Back when I was in school Facebook was known for its
capability to successfully delay homework and to help pass the time. I would see students on it in class,
lectures, and even their breaks. Sometimes they would even be as sneaky as to
check it through their phones because they just couldn’t wait one more moment
to see what ‘Johnny’ has written on their wall. The same thing applied to me,
unfortunately. I thought that Facebook could only be used for catty gossip and
meaningless ‘likes’ of statuses. However, as I entered the professional world
my eyes were opened to the potential this social media tool actually had.
On my first day at Achieve a coworker asked me if I had
twitter and I replied “no.” I had never felt compelled to share my nonsensical
thoughts and wasn’t sure why the rest of the world would care. I was then
recommended to create myself one because I would be using it for work. So I did.
As time passed I started to develop an understanding of the
purpose of social media in the workplace and how best utilize it. I could see
how politicians and celebrities had used social media to tell the world their
thoughts, opinions, and just random information. If celebrities can use social
media to educate their followers why can’t our business?
In early August I attended Blog Indiana, a social media and
blogging conference. I was then addressed with the same train of thought as I
attended the first session about how visual content and social media can work
together. The speaker, Allison Carter, discussed how to tell your story through
an image because images get higher traffic than just links. She made a good
point that Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook are all incredibly popular due to
the fact that images are constantly being posted. According to a PsychologyDegree.net
infograph about 250 million photos are updates daily on Facebook alone. That is
a lot of images!
As you can see in these two Oreo advertisements they both have the same exact objects in each image. The only thing different is the placement. Even though these two images have almost no text they still tell two completely different stories. The Top makes me think of eating Oreos for breakfast while the bottom makes me dream of snacking on milk and Oreos on some exotic island. What does it make you think of?
She went on to discuss how businesses should not be afraid
to show who they really are. She explained that you don’t have to just post
things about what your business is doing but maybe some interesting links of
some fun photos from around the office. I was very excited to hear her discuss
this issue because just the week before I had started working on the Achieve
Facebook page because I thought it was missing a touch of personality. I posted
pictures from a company party and of our leaving interns just to let our
clients and followers know that we are fun people and we are fun to work with. The
point was to add a bit of a human atmosphere because it seemed very sterile and
a bit serious prior to that. So, naturally I was excited when Allison discussed
this.
Later that day I attended another
session by Ryan Brock. He talked on a similar topic about how companies are
afraid to look wrong in front of their followers so they filter themselves down
way too much. He gave the great example of Kanye West and how he never filters
himself. Even though many people don’t like him they know what he stands for
and what he thinks. He has no filter! He shows his true colors and does not
hide his emotions. I am not saying that you should tweet about that awkward
dream you had last night or post a picture of you in your newest pair of jeans
you got on sale at Kohl’s. But just don’t be afraid to show some personality in
your posts and images.
Show your volunteers a more
personable side of your nonprofit. This way they can connect and relate with
you through your pictures and status updates. Take advantage of this social media
opportunity to appeal to your volunteers in a different ways. You might find
that you both have more in common than you thought.
This was the my first blog post on behalf of Achieve! I am not an experienced writer so any feedback is appreciated. Thanks!
Check it out on the Achieve website here!
