Co-presentation with Carol Voss of IndependenceFirst about the benefits of using social media in a Center for Independent Living / non-profit.

1. The Fight Goes Online - How Social Media Fuels the Disability Rights & IL Movement Presenters: Carol Voss, Independence First , Milwaukee WI Keith Hosey, Center for Accessible Living, Louisville, KY

3. About Me (Carol) Voracious media and community news junkie, resource to staff and reporters, listener, persuasive talker, networker, connector, trainer, horn tooter [email_address] http://card.ly/CarolVoss

4. About Me (Keith) Social Media fanatic. Hands-on. Self-learner, self-starter, self-promoter. Mobile: likes the “always on” anywhere & anywhen world. A giver (9:1 rule). [email_address] http://card.ly/Keithhosey

33. Social Media is a natural extension for Independent Living

34. Social Media and IL Discussion groups and social networks create peer connections, peer support and IL services. Facebook and Twitter are powerful tools to expand the grass-roots network for advocacy, event planning, organizing, peer socialization and support, information & referral & information gathering.

35. Social Media and IL Blogs, podcasts, videos and photos tell the powerful stories of how our services have changed the lives of real people, they show the human side of disability to outsiders and potential supporters/fundraisers.

36. Social Media and IL These tools can energize groups around common goals and build support, and spread awareness with less effort. Participation can bring isolated consumers closer together and create cooperation.

38. People are already talking about us online Shouldn’t we know what they’re saying? Consumers in our community are online looking for resources. Shouldn’t we know what their needs/wants are? Listening

45. The power of storytelling Blogs, podcasts, videos, photos --these are all ways for an organization to "talk" about who they are, what they believe in, how they operate and what they do in the world. These are also tools that organizations can use to facilitate others in being able to tell their own stories--giving consumers a voice where once they didn't have one

48. The power of storytelling Stories are engaging, they encourage people to respond and to act. Stories connect people to the meaning and purpose of our work. We know that people are more likely to engage with our organization's cause or contribute money if they hear the story about the impact of our organization's programs versus the dry statistics.

50. Create Awareness & Buzz “viral campaigns” The one basic tenet of social media is share with your network. When we share our messages with supporters, they in turn may choose to pass it to others with a similar interest in our organization or events. But first, we have to build trust, credibility and - most importantly - a relationship with those who might interact with our posted content (this is through listening, participating, storytelling).

51. Create Awareness & Buzz Using social media to spread awareness is an excellent method for generating web traffic and visible support for a cause in the form of comments, tweets, facebook feeds and other forms of engagement. Social media is also great for getting at certain audiences, particularly younger people Best of all, it is very low cost!

54. Building Communities Social media can enhance off-line community activities like peer support and events; and build entirely new communities in an online environment (virtual peer support, socialization, IL skills, advocacy, I&R too).

57. Building Communities Individuals with disabilities can particularly benefit from online community-building efforts as they eliminate many of the "real-world" barriers that can be so challenging to community participation. Online community-building also allows people to connect with others they'd never otherwise meet in real life.

59. By the Way, FUNDRAISING Social media can be a powerful tool for raising funds online. Nonprofits that are able to successfully leverage social media for fundraising are able to do so because they've first focused on using social media to develop credibility, relationships and good will among their stakeholders.

63. Make it Easy! Don’t make people have to search to find you!

65. YouTube

66. Facebook & Twitter Boxes

70. Thank YOU!