A presentation for the Locality 2012 Convention - one part of a session on engaging communities through social media detailing some of Community Links projects and the learning from them

1. Using Social Media
Richard McKeever
Communications Manager
Community Links
www.community-

2. Community Links
• Multipurpose Community Organisation
• Based in east London
• Broad range of projects with 16,000 people every year.
• 30 years of experience working with local people to
support children, young people, adults and families.
• Share lessons with government through policy work
• Consultancy Supporting practitioners to achieve social
change.
www.community-

3. Why Social Media
• Build and strengthen networks
• No cost (or low cost)
• Disintermediation
• Immediate
• Own channels
• Develop resources
• Expectations of others
www.community-

4. Newham Views
Olympic Summer Project
• Multiple voices
• Differing opinions
• Content aggregation from:
Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, YouTube.
www.community-

5. Working with others
• With The Guardian - #AdviceLive. Embedded journalist
live Tweeting real time stories of advice sessions.
Content from three UK centres aggregated on Guardian
Money website
www.community-

6. Themed Blog Weeks
• Featured Blogging weeks – e.g. media perceptions of
poverty – with guest bloggers.
www.community-

7. Video Storytelling
• EY2010 European Year against
Poverty and Social Exclusion
• Projects across the UK
supported to tell their own story
• Film making competition six
finalists won video camera
equipment and supported to
upload short film to YouTube
• Judges viewed online and public
vote for the winner.
www.community-

8. Platform:
“It’s Not about the Bike”
Tools for communication are
varied – but always remember
• Audience
• Tone
• Engagement and amplification
• Authenticity
www.community-

9. Conversation or Broadcast?
“For the last fifty years the two most
important communications media in
most people’s lives were the
telephone and television: different
media with different functions. It
turns out that the difference
between conversational tools and
broadcast tools was arbitrary, but
the difference between conversing
and broadcasting is real.”
Clay Shirky “Here Comes Everybody” Penguin NewYork 2008
www.community-

10. Brevity
Source: http://russelldavies.typepad.com/
www.community-

11. Tips and Resources
• NFP Tweetup
www.nfptweetup.org
• Media Trust Top Tips
www.mediatrust.org
• Learning Pool: Quick Start Guide
for those in or around
Government
www.learningpool.com
• Social by Social A practical guide
to using new technologies to
deliver social impact
www.socialbysocial.com
www.community-

12. Contact
Richard McKeever
Communications Manager
Community Links
105 Barking Road
London E16 4HQ
email: richard.mckeever@community-links.org
web: www.community-links.org
blog: www.community-links.org/linksUK
twitter: @comm_links
facebook: www.facebook.com/commlinks
www.community-