Be Inspired! Shirley Ayres Consulting

Between 7th and 11th February, nine cities around the world including London, New York, Paris, Istanbul will be holding hundreds of events focusing on all things social media. Social Media Week   is a global platform that connects people, content, and conversations  around emerging trends in social and mobile media. There are a large number of both small and large social media events across the world which will be distributed via social media channels and mobile media. For London events  follow the #smwldn hashtag on Twitter

The schedule for London features almost 100 events across five days which range from breakfast briefings to evening debates. Most of the events are free but advance registration may be required.

Here is my brief guide to the events of most interest to the public sector, social care, childrens’s services, charities and social enterprises.

Who Owns the Social Space: A Debate
A debate on who should ‘own’ social spaces – or at least the bit that gets marketing budget!. Mon 7th Feb 4:30pm – 8pm

Social Recruitment Panel Debate  Sponsored by Like Minds

“Where’s the talent?”  How social networks and tools have transformed the hiring process and people management. Featuring one of my favourite social recruiting bloggers @andyheadworth  from Sirona Consulting Mon 7th Feb 6:30pm – 9:00pm

We Are Social Breakfast Briefing – What Social Media means for Charities 
Simon Collister, We Are Social’s Public Sector & Non-profit Director, will discuss the changes that social media is making to the environment that charities and third sector organisations operate in, and what they need to do to adapt. Tues 8th Feb 08 8:25am – 10:00am 

Social innovation speed dating with Simpl – the social innovation marketplace
Have you ever noticed how hard it is to find the right person in government (or any other organisation for that matter!) to help you make your idea a reality?  As part of Social Media Week we’ll be running ‘Social Innovation Speed Dating’ to connect people with ideas to people in organisations who can offer support to make those ideas a reality.  Tuesday 8th Feb 8:30am – 10:30am 

Public Sector Social Media Innovation Huddle, hosted by Dell & Viadeo
For UK Public Sector and the third sector communications professionals who are using or exploring social media best practices. People who want to share and network. There will be a broad range of Public Sector and Social Media experts. As with all unconferences you can also choose to speak on the day sharing a case study or leading a discussion group of your choice. I will be speakings about “Feel the fear and do it anyway”the challenges and opportunities for the public sector with #socialmedia. Tues 8th Feb 1:00pm – 5pm 

Social Media NOT just Social Marketing Hosted by 77Agency & GlobalGiving 
With guest speakers from YouTube, LinkedIn, The Guardian, Accenture Interactive and WSPA, the seminar will bring non-profit organisations together to share insights, case studies and knowledge and to highlight the promotional and fundraising opportunities available via social media ch
Soho House London. Tues 8th Feb 1:00pm – 5:00pm 

We Are Social’s “Meet the Communities” with Mumsnet & The Student Room. Justine Roberts of Mumsnet & Jamie O’Connell of The Student Room discuss how brands can successfully, and not so successfully, engage with their large and influential communities. This session will involve presentations followed by networking drinks. Thurs 10th Feb 4:30pm – 6:00pm

Measuring Social Media 2011
A session exploring measurement and monitoring social media including a drop-in clinic, panel discussion, demos and one-to-one sessions. Fri 11th Feb – 10.45am – 4pm

WorkSnug@Hub Kings Cross Daily (Mon-Fri) – 9am – 5pm Free co-working space with tea and coffee available daily throughout the week

These are only some of the events for Social Media Week London! Prepare to learn a lot about new business strategies for social networking,  better understand how social media is important for your professional life, and for things like entertainment and news, hear from industry innovators, and meet people who share your interests in these topics.  How has social media changed the way you work, connect, engage and converse using social media?

I shall be tweeting live from some of these events. Follow me @shirleyayres and ENJOY the week!

Tags: communications, Shirley Ayres, social media, social media week

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Jon Cheetham

The future of local and regional TV is up for grabs. But decisions about how much the government commits to regional and local broadcasting and who delivers it, will be made above the heads of the majority of any potential audience. 

Jon Cheetham is an independent video journalist and producer. His company BelleRose Films specialises in making micro-documentary films. His experience of community web TV includes Around Bromley a pilot project which he ran in 2010 and producing a daily news bulletin for a local newspaper website in 2009.  If you would like to talk to Jon about local TV do contact him at joncheetham@bellerosefilms.co.uk

 

Tags: communications, hyper local TV networks, jon cheetham, social media

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Greg Morris

Greg Morris is a CIPD qualified trainer who has consulted for both the public and private sector about how to use technology to work more effectively and efficiently. Greg is running a free training day “Learn how to build a website for your business FOR FREE ” on the 31^st  January from 10:00 to 13:00 at Bromley Library  South London. Register here I am always interested in how we can support small organisations to make the most of the internet. Thanks Greg for sharing you thoughts.  

