Using social media to show the lighter side of Rotary

I like to present a lighter, more fun, more humorous side to Rotary on social media. I find it grabs people’s attention, member and non-member alike.

I come up with new, sometimes silly, ideas that inspire people and make them laugh — like using photo editing software to post a picture of Paul Harris taking a selfie, or posting a video of Past RI President Ron Burton dancing Gangnam Style, or posting an eye-catching image using #WeAreRotary. It’s all meant to get a response or reaction.

We can use social media to show that not only are we making a positive difference in the world, but we are having fun doing it. This makes the idea of Rotary more relatable, especially to new generations, who may feel disconnected with some of the formalities of Rotary but are avid users of social media.

Posting inspiring messages, funny pictures, or fun facts gives Rotary members a chance to feel involved. But content needs to be sticky. Sticky content is content that people are actually interested in, want to share, and want to interact with. That’s critical to maximizing the impact of the message. And it must come from a personal and honest place.

I had a lot of fun way back at the 2014 Rotary International Convention in Sydney, Australia, taking thousands of selfies with Rotarians, Rotaractors, senior Rotary leaders, and even the pop vocal quartet Human Nature! I then compiled all the photos into a video and shared it over my social media networks. It generated such a great response from people who saw the convention in a different light. That little bit of extra fun and inspiration could be just what it takes to convince a person to start a project, knowing there is a huge network of supportive, helpful, friendly, and fun-loving individuals willing to help.

Social media also acts like a collective mind when it comes to sharing ideas and knowledge. Whereas before we might have had a roomful of Rotarians eating tasteless chicken, it’s now possible to promote an idea by posting it on Facebook and have it seen by huge numbers of members all over the world. Without having to eat a bite!

In the end, all we are trying to do is use social media to connect and have FUN. I have incorporated this into Rotary and my life. Social media to me is, by definition, something that has no bounds. But we should also do our best to empathize the good qualities of our organization in a way that helps others relate to us as approachable, positive, and fun.

If you would like to connect with me on social media, you can find me on Facebook, Instagram at @changemakerevanburrell

Article by Evan Burrell

Marketing with memes

Are you looking for a fun way to engage people on social media? Have you considered using humorous memes in the marketing of your Rotary club?

Ok, but… what is a meme anyway?

A meme is an image, video, piece of text, etc., typically humorous in nature, that is copied and spread rapidly by internet users, often with slight variations.

So why should you use a funny meme in your social media content?

It can be hard nowadays to get users’ attention as they are scrolling through their newsfeeds, but marketing with humour and familiar pop culture imagery can engage potential followers.

On social media, memes usually take the form of a GIF or static picture playing on a familiar theme, meaning or phenomenon, often with text layered on top of or over the image.

Across all industries, more established companies are using memes and humour to build community, relate to their audience, and stick in their followers’ memory. This can be a great way that your Rotary club can be relevant to a new audience.

Memes are funny, and that helps foster community among your followers. They create a sense of belonging because your audience can relate to the situation you refer to, and everyone’s in on the same joke.

If you can make your audience laugh, you’ll attract followers and help viewers relate to your club.

Because memes are often related to a current trend or event, they can make your club more real, modern and human. Memes appeal to contemporary or cultural events that your viewers know about, which feels authentic and fresh. This content serves to bring a community together and makes your club seem more relatable, especially if you are trying to target millennials.

The key is to be authentic and not overly conservative. Edgy content demonstrates that your club has a personality and unique voice to set you apart from everyone else.

Once you have an idea of the content your followers are interested in, make relatable jokes and move quickly to comment on relevant fads and cultural trends.

Many popular brands are using memes as an effective marketing strategy. But, like most creative processes, trust your instincts on humour. If you don’t think a meme you’ve created is funny, interesting or insightful, your Facebook page audience probably won’t either.

It is vital for our clubs to find new ways to be relatable in the digital world, and using humour is a sure-fire way to achieve that.

So, go forth and be a meme machine!

Article by Evan Burrell.

Need a boost?

Are you confused by Facebook’s many advertising options and how to choose the right one for your club?

Do you know that when you pay to boost a post you could potentially reach over 300,000 plus people?

Understanding the options of boosting and promoting various posts can help you make better budget decisions.

I’m sure you’ve heard the news that Facebook has changed their algorithm again, and that means it’s probably decreased the reach and views of your own Rotary club’s Facebook page. This means that to be seen in your community’s news feed, you may need to spend a little bit of money on a Facebook ad.

But you don’t need to pay to boost or promote every single post you put on your Facebook page. Just choose the best posts made up of your own content – and the best ones show a vibrant, happy club in action.

Boosting a post is very easy to do and available for any post on your page’s timeline. All you need to do is click “boost post” in the lower right corner of your post. It’s that simple!

