The document discusses how to engage communities online using social media. It provides an overview of popular social networks and tips for non-profits to get started using social media. The document also outlines how the community organization CLEONet uses social media like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to share information and engage with audiences. CLEONet integrates content across platforms and measures engagement through analytics tools. Examples are provided of other advocacy groups using social media effectively.

1. Community Development How to engage your community online using Social Media Presentation by Fiona MacCool CLEONet Project Manager Southwest Legal Clinic Conference April, 2010

2. Social Media: A Video Introduction Social Networking in Plain English http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_KF7TYKVc Is Social Media a Fad? http:// www.youtube.com/user/Socialnomics09#p/a/u/2/NhPgUcjGQAw

3. Social Media: What is it? Source: Primal Media http://www.slideshare.net/PrimalMedia

4. Where is all this social networking happening?

5. Why should clinics work with Social Media? Because the statistics on its usage are staggering and growing Because it is cheap and easy (even for non-techies) Because it is designed to be transparent and user-centered and it encourages dialogue and action Because it allows information to move so quickly Because it gives us other places to be heard but also new places to listen

6. 5 Rules of Social Media for Non-Profits Source: Primal Media http://www.slideshare.net/PrimalMedia

7. 5 Rules of Social Media for Non-Profits Source: Primal Media http://www.slideshare.net/PrimalMedia

8. Tips to Getting Started Join and participate in existing social networks (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) – It’s more than just a way to waste time. You could always start by “following” CLEONet! Figure out what content you have to contribute and find a way to get it online easily (Start a blog, set up your web site so you can publish more easily, or just use Twitter/Facebook) Promote your message/information on social networking sites and allow users to share your content through their networks Create campaigns and integrate your messages across traditional outreach and social media

10. CLEONet’s Approach (We just started!) Use “Addthis” to allow people to add our content to social media sites Created Facebook “Page” for CLEONet, created a Twitter feed and a CLEONet Group on LinkedIN. These free “widgets” show what is happening on these sites and let people “join” more easily

13. Integrating the content & the “fans” When we post content to CLEONet, we add it to our Facebook page and our Twitter feed and similarly, when we update our social media presence with any new content, we make sure it lands on CLEONet as well Each new “Fan” of CLEONet on Facebook will now be on our radar as they post information, news and opinions we were otherwise unaware of. Some of it will be personal or irrelevant – but lots of it will be right on target – especially when all of YOU start doing it . By following our “followers” on Twitter, we are aware of tons of new articles, organizations and networks. If we click through to see who they are following, the network starts to expand even faster and with a click of a button (often on a phone), the information is spread very quickly. All of this can mean new content but more importantly new audiences, opening up new networks of people to involve in future events, campaigns, surveys, new projects, volunteer opportunities, job postings etc.

14. Integrating the tools “ AddThis” makes it easy for CLEONet visitors to add our content to their pages By setting up our site to produce RSS feeds, we allow people to add our new content to their Google Home page, their web site, or get an e-mail of the latest CLEONet postings http:// www.cleonet.ca/RSS_feeds When we have a new piece of content (news or resource) – we add it to CLEONet and then post it to Facebook. We have set it up so that the Facebook CLEONet Page automatically updates the CLEONet Twitter Feed and our page on LinkedIn – 3 Networks from 1 posting - Less work for us! A new web site I am working on to showcase the CLEONet Legal Information Webinars features the CLEONet Latest News and Resources RSS feeds and an RSS-to-e-mail bulletin at: http:// www.cleonet.ca/training

15. Handling Volume and Information Overload! Look for trusted “content aggregators” who do the sorting, sifting and perusing for you …like CLEONet Try using Social Media tools as a way to reduce your e-mail volume by unsubscribing to lists that inefficiently fill up your inbox with old messages and irrelevant replies. Add RSS “headlines” to your Google home page and only click on the ones that interest you If you use Twitter, install a desktop client like Tweetdeck that helps you organize your incoming Twitter information, save searches by key topics and simplify your posting process You don’t have to be “friends” with everyone on Facebook, nor do you have to follow everyone on Twitter – You can use these tools professionally and keep your personal “identity” separate.

16. Measuring and Evaluating If you have a web site, use Google Analytics to handle site stats – It is free and can give you remarkable detail on who your users are, where they come from and what they are interested in on your site If you have a Facebook page, you can track how many “fans” you have as well as take a look at the “insights” reports, to see who is accessing the page, what they are clicking on and how many of your postings are commented on, shared, or “liked” If you use Twitter, you can measure how many times your postings are “re-tweeted”, track your increases or decreases in “followers”, or see how many Twitter lists you can be part of For advanced users, monitor your impact using social media monitoring tools like Socialmention , Addictomatic or Trackur

