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Digital Media

The introduction of digital communication in all its forms has fundamentally changed the marketing landscape. Our students have never experienced life without the internet or mobile devices.

It is in our interest to at least understand the channels and leverage its reach to spread the CEF story and build a community.

We have focused here on the social platforms Facebook and LinkedIn, as we see these as most beneficial for the foundations and volunteers. There are many more platforms available, and you can find a summary of the top sites in Australia here

You will also find tools to help you reach your audience in . These are free and simple to use.

Get Social

In the world of social media, Facebook would be the rockstar of the platforms. And in terms of status, more Rolling Stones than Beiber. Its been around longer, is louder and not particularly refined.

Your Facebook page represents your foundation and must also reflect the CEF brand. Keep your information up to date and post regularly. Inactivity on your site can suggest an committee that isn’t engaged or worse, abandoned.

It’s advisable to have a content plan so you know what is being posted and when, This will also help you keep an eye on upcoming relevant events you can leverage.

First we get you a Facebook Page. Follow these instructions to get started.

What now?

Assign Roles

To share access, you can assign roles with varying levels of authority to members of your committee. You can do this through the page settings and Users.

Get active online.

Keep your information up to date and post regularly. It’s never a great look to land on a page that last posted in 2018.

  • Share the page and invite your Facebook friends to follow.
  • Find relevant pages to like as your foundation page
  • Start posting; include application dates, AGM, events, student stories, new members, media stories.
  • Share CEF posts, local posts of interest, website links.
  • Create events for your fundraising.
  • Like and comment as your page on other pages. Always positive.
  • Tag businesses and people relevant to your post.
  • Check-in as your page when arriving at events.
  • Keep an eye on your insights to get a feel for your engagement.
To create a Facebook Group:
  • Click Create in the top right of Facebook and select Group.
  • Enter your group name, add group members and then choose the privacy option for your group.
  • Click Create.

Once you create your group, you personalise it by uploading a cover photo and adding a description and start inviting your members.

The statesman of the digital world, this is not the place for memes and party pics, it is the destination for those who want to network, recruit and promote your organisation.

With your personal profile set up and connection to the Country Educations Foundation you can;

  • Network to find local sponsors.
  • Find new committee members.
  • Share CEF information and articles with your network, expanding the reach and influence of CEF.
  • Join groups with relevant interests to learn and share – fundraising groups, not for profit, local business groups.
  • Reach out to local Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Departments.
  • Keep connected with your alumni.

If you don’t have a LinkedIn Account, you can set one up here

If you do have an account find the Country Education Foundation of Australia profile and start following us.

It isn’t recommended that individual foundations set up a company profiles thereby diluting the CEF brand. On Linkedin we want one consistent substantial presence followed rather than many smaller accounts.

On your personal account you can share the content added by CEF Linkedin or CEF website articles.

Are you already all over Linkedin and want to improve your profile? Find some tips here.

Content - create, re-purpose, plan

Stop and think Before You Post!

When writing anything from a business proposal through to a social media update, the most important concern is knowing your audience. Ask yourself who your audience is and why CEF is relevant to them.

We live in a world over-saturated with information, especially with many competing voices in the fundraising sphere. You can’t just post content without a purpose. That does nearly as much damage as not being present.

The emphasis on what type of ‘community’ is being created by the relationships established between you and your audience via communication is growing more and more important.

If content is deemed useful or meaningful then it’s featured in newsfeeds. If it’s too sales-y or boring it won’t go anywhere. The success of this contact and content is measured via ‘engagement’.

The most effective way to ensure you’re meaningfully connecting with your most important stakeholders is to build a content plan. This all stems from the question: what do you want them to know? If you don’t know what the purpose of your content is, your audience will have no clue either.

Start with reflection

Look back at your last years’ worth of promotion to conduct a content audit. The word ‘audit’ does sound scary, but it’s an opportunity to look at what was successful and is a start to developing your content messages around achievement that again.

For such an audit, analyse:

  • What is the message of your content?
  • Who are these messages targeted toward?
  • Why was a certain piece un/successful?
  • Are these still the right messages for the right audience/s?

Look to the HubSpot document below for further information on completing a comprehensive SWOT analysis if relevant.

Content Planning

Our lovely friend Lynsey at FloSocial has some ways to sum up the value content of your content here, as well as putting together a great content plan.

Find a copy of the latest HubSpot Content Planning documents here and a content plan template too.

Tips to create compelling content

You can use this handy content creation worksheet to help you focus your communication to your audience.

Here are some general tips to help you get over the line:

  • Keep it short and simple. As attention spans are become increasingly shorter, there’s an urgency placed on only using the words you need to. Use direct language. Grab attention. Why say it in 10 sentences when you can say it in one?
  • Involve the audience (eg. “get your tickets now”, “get applications in today”). They should feel that you understand their problems and what they need. Pose a question in an article or Facebook post that get them thinking and invites their input in the comments section.
  • Use videos and photos.
  • Make sure everything you publish is accurate and a fair representation of any provided comments.
  • Publish and update material on a regular basis according to your audit and content plan.
  • Pay attention to what is working (via Facebook engagement rates, website analytics etc.), then adapt accordingly.

Tools of the Digital Age

Electronic Direct Mail (EDM)

Looking for a way you can communicate with your contacts that is professional and trackable? 

An EDM is a cost effective way to reach out to your current or prospective stakeholders.

Mailchimp is a powerful email online program. You can create an account with very generous sends per month for free.

  • You can create beautifully designed emails
  • Add multiple audience groups
  • See who has opened and clicked on your content

Graphic Design

Get your creative on with Canva,  an easy to use graphics website. It’s simple to create an account and get designing.

Yes, it’s free, plus includes a premium option to access more functionality. We think the basic free account will suit you just fine.

You can use templates or create from scratch using a combination of images, text and symbols. You can even load your own images and logos.

Imagery

These days it is all about the imagery. To effectively communicate, consider the look as much as the message. But where do you access quality images that are free?

There are images loaded in Canva for you to review and you can find photos, video and illustrations to download free at these websites – pexels and pixabay

Warning – don’t just grab any image off the internet as it is most likely copyrighted and therefore illegal to use without permission! Stick with dedicated image sites as mentioned above.

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