1. Social Media Strategic Interest Group (SIG) Helps Local Non-Profit | IABC Page 1 of 2
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QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER
Jan 25, 2011
IABC/BC SIG Helps Local Non-Profit
The IABC/BC Social Media Strategic Interest Group (SIG) is a volunteer group started by Rob McMahon in 2009 as a forum for
communications professionals to discuss social media and its application in communication practice. Gus Fosarolli joined Rob
and helped build the social media SIG team by recruiting other communication professionals interested in learning or applying
some of the best practices in social media.
The team was made up of individuals in various career stages. Collectively they possessed a broad range of knowledge, skills
and expertise but were all united by the goal of gaining practical experience in their field by engaging a not-for-profit in a
social media project. In total, ten IABC/BC members joined the group including: Gus Fosarolli, Erika Harrison, Roxanne St-
Pierre, Leslie-Ann Drummond, Paul Hendren, Jill Benedict, Kelvin Claveria, Jason Sew and Ryan Williams.
In August 2010, the group reached out to not-for-profit organizations requiring assistance with their social media strategy as
a pro-bono project. The group determined specific criteria by which to assess the 26 applications that were submitted from
around British Columbia. The winning organization would be assisted in creating a strategic social media plan.
Beauty Night Society is the organization that was selected by the ten members of the Social Media SIG after a rigorous
evaluation process. The not-for-profit organization celebrated its 10th anniversary in December and was founded by Caroline
MacGillivray. It provides women and youth living in poverty with tools and life skills to make positive and sustainable lifestyle
changes. The Society required assistance in creating a strategic social media plan and increasing its social media presence
during a re-branding process.
After a complete assessment of the communication planning, a four-question survey was sent to Beauty Night Society
supporters in order to determine the level of program awareness and the best method to use to increase the organization’s
presence on the social media networks. A post-survey analysis that was matched with the organization’s business plan and
future goals guided the social media strategy development for the Society. Through the research conducted, it became
apparent that the social media approach needed to revolve around educating the public about the three streams of programs
offered by Beauty Night Society. Creating an increased discussion around the programs became the focus of the project. Prior
to the group’s involvement, only one stream of program was communicated through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Drawing
from current best practices in social media, the group implemented various tactics in Facebook and Twitter to open up the
discussion with the public, the media and the board of directors. The public’s lack of awareness of services offered by the
organization necessitated new key messaging that concentrated on the three streams of programs offered by the Society.
With the help of IABC’s Social Media SIG, the Society learned the importance of communication planning. The organization
also reached out to the business sector to show the importance of social responsibility within the community. Furthermore,
the Social Media SIG group was able to see the motivation behind helping those in need and the constant struggle for sources
of funding. The project provided both the organization and the Social Media SIG with an immense learning experience.
The follow up survey questionnaire is to be sent out at the end of February and the post analysis results will be available in
the Spring. Initial data certainly indicates that the project was successful in creating more conversation around the three
streams of programs offered by Beauty Night Society.
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