Best websites and books on social media and campaigning?

Submitted by Amelia on Fri, 18/03/2011 - 16:57

Developments in social media offers us more and more opportunities to reach and engage with wider audiences and get people involved in influencing decisions that affect them. They can also help to increase the speed of mobilisation, enabling instant two-way communications. But finding the resources in terms of time, money and skills to get to grips with this can seem quite daunting, so where exactly do you start?

If you are starting out we at NCVO have pulled together a webpage sharing ways in which social media is being used by campaigners and a free guide exploring how to incorporate social media into your strategy for change from gaining an evidence base to evaluating your work.

Have you come across any useful websites, blogs or books on social media and campaigning that you would like to share with your fellow campaigners and policy workers?

Submitted by Eloise Shavelar on Wed, 23/03/2011 - 19:07.

The NCVO webpage on social media is a great resource: http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/campaigning-socialmedia

But here is a useful resource from Vodafone World of Difference on using social media for charities

http://worldofdifference.vodafone.co.uk/news/archives/1636

It covers:

Why use social networking – an introduction
How to create a social media strategy
10 Facebook charity tips
How to promote your social media offline
How to make a YouTube video – the basics
Using Twitter tools
The 10 golden rules of Twitter
How to set up a successful Facebook page

Submitted by Amelia on Thu, 24/03/2011 - 12:42.

Ah thank you for saying that Eloise, it looks a little bit like a set up I'm feeding you links to our resources to plug!

We have just had a new guide made on Integrating social media into campaigns which goes through lots of free tools and how to encorporate them into each stage of a campaigning - so from analysing the issue to

Gain ideas and inspiration to integrate social M&E

You can download it for free here Integrating social media

Submitted by Tom Baker on Fri, 25/03/2011 - 00:38.

Although not just on social media, I've been recommending the daily organising tips from New Organizing Institute to anyone who'll listen to me for the last week or so. Lot's are on social media topics. Sign up here or go here for a preview of the last weeks tips.

Submitted by Lee Webster on Wed, 30/03/2011 - 15:12.

Again, this is not just on social media, but I can't recommend highly enough the E-Campaigning Forum Network. It's a huge email network of campaigning practitioners, and you do need to be ready to get quite a large number of emails through it, but they're really useful. If you ask a question on there, about anything from website coding to what makes an effective slogan, you'll get a host of responses from informed and interesting people.

Visit the FairSay website to sign up: http://fairsay.com/networks/ecampaigning-forum

Submitted by Lee Webster on Wed, 30/03/2011 - 18:09.

Just saw an interesting New Statesman article asking if the end of email is in sight? I don't believe it is, for what that's worth, but the article is worth a read:

http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2011/04/email-atos-electronic

Submitted by Steve Lee on Thu, 31/03/2011 - 16:38.

It's going back a bit now, but I often go back to Amnesty's 1:10 campaign on vilence against women when I'm looking for a good basis for social media planning. There;s a useful slideshow here: http://blog.protectthehuman.com/1in10-a-case-study-in-social-media-campaigning/

Submitted by Eloise Shavelar on Mon, 04/04/2011 - 20:26.

New book on social media:

THE DRAGONFLY EFFECT: By Jennifer Aaker & Andy Smith

The Dragonfly Effect is a guide for how individuals, organisations, and companies can use social media to propel social change. www.dragonflyeffect.com

SOCIAL MEDIA IN A DIAGRAM

Great and simple PDF diagram encompassing considerations when putting together a social media strategy:

http://bit.ly/hNcaWb

Submitted by Amelia on Wed, 06/04/2011 - 14:12.

Slightly off piste but I just spotted a link to this on Twitter

Journalists don't want your press releases - they want your multi-media content - article by Jude Habib on Third Sector website. Basically lloking at how people are usign social media to get in direct contact with journalists and how journalists are always looking formulti media content.

Submitted by Amelia on Tue, 19/04/2011 - 10:04.

another spot via Twitter @SueFidler shows the findings of a study of the media landscape of Twitter and identifies some key changes in journalism - a very interesting read.

Media landscape in Twitter: A world of new conventions and political diversity

Submitted by Amelia on Tue, 19/04/2011 - 10:33.

ooo and another one via Twitter @EmmaTaggart

Great example of how to use social media to organise quickly and spontaneously

John Snow pub - gay kiss protest