When you decide to boost a post, you have the option to choose either pushing the post to “People who like your page and their friends” or “People you choose through targeting”. The targeting option is usually a better option, because it lets you select which people you want to reach, as well as their location, age, gender and interests. You’ll also be able to set your budget, which can be very cost effective.

If you do boost a post, be clear on what you want to achieve. Are you wanting people to come to an event, or is it just a general awareness advertisement?

The ability to reach a vast, targeted audience at such a low cost is revolutionary. So, why don’t you give it a go?

Article by Evan Burrell

How to delete a doppelganger

Has someone pretended to be you or a friend of yours on Facebook? It can be a horrible experience when you realise, can’t it?

But how can someone just impersonate you on Facebook, I hear you ask?

It’s easier than you might think. Setting up a new Facebook account with a name the same as yours, or a very similar name, is pretty straightforward. Then, all they need to do is find a profile picture of you, go through your friends online and start posting to them or the world at large.

Of course, your close friends and family will usually spot that something isn’t quite right and call out the ruse. It can be a bit of a distressing experience, though, especially if the imposter posts deliberately nasty content.

Thankfully, there are steps that can be taken to have these evil doppelgangers removed and to protect your online reputation.

Facebook provides a quick way to report accounts that you think are impersonating your own. To start the process, go to the imposter’s account and click on the three dots to the right of the message box in the cover photo section at the top of their page.

A drop-down menu will appear, from which you’ll need to select “Report”.

A new window will appear with three options. Select “Report this Profile” and follow the onscreen instructions. Facebook will then investigate the imposter’s behaviour and hopefully remove their account very quickly. It is also a good idea to change your own profile picture and check the security settings on your account.

If you’ve been a victim of account impersonation on Facebook or any other social media site, then be sure to report it as quickly as possible. Let your online friends know what’s happening, and not to add or interact with this new account, as it is probably a fake.

Fear not, though, these social media giants like Facebook do have safeguards against this sort of identity fakery, so don’t let this turn you off from your own enjoyable experience of using social media.

The safety measures to report these fakes are there for your protection, so don't be afraid to use them.

Article by Evan Burrell

When trolls attack: How you can protect yourself online

When you hear the term “troll”, what do you think of? I suppose most people would think about three Billy goats trying to cross a bridge!

However, the troll now takes a slightly new form. In today’s lexicon an online troll, or simply troll, is a malicious person who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages or spam online, such as a comment on a Facebook post, an anonymous email or another online discussion forum. The primary intent is to provoke other users into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal online discussion – hence the term “trolling”.

Does your social media account get negative comments? Or do you unintentionally post negative comments yourself? How you respond to trolls can impact on you and your club’s reputation.

Here are a few tactics that may help you defuse the negative situation in the best possible way.

1. Don’t give them the satisfaction: Retaliating, commenting and reacting will give the troll the satisfaction of knowing you saw their nasty comments. Ultimately, once they realise they’re not going to get a reaction, they’ll move on.

2. Report or delete: Some trolling that takes place can be highly abusive and offensive. Occasionally, trolls even make threats to people. In these instances you should be reporting them. Facebook makes it easy to report a nasty comment and they won’t know it was you that reported them. Remember, though, there is a thin line between being free-spirited and opinionated and being a troll, so you may just want to delete a comment.

3. Set boundaries: If you have a troll problem or want to make sure you don’t run into one, set some personal or club guidelines on social media. The goal isn’t to completely remove all negative comments and photos etc., but the guidelines should be reasonable (for example: no abusive language, no harmful remarks, no bullying) and not too harsh so as to stop people from engaging with you.

4. Be nice: Treat all your friends, fans, followers and trolls kindly. In most cases, trolls are looking for a reaction, so don’t turn to angry mode on social media. The worst way to deal with a troll, hater or even just a disgruntled person is to be combative or sarcastic. Whether you respond to the trolls or report their doings, you should always be professional and pleasant on your social media.

Remember, “Don’t feed the trolls”; keep your cool when the going gets tough and you’ll make the online experience a safe and fun place for everyone.

Article by Evan Burrell

Broken Windows

Broken Windows Theory dictates that if windows are broken and left unfixed, people tend to infer a prevailing sense of indifference toward the upkeep of order in the neighbourhood.

Subsequently, they show less inhibition towards breaking further windows or similar anti-social behaviour – if nobody really cares, why not? Similarly, if it doesn’t really matter, why prevent it taking place?

If this attitude continues unchecked, it can cause the entire area to be affected by a rise in crime. Petty vandalism can lead to larger wrongdoings, as people perceive an apathy to lawfulness and feel free to act without restraint.

So what does this mean to Rotary?

Our clubs’ successes are defined by their internal cultures. High levels of meaningful service, ethics, integrity, respect and unity, as well as a commitment to fostering goodwill and assisting the development of both our own members and the wider community, are the foundations of Rotary worldwide.

