Rockville, Maryland, Jan. 26 – We are living in the age of social media overload – cluttered feeds with inspiration porn and scattered-brain content that lacks effective communication with us, the audience. Heidi Krizer Daroff, North American Director for the Israel Forever Foundation and current board member of RespectAbility, spoke to RespectAbility’s Fellows and staff about how to stay ahead of the curve and effectively communicate our message. She revealed that the secret in communicating the age of social media lies in understanding our social media channels and prioritizing a few key topics rather than trying to cover a variety of issues.
What is no secret, especially if you happen to be a millennial like myself, is that we are drowning in a sea of information created and sustained by a constant barrage of updates on our social media accounts – many times consisting of nothing but useless content. In order to prevent RespectAbility’s online presence from turning into one of those types of social media accounts, Daroff emphasized the importance of considering the reputation of the company online. When representing a nonprofit organization, it helps to be nonpartisan on behalf of the company you are representing.
RespectAbility’s social media presence is an integral step in order to inform the public regarding all of the company’s hard work; therefore, cliché inspiration quotes should be avoided. Daroff suggested that instead a company should invest time into campaigning and being creative with consumer engagements online. For example, she recommended using interactive features like contests.
Daroff also put the minds of the Fellows and staff to work in trying focus on RespectAbilty’s key topics in order to focus on the quality of posts, not the quantity. Many times if an organization doesn’t have key themes in mind when they’re posting on their social media accounts, the public will be confused as to the exact purpose of the company.
As a team, we recognized that our Hollywood outreach, the intersection of LGBTQ and disability, and fighting stigma are some of the key themes for RespectAbilty to promote in social media. Our challenge now is to create specific campaigns that will hold these themes accountable online, all of course, on an ongoing period.
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RespectAbility is a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities for and with people with disabilities. This spring, 14 Fellows had the opportunity to learn from a variety of guest speakers. Learn more about the National Leadership Program and apply for the next cohort! Contact BenS@RespectAbility.org for more information.
ALL FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
- PUBLIC POLICY/EMPLOYMENT
- COMMUNICATIONS/DIVERSITY IN FILM & TELEVISION
- NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT
- COMMUNITY OUTREACH/GRASSROOTS ORGANIZING
- JEWISH INCLUSION