SOCIAL MEDIA PLAN

Client: WoodGreen Community Services, 815 Danforth Ave., Suite 100

Prepared by: Brittni Grier, Neema Kapera, Priya Khemchandra, Leah Mabhurukwa

SOCIAL MEDIA PLAN > WOODGREEN COMMUNITY SERVICES

TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY2
SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS2
SWOT ANALYSIS..3
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS5
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES..6
SOCIAL MEDIA ASSESSMENT.6
RESEARCH ANALYSIS..9
KEY AUDIENCES....10
SOCIAL MEDIA TACTICS11
RECOMMENDATIONS.14
EVALUATION....15
CONCLUSION...15

SOCIAL MEDIA PLAN > WOODGREEN COMMUNITY SERVICES

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This social media plan represents an effort undertaken by a team of Centennial College postgraduate public relations students to further explore the social media communications
methodology of WoodGreen Community Services (hereinafter WoodGreen) and increase
engagement, brand awareness and volunteer recruitment through targeted tactics.
WoodGreen, a founding member agency of the United Way, is a social service charity with a
broad range of community-centric services and programs throughout the Greater Toronto Area
(GTA). With 650 staff members serving 37,000 people each year through 32 locations, the
predominant issue that WoodGreen seeks to address is the increasing need for more
volunteers.
WoodGreen currently has several social media channels on which it provides content:
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and an on-site blog. As WoodGreens target
audiences consist of retirees and general 18+, we analyze the social media platforms that
would best leverage volunteer recruitment: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
WoodGreen is experiencing a shortage of volunteers to help run their many programs.
WoodGreen offers numerous programs but they cannot be run without volunteers who take
time out of their day to help. One of the challenges they face is that certain programs are
more popular with volunteers, such as their tax clinic and friendly visiting. Volunteers are
drawn to these programs, leaving WoodGreens other programs in desperate need of voluntary
assistance. The Meals on Wheels program, for example, is in constant need of volunteers due
to the increasingly large number of people the program serves 50,000. The Medical Escort
Program is a difficult program to find volunteers for as well. WoodGreen needs to reach out to
more volunteers that are willing to help run their programs because many of the programs rely
heavily on volunteer service.

The difficulty in reaching out to volunteers comes down to promotions and communications.
People need to be aware of the possible volunteer opportunities with WoodGreen and be
informed of how volunteering for these programs will help the many people who seek out

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WoodGreen's services. It is clear reaching out and gathering awareness had been difficult for
WoodGreen due to their limited communications team. Their communications team is made
up of usually 1-3 people who are in charge of social media accounts and media relations. It is
challenging for their communications department because they are very limited and cannot be
on top of all their social media pages. WoodGreen has a lot of programs and those programs
have their own social media pages. These pages do not have an equal same amount of
coverage, as some pages have more content and are more active than others.

Overall, WoodGreen is not as active on social media as they should be. They have the potential
to find and connect with volunteers through their social media platforms if the platforms were
used appropriately. In this era, the easiest way to connect with people is through social media,
which is a free platform for non-profit organizations like WoodGreen to publish on, gain web
visibility and attract volunteers. WoodGreen needs to manage all their social media platforms
more efficiently to engage more volunteers.

SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS:
Founded in 1937, WoodGreen has expanded its services and programs to an extensive scope,
consequently recognized as a reputable agency with best practice models that are cited
throughout the GTA.
WoodGreen has credibility with both the public and policymakers, often partnering with
community hub stakeholders to develop and implement community action plans.
As an established non-profit with respect to age and size, WoodGreen has a significant
reputation, especially in the east end of Toronto. A lot of recruitment occurs through word of
mouth, where volunteers are referred by agencies, community groups or existing/previous
volunteers and clients.

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WEAKNESSES:
An expansion of programs provided to the public means that limited resources are further
stretched.
WoodGreen relies on fundraising and community support for financial resources.
WoodGreen relies heavily upon volunteer recruitment to run their programs and services.

