1. [Documenttitle]
Ferris State University
Client Report: Project Starburst
Mia Orlandi
Comm 499
Dr. Cami Sanderson
4/29/2015

2. For my final project, I choose to work with Project Starburst, a non-profit organization
located in Big Rapids, Michigan. A non-profit organization can be defined as an agency that uses
its revenues to achieve a purpose or mission, instead of the money going to an owner as profits
(Nonprofit organization, n.d.). I had worked with this organization before on a project and I think
that they do a lot for the community, which is very beneficial in an area such as the one we live
in. I choose to work with Project Starburst because they cover both Mecosta and Osceola
counties, and provide a variety of services to people in need. These services include food
assistance, assistance with GED testing fees, dental care, and many more. This paper will explain
a little bit more about Project Starburst, the problems that occur within this organization, what
communication theories are relevant to this situation, and how I fixed the problem.
When I met with Diane Long, the executive director of Project Starburst, she was
extremely interested in my project. When I explained that I was looking for a problem within the
organization, she immediately knew the biggest problem facing the organization, their social
media page. Diane showed me their actual website, which was up-to-date and had plenty of
information. She then showed me their Facebook page, which was the organization’s only form
of social media, and was being run by a volunteer for the organization. She explained that the
girl running the Facebook page was posting too many long paragraphs and posts with too many
words. Diane stated that their Facebook posts were barely getting any ‘likes’ or comments, and
she knew that people weren’t reading them. Facebook also tends to have very over-crowded
news feeds, where posts can get lost in the midst of advertisements and other users’ photos and
posts. In addition to this, Facebook is the only social media network which is experiencing a
decline right now (Edwards, 2014), which adds to the problem that this organization is facing.

3. [Documenttitle]
Non-profit organizations rely on both word-of-mouth and information printed on some
sort of media. These organizations thrive on donations and volunteers, and Project Starburst
itself requires a lot of help to keep the organization running. Last month, Project Starburst
assisted 286 families, all with the work of these volunteers. The organization was growing, and it
was growing fast, but not enough people are volunteering to keep up with the donations and
services, as Diane stated. Diane needed to continue to get the word out to the public about this
organization. Non-profits require constant projection of their events, donation information, and
volunteer requests. They must also advertise the types of services they offer to clients.
Newspapers and radios both used to be great ways to get the word out for non-profit
organizations, and many times, the fees to print or broadcast information was waived because the
donations and money were going to a good cause (Nonprofit organization, n.d.). While these
were great ways to get the word out, both have been experiencing a huge decline in sales and
usage. In this day in age, social media is the best way to get information out to the public. People
enjoy spending time on the internet, and ¼ of people worldwide have a social media account.
After researching social media a little bit, I discovered that one of the top reasons people own a
social media account is for information seeking (Social networking reaches nearly one in four
around the world, 2013). Non-profit organizations have the best chance of getting the word out
there with social media because of the fact that people are looking for information when they log
onto the network of their choice.
After thinking things through, I met with Diane again to go over the plan to help her with
the organization’s social media, and therefore to gain both new clients and volunteers. I decided
to create a Twitter account, complete with a how-to manual for Diane and the rest of her staff.
Twitter is a social media website and application that allows for quick updates featuring 140

4. character updates called “tweets” (Twitter help center, 2014). So how is Twitter going to be
better than Facebook for this organization? Twitter is quick and to the point and updates
constantly for a current news feed. Twitter also reaches more people quicker because of a
function called “retweeting,” which is the sharing of others’ tweets. Twitter is also not as
overcrowded as Facebook, making it so updates and posts don’t get lost in cyberspace. Many
other non-profit organizations and businesses use Twitter to broadcast advertisements, events,
sales, etc. I looked up many other smaller non-profits and their Twitter accounts for inspiration
and ideas and I saw that they all had successful pages with plenty of public attention. In addition
to creating the account, I added a photo, a short bio, and tweeted to get things started for Diane. I
enjoyed tweeting updates such as “We are always looking for donations and volunteers, so come
visit our office today” because it was simple and to the point, and I knew others were going to
read it. I also gained followers and followed people, including a lot of Ferris-related accounts,
such as Ferris State, Ferris State Athletics, and Ferris State American Marketing Association.
Interacting with accounts like these will increase attention and followers and therefore gain more
volunteers and clients for Project Starburst. I also created a how-to manual, with very simple
instructions for Diane so she is able to navigate the account herself after I gave her a quick run
through and transferred the email over. The how-to manual includes all of the basics, including
how to tweets, edit the profile, interact with other users, and even a short section on exactly how
this will help the organization. I also included information on how to attach photos to tweets,
which will help a lot. Photos can show different activities that this organization has done, and as
many people say “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Unlike Facebook, photos on twitter are
smaller in size, they don’t take up the whole news feed, and can add character to the user’s
tweets. Project Starburst has many events coming up, and I know that with the help of Twitter,

