Social & New Media for
Mental Health Organizations
Ritu Sharma, Executive Director & Co Founder, Social Media for
Nonprofits
Mike Thornsbury, Marketer/Fundraiser, Mental Health America
Board Member and Suicide Prevention Advocate
Jessica Kennedy, Director of Finance & Human
Resources/Webmaster, Mental Health America
Goals
• Provide an overview of social media in
general
• Highlight different platforms & types of content
• Address common concerns
• Share examples
• Increase comfort level with using social media
Speakers
Ritu Sharma, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Social Media for
Nonprofits
@ritusharma1
@SM4NP
www.linkedin.com/in/sharmaritu
Mike Thornsbury, Direct Marketer/Fundraiser, Mental Health America
Board Member & Suicide Prevention Advocate
@mikethornsbury
www.linkedin.com/in/mikethornsbury
Jessica Kennedy, Director of Finance/HR and Webmaster, Mental Health
America
@jmariekennedy
@MentalHealthAm
www.linkedin.com/in/jessicamariekennedy
Why Social Media Matters
Because instead of
looking here…
We look here…
Why Social Media Matters
• 93% of nonprofits use at least one form of
social media
• 93% of those use social media for marketing
purposes
• Only 37% use it for program delivery
• Social Media audiences are growing faster
than email and webpage audiences
Sources: 2012 Nonprofit Social Networking Benchmark Report 2012, and Nonprofit Benchmark
Report 2014
Elements of Social Media
• Platforms – Generic (social networking site,
blog, forum) or specific (Facebook, Huffington
Post, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.)
• Content – Generic (photos, blog posts, video)
or specific (Vine video vs. Youtube video)
• Devices – Mobile, Tablet, Desktop
• Audience – The audience drives the content
Social and New Media
• Social media: websites and apps that let
users share and network with each other
• New media: means of mass communications
• Example: Use Facebook (social media) on
smart phone (new media)
• Not all emerging technologies and apps are
social, but many are
New Media
• Digital computer-based therapy on the
National Registry of Evidence-based
Programs and Practices
• Behavioral intervention apps for smoking
cessation and weight loss
• Gamification is trending
• If apps aren’t social yet, they will be
• As critical to understand new media as it is to
understand social media
This is Social Media
But… so is this..
Social Media for Nonprofits
Strategy & Engagement
Presented by: Ritu Sharma
Executive Director
The “social reason” of social
media
Source: Waggener Edstrom
Commons Actions Post
Social Sharing
Source: Waggener Edstrom
The Social Nonprofit
• Having a Mont Blanc pen doesn’t make
you a best selling author
• Having the top of the line Macbook
won’t make you a blogger either
• Similarly, knowing the different types of
platforms or being present on all them,
doesn’t make you a socially savvy
nonprofit.
The Social Nonprofit
• Understands different platforms and
their applications and demographics
• Uses each to their strength
• Has a clear cohesive strategy in place
• Follows best practices in content
curation and creation
• Is creative, engaging and authentic
• Measures, analyses and improves
Role of Social
PARTNERS
PR
SOCIAL
MEDIA
EMAIL
DIRECT
MAIL
SEO
PHONE
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
LINKEDIN
YOUTUBE
BLOG
TUMBLR
FLICKR
INSTAGRAM
Social Strategy
•
•
•
•
Define your policy and process.
Set clear goals and targets.
Track and measure your progress.
Integrate social into your overall
communications/marketing plans.
• Be true to your cause & it’s brand
• Make it personal and interactive.
Define Goals
Stakeholder
Goal
Constituents, Caretakers and
Family Members
Education & Resources
Donors
Raise Awareness and Funds
Board Members & Volunteers
Recruit and Engage New & Potential
Supporters
Mental Health Community of
Practitioners
Establish Thought leadership
Media
Thought Leadership & Awareness
Choose Platforms & Frequency
Platform
Recommended Frequency
Type of Content
Facebook
Alternate days, no more than
twice a day
More visual content, ideally 80
characters or less, more
personal, touching and
emotive content.
