Making social media work for you
“I do not understand why communications people are ever wasting their time on their phones posting on social media”. These were the sentiments of one participant at a recent Gender leaning and sharing training organised by ZGF for organisations working under the European Union Capacity Development Support Programme. The learning and sharing had a special focus on probing how social media could be used for advocacy and visibility.
Being on social media does not necessarily mean that one is wasting time - organisations have to understand that social media is increasingly becoming an effective tool for desired public policy results. Zambian civil society should fully take advantage of this alternative media as opposed to relying on mainstream media alone. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube can be used to promote advocacy on different topical issues, increase visibility and promote networking not only with like-minded organisations but also with influential decision makers in government and the general public. Social media can also be used as a tool to fundraise for resources in light of the shrinking donor space, with platforms like Go Fund Me or Global Giving increasingly becoming very useful.
However, in order for social media to yield the desired results for civil society organisations, there is need for a social media strategy. A social media strategy can help with knowing the audience, the type of messages to be shared and selecting the right social media platform. In sharing messages, CSOs have to be authentic, and to employ the use of pictures and infographics as these have proved to be effective ways of getting the attention of their target audience as opposed to wordy information in report format.
Another tip for effective use of social media is regular sharing of a variety of information using audios, infographics, quotes, pictures and videos for better engagements. Organisations should take advantage of peak hours to share their information on social media and sharing during public holidays is also helpful as people are not too busy. Also, to boost their posts, CSOs can reach new people with paid advertisements that attract a minimal fee as relying on organic reach does not always achieve the desired results.
In order to assess whether CSOs are targeting the right audience and sending the right messages across, they should solicit for feedback so as to get insight and review their communication approach. They need to dialogue with followers and solicit feedback bearing in mind that social media is a two way communication process. CSOs should have nominated persons, preferably communications and programmes people that are able to respond to comments from different stakeholders so as to keep their response rate consistent. Analytics found on the different social media sites can be used to collect information on how many people view and engage on posts. This information can also be used for CSO M&E reports to show social media impact.
Social media in advocacy, networking and visibility is here to stay, but for the platforms to remain a long-term tool in identified areas, more empirical work will need to be done to establish the efficacy of the advocacy, network and visibility tool.
By Lucy Munthali
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