Overview
Social media is a useful tool in effective communication strategy. In the digital age, almost everyone uses social media in one way or another. Harnessing the power of these platforms is imperative for the success of OA communications. Learning how to cater social media to your chapter, lodge, or section will help them, and the OA, stay relevant in the rapidly changing digital world.
Please begin by consulting Scouting America’s Social Media Guidelines. Youth Protection policies are always in effect!
Social Media Administration
Social media is the face of your local lodge. Arrowmen who have questions may send them in direct messages to your social accounts. Social Media management is a customer service job and there are some best practices to ensure that you and your users are respected, safe, and satisfied with their experiences with your social media presence:
- Be courteous when responding to messages. When commenting from the account, it is very important to remember that you represent an organization, not an individual. Every comment, whether on personal or other’s pictures, should be politically and grammatically correct.
- Comments that are inappropriate, against Scouting’s values, or spam should be removed from posts as soon as possible. Scouting America’s Social Media Guidelines contain additional instructions.
- If a direct message is inappropriate or against OA values, no need to respond at all. If you are ever unsure of how to respond to a direct message, reach out to your lodge key 3 or social media adviser.
- A social media account that represents a lodge or section should always have more than one person with access. When utilizing a shared social media account, responding to direct messages is acceptable since there are multiple users on said account. Despite this, be sure to be aware of youth protection standards involving direct messages with youth and adults alike. When in doubt, add a trusted adult on all communications.
Social Media Platforms
There are several different social media platforms that are used by Arrowmen. Facebook and Instagram are two of the most popular and are recommended for use by the NCC. Other platforms include Snapchat and TikTok.
Facebook is one of the oldest social media platforms and is often used to post a larger amount of content and photos. Because of its age, a wide-range of stakeholders utilize Facebook: members, alumni, non-member, families, and the general community. As such, successful content on Facebook is geared to reach all of these groups at the same time. This often takes the form of event reminders, photos that recap recent events, and posts celebrating lodge milestones. These posts often have links to registration pages and other news that your lodge may want to share.
In a typical Facebook post, consider sharing a promotional graphic (if the post is meant to promote some form of activity) or several pictures (if the post is meant to recap an activity). Make sure to attach some writing to the post that describes the goal and purpose of the post. This is a great place to include registration links, links to the lodge website, and other useful information. It is also completely acceptable to exclusively rely on text within your post, though that is often better for more serious announcements. Since Facebook is geared towards all ages, posts should be more formal and have less reliance on slang terms and acronyms.
Instagram is a platform in which accounts can share pictures, comment on others posts, and post 24 hour stories. As a lodge or section, the goal should be to promote your story. You want to share the traditions and what makes your lodge unique. Remember, if a person follows your account they are likely already active and will plan to attend events. Including posts about upcoming events is important, but should not be the exclusive or primary use of the platform. Appealing photos and short videos from events, leadership, or other relevant subject matter is the most effective. Also note that any links to external websites (registration pages, lodge websites, etc.) are unable to be placed in posts, but can be attached to an account’s biography.
In general, Instagram is geared towards a younger demographic. Posting appealing graphics is good, but the content should be kept to the most necessary information. It may also be helpful to use slang or hashtags in your Instagram posts to boost traction.
Snapchat and Instagram Stories
Snapchat often has posts (called stories) consisting of photos and short videos that are only public for 24 hours. As such, these platforms are usually the best for live content where storytelling is the primary focus. Along a similar vein to Snapchat, Instagram also allows users to post stories with similar restrictions, so the advice here is mostly interchangeable. For best results, always post at least two images when crafting a story. These platforms, like regular Instagram posts, are highly visual, so put thought and focus on how the image or video is relevant and engaging to the story being told. Snapchat posts do not need to be as strictly formal as those on a Facebook or Instagram post. Their primary goal is to be engaging, and that usually translates to a more casual showing of content.
For example, when promoting an event, consider beginning with a question (e.g., did you know about the upcoming conclave?), followed by relevant content (e.g., scheduled activities, dates, location), and ending with a call-to-action (e.g., swipe up for the registration link). It is also useful to post during an event. Posting positive aspects of the event is a great way for those at home to see the fun activities you are doing!
TikTok and Instagram Reels
TikTok is a social media platform designed for posting short videos. These videos can range anywhere from just a few seconds in length to 60 minutes, though videos on this platform tend to be on the shorter side. In recent years, TikTok has seen a massive boom in usage, especially from younger demographics and school-aged children. In general, shorter posts (between 30 seconds and one minute) are more popular, and TikTok could easily be used to promote events in a quick and impactful visual way. Users can also engage with likes, comments, and reposts.
Similar to TikTok is the “reels” feature of Instagram, called Instagram Reels. Instagram Reels functions very similar in nature to Instagram, but the length of videos on the platform tends on the shorter side. Some Instagram posts will also automatically convert to reels if there is some form of video content within them.
These short videos can take on a variety of forms. One popular technique to figure out how to create a TikTok is simply to look at what kinds of videos are trending and try to make a video emulating that style with an OA theme. Another popular video form is a testimonial or a lodge/section officer promoting a feature of your event. Also note that TikTok and Instagram Reels attract younger viewers. Everything you do, from the audio you use to the video on the screen, should be unquestionably appropriate (as noted in Scouting America’s Social Media Guidelines), even if you are using slang or informal language.
Content Planning
Aside from a thorough knowledge of social media platforms, it is vital to have a good understanding of how to plan social media content. The most common method of planning social media content comes from storyboarding.
Effective storyboarding will ensure continued social success. Storyboarding is a fancy word for planning your content. At the beginning of each month, sit down with your team and discuss what relevant content you want to produce. Note any major U.S. holidays you may want to highlight, section and lodge events, and other events. Using a calendar or spreadsheet, plot out when you want to post what. To make a storyboard successful, stick with it! Once a few months have gone by, you should be able to develop a cadence with your team. Over that time, try new approaches and explore the success of your work. No storyboarding strategy is right for every team, so trial and error is the best way to find out what works for yours.
Here are some tips to assist in this process:
- Understand your audience for each platform. Study your demographics and tailor your posts to them. This includes the content you post and the tone you use. For example, your Facebook account is likely to have a significant percentage of older users, whereas Instagram will have a younger audience. Consider using a professional writing voice while sharing important updates from your lodge or section.
- Post consistently. However, don’t inundate your followers with too many posts. Keep it to a maximum of 2-4 posts a week; anymore and you’ll aggravate and eventually lose followers.
- Engage your followers! Like and respond to comments as you see fit.
- Have fun and be creative! Think of what you’d like to see come up in your feed. Whether that’s sharing a funny lodge- or section-related photo on Instagram, spotlighting follower’s OA-related photos every week, or doing an internet challenge with your section or lodge chief—just be sure to occasionally have fun with it.
- Strive to tie the OA’s motto or spirit into your posts.
- To see what posts work best for your lodge, you should experiment with a variety of different posts. As you do this, pay attention to which posts have more likes, comments, and reposts. By following these analytics, you know what posts and what topics gain traction with your followers, and can guide the direction of your planning towards that.
- If at any point you’re unsure about OA Social Media Standards, always consult the National Branding Guidelines available at oa-scouting.org/branding.
On top of that, here is a list of some “plug-in” social media captions to get you started!