Published on Learn and Serve America's National Service-Learning clearinghouse
Marketing 101: Using Social Media / Web 2.0 to Highlight Your Program
Source: Learn and Serve America's National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, March 2008
Just Starting Your Website?
Website Purpose (80K pdf)
Use this document to brainstorm the basic purpose of your site (information to get you started): target audience(s), key message(s), design restrictions.
Website Organization (79K pdf)
This worksheet will help draft a plan for homepage content and website orgranization/navigation.
Design Your Website (85K pdf)
Use this sheet to sketch a design for your site. Use colors and the organization you worked out in the Website Organization worksheet.
For more in-depth help with planning your design, see "Wire Frame Your Site."
Using Social Media / Web 2.0 Technologies
Your Current Website's Purpose (80K pdf)
This worksheet helps you to think about what information you have on your site, whom you are trying to reach, and how you are currently getting your message out.
Ways to Use Social Media / Web 2.0 (79K pdf)
Use this worksheet to start thinking about how you can use the various Social Media / Web 2.0 technologies to disseminate your information/message faster, further, and more effectively.
Social Media / Web 2.0 Basics (420K pdf)
This fact sheet gives a simple distinction between the Web as we are used to (or Web 1.0) and Social Media / Web 2.0. It also includes suggestions on how Social Media / Web 2.0 can be used and what services are associated with it.
Social Media / Web 2.0 Glossary (393K pdf)
Find definitions for many different types of Social Media / Web 2.0 technologies and terms.
Social Media / Web 2.0 Resources (408K pdf)
Use this fact sheet to find suggestions for tools you can use to implement Social Media / Web 2.0 on your site.
"MySpace and YouTube and Blogs, Oh My! Enhancing Your Youth Program With Web 2.0 Tools" (347K pdf)
The second volume of Youth Impact, written by The LEARNS partners, explains key Web 2.0 technologies and offers ideas on how volunteers and programs can put them to use.
Serve 2.0 Resources Wiki
This wiki has been created to share ideas on how to utilize social media — also known as Web 2.0 — to drive student service and civic engagement on college campuses.
eOrganizer
This resources provides information on how a "grassroots" organizer can use Web 2.0/Social Media technology to build a community of volunteers, stakeholders, and/or funders; mobilize and educate your community; hold meetings or events; or make your organization more visible.
Links to Samples, Resources, and How Tos
RSS Feeds
RSS (Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary) is a web feed which contains a summary of content from a website or the full text. RSS allows people to automatically keep up with updates of their preferred websites without having to regularly check them manually.
- Definition
- Introduction to RSS
- How to Create an RSS 2.0 Feed
- How to Incorporate RSS Feeds into Your Webpage (with screenshot) (725K pdf)
- Example: National Service-Learning Clearinghouse Resource Updates
RSS Feed
PodcastSocial Network
- Learn and Serve America's Youth Speakers Bureau Ning Site (screenshot) (791K doc)
- NSLC Policies and Procedures Wiki (screenshot) (444K doc)
- Online forms
(Wufoo.com) - Online Video Sharing (Onstream Media)
Blogs
Blog is a shorter term for "Web Log". A blog is a website which contains a short entry on relevant information (e.g., service-learning funding opportunities) listed in reverse chronological order.
Podcasts
Stemming from the term "broadcast", a podcast is a digital media file that is distributed over the internet and listened to on a portable media player (like an iPod) or on a personal computer.
- Definition
- How to Create Your Own Podcast - A Step-by-Step Tutorial
- How to Record, Edit, and Promote Your Nonprofit's Podcast
- Example: California State University: Channel Islands - Service-Learning Podcast
- Example: Bring Learning to Life: A Service-Learning Podcast
Social Networking
A website that provides an online virtual community for people with similar interests or social groups. Members usually create a personal profile with biographical information and can communicate with each other online. These sites allow for users to contact friends of other members and as such expand their own network/community.
- What Can Social Networking Do For Your Organization?
- Should Your Organization Use Social Networking Sites
- Example: NSLC's Facebook Page
- Example: NSLC's Twitter Page
- Example: Learn and Serve America Facebook Page
- Example: AmeriCorps*NCCC Facebook Page
- Example: Johnson State College Center for Service-Learning Facebook Page
- Example: Idaho State University Students' Community Service Center MySpace Page
A wiki is a webpage or set of web pages that allows any user given access, to easily create, edit, and link content. They generally have a history function which allows one to see previous versions of edited pages. Because of these functions and their ease of use wikis are used as collaborative tools and can facilitate group work and harness collective intelligence. One of the most well-known wikis is Wikipedia.
- Create a Wiki
- Wiki Science: How to Start a Wiki
- Start a Wiki
- Example: Serve 2.0 Resources Wiki
- Example: Sagehen Teacher Resources
- Example: Chrislems's Service Learning Journal
- Example: ECU English 1200 Service-Learning
A widget is a piece of code that can be copied and used on websites, blogs, and social media pages to provide information (e.g., feeds, blogs, podcasts), capabilities (e.g., sign up for email list), or advertising.
More Resources and Free/Inexpensive Options
" TechSoup.org offers nonprofits a one-stop resource for technology needs by providing free information, resources, and support. In addition to online information and resources, we offer a product philanthropy service called TechSoup Stock. Here, nonprofits can access donated and discounted technology products, generously provided by corporate and nonprofit technology partners." -- from About TechSoup
- Additional Web Free/Inexpensive Resources (438K pdf)
