This document discusses using social media to promote AAUW. It outlines how to use popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Meetup to increase visibility, reach younger audiences, and advocate for AAUW's mission. The key is to "meet people where they are" by utilizing the same online tools popular among different demographics. The document emphasizes that social media allows personal control over content and interactive sharing when used properly.

1. AAUW’s Experiment
In Social Media
Using Modern Methods of
Mass Communication & Sharing
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I hope to present an overview of current media tools and detail some of the most
promising social media platforms.
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2. Those under 30
have
NEVER
known
a world
without
the Internet
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Nearly half the human race is under 30 – they have never known a world with
the Internet.
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3. Well how do we reach
THEM?
Meet them where they are:
at school and online with the
TOOLS they use!
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Meet them where they are: at school and online – using the TOOLS they use.
AAUW attracts young women on campus by offering excellent workshops and
scholastic opportunities. Of special note are::
“Elect Her” (Campaign College) – how to run a campaign for college office
and beyond.
$tart $mart – how to negotiate for a better salary, make business growth
plans, and how to budget.
How can AAUW keep in touch? Please remember to get contact information
from attendees and follow up. But sadly AAUW will lose contact because
students generally give their college email addresses which are discontinued
as soon as they graduate.
Let's try to keep up with them beyond college and get them to invite their
friends to learn more about AAUW by using the social media tools they use
like Facebook.
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4. We will NOT be left out!
Women over 55 are the
fastest growing demographic
on Facebook!
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Many my AGE rely on the Internet too!
Computers and fast communication are essential tools for today’s business.
For a good deal of our working lives, we have worked with computers.
We know or can learn how to use these tools!
Online tools are especially valuable to those with family around the world or to
reach those infrequently seen in person or another way to update best friends
seen almost every day. Media and social media tools are also fun way to
share information, interests, thoughts and photos instantly with all your family
and friends.
We can also advocate for AAUW issues.
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5. MEDIA TOOLS
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AAUW uses 4 main tools today: Website(s), Blog(s), Facebook Pages, and Twitter. Email
is still very effective for fast mass announcements.
AAUW’s Social Media Task Force has surveyed the Internet looking for AAUW activity and
use of online media and social media tools. These are just a few of the social media tools with
AAUW activity allowing us to communicate and share in spectacularly easy ways.
Electronic communication and sharing advances were first driven and controlled by the
military and academia. When the Internet was opened up to individuals and business in the
mid 1980’s, tools such as these started to refine solutions to real needs (video sharing,
document sharing, link sharing, feed sharing, broadcasting and publishing).
Social Media Platforms
Facebook, LinkedIn, myspace, meetup and Ning are true social media platforms and
will be discussed later. Google is trying to develop a SM platform of their own too.
MySpace - A personal MySpace page is highly customizable with background graphics
and colorful content. The contents of a MySpace profile are: Moods, Blurbs, Blogs,
"interests", "details". It also has the possibility to upload music, photos and receive
comments from other users. At least one AAUW college group was still active on MySpace in
early 2011 .
GetGlue is a social network for entertainment. Check-in and rate things to discover
new favorites, see what your friends are into: books, movies, music, clubs, etc.
SecondLife is like social media on steroids. It is a 3D virtual environment
where people can actually meet “face to face” in the “persona of avatars” (like
animated 3D cartoons) It has great potential but it is a very techie environment
leaving it only for those with high-end equipment and the time to learn how to
navigate this 3D world.
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6. These are all just TOOLS
What is important is
WHAT WE DO
with the technology
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People generally use social media to express their personalities, beliefs and
sense of humor. So it is not surprising that many people state that social media
has brought them closer to their families and friends by getting to know them on
a deeper basis.
It is also so easy to reconnect with long-lost friends, distant relatives, and
meet people with similar interests via social media. For example: an
acquaintance may note that you enjoy Scrabble and then challenge you to an
online game; then in the process of playing this game, you can become close
friends.
But we can also use social media to advocate for AAUW.
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7. What do we hope to
ACCOMPLISH?
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AAUW visibility
$
Name recognition
Increase $
Mission understanding
$
Active advocacy
$
Audience
$
Reputation and trust
$
The general public
Reach $
Potential members
$
Younger Women
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AAUW social media entities have been created primarily to reach out to the
general public hopefully reaching future members; rather than used as just
another tool to keep AAUW’s existing members informed of AAUW news.
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8. AAUW Tweets
TWITTER
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Twitter is considered a “microblogging” broadcasting tool where people write
very short status updates called “Tweets”. Since each tweet is limited to 140
characters, abbreviations are often used along with some special characters. It is a
special lingo that is second nature to those addicted to Twitter but it all seems very
cryptic to those reading tweets for the first time.
Twitter is very valuable for broadcasting and receiving real-time news. Very
often today you will hear where a large news story has been first broadcast via
Twitter.
It is also an excellent tool to keep abreast of what’s going on at remote
conventions and conferences in real time. For example: I couldn’t attend the
AAUW convention where Lily Ledbetter spoke, but I could read quotes from
her speech shortly after her words touched the hearts of my Twitter friends.
