Can agencies supporting inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities magnify their message and impact by contributing to and learning from engagement in social media networks?

As people with intellectual disabilities continue on their journey toward full inclusion in their communities, agencies must adapt their communications strategies to appeal and engage a wider audience.

LiveWorkPlay, one of the smallest (by budget) agencies in an urban community of 1,000,000 has utilized social media as a critical component in a broader communications strategy.

Will your social media strategy get you murdered in a lake?

Keenan’s social media passion:made, not born!

Keenan’s passion for inclusive communities: also made, not born!

Why listen? It’s not likeKeenan shaves his headand wears black…

“The ability for you to have a thought and be able to publish that thought instantly to the world in any platform you desire, in text, images, audio, video, and it comes up immediately, is brand spanking new.” – Mitch Joelfrom Six Pixels of Separation

For some,

social media is understoodas a tool, a job, a skill, a choice…

When pursuing social change – whether it is a community where people with disabilities belong, or another desired social transformation – how leaders (both individuals and organizations) choose to understand social media has profound consequences for themselves and the world.

For myself and many others,

social media is understood as themost profound confluence of humandiscourse the world has ever seen…

Marketing? Me? No no no, I work for a charity!

Is your organization engaged in marketing?

How well is your organization positioned in thecompetitive world of social marketing?

Do you have an integrated social media strategy?

How can social media help improve the rest ofyour marketing and communications work?

Are you concerned with outputs or outcomes?

Social media is an opportunity to both enhance andchallenge your organization’s mission-oriented pursuits!

It’s common that non-profit organizations don’twish to see themselves as being in competition

Social media is often seen as a fringe activity

Seldom considered that social media mightactually help improve other marcom activities

Social media often exposes outputs-focused marcom

Hello, myname is:

LiveWorkPlayMarketing

Budget!

• Keep it mission-oriented

• Share real stories about real change

• Say thank you and say it publicly

• Be fast and have a plan – tomorrow is late

• Social media is about social capital

• Social capital is about reciprocity + time = trust

If you remembernothing else….

You are likelyoffending one orboth audiences.

You are puttingdisregard for

authenticity onpublic display.

On Twitter, 95% of re-tweets happen in the first hour!

On Facebook, updates have a full day life span!

“I think a lot of the demographics that we’re gearing toward might not be your typical Facebooker or techsavvy person. Maybe the younger crowd and students for sure, but older prospective volunteers don’t use that tool, and a lot of our clients don’t use that as a tool,” she explained, noting that the agency is “busy enough without maintaining Facebook and Twitter pages.”

- Coordinator of Volunteers quoted in newspaper

Do your practices alienate youth? Seniors? Both?

I’m afraid to usesocial media because

someone mightsay somethingbad about us!

So conversely…?

Nobody likes making public mistakes!

LISTEN FIRST!

THEN RESPOND INPROPER SOCIAL CONTEXT

Those were thedroids I waslooking for!

If yougot

therewhat

wouldyoudo

next?

Do as we say, not as we do:

(A popular social media engagement non-strategy)

Hi, I’m the CEO of a local charitable organization. I don’t have timefor social media, but our summer intern is posting some of our press

releases on Facebook, you should check those out and make a donation!

(Text of actual email, names removed)

“Keenan, thanks so much for permission to use

those images. The only problem is I can’t

use anything from Facebook from the

office as the agency has blocked it.”

“I’ll have to try it from home later.”

Director of Marketing

Major Non-Profit Organization

Social Media as Marketing Monster

The conversationmight lead somewhere but it definitely didn’t

start with an askfor $20 before you’d

start conversing!

Monetizing social media is likemonetizing the conversation

you had while waitingfor your mocha java!

But You Could Still Open Doors For The People You Care About

You Can’t Compete With “Smart Cat Knock On Door” (Over 1,000,000 YouTube Views)

Looking at how survey respondents use commercial social networks, the most popular role is:

1) traditional marketing—to promote the non-profit’s brand, programs, events or services—with 92.5% of survey respondents indicating this role as the purpose of their presence on commercial social networks

2) the second most popular role is for fundraising (45.9%)

3) third program delivery (34.5%)

4) fourth market research (24.3%)

Seth Godin on leadership:

Leadership is scarce because few people are willingto go through the discomfort required to lead. Thescarcity makes leadership valuable. If everyone triesto lead all the time, not much happens.

It’s uncomfortable to stand up in front of strangers.It’s uncomfortable to propose an idea that might fail.It’s uncomfortable to challenge the status quo.It’s uncomfortable to resist the urge to settle.

When you identify the discomfort, you’ve found the place where a leader is needed. If you’re not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it’s almost certain you’re not reaching your potential as a leader.

Some non-profits may fear that social media resistance is futile…

Those who are in proper mission-oriented focus willunderstand it as a new universe of opportunities…

Andrea and I are interested in training with a team ofLiveWorkPlay members to participate in this fun event

either by walking or jogging the 2K, 5K, 10K, or half marathon.

Social Media “Loss Of Control” Can Be A Great Thing!

Use of social media tools does not guarantee that peoplewill listen.

Engagement is shaped by the interpretation of its intentions.

Brian SolisAuthor of Engage!

It is unrealistic to expectmore of your audience than you would expect from your

leadership and staff.

Lead by example!

After you listen – have conversations!

@#

LEARN TO SPEAK THE LANGUAGEThis is not your grandmother’s press release…

Are you expecting a mob of supporters to magically appear?

Charity begins at home – build your tribe!

Effective use of Social Media is allabout building Social Capital

ReciprocityTimeTrust

• Keep it mission-oriented

• Share real stories about real change

• Say thank you and say it publicly

• Be fast and have a plan – tomorrow is late

• Social media is about social capital

• Social capital is about reciprocity + time = trust

If you remembernothing else….

I don’t want a certificate of hypocrisy, so help me prove that I don’t deserve one!

This presentation is just the start of our future conversations.

Please reach out to me!

socialkeenan.com

You will find all of my social media and traditional contact information,including a link to the SlideShare website where

this presentation and others can be found.