SOCIAL MEDIA
TRAINING
WEST NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE
NEWCOMER YOUTH PROGRAM

Hi, I'm Justine!
Communications & Marketing Strategist for the social
impact space
My expertise lies in growing organizations from the ground up
through strategic digital marketing, compelling storytelling, and
genuine community engagement. I've worked with
organizations in Southeast Asia, East Africa, and North and
Central America.
Founder and Editor in Chief of Living Hyphen
Living Hyphen is an intimate journal that explores the
experiences of hyphenated Canadians - that is, individuals who
call Canada home but who have roots elsewhere. We examine
what life is like living in between cultures as part of a diaspora.
My mission is to stir the conscience and spur social change.

TODAY'S
AGENDA
Importance of social media
Why is social media integral to your services as a
settlement agency?
Social media basics
A crash course on best practices for engaging on
social media.
Recommendations for engagement
A review of what the Newcomer Youth Program
is currently doing well on social media and what
can be improved.
Recommendations to gain
followers
Tips on how to increase your followers on social
media and further your reach to newcomers.
Let's talk!
Questions, comments, and concerns.

Social media is
critical for
connection –
especially for
newcomer youth.
"When it comes to technology use, immigrants to Canada
are well ahead of settlement agencies. New Canadians
are actively using niche social networks, apps and
services that are not necessarily mainstream in Canada.
They’re coming from countries where Internet growth is
explosive, faster, cheaper and where online learning is
becoming popular."
– Marco Campana, New Canadian Media
Combine that with the youth demographic and
you've got yourself a powerful double whammy!

3.5 BILLION
social media users worldwide, and this number is
only growing.
45%
of current global population.
3 HOURS
per day, per person.
(Globalwebindex, 2019)
(Emarsys, 2019)
(Emarsys, 2019)

Consider your
audience.
Youth
No explanation needed
here!

Consider your
audience.
Youth
No explanation needed
here!
Newcomers from India
Indians now download more
apps than residents of any
other country – over 19
billion apps were downloaded
by Indian users in 2019,
The average Indian social
media user spends 17 hours on
the platforms each week, more
than social media users in
China and the United States.
Millennials (52.3%) and Gen Z
(28.4%) are the main
contributors for social media
usage in India.
Statista, 2019)

Consider your
audience.
Youth
No explanation needed
here!
Newcomers from India
Indians now download more
apps than residents of any
other country – over 19
billion apps were downloaded
by Indian users in 2019,
The average Indian social
media user spends 17 hours on
the platforms each week, more
than social media users in
China and the United States.
Millennials (52.3%) and Gen Z
(28.4%) are the main
contributors for social media
usage in India.
Newcomers from the
Philippines
Filipinos spent an
average of 10 hours
and 2 minutes online
daily in 2019, the
highest in the world.
99% of internet users
are on at least one type
of social media
platform.
Roughly 71% of the
population is on social
media.
Statista, 2019)
(Rappler, 2019)

SOCIAL MEDIA IS AN EXTENSION
OF YOUR SERVICES AS A
SETTLEMENT AGENCY.

SOCIAL MEDIA BASICS
Create a plan. Add value. Be consistent. Be responsive. Be human.

Create a plan.
Like everything else, effective communications on social media
requires a plan. Sit down as a team on a monthly basis to
outline all of your upcoming events, what needs to be
promoted and when, how work will be distributed, and who is
best positioned to take these tasks on. An editorial calendar will
make your lives so much easier and your online presence so
much more cohesive and effective!

Add value.
Everyone is on social media, how will you stand out? Why
should anyone – especially newcomer youth – listen to you?
What do you have to offer? Make sure your content adds value
to the people you are trying to reach. Provide resources and
opportunities, highlight events, offer knowledge or even just
entertainment. Consider this an exchange for your
community's attention.

Be consistent.
Out of sight, out of mind!
If your community of youth doesn't see you, they'll forget about
you. Remember that you are competing with so many other
distractions online that are ever-present. You need to
consistently show up (both in person and in feeds!) for youth to
trust you and appreciate you and what you have to offer.