Another example is shown on the slide where I followed tweets from the
2011 Virginia State AAUW convention. I want to know what Alan Callender
and Peggy Woods-Clark were saying about AAUW’s use of social media. So I
searched for all tweets using the hashtag: “#aauwva11.” A hashtag is a
special code which is always prefaced by “#” to help define the content /
interest of the Twitter post. Here you can see I read in real time good social
media information and a compliment I received from Alan at this conference.
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9. What is Social Media?
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A method of mass
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With personal control
communication – Your choice of friends
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Interactive dialogue – News from only your favorite
pages and friends
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Sharing: – Your choice of optional
– Thoughts applications
– Photos – You set your own security
– Videos levels
– Links
– News
– Events
– Messages / updates
– Philanthropy
– Documents / notes
– Games
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Sharing & interactive dialog with personal control is what truly sets social media
apart from other media tools. Members personalize their environment, news
feeds, friends, favorite groups and page lists.
If a person joined a simple discussion group in the past, they received email from
all those who subscribed to the discussion list. This is a good way to share while
everyone stays on topic. If someone becomes offensive, a fellow subscriber has
no control over the subscription list. In a social media environment, this offensive
person's remarks could be easily hidden from view or removed from your list of
friends.
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10. What’s Good About
NING?
http://www.aauw-exchange.org/ 10
Ning is a social media host. Ning is currently a paid service where members /
organizations build their own social media platform. When Ning was free,
several AAUW entities were using Ning but now there is only one: “AAUW
Alumni Exchange” which was created to help former AAUW fellows and grant
recipients share information and resources. Membership is closed to those
meeting the requirements.
The AAUW Alumni Exchange has been set up to have a discussion forum,
events, special interest groups, and automatic display of the AAUW blog, and
links to other AAUW social media tools such as Facebook, twitter and You Tube.
It is also interesting that members can create their own identity page, see a list of
other members and see a world membership map.
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11. Local Events:
MEETUP
http://www.meetup.com/AAUW-Covington-Mandeville/
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Meetup is a very promising social media tool used to advertise actual
physical events . While meetup.com is FREE for individuals to join, any
organization wanting to create a meetup group must pay a monthly service
fee. This tool has shown a lot of promise for advertising branch and state
level AAUW events to locals looking for things to do.
Individuals register for meetup, give their zip code and indicate that they
want information on all activities defined by any number of miles radius from
their home. Individuals then receive “Meetup Reminders” and “Meetup
Weekly Calendar”.
On the screen you can see the AAUW Covington – Mandeville branch’s
meetup home page showing upcoming events which will be automatically
published to all asking for information on activities around Mandeville. If an
individual clicks for more information about any of these events, they will see
a description of the activity, a MAP to the venue, a note how to find us at the
venue, cost and ticket information. They are also urged to email us for more
information.
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12. Local Events:
EventBrite
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EventBrite is a new tool very similar to Meetup that AAUW national has
recently started to use. It is currently free to post information for free events:
Like Meetup, it displays a description of the event, a map to the location, lists
RSVP’s, and members can add any event to their personal calendar. But it
allows visitors to easily share this event: by email, LinkedIn, Facebook and
Twitter.
EventBrite fees for paid events are subtracted from the ticket price. You can
also sell tickets and collect registrations directly from your own organization's
Website by embedding the EventBrite ticket widget.
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13. Professionals Like
LINKEDIN
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Lindedin is a social media tool very attuned to business and self-
promotion. An active AAUW experiment is ongoing to see how much
outreach value LinkedIn has compared to other tools. It has the potential to
reach a totally different set of people.
While blatant self-promotion is unacceptable behavior in most other social
media and forum environments, it seems to be the norm in LinkedIn. Serious
LinkedIn groups often moderate posts on their wall to quickly remove
inappropriate posts: solely for self-promotion, off topic, or offensive.
“American Association of University Women” and “Social Media for
Nonprofit Organizations” are 2 LinkedIn groups worth following.
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14. What’s so special about
FACEBOOK?
• Facebook is currently the most popular social media
platform with more than 500 million active users
world-wide.
• It's easy to sign up for and to use
• It's FUN!
• Marti says "Connecting and re-connecting with
people who share my history and interests; the
opportunity for CIVIL discourse with those who
don't."
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Facebook is easy, popular and fun. I'll discuss Facebook more in part 2.
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15. How To Get Started
Join It’s Viral:
• Sign Up & Create Your
Invite Friends
Personal Profile
• Find FRIENDS
HAVE • “Like” AAUW Pages
• Invite Friends To Be FANS
FUN! • Invite Friends To Invite
Their Friends ....
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What does, “It is viral” mean? It doesn't mean that you're sending PC viruses
to your friends. It means that news travels through social media as a virus does
through the body: your friend posts something and you want to share so you do,
then several of your friends see your post and they share it too. Posts are spread
because they are relevant and touch other people in some way.
This viral approach to sharing is what makes social media such a powerful
tool for AAUW advocacy.
So join find friends and have fun!
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