WALK MS: SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS

Transcription

1 WHY SOCIAL MEDIA? Scial Media is abut cnnecting, creating, and cmmunicating. We cnnect individuals by creating a cmmunity within the space. These cmmunities allw users t make a cnnectin t ne anther, t a cause, and t their passins. Once users have cnnected via scial netwrks they can begin t cmmunicate with ne anther and share imprtant, relevant infrmatin. Fr Walk MS and Bike MS participants, users can cnnect with their friends, family and ptential supprters t effectively increase awareness, inspire new members, and encurage thers t dnate t their walk r ride. SOCIAL NETWORKING BASICS FACEBOOK facebk.cm/msgreateril With well ver 350 millin active users, Facebk is currently the mst ppular scial netwrking site in the wrld. Funded in 2004, Facebk is a scial utility that helps peple cmmunicate mre efficiently with their friends, family and cwrkers. The Facebk platfrm is inherently viral, making it easy t share imprtant news, events, pictures, and mre with all f yur friends with just ne click. This will enable yu t spread the wrd abut yur upcming event faster and easier than ever befre! TWITTER twitter@walkmsillnis Twitter is the fastest grwing scial netwrk. This micr-blgging platfrm enables yu t send 140-character updates abut anything yu want t anyne fllwing yu (fr example, yur Bike MS r Walk MS supprters). The character limit als makes Twitter ne f the mst mbile and prtable scial netwrks, as users can easily send and receive updates via SMS text withut having t install a third party applicatin. Finally, tweets (shrt, 140-character messages sent thrugh Twitter) are searchable thrugh Twitter search, allwing yu t find peple talking abut yur interests in real time. LINKEDIN linkedin.cm/cmpany/natinal-multiple-sclersis-sciety-greater-illinis-chapter LinkedIn prmtes itself as a place fr prfessinals t gather and believes that relatinships matter. Users hail frm ver 150 different industries with an average annual husehld incme f $100,000. When it cmes t an rganizatin such as the Natinal Multiple Sclersis Sciety, every dllar cunts t help find a cure. LinkedIn has the ptential t expse yur team and yur cause t prfessinals capable f making a prfund cntributin. The existence f grups n LinkedIn can help yu t cnnect with thers f similar passins and interests wh culd be ptential recruits t the team. Page 1

2 MEETUP meetup.cm D Smething. Learn Smething. Share Smething. Change Smething that s the mtt f in-persn netwrking site, Meetup. Meetup is designed t cnnect peple with similar interests using the web and then bring them tgether ffline. Once yu ve fund ptentially interested individuals, yu can use Meetup t bring them tgether as yur team fr yur bike ride r walk. PARTICIPANT CENTER natinalmssciety.rg The Participant Center is prvided autmatically t Bike MS and Walk MS participants when they register. Participants are instantly cnnected t all the details yu need t knw abut yur upcming event. Frm the ability t fundraise, invite yur friends t jin yur cause, check yur prgress and thank friends individually fr their cntributin, the MS Sciety makes it quick and easy t get started with a simple lgin. GETTING STARTED FACEBOOK If yu dn t already have a Facebk accunt, g t facebk.cm and sign up. Use yur real name s that yu can find peple and be fund by yur friends easily. Uplad yur custm ptimized prfile picture t prmte yur team and spread the wrd abut the event. Yu prbably have a tn f friends n Facebk already that yu didn t even knw abut, s nce yu ve set up yur prfile use Facebk s cntacts imprter t find them: facebk.cm/findfriends/?ref=sb. Depending n yur recruitment and fundraising gals, it culd als be beneficial fr yu t create yur wn team fan page n Facebk. Pages allw ther Facebk users t becme a fan f yur team withut having t be yur friend n Facebk. T create yur page, g t facebk.cm/advertising/?pages and click the green buttn t Create a Page. Select the Nn-Prfit categry under Brand, Prduct, r Organizatin, and fill in yur page name. We suggest a title that includes bth yur team name and the name f yur ride r walk, as well as ne withut a date s yur fans will stay with yu year after year (ex: Rckin and Walkin Seattle Walk MS). Fill ut the infrmatin tab and uplad yur custm ptimized prfile picture, and yu re ready t g! Page 2