OPPORTUNITIES:
Optimizing existing social media channels to deliver relevant content to target audiences.
According to Statistics Canada, seniors are more likely to contribute a higher average number
of hours annually, compared to other age groups, and the distribution of volunteers shows a
trend toward an increase in older and more educated individuals.
Increase in educated individuals volunteering means that there are more opportunities for
filling related programs at WoodGreen that are in need: professional mentoring, tax clinic,
friendly visiting and escorting.

THREATS:
Competition for volunteers as other organizations recruit from the limited pool of individuals
who would be inclined to volunteer.
According to Statistics Canada, the total number of volunteers, or the volunteer rate, has been
decreasing nationally.
The highest volunteering group according to Statistics Canada are those within the 15-19 age
range, which conflicts with WoodGreens target audience age of 18+.

SOCIAL MEDIA PLAN > WOODGREEN COMMUNITY SERVICES

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
In conducting a relatively superficial (i.e. not in-depth) observational analysis of competitive
content, WoodGreen appears to have an edge as to type of content and frequency. However,
as the strategic priority requires an unmet need, WoodGreen must still improve its current
content and consistent branding of the same.
Examples of social media content that similar organizations have posted as pertains to
volunteer recruitment:

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BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
To increase brand awareness as a highly regarded agency to volunteer with.
To increase the number of volunteers recruited annually.
To increase the number of volunteer hours contributed annually.
To increase the retention of volunteers over a set period of time.

SOCIAL MEDIA ASSESSMENT

An examination of the three main social media channels: Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn on
which the created and curated content will be published to increase viewership, impressions
and measurable engagement. A brief overview of YouTube is also included as video content is
the predominant content form that should be implemented (see Tactics).

@WoodGreenDotOrg
On WoodGreens main Twitter page they post about their events and services. In their bio, they
make it clear that they are a community service group that specializes in mental health,
seniors, employment, housing and child care services.
Their Twitter page does a good job in promoting the different programs WoodGreen offers with
text posts, videos and picture, frequently. Content is often posted several times a day, with a
few lags from week to week. WoodGreen also retweets various information about current
events and news in Toronto. Although the content is there, they are missing the right amount
of engagement, do not get the right amount of likes and retweets.

SOCIAL MEDIA PLAN > WOODGREEN COMMUNITY SERVICES

@WoodGreen_empl
WoodGreen also has a Twitter account for their employment services. The WoodGreen twitter
account has less followers than the main account and significantly less engagement as well.
In their bio they make of what their services are and how they help support individuals looking
for employment. They even leave a contact number. They do not post as often as the main
page They post content relating to job fairs they are hosting and different companies that are
hiring, their content is relevant and helpful but it does not have the level of influence or
engagement needed.

WoodGreen has a number of Facebook pages for services:

@WoodGreenDotOrg: main Facebook page

Currently has 291 likes/fans, 4.3% of which were obtained in the last month, and 27 check-ins.
Engagement rate is 3.78%, less than optimal, so there is room for improvement.
Posts around two to three times a week - should be more frequent.
Content posted: 50% are photo posts, 16.7% video posts, 25% text.

@WoodGreen.employment: WoodGreen employment services.

Content: posts happen very infrequently, approximately 1 post per week, or even less.
Engagement: very little engagement happening: most posts get around 1-3 likes. Engagement
rate is a low 0.58%, so there is lots of room for improving engagement.

SOCIAL MEDIA PLAN > WOODGREEN COMMUNITY SERVICES

@WoodGreen.newcomeryouth: Youth settlement

Currently has 895 likes/fans, and 257 check-ins.
Engagement rate is 0.67%.
Posts around three to five times a week, which could be improved with daily posting.
Content posted: 50% are photo posts, 12.5% are video posts, and 37.5% are text.

