S o c i a l Me d i a T o o l k i t

T i p s a n d a d v i c e t o h e l p l o c a l A g e U Kp a r t n e r s s e t u p s o c i a l me d i a s i t e s

Social Media Toolkit

This toolkit aims to provide practical assistance to help local Age UK partners get started with their social media sites. It provides basic instructions on how to set up accounts and enhance your social media presence. This document is to be used in conjunction with the Age UK group guidelines. What is social media? Social media includes all web-based and mobile technologies used to turn communication into interactive dialogue. How we use social media at Age UK? At the bottom of every webpage on local Age UK sites is the option to share the page using various social media. We want to build a vibrant online community where we can make new friends, find people who share our interests, join groups, swap information and experiences, share a joke, voice our opinions, and have our own space online.

Facebook
What is it? Facebook is a social networking website where users can find friends and send them messages, tell people what they're doing, share links, images and videos, join groups they're interested in and much more. How Facebook pages can be used to improve your local Age UK website: Pages are for organizations and businesses to broadcast great information in an official, public manner to people who choose to connect with them. Similar to profiles (timelines), Pages can be enhanced with applications that help the entity communicate and engage with their audiences, and capture new audiences virally through friend recommendations, News Feed stories, Facebook events, and beyond. Facebook Pages help non-profit organizations join the conversation, share their stories, and build a meaningful dialogue with their supporters and volunteers. How to create your Facebook page: Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php and follow the steps to create a Facebook page for your local Age UK site. You will be taken to this page (see image on the right). Select the Company, organization or institution tile and enter your organisations details.

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Be sure to use your FULL ORGANISATION NAME when creating your Facebook page! Timeline: Most partners Facebook pages are structured in the old style:

Our aim is to encourage everyone to use Timeline, so that their pages look like this:

Go to http://www.facebook.com/about/timeline to learn more about Timeline. Click Get Timeline to apply these features to your page! See final page of this document for examples of how local partners are using Timeline to promote their site. How to get people to follow/like your page: Start with who you know - grow your Facebook Page by reaching out to your existing community o Ask your supporters to join you on Facebook and Like your Page to stay in touch o Use your existing volunteer email lists to promote your Page and begin building your connections Leverage your existing assets - make your Facebook Page a core part of your online and offline presence o Add a Like box and Like buttons to your website so visitors can view your updates and share your content with friends through Newsfeed Cross-promote to reach more people o Partner with other organizations or volunteer groups to create co-promotions and encourage viral sharing o Tag another organization or spokesperson in a post on your Page, and your post will appear on their wall and will be shared with their community

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Twitter
What is it? Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters that are displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers. How to create an account: 1. 2. Go to http://twitter.com, enter your full name, email address, create a password and click the yellow Sign up for Twitter button, or simply navigate to https://twitter.com/signup. On the next page, select a username from one of the usernames we've suggested or create your own. We will automatically suggest available usernames based on the real name and email address you've entered. Try to pick something that describes you - whether it's a nickname, an interest, or a hobby. Be sure to use your FULL ORGANISATION NAME when creating your Twitter account! 3. 4. 5. Double check your name, email address, password, and username to make sure all fields are correct. You may be asked to complete a Captcha. Fill in the words that are shown to let us know that you're human! Success! You now have a Twitter account. Follow the directions given to you by "The Twitter Teacher" to follow accounts that interest you and find people you know. How to add a Profile Icon and a Background Image: Profile Icon Click 'Settings' in the drop down menu at the top right hand side Click 'Profile' Click 'Browse' and search for the 'Local Age UK Twitter Graphic' and open it Please contact the Digital Team (partners@ageuk.org.uk) to access this image Backgrounds Click 'Settings' in the drop down menu at the top Then click Design Remove any background (click Remove background) if there has been one uploaded Change the following: Background: #00aeef Links: #2b3990

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How to start using Twitter: 1. DISCOVER SOURCES: find and follow others Its best to begin your journey by finding and following other interesting Twitter accounts. Look for businesses you love, public service accounts, people you know, celebrities, or news sources you read. One great way to find more interesting accounts is see who those you know or admire are following. 2. CHECK IT OFTEN: pay attention to whats happening Messages from others you follow will show up in a readable stream on your Tweets timeline. Once you've followed a few people, you'll have a new page of information to read each time you log in. 3. TAKE IT WITH YOU: connect your mobile One of the best things about Twitter is that its portable. Connect your account to your mobile phone or download a Twitter application to begin reading Tweets on the go. How to start Tweeting: 1. BUILD A VOICE: retweet, reply, react Use existing information (other people's Tweets) on Twitter to find your own voice and show others what you care about. Retweet messages you've found and love, or @reply with your reaction to a Tweet you find interesting. 2. MENTION: include others in your content Once you're ready to begin authoring your own messages, consider mentioning other users by their Twitter username (preceded by the @ sign) in your Tweets. This can help you think of what to write, will draw more eyes to your message, and can even start a new conversation. 3. GET FANCY: explore advanced features As you become more engaged on Twitter, others will begin to find and follow you. Once you're familiar with Twitter basics, consider exploring the sites more advanced features: lists, direct messages, and favorites. Learn how to include images or videos in your Tweets, or consider connecting your Twitter account to your blog, Facebook, or website to show off your updates across the web.

YouTube
What is it? YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos. How to set up an account: Visit http://www.youtube.com and click Create Account. You'll enter some basic information in order to create your new Google Account. Once you submit all the required information and agree to follow Google policy, you'll be able to click the Back to YouTube button. Then you can get started liking your favorite videos, subscribing to interesting Channels, and much more! Embedding a YouTube video in the CMS We recommend that you upload your video to YouTube (or Vimeo) first this makes embedding the video into your site easier, and quicker to stream than if you include the video as a file.

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Useful Links:
Social Media Policy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iQLkt5CG8I Facebook: Follow this link for more information about Facebook pages: http://www.facebook.com/FacebookPages Follow this link for more information about setting up your Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/help/basics Twitter: For more details, follow this link: http://support.twitter.com/groups/31-twitter-basics/topics/104-welcome-to-twitter-support/articles/100990-how-to-sign-upon-twitter Follow this link for guidance on how to get started using twitter: https://support.twitter.com/groups/31-twitter-basics/topics/104-welcome-to-twitter-support/articles/215585-twitter-101-howshould-i-get-started-using-twitter Follow this link for help with twitter: http://support.twitter.com/groups/31-twitter-basics YouTube: Follow this link for help with YouTube: http://support.google.com/youtube/?hl=en

Top Facebook Pages:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Age-UK-Norfolk/130100290362426 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Age-UK-Oxfordshire/102286433151928?sk=wall http://www.facebook.com/pages/Age-UK-North-Yorkshire/321654847860650 http://www.facebook.com/AgeUKExeter http://www.facebook.com/AgeUKNorthumberland http://www.facebook.com/AgeUKDevon

Top Twitter Pages:

https://twitter.com/#!/AgeUKexeter https://twitter.com/#!/ageukbristol https://twitter.com/#!/ageUKNT https://twitter.com/#!/ageuklondon

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