Social Media & The Navy League Mission Navy League of the United States Citizens in Support of the Sea Services Social Media Engagement – Why It Matters Engagement is the interaction between people and brands on social networks. ■ Facebook defines engagement as likes, comments and shares. ■ Twitter defines engagement retweets and mentions. ■ LinkedIn defines engagement as the number of interactions on a post, plus the clicks and followers acquired divided by the number of impressions. Digital marketing strategist, author and blogger Jason Falls defines engagement as “communicating well enough that the audience pays attention.”

Citizens in Support of the Sea Services Social Media & The Navy League Mission Social Media Engagement – Why It Matters HubSpot blogger Steven Shattuck, in his article “The ‘Three A’s’ of Nonprofit Social Media Engagement,” says organizations should focus on three categories in their social media messaging: appreciation, advocacy and appeals. ■ Appreciation: Donors, volunteers and vendors are excellent candidates for public recognition and appreciation. ■ Advocacy: Social media is an excellent outlet for sharing information that raises awareness and educates, outside of the context of fundraising. ■ Appeals: There’s no reason not to solicit donations directly from Twitter, Facebook, and the like, provided your appeals occur proportionately to other forms of content.

Citizens in Support of the Sea Services Social Media & The Navy League Mission Social Media Engagement – Why It Matters In the Nonprofit Quarterly article “How Nonprofits Use Social Media to Engage With Communities,” Aine Creedon writes about the results of a study of nearly 500 nonprofit professionals' use of social media. According to those findings, she notes: ■ & Websites Still Rule: Nonprofits overwhelmingly (88%) said their most important communication tools were and websites, even though fully 97% of them are on Facebook. ■ More Focus on Social: Just about half of the respondents had one or less staffers overseeing social media efforts, and the remaining half was split between teams using a social media policy to guide their efforts, and those winging it. ■ It’s All About Moi: Most (74%) use social networks as a megaphone, announcing events and activities and sharing organization-centric info.

Citizens in Support of the Sea Services Social Media & The Navy League Mission How do we go about engaging our community? In the SproutSocial article, "A Strategic Guide to Social Media for Nonprofits,“* Alicia Johnston writes: "Social media is an opportunity to tell your story, engage with supporters and get results.” She offers some advice from various experts: 1. Define social’s role in your communications strategy. 2. Determine what you want to accomplish. 3. Identify your target audience. 4. Choose the right networks. 5. Create a content strategy. 6. Put engagement first. 7. Empower your advocates and cross-promote your content. 8. Track and measure your results. *

Citizens in Support of the Sea Services Social Media & The Navy League Mission

Citizens in Support of the Sea Services Social Media & The Navy League Mission Rules of the Social Media Highway … Content is king, and not just any content. It must be current, unless it’s “Throwback Thursday” or some other commemorative date in history, relevant to your mission and brand (the Navy League), and encourages engagement. Things that encourage engagement on your website and social media sites: 1. Blogs – If you’re going to have a blog on your website, be consistent in frequency and promote it. Twitter, Facebook and newsletters are fast replacing blogs. 2. Provide enough context for the information you post or share. Include photos and/or website links if appropriate. 3. Take advantage of notable dates, such as Veterans Day, sea service birthdays, Teddy Roosevelt’s birthday, D-Day, etc. 4. Take advantage of scheduling functions. You still need to go back and check posts and respond to comments. 5. If possible, link your Facebook activity to Twitter.