Social Media

Social media is a great way to keep up everyone up to date with what is going on in your organisation, communicate with service users and catch up with what is happening within the Third Sector.

One of the main platforms that organisations tend to use is Facebook which is an excellent way to reach communities and service users, some of the benefits are:

  • It is a great way to get information out with regards to getting the word out about services which are being offered
  • People can share posts to spread the word far and wide to people who potentially are unaware of your organisation
  • Gain support such as volunteers, donations and positive promotions
  • Can reach people of all abilities and all ages
  • Throughout COVID-19 you can conduct Facebook live events. This will give people something exciting to look forward to and keep people interacting with your organisations.

Twitter is another extremely popular platform and arguably more popular when looking to connect with other organisations, here are some benefits:

  • Fast paced with people responding and tweeting extremely quickly
  • Short and straight to the point with 280 character tweets
  • Can communicate with other organisations and businesses
  • Build visibility of your organisation and services
  • Can gain support from local MPs

Social media is an excellent tool when used correctly, here are our top tips:

  • Make sure that your account is always monitored and ideally this role be appointed to one person
  • When posting make sure you are using positive tones, emojis and you are conveying the ethos of your organisation
  • Make sure to keep it friendly and inviting, not too ‘corporate’!
  • When responding to comments whether it be negative or positive remain professional and thoughtful as you would in an email
  • When you are looking to increase your reach always remember videos go the furthest followed by photos and then plain text. Where possible always try and include a picture in your posts!
  • When you are working in partnership with other organisations or promoting other organisations always remember to tag them to keep the connection!
  • If you have pictures of people always make sure they have the correct consent and following GDPR

If you would like more information on guidance with regards to social media, please contact erin.walsh@vaslan.org.uk.