These are our windows.

Occasionally, and regrettably, these windows get broken.

Areas of service may become neglected. We may fail to bring in new members or members who add fresh perspectives. We may defer the opportunity to undertake projects of significance or may not embody our values when interacting with other club members or when facing difficulties in reaching our objectives.

We have two choices once this occurs: we either identify and set about fixing the problem, or we do nothing and watch the resultant drop in standards… and membership.

Seems like an easy choice. But we all know that the right choice isn’t always the easy choice.

We can look to others to fix the problems, or even expect they will do so. We may believe we “aren’t responsible for” or don’t “own” the problems, so therefore they aren’t ours. We may even figure that nobody will notice, or that the problems will fix themselves over time.

In reality though, these “windows”, which our success rests upon, are every Rotarian’s priority. Small fractures left unchecked can lead to large breaks.

Great teams comprise of individuals prepared to be self-managing. They take personal responsibility for ensuring standards are met and raised further again. They don’t need to be prevented from breaking windows, they are out there fixing windows, polishing them and take pride in them.

We all, at times, get off course and our windows get broken. But it is how we respond to both our own broken windows and those within our vicinity that will define Rotary’s future success.

Published in Rotary Down Under September 2016

Creating a sure-fire social media strategy

Not having a strategy for using social media is no longer an option for your club. In this day and age, it’s just too hard to “wing it” online.

Rotary clubs are starting to use a wide range of social media tools, however, in the rush to get on the Facebook and Twitter bandwagons, many clubs have forgotten about the planning required to achieve success in social media.

Here are some steps your club can take to create a social media strategy and plan for your social media efforts. As we know in Rotary, a little planning goes a long way!

1. Create a social media committee

The day-to-day work of social media cannot be done by one person. In order to form a dynamic and working committee, think about the people involved with your club who:

·        Like communicating

·        Like technology (they do not have to be tech-savvy)

·        Have a creative flair

·        Have their finger on the pulse of the latest news

·        Are well-connected and enthusiastic

The key is to get this group of people thinking through a public relations social media lens.

2. Plan

Start by defining your goals and objectives. What can you measure that can be directly attributed to your club’s social media? Success can include increased event participation, new members and increased website traffic.

3. Create a social media policy

Make a plan for crisis communications. What happens in the event of a PR crisis?

·        Be smart about talking to members on what they should and should not share online.

·        Who are the administrators of the club’s Facebook page? Who will take charge when this person is on holidays or leaves the club?

·        Who has the passwords and login information to the Facebook page or website?

4. Be active

Social media engagement shouldn’t be a passive experience. Rather than waiting for people to reach out to you, proactively engage with people in your community.

Follow/like other businesses or similar organisations in your local community. Listen to what people are saying – what moves them? What are they sharing and retweeting?

5. Create great content

Creating great content that your online community wants to share with others is the key to success on social media.

Watch what other organisations are posting – is it going viral? Get ideas and see what you can adapt to suit your own club’s message. For example, on my Facebook page www.facebook.com/rotarianevanburrell I post new content daily that you are welcome to use for your own club’s message.

Article by Evan Burrell

WOW your website

Just imagine for a moment that you have a guest coming to stay at your place. What would you do before they arrive? You’d probably give the whole house a bit of a spring clean, wouldn’t you?

Your personal or business website is no different. For many potential visitors or customers, your website will be their first glimpse at you and you want them to get a good impression of who you are and what you do.

These easy steps will give you ways to make your website the best it can be.

Hello, is it me you’re looking for?

Imagine a potential member looks you up on Google and finds your club. Awesome, you have someone visiting your website and they are actively seeking out what your club has been up to, so they click on your calendar to see what’s coming up… hang on, it’s empty. No events, no meetings, no social events. Does this leave the best message to a potential member? No! The solution is really simple: fill your website with enough information about upcoming events so it’s easy for a potential member to find and know it’s current.

Dead link dilemmas

There is nothing worse than finding something you’re really interested in then clicking the link only to find the link is dead. Do a regular check-up on your site and make sure your links work.

Living in the past

If your website is not up to date, prospective members will think your club is out of date! Don’t be the club who is still advising members that Rotary Shares is the theme of 2007. Make sure your website has your club’s current information and correct Rotary branding. It may involve uploading new photos from club meetings and events, but people will realise it’s 2016.

Members, members, members!

If a potential member has made a visit to your website, they will probably want to look for information on how to join your club. They may be looking for how they can come to a meeting, what the criteria is, how much does membership cost? Is this information clear on your website? Your club information must be easy to find; you can’t expect a potential member to spend 20 minutes searching the depths of your website looking for the relevant information.

It’s your club’s responsibility to make a good first impression, so make the effort by making your website shine!

Article by Evan Burrell