@WoodGreenROP: Rites of Passage

This is a regular personal Facebook account rather than a business page, with 422 friends.
Posting seems to have stopped as the latest content was posted last year, July 2015.
There is also an existing WoodGreen volunteer group, which is closed and has 7 members.

WoodGreen is a member of Volunteer Toronto, which posts volunteer opportunities available

at WoodGreen through its Facebook page, @volunteertoronto.

https://www.linkedin.com/company/WoodGreen-community-services
WoodGreens LinkedIn profile has detailed content about their services and who they are as a
non-profit organization. They have 1,753 followers and about 364 employees on LinkedIn.
WoodGreens LinkedIn channel includes complete profile information as far as website links,
location and contact information.

Their content consists of posts about employment

opportunities, new partnerships, their services and testimonials from people who have
benefitted from their services. Their LinkedIn does not get updated or content posted
frequently; it gets updated quarterly.

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WoodGreen Community Services

WoodGreen has a YouTube channel with 39 subscribers where they have 26 videos posted of
different content including testimonials , interviews , speeches , and videos of their pop up
shop project. Their YouTube page has a short bio that describes the services they provide and
the work they do.
The last video posted was one month ago, November 2016. Their older content seems to get
the most views. Their most-viewed video with 52,277 views is a video clip of a feature
WoodGreen had on Gossip Today. The videos they posted two years ago seem to have the
most views, with numbers in the thousands. Their most recent videos only have 10 - 200
views.

RESEARCH ANALYSIS
Competition analysis. Identifying competitive organizations that are recruiting volunteers and
observing the type of content they are placing on their social media channels, and identifying
which channels are eliciting the most engagement. Identifying and analyzing the manner in
which these organizations take on volunteers will help in shaping and streamlining
WoodGreens recruitment process.
Audience analysis. WoodGreen has communicated their preferred target audience, i.e. retired
seniors. It may be worth examining whether other age groups could be leveraged for particular
programs through focussed campaigns instead of a large-scale volunteer campaign. For

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example, while WoodGreen has explicitly communicated their target audience to be seniors
and 18+ community members, a deeper audience analysis could be conducted to determine
other demographics such as stay-at-home parents, postsecondary students. Moreover, further
in-depth analysis should be made with respect to existing or new studies related to
volunteerism in Canada and if possible, in the GTA.
More than just a demographic profile of volunteers, the psychographics of each volunteer
segment should be looked at to optimize volunteer retention. For example, a 2014 article on
Charity Village examines the concept of life volunteers, and the manner in which volunteers
weigh the return on investment (ROI) of their time and what they are getting in return. This
information is vital to both recruitment and retention as it should shed light on how
WoodGreen can increase both through heightened ROI via volunteer recognition or reward.

Content analysis. There herein assessment incorporates content that WoodGreen has already
published on its various social media channels. Further collaboration with the WoodGreen
communications team should be conducted to obtain a thorough collection of all content that
WoodGreen possessesfor example, community studies, statistics, reports, print materials
that may not have been disseminated through web media, etc. This process would assist in
reducing time and effort required to create new content in implementing newly established
social media tactics.

KEY AUDIENCES
Ethnicity/Background. According to Jessica Malone, communications director at WoodGreen,
most volunteers are newcomers to Canada who are seeking to apply their skillsets while
obtaining experience to place on their resumes. Facebook would be the most appropriate
platform to communicate with this audience as they would be in search of groups or pages
created specifically for welcoming newcomers into the country. WoodGreen can join groups
such as Immigration to Canada or Canada Immigration News and Forum, which have more
than 7, 000 members each and can post volunteer opportunities available. Existing volunteers
can also identify these groups and share their experiences about the programs.

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Age Range. Large percent of volunteers are 60+ years old; comprised of retired seniors who
wish to have some form of meaningful activity to keep busy with. WoodGreens target
audience comprises of individuals who are 18+ for several reasons:
1. Most programs maintain a schedule that is within regular business or school hours;
2. Programs in need include Meals on Wheels, or friendly visiting, which requires
volunteers to have a license and vehicle accessible.
id key audiences and include rationale based on the businesss products/services. Include
explanation of appropriate social platforms for this audience, why are these the right platforms?)

