganorganisationmakesureyouknowwhatyoucanandcannotsay.Ifyouareusingyourownnameit’sagoodideatomakeyourroleintheorganisationclearandemphasisethatanyviewsexpressedareyoursratherthantheorganisation’s.Ingeneralaimtobepositive,honest,open,friendlyandfair.

Review and reconsider Afteryouhavebeenusingsocialmediaforawhile(aweek?amonth?sixmonths?)stopandlookatwhatyouaredoingandwhatitisachieving.Isitwhatyousetouttodoinyoursocialmediastrategy?Isitsomethingelse?Whatworkswell,whatisn’tworthbotheringwith?Whathaveyouseenothersdothatyouwanttodoyourself?Taketimetoevaluateandimprovewhatyou’redoing.

Capture the momentit’sallaboutcreatingcontentsomakesureyoucapturewhatyoudousingphotos,video,reactions,quotes,details,diagramsandmore.

Putting the social in social media‘Thinkabouttherelationshipbetweenyourselfandthosewhoviewyourcontent.Togetthebestresponsesbeasengagingaspossible,holdcompetitions,askforopinionsandideastohelpbuildrelationships.Don’tjustbombardpeoplewithannouncements!

Have a clear goalThe best idea is to sit down and decide on a social mediastrategy(seelinktoguideonpreviouspage.)Thiswon’ttakemuchtimeandwillmakeyouruseofsocialmediamuchmoreeffective.Usingsocialmediaisagreatwayofdevelopingyourpublicity,butrememberitisverypublic,somakesureyouhaveapolicyaboutwhatcanandcannot be publicised.

Be responsive Oneofsocialmedia’smainfeaturesisthatitenablesuserstorespondandinteract,somakesureyouregularlytakethetimetojoininwithdiscussionsorrespondtomessages.Letyouraudienceknowthatyouappreciatetheirinterestandcontributions.Askthemquestions,setthemchallenges…involvethemandbuildyoursupport.

Privacy settingsSocialmediaisallaboutsharing,butyoumightonlywanttosharecertainnewsorcontentwithspecificgroupsofpeople.Privacysettingsarebuiltintomostapplicationssoyoucanrestrictaccesstosensitiveinformation.

Use social media to learn about social media Therearelotsofhelpfulguidestohowtousesocialmedia.TheCommoncraftwebsitehashelpfulvideoexplanationsofallkinds,suchasanexplanationofblogsatwww.commoncraft.com/video/blogs,simplyjoinuptoviewthem.Therearemanymoreguidesoutthere,forexampleon www.slideshare.net/.

Help Spread The WordIfyouseeanotheruserpostsomethingofinterestorusetoothers,don’tbeaffraidtoshare,‘like’,‘retweet’orlinkcontenttoyourusers.Bysharingothers’content,peoplewillbemoreinclinedtoreturnthefavourandshareyourcontentwiththeirfollowers.

general tips and guidelines

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FacebookFacebookhasover750millionmembers(individualsandorganisations)andisverylikelytocontainpeoplethatyourorganisationwantstocommunicatewith.Itcanbeaquickandeasywaytoestablishahomeontheweb.YoucanmakeyourFacebookpagepublicandthereforevisibletoanyoneusingtheinternet,butyoucanonlycommunicate(usingFacebooktools)withpeoplewhoareregisteredwithFacebook.

Onceyouexistpeoplehaveto‘friend’youorbecomeyour‘fan’toreceiveyourupdatesandseewhatyoulike.YourFacebookprofilecanbeusedto: • Postupdatestoletpeopleknowwhat’sgoingonwithyourorganisation • Sharephotographs • Establishaneventpage,makingiteasytoinvitepeopleandgetanindicationofwhether ornottheywillattend.

Good for:campaigning;fundraising;involvingpeopleineventsandsharingphotos.Can be linked to:Flickr,Twitter,YouTubeetcandblogs Similar to:LinkedIn;Google+,MySpace

how can I use social media?

