Social Media
Social media plays a big role in Public Relations and in order to be truly successful social media has to be utilised to its full potential. At Colosoul they understand how important it is and their Facebook page allows the organisation to connect with the community. They have over 3 800 followers on their page and they constantly update their status and have competitions running.
The Fair Tradie Project Ball was a prime example of how social media when used properly can be very effective. We created a Facebook event for the ball and everyone involved invited their freinds to join the page. This increased awareness for the event and provided a forum for people to chat about the ball and the cause we were fundraising for. It was an easy way to explain what the event was about and give details to the guests attending. Giving regular updates about the progress of the event and the entertainment was important in keeping people interested.
One of my tasks after the event was managing the page and uploading the photos that were taken on the night. Photos are a great way of promoting the event and gaining awarness for the cause. I also went through our list of sponsors and businesses that donated items for the event or the auction and liked their Facebook pages. This allows the organisation to show support to the businesses that had supported Colosoul and help to estbalish a relationship or channel of communication.
One thing that my supervisor made very clear from the start was the importance of maintaining a list of contacts and businesses we had approached for use in the future. Last year no records were kept and so this year we had to start from scratch. In the years to come the organisation has a list of all businesses that we approached, their contact details and whether they wanted to support the event or donate. This will mean a lot less work has to be done next year and Colosoul is hopeful that relationships can be established with certain businesses so they support the event every year.
Social media plays a very important role in organisations, especially not for profits as it a free way of communicating with the public. My internship has allowed me to have a better understanding of why it is so important and how to utilise to its full potential.
3 comments:
Hi Lauren,
I definitely agree with you! Social media has become such a vital role in public relations, especially in the not for profit industry. I too have gained work experience in the industry and thus understand the restrictions they have regarding financial resources. Therefore, as social media provides a free forum with the general public, you're right in saying social media is an important public relations tool for a not for profit organisation.
Furthermore, it is wonderful that you were able to utilize social media in your communications role. As you mentioned before, you were able to; create awareness of the event, provide the event details, update information and images to maintain public interest, and to acknowledge and strengthen relations with sponsors. This backs up your point; social media is an effective and efficient tool in communicating with organisation stakeholders and the public at large.
Sounds like you’re gaining a lot from your placement!
Good luck for the future
Christina
14823958
I agree with both of you guys, Social media totally changes the game plan for an organization. it is beneficial as it cost nothing to an organization to have a page and promote an event. secondly it could serve as a communication bridge for the organization and the consumer. moreover it also good tool to maintaining the communication within the organization.
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