SOCIAL MEDIA TACTICS

3 main tactics to be implemented over the following social media platforms:
1. Consistent branding through content posted
2. Video content to be created
3. Volunteer to contribute to creation of content through video, testimonials, blogs etc.

Videos of volunteers sharing their experiences should be created to visually showcase

volunteer opportunities and the change WoodGreens volunteers are making in the
communities. The video content may also include client experiences with volunteers and how
the Meals on Wheels program has affected them. These videos should contain consistent
branding on all platforms so as to maintain WoodGreens key messages about assisting
people in need in the GTA. The videos should not last more than two minutes so that the
audiences remain engaged. Generating new content is encouraged so that the audiences have
updated information on any developments taking place and opportunities available, moreover
establishing an intrinsic rewards program or incentive for volunteers to gain visibility and
recognition for their work through being made part of the messaging. Content may be reposted once a month to maintain consistency of the key message.
Not only does WoodGreen need to increase its followers on its main page, WoodGreenDotOrg,
they need to create engaging content for their target audience. Content should have a mixture

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of photos and text. Pictures of volunteers at work should be posted along with a description of
their day-to-day duties. Images should be high-quality and high-resolution and be able to tell a
story without text. Generally, people tend to avoid reading blocks of text, thus the need for
concise and clear content.
Infographics facilitate quicker comprehension of information. Infographics depicting statistics
on the number of people in need of assistance from volunteers will show the impact
volunteering has on the community. Links to a volunteer application form (see
Recommendations) should also be included in the posts.
Furthermore, there is need for consistency in the posts made by the organization. The content
that already exists on the page is of quality, but lacks consistency which affects audience
engagements. Daily posts should be made so as to increase engagement and have people
signing up for the volunteer programs. This platform is efficient for reaching out to seniors as
it is a stable platform for them to keep track of any discussions that may be taking place.

Short and precise posts should be created for this platform, encouraging people to sign up as
volunteers. At least two posts should be posted on a daily basis because Twitter is a fast
paced platform where tweets are pushed down every minute. Similar content posted on
Facebook (photos and videos) can also be shared on this platform to create awareness on the
volunteer opportunities available to the millennials who are mostly active on this platform.
Below are two samples of tweets which WoodGreen may use:
Come and be part of a fantastic team by signing up as a volunteer:
http://bit.ly/2hozHox #woodgreenvolunteer
According to a 2013 survey 93% of volunteers said they volunteer to make a
contribution to community. Be part of the team today & make a difference
Hashtags can also be incorporated into the tweets to make it more interesting and it makes it
easier for people to search for the organization on the social platform. #Woodgreenvolunteer
is a good example of the hashtags that can be used to track engagement or news around it.
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WoodGreen should also partner with other organizations to assist them in promoting the
voluntary program. VolunteerToronto retweets the WoodGreens tweets regularly and has a
link that directs people to WoodGreens website.
Furthermore, the organization should also engage influencers on the Twitter page to engage
the 18+ to take part in volunteering. Public figures such as Norm Kelly would assist in raising
awareness of the organization amongst the young adults.

Study showing which social media platforms baby boomers most use.

WoodGreen could use its LinkedIn page to showcase voluntary and employment opportunities
for the 18+ demographic. LinkedIn is especially ideal for the young retirees demographic
wherein there is a tendency toward pursuing productive pastimes. As a volunteer marketplace,
professionals are able to transition to making connections to non-profit organizations.