3 TWITTER If yu haven t already dne s, sign up fr a Twitter accunt at twitter.cm. Prvide the link t jin r dnate t yur team n the website sectin and mentin yur participatin in yur ride r walk in yur 160-character bi. After yu ve filled in yur prfile infrmatin, select a pht f yu r yur team t uplad fr yur prfile picture (als called an avatar). Once upladed, g t twibbn.cm, lgin with yur Twitter accunt infrmatin, search fr Bike MS r Walk MS and select the crrespnding Twibbn (a virtual ribbn fr yur Twitter accunt pht) t attach t yur picture. G t twitter.cm/invitatins/find_n_twitter t find ut if any f yur friends r yur lcal MS Sciety Chapter are already n Twitter and start fllwing them. Yu can als stay up-t-date with Walk MS at walkmsillinis. Yu re nw ready t start tweeting! LINKEDIN If yu haven t already, g t LinkedIn.cm t set up a LinkedIn accunt. Fllw LinkedIn s tips fr prfile cmpleteness and aim t get yur prfile as clse t 100% cmplete as pssible. It s especially imprtant that yu have a prfile picture that clearly shws yur face s that everyne can see wh yu are. Click t Add Cnnectins n the tp right f yur page t use LinkedIn s cntacts imprter and start building yur netwrk. Yu shuld als search fr and request t jin grups related t cycling, charity bike rides, walking clubs, yur lcal chapter, and yur lcal cmmunity. MEET UP Register fr a free accunt at MeetUp.cm. Fill in yur prfile infrmatin, then create a Meet Up fr yur lcal Bike MS ride r Walk MS. Be sure t list keywrds like multiple sclersis, MS, MS Sciety, cycling, bike rides, walking, etc. in yur event descriptin s that ther peple searching fr events in yur area can easily find yurs. Include links t yur team page s that thse wh find yur Meet Up can sign up t jin r dnate t yur team right away. PARTICIPANT CENTER If yu ve fficially registered yur team fr this year s Bike MS r Walk MS, yu already have a Participant Center. Lg int yur My Accunt (fund n yur event s website) and get started using the tls prvided in the Participant Center. Make sure that the rest f yur team is registered as well. Yu can als cnnect yur Facebk accunt t yur event fundraising webpage by dwnlading the Fundraise with Facebk app. This applicatin runs thrugh Facebk and allws yu t cllect dnatins right frm yur Facebk prfile! BEST PRACTICES Page 3

4 Nw that yu re set up, here are sme tips f hw t best utilize these netwrks t recruit mre team members and surpass yur fundraising gals: FACEBOOK If yu ve created bth a persnal accunt and a team fan page, yur fan page shuld be fully accessible t yu as lng as yu are lgged in. All psts made frm yur persnal accunt t yur fan page will appear as psts frm the team/ page itself, while psts t yur persnal prfile will appear as psts frm yu. Our tips fr best practices vary slightly between psts t yur persnal Facebk prfile versus psts t yur Facebk fan page (if applicable). Frm yur persnal prfile: In additin t yur wn persnal updates, begin psting daily status updates with infrmatin abut yur event, yur reasn fr participating, yur training, fundraising prgress, and invitatins and links t jin r dnate t yur team. Perfrm a Facebk grup search. Start brad (ie Multiple Sclersis MS cycling etc.) and mve t mre fcused searches such as Walk MS, Bike MS, bike rides and grups fcused arund yur cmmunity. Jin existing grups and fan pages and pst an invitatin t jin yur team n grup/page walls. Dwnlad the Fundraise with Facebk app thrugh yur Participant Center. Frm yur fan page: Status updates shuld be fcused arund cycling, bikes and equipment, links t news articles abut ther challenging rides and previus Bike MS events, yur team s wn training/jurney, scheduled team walks, fundraising events, yur team s fundraising prgress, links t yur team page with inf n hw t jin and/r dnate, and tips fr thers lking t participate fr the first time. Perfrm a search t find grups and fan pages fr peple wh are passinate abut cycling r walking (try bike, walking, r cycling as search starts) and als grups assciated with MS r the MS Sciety, especially yur lcal chapter. Jin existing grups and fan pages and pst an invitatin t jin yur team n grup/page walls. Please nte: there is n way t pst n anther grup/page r message an individual Facebk user as a fan page unless yu are psting directly t yur fan page, yu will always send and pst messages frm yur persnal accunt as yurself. Advanced Tip: Message grup administratrs individually abut yur upcming ride and fan page, including ways t jin yur team r dnate. While a pst t a grup wall culd be lst amng ther psts and may never even viewed by sme members, an administratr has the ability t send yur invitatin directly t all members t ensure that it is received. Page 4