Twitter
Can be several times a day 78
Links, catchy headlines, short
and straightforward how to’s,
news, resources.
LinkedIn
2-3 times a week
Thought leadership,
professional volunteer
opportunities, groups
Choose Platforms & Frequency
(Cont…)
Platform
Recommended Frequency
Type of Content
Pinterest
Weekly
Memes, images, graphic
elements, infographics
Can be several times a day 78
Links, catchy headlines, short
and straightforward how to’s,
news, resources.
2-3 times a week
Thought leadership,
professional volunteer
opportunities, groups
LinkedIn
Facebook
•
•
•
•
•
•
Facebook.com/nonprofits
Invite People
Post photos & Videos
Create Events
Facebook Ads
Fundraising campaigns
22
Twitter
•
•
•
•
•
•
Following Others
Low Hanging Fruit
Post Regularly
RT Often & Liberally
Create a Hashtag
Participate in #ff
23
Youtube
•
•
•
•
Youtube.com/nonprofits
Create Vlogs, PSAs & appeals
Drive fundraising via google checkout
Create “call to action” text overlays
24
LinkedIn
• Linked.com/nonprofits
• Create organization profile
• Link every employee, board member &
Volunteer
• Ask for testimonials
• Join Groups
• Post blogs & useful info
25
Create A Social Media Policy
26
Listen
27
Create an Editorial Calendar
28
Measure & Optimize
29
Killer Content – Add Value
30
Use Scheduling Tools
31
Thank You!
Ritu@SM4NP.org
@RituSharma1
32
Social Media Trends &
Analysis
Mike Thornsbury, Marketer/Fundraiser,
Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
Volunteer
Overview
• Facebook Statistics
• Facebook Insights & Trends
• Twitter Trends & Statistics
Facebook
Facebook Statistics
* Source: M+R and NTEN
Facebook Statistics
• Health & Wellness is the 3rd most popular cause on Facebook
*Source: Waggener Edstrom
Facebook Trends
• 829 million people use Facebook on a daily basis, an increase
from 802 million last quarter. *
• A significant 92% of marketers said that social media was
important to their businesses. This is an increase from 86% in
2013, where only 49% strongly agreed and 37% agreed **
• The top two benefits of social media marketing are increasing
exposure and increasing traffic. A significant 92% of all
marketers indicated that their social media efforts have
generated more exposure for their businesses. Increasing
traffic was the second major benefit, with 80% reporting
positive results. **
• Source: Facebook
** Source: Social Media Examiner
Facebook Insights
• Posts from your page that have board
members & volunteers tagged
increases organic views
• “Boosting” a post, or the Facebook
term for promoting, should be used for
important news and messages where
organic views & activity are not being
achieved after 24 hours
Facebook Insights
•
Example:
Facebook Insights
•
This post received 1,672 Organic views and 21 Likes or Comments
Facebook Insights
•
This post received 138 Organic views and 884 Paid Views with 19 Likes
Facebook Insights
•
For the paid post a total of $5.00 was spent to reach 884 people who either
liked the page or who liked the post.
Facebook Insights
•
The difference in the paid versus non-paid post was the tagging of
volunteers. That organically spread the message and achieved better
overall results with more page likes and overall engagement
Twitter Trends
Twitter Trends
• In the USA the number of Adult Twitter
users is estimated at 34.7 million
• There was a 24% increase in monthly
active users (MAU) over the last 4
quarters with the total now at 271
million.
• Twitter has added 53 million users in
the last 12 months
Twitter Trends
• Twitter is to be looked at more as a
news breaking and information source.
• Their latest hiring trends are mass
media and television centric
• Twitter is pushing towards the
integration of television, social and
mass media.
Source: Jeff Bullas
Next Up….
Dealing with some of the challenges of
social media
“My constituency isn’t on
social media.”
