FACEBOOK

Here you see the basic Facebook Profile page. For this slide show, we will be using the Nora Crowley (City Year) person as an example.

A huge part of Facebook is the feature of posting statuses. To do this, click on the Wall link.

Join us for National Youth Service day on the 16th!

Simply type in a message you would like everyone to see, and click Share.

By posting a status on the wall, it not only shows up on this page, but will also show up on the news feeds of those who are friends with “Nora Crowley (City Year)”, which will help reach out to not only those who are affiliated with City Year Rhode Island, but also to outsiders who may be interested in the organization. Also, by taking advantage of the privacy settings that Facebook offers, you can make sure that no one else can post on this wall, ensuring the content stays brand appropriate.

One of the most practical uses of Facebook is the ability to create and post events. The settings that are available fit any event type and situation. (Note: this feature can only be optimized if you are ‘Facebook friends’ with the appropriate people being targeted, in this case both City Year members and members of the public who could have an interest in City Year.)

After clicking “Create an Event” on the previous screen, this window will appear. This is where you would fill out all the details of your event. As you can see, there is a setting allowing for this to be a “public event”, which means that not only can everyone you are friends with see the event, but it also means that anyone can RSVP to it. Another option is to click ‘Select Guests’, and either invite all your friends so that everyone gets a notification, or select particular people to invite, in the chance that the event is for City Year Members only, and not open to anyone. Once this is created, there will be a page designated to the event, where people can write on the wall asking questions, RSVP, or learn more about the event.

Once you are page on your Profile page, click on the Info tab

Here you can list information about your group, add contact information, and insert links to other related websites

Here you can see your news feed, the events you are attending or created, and the messages from friends

Here you can create groups with the friends that you have, for particular projects, or groups with designated roles, etc.

You can even post questions that may arise, which will show up on your friends’ news feeds, allowing them to easily respond.

Notes are like wall posts, but you can write a lot more, in various formats, and select the privacy level (who can/can’t see the note)

OTHER COMMON, HELPFUL USES OF FACEBOOK:

And of course, you can add pictures of to either help promote the City Year RI brand, illustrate accomplishments, attract curious outsiders, or simply show members at work.

BLOGGING

Events that are being heldwho did what?what happened?why was this event held?has this event been held before or will it again in the futureask people about their experiences with the eventinclude pictures and a link if there is a website for the event! [This could be a Facebook or Twitter link too]

What City Year RI has been working onare you planning for an event?are you focusing on recruitment?have you implemented any new procedures or responsibilities?any big "thank you"s or shout-outs for generous donations?any new laws that are effecting the organizationIn the communityspecial fun in the classroom settingnoticed progress in the studentsareas of help that are the current focus

Topics to Blog About:

These are the posts that are up right now under the ‘Corps Experience’ category. As you can see, there are a variety of categories you could refer to when writing your blog post, or you could create a new one!

It is okay to look at other blog posts to get ideas about what to write—just make sure you do not plagiarize!

This blog site even allows for City Year RI’s posts on Twitter to show up, so keep tweeting!

The most obvious way to use Twitter is to have whoever logs in under the City Year RI name post short messages about what is going on with the organization.

To get the most out of the Twitter page, City Year RI should look for people in the community to follow, to get a good sense of what is going on and to spread awareness about the City Year brand. If a follow request is sent out to others, it is likely that they will follow City Year RI in return.

Members of City Year RI on Twitter should constantly post “@City Year RI”, so that the people following each member will have a direct link to the organization’s page, which will also increase brand awareness.

TWITTER

LINKEDin

City Year has a Linkedin, but City Year RI specifically does not. It is a helpful way to keep everyone connected, display statistics and information about the organization, and enhance communication of both members for the organization and people who are interested in it.

There is a section where you can display information about the organization in the news and connect it to Twitter and the City Year RI blog, which is another reason to keep these media sites updated and informative

Social Media & Blog System Explanation

Ideally this system is designed to be fairly self-sufficient and require little supervision from the head director of social media.

Camera: Essentially the entire system revolves around the rotation and circulation of the camera from team to team and location to location up to a week at a time. Originally Team Stride made it their goal to fund raise enough money to purchase a camera for City Year, but the team ran into complications with the academic work load and Americorp contract stipulations.

This camera will be used to take photos of the work City Year members do on a daily basis in addition to cataloging major events the members organize or take part in. In each team, it would be the responsibility of the Service Leaders to document and contribute social media materials on a weekly basis.

The photos taken would be uploaded to a folder at the City Year RI headquarters’ database. Along with these photos, Service Leaders would be responsible for a brief excerpt commenting on the photos or events of the day the photos pertain to.

Once photos are submitted they will be approved for usage in E-newsletters, blogs, and other documents/material made public by the site director of social media Nora Crowley.

 Scheduling: Given that the corps members are divided mainly into four teams across Rhode Island, in order to keep track of the camera and who is responsible for it, a “calendar sign-in/sign-out” system would need to be created.

This would entail a monthly calendar located at CYRI headquarters in Providence in which it will be scheduled out by month and by days who possess the camera. By doing this on a monthly basis, it ensures that the camera will be at important events when they occur. Plotting out the responsibility to each group throughout the month would be up to the discretion of the director of social media.

To obtain/return the camera, members would sign out the date and time of when they received it. It is also suggested that members write down cell phone numbers at the same time.

Duplicating/replicating this calendar online is also suggested because it will increase overall awareness of the cameras location and will decrease the need for unnecessary communication between corps members and the social media director.