5. [Documenttitle]
Diane will see that there will be an increase in volunteers, especially Ferris students and
organizations on campus.
To apply all of this information to the world of communication, I used a couple theories
that relate to this problem and solution. First off, the Barriers to Effective Communication theory
is relevant, stating that time, space and place are the three barriers than can affect
communication. Time can be defined as appropriate fast channels of communication, meaning
the speed and amount that is communicated. Space can be recognized as avoiding overcrowded,
ill-ventilated places. While these may be referring to face-to-face communication, these also
apply for mediated communication as well. These barriers can result in undesirable reactions and
unfavorable responses, including the communication exercising failing due to absent or short
feedback (Barriers to effective communication, n.d.). This is exactly what happens when
Facebook is the sole form of social media that Project Starburst uses. Nobody reads the long
posts, which means that nobody responds as well. Therefore, information isn’t being reached to
potential clients or volunteers and information isn’t quickly sent as well. Information is also in an
overcrowded area, which is why the communication exercises fail and there is little or no
feedback. In addition to this, the Agenda Setting theory also applies to this case. The Agenda
Setting theory can be defined as the influence from the media on telling us what subjects are
important (Agenda setting theory, 2010). If people continue to see updates and posts that
describe the need for volunteers and the services that Project Starburst offers, they will see that
as important and therefore get involved. I think that the media, especially social media, is a very
powerful tool in influencing the minds of others, especially for the common good. Photos can
help as well, as I mentioned previously, which can covey different projects and events and can
influence people through those means as well.

6. When I handed the account over to Diane, I made a few recommendations. First off, I
explained that the organization should still continue to use Facebook, since many people still use
this form of social media and it can still assist with gaining volunteers and clients. I also
recommended that she should tweet daily, which helps to get the organization out there. In
addition to this, I mentioned that she should also involve other organizations with the Twitter
account. Tweeting other users, especially the ones I mentioned previously, such as Ferris State-
related accounts, will create opportunities and increase the amount of volunteers. Tweeting them
and asking what events they have going on, inviting them to events, asking if they want to co-
sponsor an event- these are all ways that Project Starburst can get more people involved over
Twitter. I also recommended that in the future, it would be great to expand to other forms of
social media. Instagram, a popular network featuring photos only would be a great way to
convey and share events and services to the public.
In conclusion, I enjoyed working with Diane and Project Starburst to help solve this
problem for them. This is a great project that will get me started with what I want to do for my
career, and I learned a lot through working with my client. Even though it’s a smaller non-profit
organization, Project Starburst does a lot for the community and I know that Twitter will benefit
the organization, the volunteers, and most importantly, the clients who need the services that this
wonderful organization offers.

7. [Documenttitle]
Bibliography
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http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory Clusters/Mass Media/Agenda-
Setting_Theory/
Barriers to effective communication. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from
http://communicationtheory.org/barriers-to-effective-communication/
Edwards, J. (2014, April 29). This Is What The Decline Of Facebook Looks Like. Retrieved
April 27, 2015, from http://www.businessinsider.com/decline-of-facebook-user-numbers-2014-4
Nonprofit organization. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2015, from
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/non-profitorganization.asp
Social networking reaches nearly one in four around the world. (2013, June 18). Retrieved April
27, 2015, from http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Social-Networking-Reaches-Nearly-One-
Four-Around-World/1009976
Twitter help center. (2014, January 1). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from
https://support.twitter.com/articles/215585-getting-started-with-twitter