Twitter Twitterisaservicethatenablesyoutosendandreadshortupdatesknownastweets.It’susefulforaskingquestions,appealingforhelp,gettingthelatestnewsandevents,sharingsuccessesandmore.

Tweetsarerestrictedto140characters(sameasastandardtextmessage).Onceyouregisteryouchooseausernamewhichhas@atthebeginning.Thiscouldbeapersonalname(@marysmith)oraversionofanorganisation’snameorsomethingthatcaptureswhatyouareabout,suchas@greenweekendsor@shelleyfamilysupport.ThiswillbeyouridentityonTwitter.

Youcanthenchoosewhoto‘follow’;maybesimilarorganisations?Peopleinyourlocalarea?Establishedexperts?TohelpyoucanusethesearchfacilityonTwitterorothersearchtools(egTwelloworWefollowthatcanfindpeoplebyareasofactivity/expertise). Peoplepostingtweetsofinteresttoyouwilloftenbefollowingothersthatwillalsobeofinterest.

Twitterhasanumberofuniquetools,including: • Mentions-taggingotherTwitterusersbyincludingtheirusernameinyourtweets.Thisis usefulforstartingpublicconversations(directmessagingcanbeusedforprivateones). • Hashtags(#)-awayofgatheringallthetweetsonaparticularsubjecttogether,doneby simplyincludingthe#symbolwithakeyword(eg#greennews) • Trending-Themostfrequentlyusedhashtagsataperiodoftime • Retweeting(RT)-reposting/sharingatweettoyourfollowers,helpingtospreadideas andinformation

Good for: Findinglikemindedpeopleororganisations,findingnewsandinformation,raisingawarenessofwhatyoudoandbuildingsupport.Can be linked to:photos,videos,blogs Similar to:Texting

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how can I use social media?Social media gives us new ways to tell people about our organisations. The jargon for this is ‘creating content’. Content can be words, pictures, films, interviews, opinion polls, news and more. The exciting thing is that rather than relying on others (eg local newspapers) you can create your publicity directly and then hear what people think about it.

Short,newsyandchattyusuallyworksbest.Thinkaboutwhatyouliketoreadorwatch.Whatquestionsareyoualwaysbeingasked?Photosandvideosmeanyoucanshowwhatyoudoratherthantell.Youcancapturethebuzzataneventormakeshortvideosaboutyouractivitiesandthepeopleinvolved.Makinganaudiorecordingmeansyoudon’thavetobegoodatwritingtocreatecontentandyoucaninterviewothersandletothersspeakforthemselves.

Whatevercontentyouwanttocreatetherewillbeawayofmakingitavailableontheinternet,usuallyforfree.

BlogsBlogsareonlinejournalsordiaries.Theyaremini websites that have regular news updates oropinions(knownasposts).Whenyoulookatablogyou’llseethemostrecentpostfirst.Youcanusuallyscrolldowntoreadthelastfewentries,butolder posts will be archived. The person writing theblog(theBlogger)usuallyputslabelsontheirposts(dependingonthestyle/subjectmatter)sothatpeoplecansearchbackandfindthingsthatinterest them.

Theyareagreatwayofdevelopingahomeonthewebandcanbefree(ready-madetemplatesareavailable)andyourpostscanbuilduptogivearoundedviewofyourorganisation.

How to get bloggingWordpress,LiveJournalandBloggerallofferfreeblogging.Gototheirwebsiteandsignupandtheywillgiveyouablogsitewithitsownaddress.

Thewebsitewillgiveyouaccesstoacontrolpanelwhereyoucanwriteyourpost,readitthroughand then publish. Once published it will appear on yourblogsite.

Youwillneedtodecidehowyouwantyourblogtolook,thismeanschoosingatemplate/formattouseandtools/add-ons/widgetstofeature(suchassearchbars,archivelistsandlinkstoyourTwitterorFacebookprofiles).Blogsarepublicandpeoplecanregisterandcommentonwhatyouhavewritten.Youcanmonitorcommentsanddecidewhich ones can be shown.

