As we are busy preparing our annual report for the year 2021/2022 we are reflecting on many achievements and challenges
Back in 2021 we had a new website designed by our Trustee Simon Harris of The Ideas Cupboard and we also set up social media profiles to complement the new website but there was no actual presence and this was felt to be a disadvantage when completing grant applications.
Increasingly both supporters and the general public expect charities to maintain multiple social media accounts. Funders are interested in having a mechanism to promote projects and funding and the public would question an organisations legitimacy if they can’t be found online and on social media.
Working with a local Marketing Consultant we put together a social media marketing strategy starting in April 2021. The idea was designed to raise awareness, reinforce the branding and core values, engage with funders, trustees, volunteers and the general public and drive traffic to the website. This involved managing the social media accounts, producing consistent content and doing a monthly blog to keep the website active (static sites get poor ratings when it comes to search engines).
On Facebook, a variety of content in the form of posts and videos, case studies, branded content, feedback from our advocates and appeals for donors is posted 3 times a week. The page now has 127 followers (115 likes) and gets above average reach (how many times it appears in the news feed of Facebook users).
A Twitter account was already set up, which
now has 141 followers, shortened versions of the Facebook posts are tweeted 3 times a week. In addition the charity is supported by Shrewsbury Morris, with over 110,000 followers, who re-tweets or posts original tweets as part of a low-cost sponsorship deal. Again this is about raising awareness and reinforcing the branding and core values.
A LinkedIn Company Page was also set up from scratch which has 76 followers. Content is posted twice a week to the Company Page and once a week to Simon Harris’s personal profile as a trustee. Staff members are good at sharing the content from the Company Page and the page is showing up in searches (60/70 a current week), which means that the keywords are working.
A Google Business Profile is another way that customers can find and review the charity. It can also be used as a social media platform and therefore key information was entered and one post a week is done on this platform to ensure the charity looks active.
Over the last 12 months there have been 9 blogs of news releases on the site which is helping with making the site more visible to search engines. Topics have ranged from announcements on funding to ‘What is Independent Advocacy’ to blogs about the charity’s responds to the pandemic.
Please do join us on our social media journey, we would love to have more likes, shares and comments as it helps our posts and therefore our charity become more visible!
https://www.facebook.com/ShropshirePCAS
https://twitter.com/ShropshirePCAS
https://www.linkedin.com/company/shropshire-peer-counselling-and-advocacy-services-pcas/