social media

Welcome back!  This week Anne Ashbey Perotti guest blogs about the case study on United Way of Jackson Couny and social media.  Anne was chair of our task force last summer and she shared at the Oregon Nonprofit Leaders Conference our case study.  And a case we were!  Anne rocked it and is now a United Way of Jackson County board member.  Here's Anne...

UWJC Social Media “case study” – a model for Oregon Non-Profits

Last summer, United Way Jackson County board member Suzanne Zapf and Dee Anne approached me with a proposal:  to form and lead a group of community, board and staff members in developing a social media strategy for the agency.  As a (primarily) for-profit retail marketer, I was hesitant.  Would my expertise translate?  Would I have time to do the effort justice?  The opportunity won out.  Under Suzanne and Dee Anne’s leadership we brought together a small but mighty Task Force of board members, community volunteers and staff.  We had a great time tapping into our collective expertise, and over the course of about six weeks created a series of recommendations that were prioritized and adopted by the agency. 

Now, several months later, and as newly inducted UWJC board member, I received an invitation from Jenny Council of NetCorps to share the Task Force’s process, recommendations and results with non-profit organizations through a presentation at the Oregon Non-Profit Leadership Conference (ONLC).  I immediately recruited two key members of the Task Force:  John Williams, an industry veteran and entrepreneur, and Meri Aaron Walker, a social media evangelist and virtual meeting coach.  It was great to reconnect with John and Meri, take a moment to recognize the progress this organization has made, and offer it as a model to other non-profits.   For me, the very nature of this Task Force – bringing together a diverse group of experienced and invested participants for the greater good of our community – is yet another phenomenal example of this agency’s commitment to “live united.”   

There are many tangible results of this effort.  Guest blogs, like this one, have been a great way to share a diverse set of voices with the public, giving depth and breadth to our shared passion for the works of this agency.  UWJC’s Facebook group (United Way of Jackson County) has grown to nearly 400 members, is regularly updated with event information, and has become a great vehicle for interaction with and among supporters.  UWJC’s Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/uwjackson) has about 120 followers and is an important way for the organization to keep in touch with and disseminate news that is relevant to its mission and priorities.  Website content is now refreshed on a regular basis, and provides a means to showcase the great work of our partners.  Is any of this having an impact?  Yes!  So far, we’ve seen 23% more visitors to www.unitedwayofjacksoncounty.org – which tells us that the web is helping us get the message out to more people.   Web traffic and community engagement will only continue to grow as we implement additional social media strategies, like a monthly newsletter (you can sign up here).

What else do you think United Way of Jackson County should we be doing to increase awareness and participation?  Please leave a comment with your thoughts and suggestions!