My group has been debating over the ideal way to connect our organization’s social media platforms and are really not sure what the best way is!
These are the platforms we’re working with:
- Blogger
- Area Voices Blog (more exclusive–everything on here would go on Blogger also, but not vice-versa)
- YouTube
- Google+ (maybe)
We know that we’d like our Blogger to automatically post links on both Facebook and Twitter. Ideally we’ll do this with YouTube as well. Between the two blogs we can either use re-blog features, or good old copy and paste. Those won’t be very frequent posts, so we’re not as concerned about them. The one that I’m the most concerned about is how to connect Facebook and Twitter–or if they just shouldn’t be connected.
There are all sorts of warnings about hashtags on Fb and posts being too long for Twitter, it seems like a better choice to not connect them. But if we do decide not to, should we still encourage our organization to post about the things on each platform? For example, if they want to give a quick update–they could write it short for twitter w/ a hashtag, and then maybe a bit longer for facebook—but it would be essentially the same information. This doesn’t seem very effective, but would ultimately appear the best from the user side. Overall Twitter is for faster paced messages, and not everything said on there would be appropriate for Facebook, but there are definitely going to be times when we’ll want to convey the same message on both sites.
And then there’s G+, which we may not actually adopt, but if we do… my initial thought is that it could contain the same information that a Facebook post would. Or… should G+ be treated differently as well.
There is the option of using something like HootSuite to manage social media sites, but I’m not convinced that it would actually solve the problem. In addition to that, we’re already kind of overloading our organization with websites and tools… I’m not sure if they’d want to learn yet another thing!! The main person in charge of the social media at our organization is not super tech-savvy, so we really want to make this as absolutely easy as possible!
I would love to hear what some of the other groups are proposing to their organizations, or if anyone has any type of advice at all!!
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We debated feeding Twitter to Facebook too. However, we decided that it would just cause an unbalance between the services. Our solution was to use #fb on specific tweets that are chosen to be included on Facebook too. Besides the logistical problems between the two services, the organization will probably be tweeting more times than is acceptable on Facebook. Also, since we are only introducing the one new service (Twitter), it seems practical to devote an equal amount of time to the two services instead of combining them into one jumble.
Initially, we proposed adding Twitter and blogging, but the organization we are working with doesn’t want a blog. So, we are just focusing on Twitter now. You seem to be really ambitious with your plan. How accepting was your organization when you submitted your strategic plan to them? Did they display any hesitance about all the services? If so, how did you convince them to try them all?
Thanks for your thoughts Alyssa! It’s really helpful to hear what others are doing.
Yes, we really are working with a lot of platforms, the only new ones are actually YouTube and Google+ —we didn’t intend on including G+ because we felt that they should focus on developing thier current tools, but it was actually our org. person who was asked us if we would looking into using it… so even though they’re not really using current tools a whole ton, they’re eager to learn how to use them and to use even more…
I agree with @wooskah; definitely an ambitious plan; nothing wrong with that, just use caution.
Have you considered a “phased implementation” approach to your project? You would know best as you’re more familiar with the organization but here’s what I’m thinking for my little project:
Agree on a style guide to achieve a consistent/uniform look. Grab all the username handles that you can from social networks and take ownership of them immediately (YouTube, Google Places, Google+, Yahoo, Facebook Page, Twitter Profile, Foursquare, Yelp, etc.). Then wait, for a bit, before using them actively.
Concentrate on content-generation first. Your main hub will be the website and/or blog. “Content is still King” so make sure that you post regularly and emphasis is put on the quality of the content (as far being sociable and helpful to the community).
Put priority on energizing your community on Facebook, as based on research and actual physical market research that I’ve done, Facebook has 95% market share on our audience. As far as the other social media networks are concerned, don’t waste energy on making it a priority… AT LEAST NOT YET.
Temperance.
You don’t want to overload the staff/volunteers. What I’m really suggesting, if possible, is to have a “point-person” who’s social media savvy to handle the updates in the mean time while the rest of the team are getting on-board. This “point-person” needs to be an insider with the organization and trustworthy too!
I can understand the staff would be excited, but I would actually use caution. Twitter and most social networks are only useful if you’re really active. So take time to train them, not just having the skills, but on having that “paradigm shift” of “being social.”
To answer your question on the debate, i wouldn’t be so concerned with linking Twitter and Facebook. Take care of your Facebook Page (don’t clog it with blah blah blah), and it will take care of you!
Thanks for your input!
Yes, you’re right that focusing on limited tools and expanding to more is a good idea. Our organization already had most of these platforms established, so we’ve been working on getting them set up nicely for use, when they are ready (profile info, design, user settings, etc.). We’re focusing on the blog-twitter-facebook relationship, and like you said, focusing on content is definitely important!
We had a meeting today w/ our contact person, and it sounds like next week we will presenting to a larger group from the organization so that everyone is aware of what’s going on, but not everyone will be given access right away– like you suggested, we’re going to be adding in people who will actually do posting very gradually.
Quite a few nonprofits and for profits use HootSuite to manage their social media presence. The nice part is that you don’t have to log into several different sites to figure out what is going on, and it gives you some additional analytics to see how you are doing. – K
That’s true, good point. thanks!
I’ve tried out Tweetdeck, Seesmic (classic), Seesmic Ping, and Hootsuite… both for the desktop and using an iPhone client. Tweetdeck kept crashing on me. Seesmic got UX quirks that turned me off. Hootsuite is the least buggy of them all. You may also check out Ping.fm if you’re really feeling motivated. WARNING: I was using different twitter accounts (personal and for the non-profit) and found that whenever I would do searches for a certain topic, for example “child abuse” i would reach the limit for API Calls very quickly… so keep this in mind.
Thanks for sharing your experience with these different sites! It really helps to know what others have experienced–i appreciate it!
Great conversations fueled by visitors outside class–very cool! I just signed up for HootSuite but see that I will need to go Pro or go home. Maybe this summer. $6 a month for those who want to go pro; free for 3 weeks might be a good test.
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