• Internet users between 18-29 are the most likely
demographic group to use social media at 83%
• 73% of teen internet users are involved in social
networking
• From 2005-2013, older adult social media usage went
from 1% of internet users to 46%
• People with income less than $30K a year have the
highest percent of social media usage among Internet
users
• If they aren’t there today, they’ll be there tomorrow
Sources: Pew Research’s The Demographics of Social Media users – 2012, Pew Research Center’s
Social Media Update 2013,
“How can I respect privacy?”
• “Opt-In” philosophy
• Develop clear policies and procedures around general
and specific use
• Children – Parental consent necessary
• Photographs – General events vs. Specific instances,
sharing vs. posting
• Names – Careful with clients, secure permission, beware
of “tagging”
• Events – Photo policies in advance, considerations such
as photos with alcohol
• Clients and Individuals with Lived Experience –
Exercise caution, especially around HIPAA
“I don’t want to look
unprofessional.”
• It’s a fine line
• Define boundaries between
personal and professional in
discussion and then as a
policy
• Follow the Grandma Rule
• Monitor comments and
unsubscribes
• Example: Participate in #tbt
(Throwback Thursday)
• Example: The Ice Bucket
Challenge
“What if someone leaves a
negative comment?”
•
•
•
•
Upside: free-flowing, user-based content
Downside: you can’t control it
Response depends on nature of comment
Discuss in advance how your organization might respond to:
• Complaints about your organization or its programs
• Bullying or harassment in comments
• General crisis messages (“I feel like I’m slipping, please
help!”)
• Specific crisis messages (threat to self-harm)
• https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/305410456169423
• Don’t feed the trolls!
• Users may police each other
“Which of those platforms do
I use?”
• Your social media platforms are your choice
• Most common platforms
• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Other platforms should fit your mission and capacity
• Art therapy? Maybe Instagram or Pinterest
• Support groups? Consider Meetup or GroupMe
• Custom social networking platforms for your organization
• Popularity can rise and fall quickly
“How do I measure
success?”
• Set Goals so you can measure them
• Metrics and Analytics: report back regularly!
• Awareness: List Growth/Churn
• Engagement: Comments/Conversations
• Virality: Reshares/Retweets
• Popularity: Likes/Favorites, Mentions
• Internal and external analytic tools
• Use benchmarking data (but carefully)
• Test new strategies
• 88% of social media pros are asking the same question
Source: 2014 Social Media Marketing Industry Report
“Who should be doing it?”
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•
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Communications, marketing and membership staff
Interns and volunteers
Most important: roles should be well-defined
Easiest if social media is managed by an individual or small
group
Social media can be popular
Too much? Average corporate social media team is 11
Ask all staff to engage with the organization via social media
Culture of participation starts with the CEO
Source: Altimeter Social Business Readiness: How Advanced Companies Prepare Internally
Next Up….
Examples of Social Media Use
A Twist on a Popular Meme
• Water is Life’s Hashtag
Killer campaign, aimed at
#firstworldproblems
• More than 6 million views
on YouTube
• Won 2013 Webby Award
for Best Online
Commercial
• http://youtu.be/fxyhfiCO_X
Q
• Could your organization
capitalize on an Internet
trend like this?
Time Your Awareness
• The American Red Cross
posts tips for National
Preparedness Month in
September
• What are you doing for…
• May is Mental Health
Month
• Minority Mental Health
Awareness Month
• Children’s Mental Health
Awareness Week
• Alcohol Awareness Month
Disaster Preparedness
• In response to Superstorm
Sandy, Animal Rights groups
used #sandypets to:
• Tweet tips (“make sure all pets have
collars”)
• List pet-friendly evacuation shelters
• Share hotlines
• Get volunteers and resources to
shelters
• What’s your emergency social
media plan?
• Are you warning people about the
impact heat waves and blizzards might
have on treatment plans?
• What other information might you get
out in an emergency?
Visualize
• Oxfam America ran a Flickr
campaign to support
Ethiopian Coffee Farmers
• Individuals held up signs and
posted them on a Flickr
campaign
• Would your constituents
visually tell their stories?
• What stories are best told
visually?
Questions? Comments?