17. What are clinics doing? Keewaytinok Native Legal Services (Facebook Page) http:// www.facebook.com/pages/Keewaytinok-Native-Legal-Services/193595124668 Community Advocacy & Legal Centre in Belleville (Employment blog, Twitter feed, Webinars) www.communitylegalcentre.ca / ISAC Social Assistance Review (Blog, Rss-to-email alerts) http ://sareview.ca

18. What are other advocacy orgs doing? Canadian Council for Refugees (Twitter feed, Facebook groups, YouTube videos) http :// twitter.com/ccrweb http:// www.facebook.com/pages/Canadian-Council-for-Refugees-Conseil-canadien-pour-les-refugies/99199928930 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Blog, RSS, Facebook, Twitter) http:// www.policyalternatives.ca Social Planning Network of Ontario (Twitter, Facebook, RSS, E-mail alerts http://www.spno.ca / 25in5 Network for Poverty Reduction (Blog, Facebook group) http:// 25in5.ca Centre for Studies in Social Justice, University of Windsor (Facebook page, Twitter feed) http :// www.uwindsor.ca/socialjustice

19. What about social media and the law? LawyerNexus http:// twitter.com/LawyerNexus Law Times http:// twitter.com/lawtimes Canadian Lawyer Mag http:// twitter.com/CanLawMag Pro Bono Net (U.S.) http:// twitter.com/probono Question: Are there “sources” you trust or rely on already? Look for their “social media” presence and give it a try….and please remember to tell us at CLEONet!

20. Blogs: An easy to way to make your mark Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is an online journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated. A number of terrific free blog tools are available and can be used to produce an entire web site that is easy to use and update. Blogs can also be entirely password-protected. They also integrate well with RSS and Web 2.0 Widgets. Popular (free) tools include Wordpress, Blogger and Typepad. They are ideal for community development and law reform projects but also for a clinic web site.

21. CLEONet Legal Information Webinars CLEONet is partnering with community organizations and clinics to deliver workshops about legal issues online. They are delivered through a telephone conference call integrated with a web meeting that lets participants hear the presenter speaking, look at Power Point slides and ask questions by phone or using live chat. We also record these webinars so that they can be accessed on CLEONet on an ongoing basis. See: www.cleonet.ca/legal_education_webinars

25. What you need to participate As a presenter A presentation that you have developed that you would like to adapt to a webinar Presentation slides (Power Point) that can be inserted into web meeting so that participants can have visuals A willingness to test, experiment and learn as you go As a participant A phone (toll free number is provided) An Internet-connected computer with speakers and/or headphones (if you want to watch them later) An e-mail account to receive invitations and log in instructions

27. Discussion questions? What is our objective in using social media? (sharing information, getting information, working together) How can we best reach our various audiences? How can we use these networks to do more than just “post” – How can we engage? What are the risks? (for you, for your clinic, for your clients?) What supports do we need to do this well? Next Steps?

28. For more information Social Networking in Plain English http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_KF7TYKVc&feature=channel Social Media Revolution http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8 Social Media for Non Profits http://www.slideshare.net/PrimalMedia/social-media-non-profits To blog or not to blog? Tips for non-profits http://commonknow.typepad.com/blog/blogging/

29. Tools/Sites Mentioned Addthis http://www.addthis.com/ Feedburner http://feedburner.google.com Facebook http://www.facebook.com Twitter http://www.twitter.com SlideShare http:// www.slideshare.net Tweetdeck http://www.tweetdeck.com Socialmention http://www.socialmention.com / Addictomatic http://addictomatic.com / Trackur http://www.trackur.com / Wordpress http://wordpress.org/ Blogger http://blogger.com Drupal http://drupal.org/

30. Selected Social media articles (Thanks to Paul Pinkerton) Why the Legal Profession needs to use Social Media http://kevin.lexblog.com/2010/03/articles/social-media-1/why-leaders-in-legal-profession-have-to-enter-the-social-media-waters / Social Media Suggestions for Lawyers http ://lawyerist.com/maximizing-social-media / http ://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/kennedy-mighell-report/2010/03/social-media-common-sense / Facebook and Your Privacy http ://virtualmarketingofficer.com/2010/03/fear-of-facebook-part-ii-how-to-use-facebook-privacy-settings / http :// www.llrx.com/features/geolocation.htm http ://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/saving_face / Facebook Pages Best Practices http://webworkerdaily.com/2010/03/31/5-things-that-dont-work-on-facebook-pages-and-5-that-do / Monitoring Social Media Presence http://webworkerdaily.com/2010/03/11/roundup-social-media-monitoring-tools / Managing Information Overload http ://webworkerdaily.com/2010/03/10/6-ways-to-stop-the-social-media-madness / http ://mashable.com/2010/04/15/reduce-social-media-distractions /

31. Keep in touch! Fiona MacCool T: 416-408-4420 ext. 29 E-mail: fionamaccool@cleonet.ca Web site: www.cleonet.ca Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/CLEONet CLEONet Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/CLEONet.ca