Tackling Social Media

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1 Tackling Social Media County FA Social Media Guidelines Social Networking and the Workplace Safeguarding Children

2 Introduction 3. Dos and Don ts 5. Tone of voice 7. How to run your Facebook page 9. Questions 11. Be topical to start a conversation 13. Matches 15. Content plan 16. Types of content 20. Measuring success 21. Example posts 23. Promoting your page 24. Twitter 27. The difference between Twitter and Facebook 28. Starting out with Twitter 30. When might you Tweet? 31. Your style on Twitter 32. Contents 2

3 Introduction Why Social Media? For many organisations, the debate about the value of social media to them is over the discussion is now about how rather than why. But it s always useful to remind ourselves of the why from time to time. Introduction 3

4 Over 750 million people Worldwide use Facebook, and over 50% of those people use Facebook every day And what does this guide do? Over 250 million of those people use Facebook via a mobile device Around 30 million people in the UK use Facebook Many (but by no means all) of your players, officials and volunteers will already be using social media to talk with each other, to organise their social lives and have banter regarding football. A good proportion of these people will welcome you entering that conversation, so long as you follow a few simple rules. For the County FAs, the ultimate success in social media will be when we can all start a conversation with those stakeholders who know us best, and that conversation continues to their footballing friends join in, and ultimately engage directly with us too. What might that conversation be about? Anything from your upcoming County Cup Finals through to how your Level 2 Coaching Courses are working out. We ll give you many ideas for content later in the guide. So now we know where we might eventually be heading, let s look at taking the first steps along that journey. For those of you who have just taken your first steps in to social media, this guide will help you turn a walk in to a run. For those of you with a little more experience, we hope there are some ideas to help you engage with your community. More than that, the content plan should give you some ideas for getting the most social media mileage from your existing activities, and even to share the workload around your colleagues anyone can use a camera, and we all meet interesting people within the footballing family! We don t go in to a huge amount of detail in any single section, as the intention is to touch on each issue but not to overwhelm you in one go. There is one exception to this, the content plan. As the largest obstacle tends to be finding content, this section talks in detail about how you can find enough good quality content in your everyday activities. Finally, we hope that this guide will act as a catalyst to promote a conversation with you all. Don t be afraid to run your ideas past your CFA Business Support Team. Introduction 4

5 Dos and Don ts Dos and Don ts 5

6 If you go in to a pub, you instinctively know how to behave when it s OK to chat to people, what to say and when to leave them well alone. Facebook has similar rules, and don t worry, they are all pretty much common sense. Don t broadcast your links all the time. Sometimes it s nice just to chat rather than sell. Don t ignore people. Don t dominate the conversation, but do join other peoples conversations if you have something to offer. Do thank people. If someone likes or shares your content, thank them! Do post fairly often. It s hard to have a conversation if there s nothing to chat about. Start with a couple of posts a day - you ll soon get a good feel for how often but don t post everything in one day, make the amount you post consistent. Don t pass this document onto Clubs and Leagues. This document is for Counties use only. Do moderate your page. It is important that you check and moderate your page for inappropriate material (facebook, Twitter). Do take time to read the Safeguarding Children area as U18s will have access to your website. Do vary your posts. Mix it up with photos, videos, questions, opinions and of course links. Do write for the news feed. Even though you are writing on your own wall, remember that most people will read your message on their own news feed. So saying things like check out the tab on the left doesn t work. Do send updates, but only for really important things. Edit page > resources > connect with people & then you can send your message. This arrives as a notification, so don t use this too often or you will turn people off. Do make your page as open as possible. Allow fans to post to your page, add photos, tag photos etc. This is the best way to benefit from Facebook s viral effect, so if you don t do this it s just more marketing! England Football Team We need a Dislike button for this one... Today is 25 years since that goal in the 86 World Cup. FATV caught up with Steve Hodge who swapped shirts with Maradona after the match... Hodge s Maradona memories 22 June at 11:38 Like Comment Share 246 people like this View all 67 comments Write a comment... Dos and Don ts 6

7 Tone of voice Tone of voice 7

8 So, you re still in the pub what tone of voice should you use? Be friendly. Open, honest and considerate Be informal. If you have a corporate style guide, start the discussion now about how you ll need to change the rules for social media The best way to imagine it is you are going for a drink after work. So you are friendly with everyone your usual enthusiastic and lively self. Be a good host. Make people feel welcome, ensure they know enough to feel comfortable and have a few tricks up your sleeve to start the conversation going (more on that later) DON T SHOUT. Besides being harder to read, online etiquette has it that CAPS is shouting Be humorous. But stop way before you think you might be getting anywhere near the line. And use smileys just to make sure people know you are joking But not as friendly as you would be with the mates you ve known since school. You just don t have the same shared experiences and references to be that familiar, particularly when it comes to humour. Adam Kelly Are the Community shield tickets on sale?? 22 June at 11:38 Like Comment Share Wembley Stadium Hi Adam, you need to check with the individual club s ticket offices, they will be handling ticket sales for the Community Shield. Thanks Yesterday at 14:05 Like Adam Kelly Ok cheers 22 hours ago Like Write a comment... Tone of voice 8

9 How to run your Facebook page Creating a Facebook page is easy. The tricky part is to run the page well, so that you attract and engage with lots of visitors to your page. But with a few simple steps, you can run your page like a pro. Using examples from football and other sports, we ll show you how. How to run your Facebook page 9

Top tips Northamptonshire FA Moulton Magpiesand Moulton FC are holding a Grand Opening Day on Saturday 18th June at Brunting Rd Moulton.

