Fifty Acres Principal Jo Scard presented a webinar to a huge audience of over 1000 for Pro Bono Australia today on social media and blogging. The slides can be downloaded here.

1. SOCIAL MEDIA
AND BLOGGING
FOR NOT-FOR-PROFITS

2. 1. MAKE IT MEANINGFUL
2. HOW TO DO IT
3. DON’T LET IT TAKE OVER
4. AND THERE WILL BE PLENTY
OF TIME FOR QUESTIONS

3. IT IS IMPORTANT, SIGNIFICANT
AND HERE TO STAY. THAT'S
BECAUSE THIS INCREDIBLE
DISTILLATION OF KNOWLEDGE
IS NOW VERY MUCH PART OF
OUR LIVES - CRAMMING AS
MUCH INFORMATION INTO AS
LITTLE TIME AS POSSIBLE.

4. BUT - WE NEED TO PAUSE
AND MAKE IT MEANINGFUL.

5. THINKING IS IMPORTANT
The level of sensory bombardment we all experience
has increased exponentially. Every one of us is
permanently connected to the internet, to a mobile,
or to a network or platform of some kind. This means
we have to consciously choose to think about what
we contribute - otherwise we stay switched on.
Fifty Acres – The Communications Agency

6. “IT’S HAPPENED VERY FAST, AND I SENSE
THERE IS NO GOING BACK. THIS WASN’T
SOMETHING WE CHOSE. WE DIDN’T HAVE
A CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS AS A
CULTURE AND REFLECT ON THE PROS
AND CONS. THE SHIFT HAS BEEN
ITERATIVE, WE’VE UPGRADED &
EXPERIMENTED AND EARLY ADOPTED
OUR WAY”
KATHERINE MURPHY, GUARDIAN, IN ‘MEANJIN’,
MARCH 2013

8. WHY?

9. IT’S FAST, IT’S VIRAL, IT CAN
SPARK ENGAGEMENT, AND IT’S
FREE.
SO WHY NOT?

10. AND WE RUN THE RISK OF
BECOMING IRRELEVANT IF WE
DON’T DO IT PROPERLY.

11. KEY REASONS
The community expects us to
It’s how they are increasingly communicating with one
another.
There are obvious productivity gains
Both for your own workforce but in assisting your
community help you be more efficient.
Because it makes clear financial sense
If you can communicate faster, cheaper and greener
why wouldn’t you do it.
Fifty Acres – The Communications Agency

12. WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO?
RESOURCES.
AUDIENCES.
BLOGGING.

13. HOW DO YOU RESOURCE IT?

14. GETTING STARTED
Framework
Define what you
want to achieve
and develop
strategies &
protocols to
guide you
Fifty Acres – The Communications Agency
Resource
Invest in the
staff &
budget to run a
program in line
with defined
goals
Relate
Have flexibility
to respond &
inform - shape
engagement
around what you
need

15. THINK, PLAN AND GET THE
DETAILS RIGHT
Organizations need to make wise
choices about where and in what
amount to deploy resources, and set
expectations about how much you’re
willing to spend - not just in money but
in staff time.
Fifty Acres – The Communications Agency
Extraordinary incremental
gains can be made just by
focusing obsessively on the
small things. For instance,
the size and colour of a
donate button, the specific
dollar amount asked for in
an email.

16. RESOURCING
Be ambitious but
it needs to be
manageable. It
takes resources
and time to make
a program work,
on the internet as
anywhere else.
Set expectations
in line with
resources but be
bold - consider the
opportunities of
investing in social
media.
Fifty Acres – The Communications Agency
Invest in people
that can manage
the program and
give them the
authority to
develop and post
content in a
responsive way.
Don’t let day-today social media
be slowed down
by bureaucracy.

17. ANY QUESTIONS?

18. HOW DO YOU SPEAK
TO YOUR AUDIENCES?

19. WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA
Anyone who says you can conduct your life primarily
online, and be gadget-led, is wrong. The essence of
work and life is relationships, and human contact.
We're told having masses of links is great, but we
only have a set number of hours in a week to speak
to people and form relationships.
It’s better to limit yourself to two types of social
networking but do them well.
Fifty Acres – The Communications Agency

20. Who do we want to engage?
CONSIDER
What do we want to say?
What platforms should we use?
How often should we engage?
What role should we play in the
conversation?
Fifty Acres – The Communications Agency

21. PLANNING
Social media needs to be targeted and relevant for
it to work.
You need to define what you hope to achieve by
using social media, and to develop deliberate
tactics to achieve your goals.
The parameters of engagement should be put in
place through developing social media protocols,
including crisis management.
Fifty Acres – The Communications Agency

22. HOW DO WE TALK?
It needs to be
meaningful.
The importance of
building, and
honouring
relationships
should inform your
efforts. People
need to
understand the
value of engaging
with you.
Fifty Acres – The Communications Agency
It needs to be
clear.
This means that
execution is a
huge factor - that
the nitty-gritty of
copy, design,
timing etc. should
ensure
communication is
clear, authentic,
and compelling.
And they will talk
back.
Treat followers as
real people by
making sure to
interact and
respond to their
comments.

23. Communicate the small stuff, not just
the big picture
CONTENT & TONE
Encourage feedback and be responsive
Keep it personal
Use pictures or link to videos
Encourage staff & community to
contribute
Fifty Acres – The Communications Agency

24. BLOGGING

25. WHY BLOG?
Media is
increasingly
becoming
diffused and
fragmented presenting an
ideal
opportunity to
develop your
own voice.
Fifty Acres – The Communications Agency
Consider
creating a sector
wide blog - you
will have a
stronger voice as
a consequence.
It can be
effective with
very little
resourcing - just
time,
proselytizing and
hard work.

27. GETTING
STARTED
There are plenty
of free templates
and platforms
that can be
downloaded and
customized such
as Wordpress
Or a blog can be
incorporated into
your existing
website which is
easier
Keeping it new
and fresh is key you need to create
original content
Decide how often
you will upload
content and who
will take the lead
in coordinating
the effort
It’s important not
to just set and
forget - you need
to keep it
interesting to
grow your
audience
Fifty Acres – The Communications Agency

28. BLOGGING TIPS
Tools
Use video,
pictures and
infographics to
keep the site
interesting
Fifty Acres – The Communications Agency
Growing
the audience
Growing your
audience is a
combination of
hard work, clever
promotion and
good content don’t give up!
Tell people
Tell people that
your charity has a
blog via your
newsletter, email
and social media

29. A WORD ON CAMPAIGN
PLATFORMS.

32. DON’T LET IT TAKE OVER.
OCCASIONALLY DISCONNECT
TO RECONNECT.

34. SOCIAL MEDIA CHECK-LIST!
It’s here to stay but be ethical and make sure it
reflects the culture and values of your organisation.
Relatively inexpensive way of communicating that
will deliver savings.
Take it on and empower staff with training and
guidelines.
Spend some time thinking about your tone and
message.
Don’t let fear about risks stop you having a vision.
Estimate your investment and have clear objectives.
Track your achievements and the benefits.
Fifty Acres – The Communications Agency

35. ANY QUESTIONS?
THANK YOU.