Posts Tagged ‘Social media’

Technology has changed the face of campaigning over the past years and every month we witness a novel digital campaign. Gone are the days where I sit down with my pen and paper and write a letter to my local MP, as the internet comes up with increasingly innovative ways of connecting a cause to its supporters.

Before Christmas I sat on a conference call with Gordon Brown to hear about his hopes for the Copenhagen summit. Impressive, you may think, but in fact this was a new ‘community engagement’ tactic hosted by Avaaz, allowing hundreds of people across the globe to dial into a conference call and pose questions to the PM. As the conference organisers said, this was an example of technology bringing citizens together like never before.

Although the format was innovative, the content of the call itself was quite unremarkable. One thing that caught my attention however was when someone posed the question “What do you need us, the citizens, to do about climate change”. Mr Brown’s reply was surprising. “Visit the Ed’s Pledge website,” he said “and register your support”. This website is dedicated to Ed Miliband Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, and his ambition for greater ambition on climate change.

A few days later Ed Miliband sent me an email, offering me a whole raft of ways that I could “take action”. Take action, to me means getting a compost bin to reduce the amount of organic waste we throw into landfill sites, or getting on your bike to reduce the amount of harmful emissions we are pumping into the atmosphere. Ed’s definition was somewhat different; none of these actions were tangible ‘actions’ in the truest sense of the word. All did, however, include the prefix ‘click to’. Click to sign a petition, click to write to your newspaper, the list goes on.

This has made me think about the true effect technology is having on ‘taking action’. It seems to me that whilst online tools have become invaluable in bringing citizens together, we are in danger of changing the definition of ‘action’ among audiences. You would be forgiven for thinking from listening to Gordon Brown, that by signing a pledge, sending on a message of support to a friend or  re-tweeting a post then we’ve done enough, we can sit back in our armchairs because climate change will be halted.

Not only that but, before long, we are in danger of creating a kind of ‘take action’ fatigue among the general public. Before long people will undoubtedly start to question the true value of online pledge signing and wish to do something more meaningful in supporting a cause.

What lesson can we take for online communicators? Whilst increasingly novel community engagement tools can be useful in recruiting support and connecting people, we must not lose sight of the end goal. We need to dedicate as much creative thought to meaningful calls to action as the tools we use to communicate these.

A social media platform couldn’t be a more appropriate tool for organisations who seek to engage a community of supporters. Most tools are free, and give you the ability to frequently interact with your audience, and many not-for-profits are already off to a start with these communications channels. Many, however, find it challenging to get the most out of the myriad of tools on offer.

Knowing how important having an online presence is and how cost effective it can be for any organisation, even the smallest not-for-profit, we will be running a free digital masterclass on engaging your communities through social media, and evaluating success.

The workshop will give you practical and tailored advice on engaging your audiences through social media platforms and take you through the interpretation of analytics to enable you to effectively evaluate your activities and build on success.

It will be led by Ged Carroll, e-consultancy trainer and Director of Digital Strategies at Ruder Finn, with added insights from the specialist Global Health and Advocacy team who are experienced in driving digital campaigns for not-for-profit organisations.

When and where? 30 November 2009 from 9-10.30am in central London

There are some places remaining, so if you’re from a not-for-profit and you want to learn more about online community engagement, email lyeatman@ruderfinn.co.uk to confirm a spot and we’ll send you location details.

Traditionally the third sector has been accused of being slow to embrace social media. This could be due to lack of resources or lack of knowledge, but whatever the reason it’s clear that social media has a number of myths surrounding it. As an agency we often hear that it’s too expensive, too technically complicated, or too time consuming to engage in social media. That’s why Ruder Finn has put together 10 great reasons why social media is particularly useful to NGOs, which will hopefully prove it’s worth tackling. Read this and you’ll have no excuses to get online!

1. Because networks and communities are central to campaigning

Evangelism of the few to mobilise the masses was at the centre of Obama’s presidential campaign. New media proved critical to the campaign’s success with supporters being contacted frequently with action orientated messages. Social media has the ability for frequent interaction with a community of supporters which is why it’s such as appropriate tool for campaigning. Facebook groups are a great way to recruit new supporters and encourage them into practical action.

2. Because talk is cheap

As opposed to traditional media, social media offers good return on investment as most popular social media sites are free to join. This will be music to the ears of resourced pushed third sector organisations who can reach large audiences with little financial investment.

3. Because it’s all about cutting through the red tape

Starting a blog or Twitter campaign is all about having the spontaneity to be able to write news and views as they happen and communicate with audiences on an up-to-the minute basis. This is often the biggest hurdle for corporations whose communications are heavily regulated and whose copy will have to go through several rounds of approval before it gets anywhere near the public domain, which often precludes them from social media altogether for fear of lack of control. If you’re an organisation where this kind of regulation is not an issue, then this is your chance to get ahead of the big guns. So get tweeting and blogging and position yourselves at the forefront of the news in your area.

4. Because social media is a route to the younger generation

The younger generation is notoriously hard to reach through traditional media. Social networking sites are common places for young people to interact. Demographics of audiences vary across applications but many attract high proportions of 18-24 year olds, which can be invaluable for reaching target audiences for education and fundraising campaigns. Take Facebook for example: Of the 8.4 million UK users, 3.8 million are in the 18 - 24 bracket.

5. Because all of your audiences are online

Social networks are not just a route to the younger demographic. Increasingly, even the less likely suspects are beginning to catch on, particularly policy makers. Regular tweeters include Sarah Brown, Number 10 and Barack Obama. This means the different forms of social media will become increasingly important advocacy platforms.

6. Because it’s easy

As well as price, ease of use is another reason why social media has caught on so quickly. Take setting up a blog for instance. Word press systems may seem daunting to begin with, but you’ll soon realise that it’s no different from writing an email, and the preview button is useful damage limitation for those worried about making mistakes!

7. Because human interest stories are inherently visual

Many NGOs deal with subjects of human interest. Being able to transparently represent those you seek to help in your communications is often the end goal. What better way to do this than through visual applications such as Flickr and YouTube, which are excellent platforms to use to humanize campaigns.  Citizen led reporting is billed by many to be the future, so let those that tell the story represent it online through a video story, podcast or photo story, and let the message shine through.

8. Because social media is a hot button for funding bodies and media alike

Social media is a hot topic right now, not a day goes by without seeing Twitter mentioned in the news. Seeing the golden words ’social media’ in a proposal may win points with funders who are keen to embrace this area, and innovative use of Twitter is likely to pick up lots of coverage as the Twitchhiker proved.

9. Because social media can be inclusive

Many NGOs are global and have offices in developing countries. Increasingly mobile phone and internet use is skyrocketing in the developing world and is only set to increase. Social media platforms can give southern civil society a greater voice in the conversation, which is incredibly important in advocacy campaigns that deal with developing world issues. Watch out for the levels of flash animation in applications, as this will exclude many on dial-up connections.

10. Because it’s green

The environmental argument is one of the most compelling to get online. Whilst many cite under resourcing as a reason not to invest in social media, switching communications online can save substantially on material and posting costs.