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CONNECTIONS Tweeting Up Appearances: youth work and social media. Written by Vicky Caswell
Vicky is a National ENVOY Member for the East Of England, and currently studies Social Science at the University Of Lincoln, and has too much experience of sitting on Twitter (...and Tumblr and Facebook)!
Some tips on how to use Twitter: • ‘Google before you tweet’ is the new ‘think before you speak’. Making sure web addresses are correct before posting, particularly on Twitter, is really important. • Don't be patronising – if a person is following you they are probably interested in your work, and if people want to know more they can gain access to your site through your Twitter or Facebook page: tweet what your organisation has been doing, and don’t get stuck continually explaining who you are and why you exist! • Tweet tweeters like you want to be tweeted – a starting suggestion would be to tweet three times a day, making sure to use hashtags i.e. #charities, which will allow you to find organisations similar to yours. If you want to share something, retweet it.
Youth Work and social media has a growing but tense relationship; as youth work adapts to the ways in which young people communicate, increasing issues around privacy sometimes make social media a difficult platform for youth workers to correctly engage with. However, when youth workers invest time in social media, it can make a real difference to the organisation and create a better link between a young person and services. Youth work and social media has come pretty far over the last few years. The rise of Facebook and other social media sites such as Twitter and Tumblr have made it easier than ever to access thousands of young people and focus on a specific geographical area. You can also target specific age groups, making it easier to advertise services to any demographic. Social media and youth work have certainly changed, not just through PCs, but through smart-phones too, connecting young people and organisations like never before. This connection and quality of contact should not be underestimated. However, not everyone seems to be in a position to maintain this key function. Many counties have great practice to share around Social Media, but due to financial cuts over the last two years, many councils have been unable to continue their online work, even though it’s the most cost effective way to communicate and consult with young people; be it through online surveys, Facebook and other social media sites, and to a certain extent email. Most youth organisations now have a strong online social media presence, gaining new followers, though given the number of social media options you have to be really careful to keep them up-to-date. Facebook pages are notorious for being left dormant for long periods as charities forget to regularly update them, sometimes even forgetting their page exists! People like to have access to information in one easy-to-find place, so investing more time in maintaining a page is invaluable, and can increase your outreach to stakeholders. Doing so is increasingly necessary, especially when times are financially tough, and only getting tougher. Allowing more people to know what you do and who you are is key to being able to increase funding and gain support, while also letting your supporters know what you're up to as an organisation. This is relevant across all social media, including Twitter: you need to update! Twitter is an amazing tool for gaining access to the public, but also for reaching local and national media, councils and MP's who are also on Twitter - even David Cameron has a Twitter account now!
Useful Links: • A great explanation for any organisation to get started on Twitter: http://bit.ly/CharityTwitterGuide • Advice from organisations who use social media: http://bit.ly/CharityAdvice • Guide to social media for charities: http://bit.ly/SocmedGuide
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