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This presentation about social media was given to animal rescue organizations in Michigan.
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Social Media in Animal Welfare
Carie LewisDirector of Emerging Media
The Humane Society of the United States
My name is Carie, and I’m a social networking addict.
We have a team of 6. How do we know how to talk to these people? We are these people!
FACT: The way we communicate is changing. It’s not a fad.
We must adapt by:
Having a presence in places where people are.
Finding new ways to engage our existing supporters where they are.
Recruiting new supporters, donors and advocates where they are.
Giving people a way to show they support us – where they are.
Giving people an easy way to recruit friends, family, and strangers where they are.
Memos > email > instant messaging > text messaging > Facebook > Twitter > ?
Social Media 101Why this TOO?
Website Social network
One way communication Two way communication
Content generated in house Content generated by users
Organization’s voice People’s voice
Talking to people Talking with people
Marketing Conversations
Expect information Expect interaction
Social networking has revolutionized the way we communicate and share information with one another in today's society.
Our Strategy• Stay on top of latest trends
• Research new opportunities
• Train staff
• Have guidelines
• Take an integrated approach
• Measure everything!
• Showcase successes
• Listen
• Don’t be afraid to fail
• Learn from mistakes
http://www.facebook.com/humanesociety
http://www.twitter.com/humanesociety
http://www.myspace.com/thehumanesociety
http://www.youtube.com/hsus & http://www.flickr.com/photos/humanesociety
Where Shelters Are
Animal sheltering wiki: http://animalshelters.pbwiki.com
What Shelters Are DoingUsing social networks to:• Recruit new volunteers• Engage existing volunteers• Solicit donations• Showcase adoptable animals• Recruit new supporters• Engage existing supporters• Build email list• Recruit event participants• Cover past events• Educate the public
Check out what Central Oklahoma Humane Society is doing: http://www.okhumane.org/
Success is no longer just about
how many friends you have.
Do those friends do what you want them to?• Sign advos and petitions• Donate• Recruit friends• Re-post your content• Subscribe to your email list
You won’t know unless you measure and evaluate.
How do you measure success?Unique URLs (source codes)
– Advo links in blogs and bulletins
– Advo links in banners and badges
– Donation links
Click through & conversion rates
Statistics
– # of visitors and page views to quantify exposure
– Time spent on site or page to measure engagement
– Top pages and keywords to define interests
– Referring sites to find out where people are
RSS feeds (buzz)
Friend request / commenting trends in relation to other activities
…it’s not just about the money.
We started with traditional metrics
Got the buy-in
Now tracking social media metrics
Don’t just tell them about it: get them involved!
Aggressive: CEO on Facebook,
Executive VP on Twitter
Passive: Communications SVP Twitter via iPhone RSS Feed
Speaking of Buy-in…
ResourcesWe started out with 1 person.
Now:
New branch of Online Communications
Department called “Emerging Media”
• Director of Emerging Media (project manager)
• Emerging Media Manager (online volunteer program)
• Emerging Media Specialist (brand monitoring)
• Social Media Specialist (Facebook, MySpace)
• Internet Marketing Specialist (ads, SEO, analytics)
• 4 virtual interns
• street team
• several furry office mascots
Show results:
Twitter link on Press Releases = 300 new followers in one day
Sharing functionality on web stories = addthis now a top referrer
# new emails, donations via unique URLs (source codes)
Setting goals on # friends, followers (they get really excited!)
Leads to:
Social media links on homepage and emails
Increased resources and interest
Internet Communications Code of Conduct
Guest Tweeters in PR, Campaigns, Emergency Services
Are you monitoring your org?
It takes time to filter through them all but is worth it.
Many people refer to us as “the humane society”
Many tweets are about local humane societies but also makes for good retweets, referrals, and relationship building
We monitor all mentions of “HSUS” and “humane society”
At the very least..You should have Google Alerts and Tweetbeep notifications or an RSS feed from Twitter Search for your brand name.
Why the focus on Twitter?Twitter is the most real-time account you have of what people are saying about you.
What if I’m a smaller business / organization?
These same principles can apply
People talk (a lot) on a local level.
Follow interesting hashtags and memes!
Start your own!
“Umbrella approach”
Facebook Fan Pagefor businesses, organizations, public figures
official HSUS presence – only one
Facebook Groups organized by interest
each state / campaign can have one
Facebook Causesfor specific movements
each state / campaign can have many
Facebook Profilea real person
each person has one – but only one
HSUS Facebook Structure
Facebook Causes
Petitions
Birthday Wish
Employees can be your best brand advocates.
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• Have a social media policy so they know what they can and can’t do. Focus on the CAN.
• Bring web-savvy employees
into the process
• Incorporate social media into
everyone’s job
• Help them understand privacy
settings and learn the tools
• Address anonymity and personal
profiles
The time to have a social media policy is NOW.
Facebook PrivacyDual accounts are a violation of Facebook’s Terms of Service
Use Friend Lists to organize
Categorize friends based on what you do (or don’t) want them to see
Set up friend lists > set privacy settings > set search settings
Communications GuidelinesDevelop guidelines for participating in online conversations.
Answer questions like:
• Can I start my own Facebook or Twitter page?
• Can I post a comment on a news story covering one of my issues?
• What do I do when I see the HSUS being unfairly criticized online?
• Do I need to let someone know if I comment somewhere?
NEVER post something you wouldn’t want on the front page of the New York Times!
(Or something you wouldn’t want your mother or boss to see!)
My advice to employees
How To Get Started#1 - Decide if you’re ready.
You are ready if:• You have the time and resources to invest in getting started.• You’ve gotten over the fear of losing control of your message.• You are okay with opening the door to criticism.• You know how to measure your success.• You can get around approval processes• Your organization is ready to integrate social media into other activities • You’ve got buy in from the top – down.
#2 – Google yourself. See where other s have already established a presence for you:• MySpace profiles and groups• Facebook Fan Pages, Groups, Causes, and other Apps• Blogs, Youtube, Flickr
#3 – Assign resources.• Get a volunteer, intern or existing staffer• Young, internet savvy, on social networks ALREADY! SO
important
#4 - Pick one venue and build it up• Take what you learn and expand to other networks• Repurpose your Flickr, YouTube content on MySpace, Facebook
#5 – Track your successes (and failures!)• Referring stats for visitors from your website• Source codes for conversions from your CMS• Friend and commenting trends from the networks
You don’t need a fancy stats or CMS program. Google Analytics is free!
Always remember:
You don’t have to be big to be successful.
Social media can be OVERWHELMING.
.
“If you’re working for the weekends, your shit is BROKE.
Do what you LOVE!” -@garyvee #sxsw
Thank you!Carie Lewis
Director of Emerging Media
The Humane Society of the United States
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/carielewis
Twitter: @cariegrls
HSUS Networks: humanesociety.org/connect
