Assignment #3

Shareology in Practice
Note: You must post your selected not-for-profit organization/cause in the appropriate activity section to get instructor approval b You will receive 3 marks toward this assignment for selecting and properly describing your selected organization. Note that the content that you use to identify your selected company can also be used in the section of your report identified as a “Brief Organizational Overview.” Your overall assignment is worth 25 points, 3% for your organization selection and background + 22% for your written report

You have now had a chance to explore how social/mobile impacts you as an individual and also corporations. You have successfully examined some of the current issues and non-traditional uses of these technologies that are improving/impacting the world. You have heard of companies like hitRECord.org and Ushahidi, learned about the principles of being a social business in your readings and critically analyzed the effectiveness of a corporate social media strategy.

You will be preparing a strategy brief social business strategy for a not-for-profit organization. This not-for-profit can be of any scale (local, provincial, national or international). You will be required to include an overarching strategy and also at least 1 campaign that they can activate using social (e.g. contest, challenge, event – or some other “call to action”).

If you are working with or volunteering for a not-for-profit, you may want to consider sharing this with them after you complete the assignment and get your feedback to incorporate so that there is an extra value to this assignment for something that you believe in. Traditionally, the non-profit sector has struggled with incorporating a social strategy due to the lack of resources (in terms of staff and knowledge)… You can help fill that gap!

Since social causes and the voluntary sector is a very personal choice, you will have the ability to choose any organization you wish.

Multiple students may have the same organization. While you are encouraged to collaborate, please be sure to ensure that you do not “overshare” information that could result in an academic integrity issue.

Your main guidepost for this assignment will be your readings from both texts, with specific note to the principles found in Shareology by Brian J. Kramer, and the tactics identified and tools described in the Social Media Bible by Lon Safko.

Becoming engaged in our social society carries with it significant responsibility for both individuals and organizations. This assignment will focus on the best practices and considerations for social and mobile technologies for not-for-profits.

Just as businesses build their brand through various methods and touch-points, our non-profit brands are established and projected through our participation in our various social channels. Often, they leverage social and mobile technologies as vital lifelines not only for awareness, but also for their fundraising efforts. As you have discovered, this ecosystem carries with it inherent long term risks if it is not used responsibly. However, when used properly these tools can be very powerful in unlocking a world of opportunity and global reach. The amplification of an organization’s message can be virtually limitless and the potential to engage with key stakeholders and funders from around the globe.
You will need to conduct conduct a critical analysis of your selected cause’s current social engagement strategy using social networking and mobile technologies to create that sense of loyalty and community for their consumers. Look into their current campaigns and past documented successes to determine their effectiveness. Look into their Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, etc. accounts to gain a sense of how they are using these technologies. How could your organization improve in the future? How can/should they measure their effectiveness?

As you go through your assignment don’t forget:
Being social takes time – Realize this when you are getting started. Although there is virtually no barrier to entry, being truly social over the long term requires you to dedicate time and effort to keep producing compelling content.
Be an active user – You need to keep your presence fresh to keep your audience interested. Keep in mind your audience may be friends, potential employers, others with common interests in the cyberworld, classmates, etc.
Measure your success – Understand your reach. Explore social analytics. If you are using tools that have specific social analytics, review those to see how you are reaching others, and what they are interested in. Subscribe two a service like Klout to see how you compare with others in your sphere of influence.
Be authentic – What is your “brand identity?” How to you stay true to yourself in your online interactions? What voice are you using?
Be accurate – Don’t spread misinformation and if you misstate something, be sure your apology resonates as broadly as your first statement. Think of Twitter. If you have in anyway helped to perpetuate a false message, how can you “make things right?”
Be respectful – Social media creates conversations. Encourage conversations and embrace the feedback of others! Respect those who chime in on your topics or that you are responding to. That does not mean you have to always agree, but it does mean that you conduct yourself in a way that preserves your own reputation.
Your social media strategy is to address the following at a bare minimum:
Opting in and Participating – What channels will your organization participate in going to engage in? Why? Why are you opting not to engage in others? (Note: You must participate in a minimum of 4 of the following in your action plan: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Vine, YouTube, Google+ or a social network of your choice which must be fully described in your paper).
What are the goals for the various channels?
What messages will your organization be projecting?
How will you integrate mobile technology to help your organization sustain its social presence? Which platform have you selected? (iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile?) Why have you made this selection?
What aggregation tools might they use to help you communicate more effectively? (e.g. Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, etc.)
How will they measure and manage their success/reach? What social analytics will they measure? Will sentiment analysis play a role?
What “rules of engagement” will they have ? How will they handle criticisms and conflict?
What protections/policies will they have in place to protect from compromising accounts and hence their brand?
If you need inspiration or would like to walk through a good document full of considerations, I recommend the attached resource workbook as well as the attached Sample Social Media Strategy.

NOTE: THIS ASSIGNMENT HAS CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY FROM PREVIOUS TERMS. YOU SHOULD NOT USE PREVIOUS TERM’S WORKS AS EXAMPLES. THEY ARE NOT AN ACCURATE REPRESENTATION OF WHAT YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO DO AND MAY CAUSE MORE CONFUSION THAN ASSISTANCE.
Structure of the Report
Length: should not exceed 3000 words in your strategy report.
(Note: This word count does not include the for the action plan chart which MUST be included as an appendix. This chart is a summary chart, and will be very redundant with other text in your assignment. Therefore, the content does not count twice!).

