Harnessing the Conversation: Raising Awareness of the Weatherization Assistance Program Using Social Media WHAT IS SOCIAL SOCIAL MEDIA USERS MEDIA? Facebook In a relatively brief amount of time, the internet has revolutionized the way we access information. Now, an Population overwhelming majority of Americans of the US go online regularly for work and leisure. In recent years, social media quickly Twitter has become a large and still-growing sector of the internet landscape. Social networking websites such as Facebook, LinkedIn YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn are now among the most highly trafficked Total Users 1M 100M 200M 300M 400M 500M on the internet. Just as remarkable, the past several years launching an organizational blog, or building have seen a surge in online journalism. Facebook pages and Twitter profiles. Blogs, in particular, have become a key tool Americans use to monitor news and current For the Weatherization Assistance Program events. More and more, Americans turn to (WAP), social media presents a range of blogs for political commentary, breaking news, opportunities. Chief among them is to and lifestyle coverage. provide a stream of positive information about WAP. Since the unprecedented increase in Together, social networking and blogs are funding provided by the American Recovery often referred to as “social media” – which is and Reinvestment Act, there has been some broadly defined as online media outlets that negative press that needs to be combated. allow for peer-to-peer interactions. These Social media allows the network to drive interactions can range from commenting multiple success stories of weatherization on a friend’s update to posting a video and and deliver these directly to journalists, the from joining a discussion about a blog post to public, and policymakers. For many nonprofit creating a profile on Facebook. organizations, forays into online social media may seem to be a daunting undertaking. At WHY SOCIAL MEDIA first glance, social media can be fraught with danger. It often seems that in order to make As internet use grows, more people are turning social media work, nonprofit organizations must to various social media outlets for information invest considerable resources for a questionable about issues and causes they care about. return – often with the further price of These issues can range from signing petitions relinquishing control over their core messages. and making online donations to seeking out opportunities to volunteer. Nonprofit The key to overcoming these hurdles is to organizations have responded to this demand leverage social media in a deliberate, strategic by steadily increasing their presence on social fashion. To that end, any organization must ask media channels, invoking strategies such as itself – and answer – a few central questions. 2 WORKSHEET – SOCIAL MEDIA ASSESSEMENT 1) What are your organization’s key strengths and resources that will influence its social media efforts? a. What platforms are your staff members already familiar with? b. How much time can be allocated to social media? c. What assets (written materials, photographs, video, experienced spokespeople) does your organization have access to? d. What are your key messages? How have you communicated them recently? 2) Who are your key audiences for social media? a. Who is a member of your key audience? How old are they? Do you have a geographic focus? 3) What are your organization’s core goals for social media? a. What do you want people to know about your organization from social media? b. What do you want your key audiences to do after learning about your organization? 4) How comfortable is your organization with the “social” aspect of social media? a. What will your organization’s policy be toward negative comments? b. What is your organization’s privacy policy and does it cover social media? c. How does your organization feel about your content being redistributed through social media channels? 3 Once your organization has answered Google in 2007, YouTube describes itself the questions above, the next step is to as “the world’s most popular online video select social media platforms that best suit community, allowing millions of people to its strengths and goals. While there are discover, watch, and share originally-created thousands of social media platforms online, videos.” On YouTube there are over 5,000 this resource guide will cover the following videos on energy efficiency and nearly 1,000 four core social media platforms: on weatherization specifically. 1. Facebook Other Social Media Facebook is currently the leading social networking website worldwide with There are literally thousands of social media approximately 500 million users. Founded platforms available online. Some other in 2004, Facebook describes itself as “a popular platforms in the U.S. include: social utility that helps people communicate • FourSquare – a relative newcomer, more efficiently with their friends, family, FourSquare is a geographic-focused and coworkers.” WAP’s core values are well social networking website that allows represented on Facebook: over 5,000 users users to “check in” at locations ranging associate themselves with the term “green from the grocery store to the office. living” and nearly 19,000 with “sustainability.” Some nonprofit organizations with location-based sites are starting to explore 2. Twitter FourSquare, but its long-term viability Twitter is the leading microblogging website is still an open question. where users post brief, 140 character • LinkedIn – a professional social updates known as “tweets.” Founded in networking site that allows users to post 2006, Twitter describes itself as “a real-time resumes and interact with business information network powered by people contacts. Nonprofit organizations can all around the world that lets you share and discover what’s happening now.” On Twitter, create a page that features an there were over thirty posts a day on energy organizational description and staff efficiency and over a hundred in 12 hours members, volunteers, and former staff can link their profiles to the on poverty-related issues. organization’s. 3. Blogs • MySpace – formerly the leading social networking website, MySpace The so-called ‘blogosphere’ is nearly as has declined in popularity. Requiring varied as the Internet itself and ranges an investment of staff time similar to from professional media operations such blogging, MySpace is no longer seen as as The Huffington Post and Gawker Media an effective outreach tool for nonprofit to personal online diaries read only by organizations. the writer and his or her closest friends. Weatherization and green topics are • Ning & Custom Social discussed on many top blogs, such as http:// Networks – some organizations treehugger.com and http://change.org. have used Ning or custom social networking tools to create their own 4. YouTube internal social media platform. Due to small adoption rates, the benefits of In 2010, YouTube announced that over 2 billion videos had been viewed on its this approach rarely outweigh the time site since its founding in 2005. Bought by and costs required for startup. 4 supporting points that map to weatherization’s RECOMMENDATIONS core values include: • WAP uses state-of-the-art diagnostics FRA M ING and techniques that are the leading It’s been said that he who frames an issue, best practices and standards. wins an issue. To frame your issue, you need to (Safe Homes) position it at a broad level and talk about core • Weatherization gives families a warm concepts that resonate with people’s deeply held and healthy environment. (Health) emotions and worldviews. For example, rather than speaking about specific weatherization • WAP makes homes more environmentally services and products (insulation, new windows, friendly by reducing their carbon new heating, and cooling systems), your message footprints. (Green Living) should revolve around creating a healthier • Weatherization creates high-quality environment through energy efficiency. Broad, green jobs that cannot be exported. sweeping statements like: “All Americans should (Job Security) live in a safe and healthy home with affordable • Weatherization makes home energy and efficient heat in the winter and cooling in more affordable, allowing low income the summer” help link your issue to concepts households to devote more resources that resonate with audiences on social media to education, nutritious food, and platforms – security, equity, and opportunity. securing better jobs.(Opportunity) Framing an issue around broad values allows • Weatherization gives all Americans, you to control your message and get ahead regardless of income, an added layer of any misinformation or damaging media of protection against the volatile fuel campaigns. Frames can be asserted in the market. (Equity) headlines you choose when posting content • WAP allows all recipients to more easily to Facebook and YouTube, as well as in afford their utility bills and avoid keywords you use when tweeting. falling into debt from energy costs. (Economic Security) Values that resonate on social networking sites include: • Safe Homes • Health TOOL S • Green Living • Job Security • Opportunity • Equity • Economic Security Facebook is currently the leading social It is important to support these core values networking site on the Internet. It is also one with concepts and data points that work of the fastest-growing web properties online, for weatherization programs. Examples of gaining over