There is one more important consideration that merits its own heading. This is especially important for people who may be new to the world of social media.
Remember that any social media account you create for your NGO is different than a personal account. Chances are, you or someone working with your NGO already has at least one personal social media account. Perhaps that account is used to talk with family and friends, or to share funny photos or stories with others. Social media accounts for NGOs must be professional. U
nlike Facebook friend pages which you can make private, social media accounts are public for the world to see. That means anything you share from that account can and may be perceived as the official stance of your organization. A social media blunder can be a disaster for an organization and reflects badly on the work of an NGO and the donors who fund it.
Here are some tips to make sure your organizational social media account remains professional:
- Don’t post anything you wouldn’t say to a donor: Social media is another voice for your organization — and you never know who is listening. If you’re not sure about whether something is appropriate to share, you probably shouldn’t share it. More than ever, donors like to connect with organizations over social media, and you don’t want them to find something surprising or shocking when they visit your page.
- Use good grammar and spelling: You wouldn’t submit a formal report or funding proposal without clicking the spell check button, so why would you take any less time to read over and edit a social media post? There is the perception that social media is spontaneous and casual, and that good grammar and spelling do not matter. Perhaps this is fine for your personal account, but once again, donors may be reading. Since social media does not have a built-in spell-check tool, you can always write posts in Microsoft Word in advance and edit there. Otherwise, everything your NGO shares on social media should receive a thorough read-over before it is shared. Typos happen, but they should always be prevented when possible.
- Engage smartly: Social media allows other users to publicly engage with your NGO online. The comments they make can be seen by others, and they’re not always positive. Don’t panic and respond angrily. Social media comments of all kinds, good and bad, should be answered. But don’t feel the need to answer negative comments directly. For example, on Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram you can direct message a person to follow up on the conversation, or you can ask them for their email address or phone number. Respectfully acknowledging someone’s concerns can go a long way in turning a critic into a fan or preventing a larger problem.
Creating a Social Media Strategy
Just as a communications strategy guides the communications efforts of your NGO, a social media strategy should inform your organization’s activity across all different platforms. A social media strategy will help your NGO focus on the goals it wants to achieve through the use of these online tools. It will also help assess the platforms you are already using, and how you can improve those tools to accomplish the goals set earlier.
A future resource guide will walk you through the steps of creating a comprehensive social media strategy for your organization.
Social Media Policy
A social media policy is a document to guide your NGO’s use of social media. Just as with a strategy, it is ideal to have a social media policy in place before creating any social media account. This document ensures staff members represent your NGO brand accurately online and may also govern the way your employees and donors communicate about your organization in social networks.
It is recognized that given staff restraints and capacity, this may not be possible. In lieu of a standard social media policy for your NGO, consider having a conversation with your staff to decide the following:
- What will your organization’s unique hashtag be? While not entirely necessary, a #hashtag topic will allow posts shared by your organization and its followers to be easily tracked and saved;
- Do staff members say they’re employed by your NGO in their personal accounts? If so, are they responsible for acting and posting professionally on these personal profiles?;
- How is your NGO’s brand communicated over social media?;
- What is your intended message? If there is a certain consistent theme or voice your NGO wishes to have over social media, make sure everyone who will be active on the platform knows what that is.
This is just a brief overview of some of the elements included in a standard social media policy. The future resource guide on creating a social media strategy will include a section on how to create a social media policy for your NGO.