Audio, video, podcasts and vodcasts.Therearedifferentwaysofusingsoundandvideototellyourstoriesandpromoteyourorganisation.Youdon’tevenneedexpensiveequipment,manyofushavephonesinourpocketsthathavevideocamerasonthem.Flipcamerasareinexpensive,easytousevideocamerasandsimilardigitalsound recorders are also available.

Ifyouarerecordingaquickintervieworasnapshotofaneventyouwon’tneedtoeditit.Youcanrecordit,transferittoyourcomputerandthenuploadittoasitesuchasYouTubeorVimeotomakeitpubliclyavailable.Yourcomputermightalreadyhavevideooraudioeditingsoftwarebuiltintoit.Ifnotyoucanbuyspecialistsoftwareordownloadfreesoftware(knownasfreeware).AudacityisthebestknownfreewareforeditingaudioandAvidemuxistheequivalentforvideo.Googlethemtofindoutwhereyoucandownloadthem.

What is a podcast or vodcast?A podcast is an audio recording designed to be downloadedorlistenedtoonline.Youcouldthinkofitasaradioprogramme(thatcanbemadebyanyone)thatcanbelistenedtowithoutaradio. Avodcastisthevideoequivalent,YouTubeisfullofthem,peoplemakingtheirownprogrammesandpresentations.

this is who we are and what we do

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social media in action

People’sVoiceMedia,anorganisationbasedinSalford,havepioneeredusingcommunityreportersasanewwayforlocalcommunitiestohavetheirsayintheirownwords.

Afterbasictraininginusingsimpleaudioandvideorecordersanyonecanbecomeacommunityreporterandinterviewpeopletofindoutwhattheythinkabout…anything.People’sVoiceMediahashelpedyoungpeoplebrandedastroublemakerstopresenttheirviewstotheirlocalresidentsassociation(aswellasgoingonablog).

OnanotheroccasionresidentsofahousingestateinPrestonfeltthatareportonGranadaTonighthadrepresentedthembadlyasitstucktothesameoldstereotypes.Localpeoplewerekeentohavetheirsayaboutwhatlivinginthelocalareawasreallylike.Agroupofpeopleweretrainedascommunityreporters,theirbriefwastogetasmanyinterviewsaspossiblethatreflectedthepositiveaspectsoflivingontheestate.ThiswastheneditedandmadepubliclyavailableonYouTube.

Tobeinspiredandfindmoreexamplesgotohttp://communityreporter.co.uk/

Community Reporting

TwoValley’sRadioisacommunityInternetradiostationthatrunssixbroadcastsayear(butallpastbroadcastsremain as podcasts on their website to be listened to at anytime).

BasedintheColneandHolmeValleysnearHuddersfield,the volunteers who put the broadcasts together want to promotethegoodthingsthatarehappeninglocally.Frompantomimestocommunityagriculture,brassbandsandschoolfetes.Theideaistogetpeopleofdifferentagestalkingtogetherandtohavesomefun.

To find out more go to: www.twovalleysradio.co.uk/Facebook:Two Valleys Radio Twitter: @twovalleysradio

Radio on the Internet

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social media in action

Mostofususemobilephonesandarehappytosendandreceivetexts.Thismeansthattextmessagesareagoodwaytoreachawiderangeofpeopleontheirown terms.

ThumbprintCity(basedinHuddersfield)offersaservicefororganisationstousetextmessagestofindoutwhatpeoplethinkaboutissuesandalsotosendoutnewsandinformation.

SharonBeckhelpedtosetup‘LendanEar’,aserviceforcarersofchildrenwithadditionalneeds.AstheirThumbprintCitywebpagesays‘Weallfeelaloneattimeswithnowheretoturn,sometimeswejustneedtoknowsomeone’slistening.LendanEarisheretolisten,shareideas,advice,tipsandhelpwithanyproblemsyouaregoingthrough.’Membersofthegrouptexttheirmessagesintothegroup’spagewheretheyallgetshown.It’salsopossibleforthegrouporganiserstosendtextmessagesdirecttopeople’sphones.Sharonexplainsthat,“Peopletextintofindanswers,orfailingthataneartolisten.Noteveryonewilltackleacomputerbutnineoutoftenofushaveaphone.”