Be responsive.
Social media, unlike traditional media, is a two-way street. It has
flourished precisely because "ordinary people" are now able to
communicate with journalists, celebrities, brands, politicians,
and other major actors in ways that were not as easily possible
before. Respond to your community when they reach out to or
engage with you online. They want to talk and you should
welcome that willingness to create a relationship!

Be human.
Just like everything you do as settlement workers, be human!
Social media is simply an extension of your work and services.
You are in the business of relationship building and helping
these youth along their journey here in Canada. Use social
media as a way to gain trust!

THE THREE C'S OF SOCIAL
CONTENT
What you share online should be
compelling and helpful to
newcomer youth. Add value to their
lives and share content so important
that they can't help but follow you!

THE THREE C'S OF SOCIAL
CONTENT
What you share online should be
compelling and helpful to
newcomer youth. Add value to their
lives and share content so important
that they can't help but follow you!
CONVERSATION
Social media is a two-way street; it is
a conversation. If you share content
online, be ready to engage in
conversations through comments
and DMs.

THE THREE C'S OF SOCIAL
CONTENT
What you share online should be
compelling and helpful to
newcomer youth. Add value to their
lives and share content so important
that they can't help but follow you!
CONVERSATION
Social media is a two-way street; it is
a conversation. If you share content
online, be ready to engage in
conversations through comments
and DMs.
COMMUNITY
You have the power to create a
community online that is untethered to
geography or any kind of physical space.
This could be integral to your work,
especially as newcomer youth may not
always be able to show up physically due
to time constraints, complicated family
dynamics, and other unseen factors.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
ENGAGEMENT
Humanize your
team.
Promote
community.
Spotlight
youth.
Be specific with
your CTAs.
Mobile-first.
Consider creating a
Facebook group.

Humanize
your team

Promote
community

Spotlight youth

Be specific with
your calls to
action.

Always think
mobile-first
91% of all social media users access social
channels via mobile devices. Likewise,
almost 80% of total time spent on social media
sites occurs on mobile platforms.
(Lyfemarketing, 2018).

Consider creating a
Facebook group

THE THREE C'S OF SOCIAL
CONTENT
What you share online should be
compelling and helpful to
newcomer youth. Add value to their
lives and share content so important
that they can't help but follow you!
CONVERSATION
Social media is a two-way street; it is
a conversation. If you share content
online, be ready to engage in
conversations through comments
and DMs.
COMMUNITY
You have the power to create a
community online that is untethered to
geography or any kind of physical space.
This could be integral to your work,
especially as newcomer youth may not
always be able to show up physically due
to time constraints, complicated family
dynamics, and other unseen factors.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO
GAIN MORE FOLLOWERS
Promote your program
through WNH primary
channels.
Involve your
youth.
Find community
champions.
Create strategic
partnerships.

Promote your program
through WNH's primary
channels.
West Neighbourhood House has a slightly larger follower base
that its Newcomer Youth Program. Capitalize on your parent
organization's reach to expand your own! Ask them to share
your specific programming or even just a simple call to action
to follow you on Facebook or Instagram. They may have a
slightly different but very relevant network.

INVOLVE YOUR YOUTH.
Invite youth to participate
in an IG Live.
Give youth a spotlight to shine!
Do they have skills or stories they
can share with other newcomer
youth? Peer learning can be such
an effective tool to engage and
draw in more like-minded youth.
Ask youth to share your
programs.
Birds of a feather, flock
together! Lean into the
connections of newcomer
youth who are already in your
community.
Lean into your Newcomer
Youth Advisory Committee
Newcomer youth have a wealth
of knowledge and expertise
through their own lived
experiences! What do they want
to see more of from you? How
can you turn them into
champions for your cause online
and offline?

Find community
champions.
Are there any micro-influencers in Toronto
who are immigrants or recent newcomers
and who speak to issues around migration?
Many of these individuals may already be
role models for newcomer youth and they
might help you reach these communities!

Create strategic
partnerships.
Are there community organizations here in Toronto that are
aligned with your mission? Do they have similar but different
networks that might benefit from your programs? How can you
work together to amplify each other's work and add value to
your respective communities?

QUESTIONS.
COMMENTS.
CONCERNS.

LET'S CONNECT!
www.justineabigail.com
@justineabigail
justine.abigail@gmail.com