GREEN UP GUIDE TO PUBLICITY · TO PUBLICITY This guide will provide instructions on effective ways to inform the public about Green Up Day. Green Up Vermont is a 501(3)3 non-profit

GREEN UP GUIDE TO PUBLICITY

This guide will provide instructions on effective ways to inform

the public about Green Up Day.

Green Up Vermont is a 501(3)3 non-profit organization dedicated to

cleaning up the state of Vermont. On the first Saturday in May annually,

Green Up Vermont sponsors a state-wide Green Up Day and Town

Coordinators organize volunteers to clean up roadside trash in their

respective towns. Green Up Vermont provides the well-known bright

green bags for collection of trash.

Visit our website: www.greenupvermont.com

Email: [email protected]

Call us: 1-800-974-3259, or 1-802-229-4586

http://www.greenupvermont.com/

mailto:[email protected]

GREEN UP VERMONT

www.greenupvermont.org

Facebook.com/GreenUpVermont GreenUpVermont.org #GreenUpVermont 2

Table of Contents

Preface……….…………….………………………..…………………………………………….3

Traditional Publicity…….………………………………………………………………….4

Social Media Introduction…………..…………………………………………………..5

Front Porch Forum………………………..………………………………………………..7

Facebook..………………………………………………………………………………………10

Twitter.…………………………………………………….……………………………………..13

Instagram………………………………………………..……………………………………..16

GREEN UP VERMONT



Preface

It is important to remember that you know your

community best. This Publicity Guide will provide

some ideas and insights into popular methods of

getting the public’s attention, but this does not

mean the methods within are necessarily right for

you or your community. This guide will include the

following:

A small section detailing traditional

publicity methods

A detailed guide on using social media to

get word out about Green Up Day

In depth guides on Facebook, Front

Porch Forum, Twitter, and

Instagram use

Get the word out!

It’s important to keep reminding people about Green Up Day!

Updated for 2019

GREEN UP VERMONT



Traditional Publicity

There are many methods to garnering interest in Green Up Day that do not

use social media.

Announcements at Town Meetings

Bulletin Boards

Selectmen’s Meetings

Local Radio Stations

School Notes to Parents

Town “Gazette”

Mailing to Previous Volunteers

Signs in Area Businesses

Word of Mouth

School Announcements

Town Newsletter

Be sure to include important information such as where people can pick up

their bags, what time they should show up, how people can support Green Up

Day by donating, and any other pertinent information.

GREEN UP VERMONT



“Smart phones and social media expand our universe. We can connect with others

or collect information easier

and faster than ever.” –Daniel Goleman

Social Media Introduction

If you are experienced with using social media,

it is important to make relevant information

available such as:

Where people can pick up bags

What time they should show up

Whether they should pack a lunch or not

How to donate on their tax form

Please use our hashtags

#GreenUpVermont

#GreenUpDay

Green Up’s Facebook link is:

https://www.facebook.com/GreenUpVermont

Staying Connected

Add tes

Tip: Create an email roster of your volunteers


GREEN UP VERMONT



“Taking pictures is savoring life

intensely, every hundredth of a

second.”

― Marc Riboud

Posting pictures of Green Up Day before, during, and after the event are great

ways encourage others to take part. Pictures and other tangible records of the

cleanup effort provide the younger participants with rewards for their work.

Every single social media site discussed in this guide has the tools needed to

upload and share photos.

The following sections will go into detail about using

the specific social media sites listed below. These

guides are intended to aide inexperienced users with

signing up and basic use of these websites. If you

read through these guides and find that you still

cannot use your desired social media outlet, it is

often best to ask the nearest adolescent with a smart phone for assistance.

Front Porch Forum

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

GREEN UP VERMONT



Front Porch Forum

Front Porch Forum is a community-building service.

The purpose of Front Porch Forum is to connect the

neighborhood as a community.

How to make an account:

Go to http://frontporchforum.com. Once on the website, simply enter your town information (street number, street name, city, and state). Enter your name, email, and other contact info to create an account.

Navigating Front Porch Forum:

At the top of your screen, there will be a list of banners available to select. Selecting “My Neighborhood Forum” will allow you to view posts from your local area.

Add

FPF helps neighbors connect and build community by hosting regional networks of online neighborhood forums.

http://frontporchforum.com/

GREEN UP VERMONT



“Current Issues” is a banner that posts about missing items, lost

animals, or events.

“Search Archive” allows the user to search dates when posts were

posted.

“Calendar” allows the user to see upcoming events for the local area.

“Compose Posting” is the banner that allows the user to post to “Front

Porch Forum”.

GREEN UP VERMONT



“Business Directory” allows the user to search for useful services and

other businesses.

How to use Front Porch Forum to promote Green Up Day:

Front Porch Forum allows local people to post to their community. The town representative would be able to notify and inform the community on upcoming meetings and the actual date of Green Up Day. Front Porch Forum would also allow the community to contact the town coordinator with any questions they may have.

Here is a sample “copy, paste, and personalize” message that can be posted on Front Porch Forum.

Hi Neighbors—This is (insert name here), reaching out to you about Green Up Day. On May ___, we’ll be meeting at (insert location) at (insert time). This is a wonderful family event that helps clean our town. Last year over 22,000 people volunteered and over 55,000 green bags of trash were cleaned from the roadsides. Green Up Vermont is a non-profit and would love to see the people of Vermont donate their time to a good cause. We understand not everyone can donate their time that is why under the charitable section of the Vermont State income tax form IN-111 in section 6, there is still a place to donate. I’ll be in touch soon with more information about this year’s Green Up Day. To learn more, visit www.greenupVermont.org.