14 June at 16:21 Like Comment Share The FA Cup asked Who is going to win The FA Cup?

? 22 June at 11:38 Like Comment Share Wembley Stadium Hi Adam, you need to check with the individual club s ticket offices, they will be handling

.. Nottinghamshire FA added 10 new photos Nottinghamshire RESPECT 08 March at 09:59 Like Comment Share 246 people like this ESSEX County FA Essex

29 May at 14:56 Like Comment Share John Duffy likes this FA WSL Good luck to our Welsh #FAWSL stars today as they take on England s World Cup

Photo BRISTOL ACADEMY WFC and WALES forward Jess Fishlock Wall Photos 29 May at 14:56 Like Comment Share Martin Cadogan C MON U WALES!

10 Top tips Northamptonshire FA Moulton Magpiesand Moulton FC are holding a Grand Opening Day on Saturday 18th June at Brunting Rd Moulton. The event will be opened by Pete Walton, our Premier League referee. Get along and ahve a fun day out. 14 June at 16:21 Like Comment Share The FA Cup asked Who is going to win The FA Cup? Manchester City Adam Kelly Are the Community shield tickets on sale?? 22 June at 11:38 Like Comment Share Wembley Stadium Hi Adam, you need to check with the individual club s ticket offices, they will be handling ticket sales for the Community Shield. Thanks Yesterday at 14:05 Like Adam Kelly Ok cheers 22 hours ago Like Write a comment... Nottinghamshire FA added 10 new photos Nottinghamshire RESPECT 08 March at 09:59 Like Comment Share 246 people like this ESSEX County FA Essex Soccability League Some clips from the last Match Day of the Essex Soccability League 2010/11 held at Colchester. 29 May at 14:56 Like Comment Share John Duffy likes this FA WSL Good luck to our Welsh #FAWSL stars today as they take on England s World Cup opponenets New Zealand, in the Swiss Tournament. Photo BRISTOL ACADEMY WFC and WALES forward Jess Fishlock Wall Photos 29 May at 14:56 Like Comment Share Martin Cadogan C MON U WALES!!!!!! 15 June at 11:05 Like Write a comment... Stoke City 55,464 Impressions 0% feedback 13 May at 11:01 98 Ask friends Unvote Wembley Stadium We are delighted to announce that Wembley Stadium will host the 2013 UEFA Champions league Final. 22 June at 11:38 Like Comment Share 246 people like this View all 67 comments Write a comment... Liverpool County Football Association Congratulations to Falcon FC Winners of the LCFA Under 16 Youth Cup 2011 Wall Photos 29 May at 14:56 Like Comment Share How to run your Facebook page 10

11 Questions Back in the real world, if someone makes a statement to you, it s easy to ignore. But if they ask you a question, it s only right to give them an answer.??? The same is true (to a lesser extent) online. Asking questions are a great way to get people chatting on your page Questions 11

12 There are different styles of question. The easiest is just to post a question to your wall and see what people make of it. Top tips But if you d like people to vote on a set of answers you might use the Facebook Questions tool. To use, click on the question button as seen below Make your questions as edgy as you can think more Question of Sport than Question Time Wall England Football Share: Status Photo Link Video Question Facebook Questions lets you ask people to vote between alternatives. Write something... FA WSL asked Will it be Aresenal or Lincoln who book a place in the Continental Cup Final later today? Aresenal Ladies Lincoln Ladies Football Club 13 May at 11:01 98 Ask friends Unvote Questions 12

13 Be topical to start a conversation It works well to kick off a topical conversation, and this can be about what you re doing or about the professional game. Really what you re doing is making a statement of your opinion and letting people come back with their own opinions. Content plan 13

14 Obviously you ll know we are always careful about how we put over our opinion because of who we are, but there are certain phrases which shouldn t be contentious. Top tips For example, you could: Let people know you are excited about our County Cup this weekend Wish them Good luck to everyone competing, we hope you all play out of your skin Tell people you are proud of our volunteers picking up awards at last night s dinner... Use events to highlight your work did you see player X s sending off, what do you think? (then link to the Respect video) Not sure if you re going too far? Imagine sitting down with your boss and explaining what you ve posted. If you d be UNCOMFORTABLE, don t say it. Wembley Stadium We are delighted to announce that Wembley Stadium will host the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final. 24,818 Impressions 1.30% feedback 22 June at 11:38 Like Comment Share 246 people like this View all 67 comments Write a comment... The difference between this kind of statement and a bland We d like to remind you our County Cups are running this weekend... is that these statements include a bit more of you in them, and in the end people connect with people, not with organisations. Content plan 14

15 Matches Top tips This one isn t a technique so much as a type of content that works really well, and of course we know there s nothing players like more than discussing matches. You all help to support local matches and competitions, so have a think about how you can use these matches to generate content for your page. Here s a checklist you can work through to see what s relevant for your County FA. Think local what are the most important matches in your County? Liverpool County Football Association Congratulations to Falcon FC Winners of the LCFA Under 16 Youth Cup 2011 Wall Photos Photos - from previous matches and from the match itself Videos - from previous matches and from the match itself Ask people to predict the results great for banter! Behind the scenes footage, player/coach/referee interviews 29 May at 14:56 Like Comment Share Remember to get consent before taking photos and videos. Click here to access the Safeguarding Children documents Matches 15

16 Content plan You have a feel for what to post, how to engage your fans and how to promote your page. Now let s have a look at most peoples biggest fear finding enough interesting content for your page. If you follow these instructions, we guarantee you ll have a good stream of relevant content to use for your page. In a nutshell, you re going to get together your colleagues and any local and national events diaries you have and produce a list of content opportunities. Content plan 16

Football writing exercises

Football writing exercises Written by Tom Palmer ONE: FOOTBALL ARGUMENTS There are lots of arguments in football. Watch Match of the Day and you ll see players shouting at each other on the pitch, as well