Format: You can be creative while still adhering to APA. Use graphs, charts, tables, bulleted points, images, screen captures, etc., to convey your information. However, please be sure to proper label all images/tables, etc., in accordance with APA format. Your title page, page layouts, etc. MUST follow APA format.

All references are to be incorporated and listed in accordance to APA formatting.

Your report must include the following
Title page in APA Format (not included in your word count))
Brief organizational overview (not included in your word count)
Links to current social assets for the organization (not included in your word count)
Current social media and mobile technologies strategy (~250-500 words)
Future strategy (the bulk of your paper)
Target Audiences
Social Media Goals
Types of content that would add value to your achieving your goals (include at least 1 sample that would relate to a targeted messaging campaign (e.g. fundraiser, event, etc.)
Channel assessment and strategy (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
Action Plan – Include channels, actions required, priority, frequency, how you will measure your success, amount of time that should be dedicated, people resources required, and how this will happen – refer to the Action Plan Tables in the Sample Social Media Strategy.pdf
Measuring Success and effectiveness – Overall commentary to what you have put in the chart to summarize
References: You are still expected to incorporate external sources to assist in the justification of your decisions. (I would expect you to use no less than 5 reliable external sources to assist you in preparing this course component). However, not more than 30% of your content should come from another source. This includes your own work! Since you may choose to incorporate some of your work from previous coursework, don’t forget to cite your own work (including anything developed during your group work!)
Again, if you need inspiration, see the attached Social Media Strategy Sample Template.

Frequently Asked Questions?

Why is Measurement and Channels mentioned in both the Action Plan Section and Called out separately?
The action plan is the brief summary chart. The other sections are to provide the commentary regarding the rationale of why you have selected those tactics for social and sentiment analysis for instance.

Final Checklist:

Have you addressed the topics required?
Does your paper follow APA format (fonts, spacing, running heads, title page, references, in-text citations, etc.)?
Have you reviewed the Safe Assign score and report for your paper? Papers with a score of over 50% will not be marked. Papers exceeding a 25% match will be carefully reviewed for Academic Integrity concerns.
Is your paper within the 2200-3000 word limit?
Is your paper in .pdf .doc or .docx format? You must upload your file as a .doc, .docx, .pdf formats so that theinline marking tools as well as Safe Assign can be applied. Submissions not in one of these formats will not be graded.
Have you uploaded your paper to Blackboard before the deadline?
Have you reviewed the Blackboard site to ensure that your paper was successfully received?
REMINDER: THE SAMPLE ASSIGNMENT IS FROM A PREVIOUS SEMSTER. THERE WERE DIFFERENCES IN THE ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT YOUR ASSIGNMENT ADHERES TO THE CURRENT REQUIREMENTS!
Social Media
Strategic
Plan
This plan includes the tactical objectives to be used to accomplish the primary social media goals
identified by
McNelley Media
on behalf of
[Company Name]
.
Example
Social Media Goals
1.
Increase
“
member
”
base, recruit new
“
members
,
”
draw
physical
traffic to
facility
a.
Purpose: to make money/to stay in business
2.
Brand the
[
company
]
name, cause, and facility as a place of quality care
, establish
[company]
as
expert
s
a.
Purpose: to manage the
[company]
reputation
3.
K
eep the local community updated on happenings, discounts, events, etc.
a.
Purpose:
to increase number of new
“
members
”
4.
Understand how
“
members
”
use social
media and monitor what
“
members
”
are saying about
[company]
a.
Purpose: to stay connected with
“
members
”
5.
Contact local community businesses to inform them that
[company]
provides
[specific service]
a.
Purpose:
word of mouth;
to spread the word about
[company
]
Sample
Summary
of Existing
Online
Presence
1.
Facebook
a.
Page established
b.
Lack of consistent activity,
maintenance, management
2.
Twitter
–
No presence
3.
Blog
–
No presence
4.
YouTube
–
No channel
5.
LinkedIn
–
No presence
6.
Yelp
a.
Listing established
b.
Issues with listing
, management at less than 1 hour per week
c.
Conference call set up with Yelp account manager to reconcile
issues
www.mcnelleymedia.com twitter.com/mcnelleymedia facebook.com/mcnelleymedia
Content Types
1.
Photographs
4.
Member
Reminders
2.
Expert
Articles
5.
Mailers
3.
Video Testimonials
Tracking Tools
1.
Facebook Insights
4. Google Analytics
2.
Hootsuite Ow.ly Summaries
5. LinkedIn Analytics
3.
YouTube Insights
Focus
Channels
1.
Facebook
Purpose:
Increase recognition, increase social engagement, establish online
social network, searchability
Metrics for Success:
“Like”s
, referrals from social networks
2.
Twitter
Purpose:
Increase recognition, increase engagement,
establish network,
establish brand
, searchability
Metrics for Success:
Followers,
2
nd
–
order followers (follower’s follower count),
social
capital (influence of twitter followers), Klout score,
referrals
3.
Yelp
Purpose:
Reputation management, increase engagement with
“
members
,
”
searchability
Metrics for Success:
Reviews, stars, participation, referrals
4.
LinkedIn
Purpose:
Increase recognition, increase engagement, establish network,
establish brand
, searchability, find
leads
Metrics for Success:
Connections,
discussion participation, Klout score,
r
eferrals
5.
Blog
Purpose:
Increase recognition, increase engagement
, searchability
Metrics for Success:
Number of posts, audience growth (unique and returns),
comments
/likes, subscribers, inbound links, directory listings, SEO
improvements, r
eferrals from social networks
6. YouTube
Purpose:
Increase recognition, increase engagement, establish brand
Metrics for Success:
Video views, video reviews, stars