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The same videos posted on Facebook and Twitter can be shared on this platform to leverage
visibility amongst the LinkedIn audience. Furthermore, the WoodGreen can also produce
informational and anecdotal content about the programs that are running at the organization
to keep the audience informed and engaged.
Volunteers who would have been involved in the program should receive recognition from the
organization. They should provide certification or some tangible form of recognition for
volunteer efforts, and take pictures of volunteers posing with their certificate or mid-task and
posting on it as Volunteer Hall of Fame. These types of rewards attract potential volunteers
because it serves as a form of payment and gratitude for the work they would have put in.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Aside from social media, it is recommended that WoodGreen revamps their website, giving
special attention to the layout, to give it a more engaging feel with regular updates.
WoodGreens blog requires updated and consistent posts. Inviting existing staff and
volunteers to contribute to the blog will help in content creation. Allowing volunteers to be able
to provide a voice to WoodGreens web presence will benefit the organization through
optimizing potential material through each individual volunteers experience and insights and
also allows each volunteer to gain visibility through having their voice heard. Including
volunteer blog posts will establish a higher level of morale as volunteers will be more likely to
disseminate content that they have put a name to, and will share amongst their own friends,
family and social media connections, thereby establishing a stronger word of mouth
campaign.
It is also recommended that WoodGreen incorporates an easy registration form for volunteers
to complete right within the website. The current volunteer page provides information such as
available volunteering opportunities, however the call-to-action is not strong. Implementing an
easy volunteer now button would make converting an interested prospect to action simpler
and faster. Providing clickable links on social media content that directs to the volunteer
registration form would make evaluation for traffic and metrics (i.e. number of registrants
received) easier, and may also simplify the recruiting process with respect to screening and
building a volunteer database.

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EVALUATION
To ensure the effectiveness of this plan, the number of volunteers registered after its
implementation should be measured against the rate at which volunteers were registering
(benchmarks should be recorded from pre-implementation and ongoing).
In addition to measuring the traffic to the pages and the number of followers the pages will
acquire, in order to quantify effectiveness of the new content strategy, the number of inquiries
about the volunteer program should be recorded daily. Inquiries and actual recruitment
numbers should be reviewed routinely (weekly, monthly, quarterly) to assess the level of
engagement the new and curated content has on the target audience.
It is suggested that WoodGreen establish a HootSuite account to maximize control of the
aforementioned social media channels, especially as HootSuite offers easy-to-decipher
analytic tools. Bi-weekly analytic reports can be generated for ongoing evaluation and
monitoring. Taking into account that WoodGreens communications team is limited in size,
employing HootSuite capacity to manage a number social media accounts at once (including
multiple accounts on one platform), including direct posting of updates and responding to
comments quickly will build engagement and thereby increase consumer reach with
audiences.

CONCLUSION
Social media is a great way to communicate information to a large audience. It is the easiest
way volunteers can get information. Social media is not only a benefit to volunteers, but also a
benefit to WoodGreen as well. With the WoodGreen communication team posting new and
engaging content consistently on specific pages, they will convey information that will help
volunteers remain up-to-date. They will use pictures and videos to complement social media
posts to make them more enticing. With the current digital age, quality and quantity matter.
Using social media is a good way for WoodGreen to communicate, and boosting their
engagement through visual and new content on social media will be able to attract potential
volunteers. Stimulating engagement is only one step toward capturing the target audience, but
it is essential. Creating and publishing new, visually-appealing content consistently is key to
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gaining traction with the target audiences. Not only does consistent messaging optimize
opportunities for audiences to connect through a larger net, so to speak, but through quality
content that speaks to the target audience through creating interest and desire through simple
and easy call-to-actions, such as buttons and clickable links (and moreover, easy-to-complete
onsite forms), WoodGreens brand itself generates awareness and loyalty.
Engagement is the main strategic priority in this social media plan: not just engaging
WoodGreen on social media platforms with quality content, but also through allowing the
volunteers themselves to engage from WoodGreens perspective to potential and like-minded
prospective volunteers. Allowing volunteers to be visible benefits WoodGreen in volunteer
recruitment and in establishing the organizations brand with a larger scope and greater
impact.

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