CLUB MATTERS When to post
Many organizations and small businesses start Face- book pages without really thinking about how they will manage them. There’s nothing worse than finding a page for an organization you’re interested in and then realizing that their last post was a year ago. Large, professionally managed brand accounts use sophisticated software to help plan and schedule their posts. While this is probably not necessary for you yet, a rudimentary calendar of key content will help set a framework for your posts. You’ve got built-in major events such as competitions, and other pho- to-worthy events like the first practice of the season, theme days, team-bonding events and more. It’s helpful to create a spreadsheet to keep track of your content and make sure you’re giving each of your teams equal distribution. At the same time, be flexible and aware of breaking news or events that may preempt your planned posts.
Curating original content Having pictures, articles and other content stored
and organized will make your digital communications much easier. Most clubs are lucky enough to have some parent photographers/videographers that love taking action shots and documenting competitions and exhibi- tions. Set up a group of these people as your primary press pool. Hopefully they will be spread across teams so that all events are captured. Their high quality images will be large files so it’s helpful to have a Dropbox or cloud-based storage account where they can upload their photos. At the same time, some of the best pics can come from iPhones. Find one or two moms or coaches per team that will regu- larly send candids from practices and other events.
Sharing others’ content There is an endless supply of stuff out there on the In-
ternet. How do you choose what to share from others? If you’re following other brand accounts that are relevant to you as a skating club, those are the first places to look. Be- fore hitting that Share button, make sure that you’ve read the whole article, or watched a video. Does it still make sense? Make sure to note when the original content was posted. Maybe you think it’s brand-new information, but it was actually posted weeks ago. When you share others’ content, personalize it by writing your own commentary or introduction.
Listen Social media allow organizations to engage in a con-
versation with their audience. It’s imperative to allow fol- lowers the opportunity to share their thoughts and com- ments. Make sure your page allows for this, and be ready to moderate conversations and respond to messages. Don’t leave people hanging! If, in the rare occurrence, a post is inappropriate, you can easily remove it. Get an awesome Facebook page rolling. It will be an
integral part of expanding your online presence by adding Twitter, Periscope, Instagram or YouTube accounts.
Case Study The Starlights synchronized skating teams are based
in Chicago’s northern suburbs. The 2014–15 season includ- ed nine teams, made up of 165 skaters and their families. The membership ranged in age from 5 to 43. The skaters are from a large geographic area and the club uses multiple
practice facilities. It’s important for us that our members feel a true sense of be- longing to the club, not just their individual teams. The digital communications program is an integral part of connecting this diverse membership. The Starlights use an integrated suite of digital communications tools in- cluding social media, email marketing, and organizational apps that tie into both. Each piece serves a slightly different audience but integrates or overlaps well with the others. Here is an overview, followed by some tips for using each component:
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook
Most widely used social media site for adults. A “must have” for any brand or business. Cornerstone of our program. Multi-media, diverse options for posts.
Twitter
Tell your message in 140 characters or less. Multi-media; can include pictures and short videos. Great for real-time events. Think of as a stock-ticker of news.
Instagram
Photo sharing site, all photos in same square format; unlimited text; use hashtags like Twitter.
PRIMARY AUDIENCE SECONDARY AUDIENCE
Primarily adults; Starlights’ parents, coaches, friends & family; alumni, prospective new families, sponsors.
Teens, young adults, social media-savvy adults, other skat- ers/clubs; including international; synchro- nized skating fans
Tweens, teens; our coaches, skaters; other skaters & clubs; very popular with international teams
EMAIL Mail Chimp
Membership database
Document storage
Weekly newsletter
Spring recruitment
Special projects
Younger skaters who look via their parents’ account; serves as “quick look” for outsider wanting to learn more
News media, spon- sors, related organiza- tions, general figure skating fans
News media, spon- sors, related organiza- tions, general figure skating fans
HTML email program; free for under 2,500 subscribers; easy to use, customizable templates
Store data in customizable format; can upload data directly from Excel.
Upload files (PDFs, jpgs) for use in newsletter; documents remain saved there.
Every Monday during season, September – February; general content, event dates, link important documents for download.
Beginning with first clinic, reminders of next clinic, tryouts; for team placement notification
One-time messages for special events/projects; Use list segmentation to reach specific teams or groups of skaters; e.g., a message about DREAM camp to all 6.0 skaters.
ORGANIZATIONAL APPS
Volunteer Spot
Organize events online; outline job descriptions, shifts, number of volunteers needed. Invite people via the app’s email function or embed a link in a Mail Chimp email; post link on social media sites.
DESIGN & CONTENT Canva
PicMonkey InstaCollage
Graphic design made easy! Create professional-looking flyers, posters, photo collages formatted for social media and printing.
Photo editing and collages
Easy mobile app for Android and IOS, edit photos/format for Insta- gram; share on any social media site.
SKATING 31 Parent volunteers
“Supporters”; alumni, extended family, friends who may help with extra-large projects
Parents, coaches, team managers
Returning parents, prospective new parents, teen skaters
Demographic-spe- cific; can modify target list to be a range of ages or team-specific.
Teen skaters who chose to subscribe
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