GREEN UP VERMONT



Facebook

How to appropriately use Facebook?

It is possible to like the page to receive updates

about Green Up Vermont in your news feed.

The Facebook Page is a crucial component of

our strategy and has many benefits which are

listed below:

Discoverable: There are millions

of Facebook users. People

interested in us will search for us

on Facebook and find our page.

Add

Over 6,600 people have liked the Green Up Vermont page on Facebook already!

GREEN UP VERMONT



Connected: Users can like the page, read your posts and share

them with friends. (power of word of mouth)

Timely: The Page can help us reach large groups of people

therefore spreading our network.

When setting up the Page, the association chose this address:

https://www.facebook.com/GreenUpVermont.

It makes it easy to find. According to studies, “Facebook reaches more U.S.

adults ages 18–34 than any other cable network.”

Taking these statistics into account, it is clear that our potential audience is

on this platform. Facebook is also an amazing tool to make good connections.

Nowadays, people can directly watch video on their smartphones. Since

Green Up Vermont videos are sort of promotional including slides and brief

speeches in them would make them more interactive.


GREEN UP VERMONT



Twitter

Twitter is a social media site where members can

post and read short 140 character messages called

“Tweets”. It has a massive user base, coming in at

over 500 million members. Messages can be sent

out quickly, easily, and to a large target audience.

Some basic terms are outlined below:

Following: Following channels or other

Twitter users is something akin to

subscribing to magazines. It means that

if these channels or users create any

“Tweets”, you will be able to see

them on your Home page.

Hashtags: Hashtags are groups of

words or letters preceded by the

pound sign. These groups of words

are searchable and help organize

tweets based upon their subjects.

Use: #GreenUpVermont #GreenUpDay

Add

Did you know: In 2017 there were about 350,000 tweets created per minute!

GREEN UP VERMONT



Making your account:

The first step to making a Twitter account is to visit the website

www.Twitter.com. At the top of the page, in the right hand corner, there will

be two buttons: “Log In” and “Sign Up”. You will want to click the “Sign Up”

button if this is your first visit. If you already have a Twitter Account, you will

click the “Log In” button and enter your credentials.

Once you’ve clicked the “Sign Up” button, you will be prompted to enter your

name, email address, and a personalized password. Twitter does not require

you to use your real name, but the email account you sign up with must exist

for it to be used. Once you’ve entered your information, Twitter will prompt

you for your cellphone number. This is not mandatory. There is a very small

“Skip” button underneath if you do not wish to enter your phone number or if

you simply don’t have a cellphone.

Finally, you will be prompted to create a “Username”. This is your tag, the

name other people will see and associate with you. Once you’ve made your

username, Twitter will immediately begin polling you on your interests and

offering you channels to “follow”.

Twitter will also give you a chance to upload a photo or picture to use as your

avatar and it will give you the option to link your other social media accounts

in order to help you find people you may know.

GREEN UP VERMONT



Remember to use our hashtag!

#GreenUpVermont

A confirmation message will be sent to your email account after signing up.

In order to access all of Twitter’s features you must open the email and click

the link provided inside. If you do not receive this email check your junk or

spam folder as it is sometimes filed away automatically.

Using your account:

Once your Twitter account has been made, you should make relevant Tweets

about Green Up Day. It is important to let people know where they can come

to pick up bags, what time they should show up, and

how they can donate to Green Up Day. An example

Tweet is shown below:

“Hey everyone, be sure to pick up your Green Up bags at

the Recreation Center tomorrow! #GreenUpVermont

#GreenUpDay”

GREEN UP VERMONT



Did you know: 70% of Instagram users check it at least once a day!

Instagram

How to make an account:

To use Instagram, you must possess a smartphone or tablet capable of using the Google Play store (Android), or the Apple store (iOS). After downloading the application from its respective store, you must ensure that you have an active email account. If you do not have an email account, you may use a phone number, or connect through Facebook to sign up for Instagram. After connecting with email, phone, or Facebook the sign up process will start.

Easy sign up:

Add full name (optional)

Username

Password

After you sign up completely, you will be notified through the medium you used to connect to Instagram with instructions on how to authenticate your account.

Navigation

“Following” – Following an account means that you are subscribed to a person’s account, and can see their posts in real time.

GREEN UP VERMONT



Home Button

The home button allows you to automatically connect to friends through your contacts and Facebook. When you connect through these means, you can see your newfound friend’s updates!

Search Button

The search button allows you to search for anybody who has an Instagram account. It also allows you to see trending posts and random posts.

Photos/Videos

The photos/videos button allows you to access your photo album, or take photos/videos.

Activity

Following – This page is used to view your friend’s posts in real time. The most recent posts are at the top, while the less recent posts cast down the page.

Your Posts – This page is used to view your posts from most recent to oldest.

Profile

The profile button allows you to view and edit your profile.

How to use Instagram to support Green Up

Instagram can be used to support Green Up by posting pictures and videos relating to Green Up activities. You can connect your Instagram account to other mediums such as Facebook or Twitter. When you post Instagram pictures and videos, they can be automatically uploaded to the other mediums.

Documents

GREEN UP GUIDE TO PUBLICITY · TO PUBLICITY This guide will provide instructions on effective ways to inform the public about Green Up Day. Green Up Vermont is a 501(3)3 non-profit