Social media in the third sector (From Capacitybuilders Improving Support website – www.improvingsupport,org.uk) 2009 was dubbed “the year of Twitter” by the media and Facebook claims 20 million users in the UK. It’s getting hard for even die-hard technophobes to argue that social media is a flash in the pan that won’t impact on the way that we work. Support providers are having to face up to the need to get to grips with social media. They will need to be able to help frontline organisations with the key tools (the “big 4” are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs). Capacitybuilders funds two organisations nationally to help support providers in this area. The Marketing and Communication work is led by the Media Trust, and funded through Capacitybuilders’ National Support Service programme. The ICT Champions network is led by the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA), and funded through Capacitybuilders’ National Priorities programme.
Perfectly placed “Social media has a big role in the third sector because it’s a dynamic way of communicating,” says Jessica Medling of the Media Trust. “The barriers to using it tend to be a lack of time, resources, knowledge or confidence. There’s also a suspicion that it’s not relevant. In fact the third sector is perfectly placed to use social media. It’s all about building communities of likeminded people, and communities are at the heart of the third sector”. “Support providers can find it hard to offer advice,“ says Paul Webster, of NAVCA’s ICT Champions network. “They’re often coming to terms with social media themselves. If they don’t use Facebook or Twitter it can be hard to answer questions about them. It’s important for everyone to appreciate how these tools can make them more effective in reaching a wider audience more efficiently, while saving them money.” There is certainly a desire to understand. Julie Harris, Chief Executive of social enterprise Cosmic and NAVCA’s ICT Champion for the South West comments: “I’ve done a lot of workshops with voluntary organisations. There is a huge demand for information and has been a big increase in interest.”
NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary and Community Action), The Tower, 2 Furnival Square, Sheffield S1 4QL Tel 0114 278 6636 ● Fax 0114 278 7004 ● Textphone 0114 278 7025 ● navca@navca.org.uk ● www.navca.org.uk Registered charity no. 1001635 ● Company limited by guarantee ● Registered in England no. 2575206 ● Registered office as above
Think of the organisation not the tools “The big issue is that organisations need to understand the tools (like Facebook and Twitter) well enough to make good decisions about the best one to use,” says Julie. “They need to understand their business’s objectives and what the tools can do before they leap in. Step back, understand what the organisation needs then find the tool for the job.” Paul Webster agrees: “Think of the tools last. Look to the people you work with. If they’re using Facebook it might be worth having a presence there. But if they aren’t on Facebook there’s no point you being there.” ICT Champion for Yorkshire and Humberside, Simon Duncan, believes that the key issue for time and cash-strapped organisations and support providers is understanding how social media tools can help them achieve their goals. “There’s lots of information about key social media tools, but the emphasis seems to be on the tools not the organisation using them” he observes. “The voluntary sector doesn’t have the time to research something to see if it might be useful.” Taking the mystery out of social media tools That realisation led Simon to set up an experiment, #socialmediaVCO, which he logged on his blog. Starting in late 2009 he set out to ask how voluntary and community organisations might use the “big 4”. The result is a practical social media guide to help voluntary sector organisations establish if social media tools might be useful. “The guide takes people through some key questions to see if social media is going to be right for them. Then it offers a step by step process to help them achieve their goals. The aim is to help them avoid wasting time and ease them gently into it,” he says. The guide is one of a number of projects on social media due this year, with contributions from the ICT Champions network, the Media Trust and Red Foundation. The idea is to demystify engagement online - “laying out the landscape and helping people to navigate it” as Jessica Medling from Media Trust puts it. In June ,the Media Trust, in collaboration with NAVCA will be producing a guide on Social Media for Charities. It will give an overview of key social media tools and their uses, with case studies about the third sector, and support providers, as well as practical tips on getting started and making the most of social media. The Red Foundation has already run one programme of seminars for volunteer organisations. A second series is now being planned in partnership with the ICT Champions network, one per region, to take place between June and October this year.
NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary and Community Action), The Tower, 2 Furnival Square, Sheffield S1 4QL Tel 0114 278 6636 ● Fax 0114 278 7004 ● Textphone 0114 278 7025 ● navca@navca.org.uk ● www.navca.org.uk Registered charity no. 1001635 ● Company limited by guarantee ● Registered in England no. 2575206 ● Registered office as above
Jamie Thomas at Red Foundation says that it’s important to demonstrate the value of investing in social media. “The key questions are always, what’s it all about? How do I use it? And what’s the point?” he says. “We need to address the big barriers – the lack of confidence and the need to show that it’s worth investing the time.” Jamie is something of a veteran when it comes to introducing voluntary sector bodies to new media. Ten years ago he set up the volunteer recruitment website do-it which helped volunteering organisations come to terms with the internet at a point when many didn’t even have computers. “It’s different this time” he enthuses. “Social media is new for everyone. Facebook has only been going for a few years. Twitter only started to be widely used in 2009. This time we’re not lagging behind. We’re all at the same stage, everyone’s learning. We’re not playing catch-up, we’re here at exactly the right time.” Network with other support providers Recognising the opportunities social media offers to the third sector, NAVCA have developed Navcaboodle a social network site for third sector support organisations. The site now has over 1000 members from local support provider organisations with more than 40 groups swapping notes, asking for help and discussing topics from communications, social care and health, to environmental issues, technology and many more. The Facebook for volunteering Similarly Red Foundation has piloted a social network for volunteers. i-Volunteer has been described as “the Facebook of volunteering”. It allows volunteers and volunteer managers to network in a Facebook-type environment, e.g. through groups, blogging and writing on walls. “It’s a bespoke network, using a Facebook approach for a particular network of people” says Jamie. “We’ve already seen boards of trustees setting up groups so that they can keep in touch between board meetings, for example.” The next version of the site will be available in June, and will have some additional functionality, such as the ability for users to set up and manage events or to share documents. i-Volunteer was launched on 5 December 2009 - International Volunteers Day, with a low-key launch on Twitter. It now also has over 1000 members and attracts nearly 3000 visitors a week. “Sometimes you have to take a chance on an idea and say I think there’s an appetite for this, let’s do it and see what happens. I think this demonstrates that the appetite is there,” concludes Jamie. May 2010
NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary and Community Action), The Tower, 2 Furnival Square, Sheffield S1 4QL Tel 0114 278 6636 ● Fax 0114 278 7004 ● Textphone 0114 278 7025 ● navca@navca.org.uk ● www.navca.org.uk Registered charity no. 1001635 ● Company limited by guarantee ● Registered in England no. 2575206 ● Registered office as above