As part of National Trustees’ Week, Joanna Morley, Online PR & Social Media Manager of Brighton-based digital marketing agency SiteVisibility, last week addressed delegates at an event hosted by business, tax and charity advisers Russell New on how charities can benefit from carefully structured social media campaigns. With the top 100 charities having now amassed 7m followers on Facebook compared to 3.5m a year ago, Joanna has shared her experience on how social media can be used as an effective tool by trustees and charities.
The event, held at The Old Tollgate, Steyning, West Sussex, has welcomed Joanna and delegates from charities such as Scope, King Alfred School, London and the Royal Blind Society. Joanna has looked at how vital it is in this day and age that charities listen and respond to what people are saying about their cause on social media platforms.
Joanna comments: “The figures speak for themselves. Charities on Facebook have now amassed 7m followers and on Twitter, they have 3.7m followers – up from 2m in 2011. However, with these figures growing, it is even more important that charities understand their online presence in terms of fundraising. It is more than simply asking for outright donations. It is all about increasing trust in their organisation, raising awareness of their cause and giving people their own ideas on how they can get involved.
“Social media provides such a great platform for charities, large and small. It can help them engage and communicate with supporters; drive traffic to their websites; provide a human face and personality in a two-way conversation; and simply inform people at their work and campaigns. Charities will have to review carefully if they have the buy-in from management to explore social media thoroughly – if they don’t then planning could be a waste of time and it will be harder to secure the right budget.”
Joanna then informed delegates on managing risk and crises via social media platforms. “Given the instant nature of social media, this gives anyone using the platform with an invaluable tool in which to respond to negative press or a crisis. But it’s important to monitor and review each profile that’s been set-up. By doing so a charity is already one step ahead in responding to pertinent industry issues faster than the rest.”
Joanna is the Social Media Manager at SiteVisibility and is responsible for the planning and execution of all its social media campaigns. Jo also has experience in working in the charity sector and is currently studying for the CIM professional diploma in marketing so will be able to advise on integrating social media with an integrated marketing strategy.
Trustees’ Week 2012 runs from 5 to 11 November, and its objective is to highlight the work of trustees and encourage more people to consider taking up similar roles within a charity. This annual occasion also celebrates the generosity of Charity Trustees, who freely give their time and expertise to the benefit of society.
Various events will take place across the country, with Russell New putting Sussex and the South East firmly in the spotlight with its one-day conference. The firm is well placed to support this national event, having established relationships with many charity sector clients and offering a variety of tailored seminars and forums to support their work throughout the year.