There are some green shoots of change in Central and Local Government’s attitude to the web and social media, and this is also the case for charities and social enterprises. This is good news because now it makes it easier for people to communicate with you and get access to up-to-date targeted, interactive and important information from your organisation. This is the first time that there has ever been a viable easy alternative to picking up the telephone to communicate with an organisation.

But during a time where costs are soaring, budgets are being squeezed to bursting point and unemployment numbers continue to soar how can you do this? Is there a way to have an easy to navigate, user friendly social website that allows organisations to communicate with users and improves their experience when they visit?  And, can all of this be done without breaking the bank?

I’ll answer that question later, because there was once upon a time where the internet and website management was the domain of geeks and computer coding specialists. Now there are so many user friendly website tools out there that anyone, and I use that word on purpose, anyone can build a search engine optimised, fully functioning, stable, website with all the social mashables needed.

So let’s just imagine that you believe you personally could learn how to build a beautiful website for your organisation, how much would that actually cost?

An amazing ex-client of mine, womensenews.org have a huge website with lots of articles and spend about £7.50 per month on hosting! If your organisation is smaller you can expect to spend about £3-00 per month.  There a few other things you need to have to create a site like womensenews.org:

Templates - £00.00 – 50.00,

5 Email inboxes - £10.00 Per Year

Snippet Mailers - Free

Databases - Free

FaceBook Connectivity - Free

Twitter Connectivity - Free

YouTube Connectivity - Free

User Forums - Free

Live Online Chat - Free

Client Document Upload Capability - Free  

In answer to that very long winded question asked earlier, the answer would have to be – yes, if your budget can handle between the minimum of £37.00 pounds per year and the maximum of £100 per year and a one off £50 purchase.

So if you have been considering making better use of your online presence or if you are yet to get online, it has never been as easy or as inexpensive to do so. Good luck and if you have any questions do contact me  http://www.niait.com on twitter @gregmorrisuk http://uk. linkedin.com/in/gregmorrisuk

Tags: building a free website, communications, greg morris, joomla, social media

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Social networking is a fundamental shift in the way we communicate. Three years ago, the term barely existed. I have received a lot of requests for advice about developing social media strategies in the care sector. I thought it would be helpful to share my thoughts and ideas about the challenges and opportunities presented by social networking. Developing a strategic approach is as important to a fledging social enterprise as it is to an established national care organization.

Why councils should embrace social media There can be few social workers unaware of the popularity of social media websites such as Linkedin and Facebook. But how many use them as a means of communicating with clients and to further professional development? (Community Care 11th November 2010)

The public sector needs more ‘Heads of Digital’  with thanks to Michael Taggart

Local government blogging – ideas for you with thanks to Ingrid Koehler

Decide what it is you want to achieve and explore how social networking will contribute to your communications and stakeholder engagement strategy. How effective are your current activities, how do you know what is working well, who are your customers and what is the added value you offer?

1. Undertake a review of your current communications activities including websites, blogs, published materials and events. 

2. Develop a social media policy in consultation with all of the staff and stakeholders

Why all local authorities need a social media policy

A good social media policy is a good idea with thanks to Dave Briggs

3. Provide social media surgeries and workshops to help all staff become familiar with and confident in using social media tools. Encourage feedback and suggestions about how you can improve internal and external communications.

Online resources for getting started with social media

Twitter has over 200 million registered users. It offers a quick and easy way to communicate, access real time information, ask and answer questions, share thoughts and connect with people. Promote your conferences and events by providing a twitter #hashtag to encourage discussion. If possible, have someone tweeting live from the event.

Can twitter make our national care organisations more social?

Introducing #lgovsm a great new initiative started by Louise Kidney tweeting as @LouLouK. #localgsm is a twitter online forum for local government people to discuss social media, ask questions and seek advice. So, if you work in local government and you want to come and chat, see you on Fridays from 1.00 – 2.00 pm. The twitter #hashtag is #lgovsm and the next session will be on 7^th January 2011

How to use Twitter – top tips from the excellent Knowhow Nonprofit website on how to use the Twitter to communicate with your organisation’s supporters.

The Beginners Guide to Twitter Video from the informative SironaSays blog by @andyheadworth

Facebook has over 500 million registered users and is the largest social networking website in the world. Learning Pool have produced an excellent Guide to Facebook pages for government organisations. This comprehensive and free guide takes you through what a Facebook page is (not the same as your individual Facebook profile) and why every public sector organisation should have one.