5 Twitter Tweet links t imprtant (relevant and factual) articles, updates abut yur persnal (and yur team s) training effrts (if applicable), shrt stries f yur experiences in previus years, yur fundraising prgress and links t dnate, and infrmatin n hw t jin yur team. G t search.twitter.cm and search fr keywrds like MS, MS Sciety, Bike MS, cycling, bike ride, Walk MS, and walking t see what peple are saying. Use the advanced search feature t limit yur returns by gegraphic lcatin t ensure yu are nly viewing cnversatins happening in yur cmmunity. Fllw users in yur area that share yur interests, that tweet regularly abut MS, r that tweet abut their wn bike rides r walk events. Jin in the cnversatin by replying directly t users using symbl immediately befre their twitter name. I participated in last year s Greater Nrthwest Chapter Bike MS ride! I have sme phts if yu re interested Wuld yu be interested in trying this year s Seattle Walk MS? Our team is meeting befre hand fr cffee at the Village! Advanced Tip: A hashtag is an ft-used tpic marker n twitter created by placing a # symbl immediately in frnt f yur marker (ex: #MS, #BikeMS, #cycling, #training, #WalkMS, #walking). Search fr and use relevant hashtags in yur wn psts t cntribute t existing cnversatins. Perhaps yur chapter is already using an eventspecific hashtag jin them by using it as well! Create yur wn tags t start a cnversatin f yur wn and use them in all apprpriate psts. LINKEDIN Cntact thse already in yur netwrk particularly thse wh care abut MS (r the persn yu care abut), thse whse cmpanies are knwn t ffer dnatin matching, peple wh wrk at charitable rganizatins, and avid cyclists with an invitatin t supprt yur team. Pst discussins n lcal grups related t MS, charity bike rides r walks with infrmatin abut the upcming event and specifics n hw members can cntribute. Advanced Tip: Perfrm an advanced search t fcus in n mre specific keywrds that may exist anywhere in a user s persnal prfile (include keywrds such as fundraising, dnatins, nn-prfit, etc.) then send invitatins t cnnect with these individuals. When yu send an invitatin t cnnect, be sure t write a persnalized message t the recipient. Yu ll be limited n characters, s let them knw wh yu are and that yu are participating in this year s ride r walk. Page 5

6 MEET UP Select Find a Meet Up grup and search fr bike rides, cycling grups r walking clubs in yur area. Jin any relevant existing grups and attend upcming Meet Ups t cnnect with ptential teammates in persn. Once yu ve attracted attendees fr yur Meet Up, message members regularly with training tips t help them prepare, registratin reminders, infrmatin n hw t jin yur team, and team fundraising updates t keep them mtivated as yu draw clser t the event date. Advanced Tip: Search fr cycling grups r walking clubs in and arund yur area and message grup rganizers t see if they wuld be interested in getting their grup invlved whether by jining yu at the event, r by dnating t yur team. MY ACCOUNT & PARTICIPANT CENTER Whether yu are new t Bike MS r Walk MS, r have been participating fr several years, make sure all f yur persnal and cntact infrmatin is up-t date and accurate a cmplete prfile is imprtant! The Participant Center allws yu t interact with thers n yur team, explre the site and utilize its features including messaging team members, ing cntacts, and mre. Advanced Tip: Check yur persnal page regularly t keep track f yur prgress and find sme great infrmatin yu can incrprate int yur updates n Facebk and Twitter. Page 6