TheserviceisdifferenttoTwitterasuserscanremainanonymous.It’sfreetosetupapageanditdoesnotcosttoreceivetexts.To find out more go to http://thumbprintcity.com/

Themuck:up!campaignwasstartedinJanuary2010bytheparentsofsmallchildreninOtley,WestYorkshire.Concernedattheamountofdogfoulinginthestreetsthegroupsetupasimplewebsite.FacebookpageandTwitteraccount.

Thegoalwastogetpeopletalkingtoencouragealldogownerstocleantheirdogmuckup,everytime.“Wewantedtostartadialoguebetweendogownersandfindoutwhytheychoosenottopickup,andmoreimportantlyprovidethemwithinformationtohopefullychangetheirmind,”saysSaraQuinthegroup’sfounder.

To find out more go to: www.muckup.org.uk/

Thumbprint Texts

Muck:up!

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social media A - Z

Social Media ToolkitProducedandPublishedbyVoluntaryActionKirklees,15LordStreet,Huddersfield,HD11QBDesign&contentbyCarolineOubridge&TomBailey,‘whatissocialmedia’contentprovidedcourtesyofNAVCAICTChampions&PaulWebster.PhotographsprovidedcourtesyofGaryCopitch(PeoplesVoiceMedia),AdrianSinclair(HeadsTogether/TwoValleysRadio),AndrewWilson(ThumbprintCity)andBrianCross(Artimedia)ToolkitfundedthankstoTheBigLotteryFundandRISS. Also available online www.creating-connections.org/ORwww.voluntaryactionkirklees.co.uk

Blogs:aspaceonlinetoshareyourthoughts&opinions.

Dashboard:ThecontentmanagementpageofaWordpressblog.

Downloading:TransferringafilefromtheInternettoyourowncomputer.

Embed:Toplaceanimage/photograph/videowithin a webpage

Favourite: Tobookmarkawebpageforfutureviewing

Friends / Followers: Peoplewhohaveaccesstoyourposts/tweetsonFacebook/Twitter

Forums: Alsoknownasmessageboards,aplaceonlinewherepeoplecanleavemessagesforothers to read and to discuss common interests

Hashtags (#): used to create a trend on Twitter

Mentions (@): used to mention others on Twitter

Moderate:Theprocessofreviewingandapprovingcommentsmadeonwebsites,forumsandmessageboards.Inappropriatecontentisdeletedbythemoderator.

Networking: Communicatingwithotherindividualsorgroupswhosharecommoninterests/goals

Podcasts: An audio file recorded to be downloadedfromtheInternet.Canbelistenedtoeitheronacomputer,oronaMP3player.

RSS:ReallySimpleSyndication:anRSSfeedisalistofinformationtakenfromawebsiteorservice,updatedinreal-timewithanynewinformationadded to the website.

Smartphone: A mobile phone that in addition to callingandtextingalsoallowsadvancedfunctionssuchasInternetandSocialMediaaccess. Social Media Management:SoftwaresuchasHootsuiteorTweetDeckthatallowuserstomanagemultipleSocialMediaaccountsatonce.

Tags / Tagging: Categorisinguploadedcontenttomakeiteasiertosearchfor.

Trending:Usingthe#andawordonTwittertocreate a trend. The most popular trends will be listedinTwitter’sTrendslist

Tweets / Retweets (RT):The140charactermessagesTwitteruserspost.Userscanrepost/retweettweetsbyotherstheyarefollowing

Uploading:Transferringcontentfromyourcomputertoonline,makingitavailableforothersto access.

URL::UniformResourceLocatororasitisbetterknown,awebsite’saddress

Wall / Timeline:ThespaceonFacebook/Twitterinwhichyourandyourfollowerspostswillbedisplayed

Website: AplaceontheInternetmadeupofoneormanywebpages

Widget: Aboxcontaininginformationfromanothersitewhichyoucanchangetosuityour needs,and whichyoucanputonyourdesktoporembed onto another website.

Fullglossaryavailableat:http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/a-z/a/