LinkedIn has over 85 million registered members and is one of the biggest professional networking websites. There are an increasing number of social work and social care groups on LinkedIn. 

The Beginners Guide to LinkedIn is another great free resource @andyheadworth and available to download via the excellent and thought provoking A redundant public servant’s blog

4. Measure and evaluate the return on your investment in social media activities including google alerts and google anlaytics

Social Media and the Case of The Missing Assets The rise of social media has challenged organisations to embrace new ways of connecting and communicating, demanding greater openness, transparency and engagement. What is the potential Return On Investment (ROI) of an approach to social media which develops real relationships with stakeholders? 

General observations

Easily accessible, relevant  and timely information on your website is essential

Be prepared for discussions and conversations which you cannot control but from which there can be considerable learning for the organisation. Be prepared to respond to criticism and questions.

Social networking, in many ways, is all about learning. Social media is one of the most powerful ways to understand what we do and why, learn as we go, and share what we learn with others.

Every day conversations are taking place across the internet about social work and social care. Do you know what is being said about leadership, personalisation, children’s services, workforce development, social learning and commissioning in the care sector?

The Do’s and Don’ts of using Social Media for Business a simple and self explanatory infographic via @andyheadworth

http://twitter.com/shirleyayres

Tags: #lgovsm, communications, facebook, linkedin, social media, social networking, social work and social care, twitter

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As the Comprehensive Spending Review is now widely publicised, it’s a good time for local authorities to assess their internal communication processes to further support public sector staff in delivering measurable ‘outcome based’ activity.

To achieve this, internal communicators need to be fully equipped to manage employee engagement which is an essential component in fulfilling core objectives and improving workforce development.

The communication tools needed to achieve this are now numerous given the availability of social media, which has grown in popularity amongst local communities and businesses. Social media has also proven itself to be an inexpensive, efficient knowledge hub and communication tool that can be utilised by internal audiences.  

LinkedIn is a good example of this. Not only is it a global directory for business networking but a knowledge sharing site. Users are encouraged to freely create their own groups and to join others to raise stimulating debate on industry issues, leading to new connections and raised profiles.

Internal communicators could facilitate a similar site for employees by adopting features such as:

• Discussion  groups which could be issues led, encouraging  interactive use from both top down and bottom up
• Learning pools which encourage users to share best practice ideas and experiences  and
• Commentary from internal and external bloggers.

All of these features can improve efficiency to front-line services and support the reduction of administrative cost – encouraging ’self-generated’ knowledge-sharing and sign-posting.

Users would naturally see their profiles raised amongst their peers in ways they may not have been able to do so previously. This can help motivate staff to work towards common goals and fulfil the job they were employed to do. There are many more social media platforms that could be modified to suit any internal framework.

Making good use of these resources can be instrumental to improving employee engagement, and support ‘outcome-based’ solutions for practitioners.

About the author

Dianne Lowther is a qualified Public Relations educator with a deep understanding of the public and not for profit sectors. With over 10 years experience Dianne has had an extensive career working in the PR industry. A Director of Dwell PR  she advises on creating a presence for brands to build long-term relationships with clients and stakeholders. 

Contact: Dianne.Lowther@dwellpr.com

Tags: communications, Dianne Lowther, employee engagement, social media, workforce development

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“Social media is a fundamental shift in the way that we communicate. All the time online conversations are happening about you, your brand and your organisation. “it’s not a choice about whether you DO social media, the choice is how well you do it” ~ Erik Qualman”

Social media provides organisations with an easy way to connect with stakeholders, share information and discuss developments and policy initiatives. Can social work and social care continue to ignore the growing influence of social media? I am currently researching how many of our national organisations are actively engaging and having conversations with stakeholders through the use of social media.  There are an increasing number of local authorities using social media and the development of the Local Government Group Knowledge Hub is an exciting development. But in this connected age it is disappointing to note how few national social care organisations have the basics of  a twitter account, updated blog posts, LinkedIn profiles and a facebook page.

Some interesting social media facts & figures from the UK’s market (compiled by SimplyZesty):

• 85% of the population is online
• 1/3 have uploaded to a video sharing site
• 1/4 write blogs
• If Facebook was a country it would have over 500 million citizens 

Worth looking at the videso Social media in the UK 2010

Is social media a fad? A refresh of the original Erik Qualman video The Social Media Revolution

Is using social media effectively the big challenge for social work?

Tags: communications, facebook, linkedin, social care, social media, Social Work, twitter

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