Content Acknowledgement: The following information has been informed by the National Recreation and Parks Association’s Communications Toolkit(1)
Social Media Best Practices
Engagement is the most important aspect when communicating through social media. People want to feel like they are talking to a real person, not a bot. Increase your social media engagement by(1):
- Regularly checking your social media feeds
- Check feeds more often during active campaigns
- Respond, like, and share comments and interactions with your post
- Post 2-3x/ week
- Sunday is the best day to post
- Always include a picture with your post
- Tag relevant people or organizations to help boost your reach
- Engage with your audience; like and comment on their comments or related posts
- Avoid posting on Friday’s and Saturday’s: people are less likely to see your posts
- Avoid posting multiple times on the same day. Facebook’s algorithm is less likely to show your content if you share new posts multiple times a day
- Post Tweets with 280 characters or less
- Post one or more Tweets per day. Tweets have shorter lifespans on people’s feeds (~18 minutes), so you can post more frequently.
- Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday are the best days to post
- Shorten links on Twitter using the free bit.ly service
- Use at least one hashtag. If you are promoting a campaign, create a campaign hashtag that others can use to engage or share.
- Tag relevant people or organizations to increase reach
- Avoid overusing hashtags. If you’ve included three or more hashtags, people will overlook them as they quickly scan their feed(2)
- Avoid over-promoting your organization. Aim to talk to people and be real to avoid coming across like an ad or as un-personable(2)
- Post 2-3x per week
- Post between 9 am – 4 pm Monday through Friday
- Add links to your bio to direct people
- Feature real images that represent or reflect your message
- Tag relevant people or organizations to increase reach
- Engage with your audience by liking and commenting on their comments or relevant posts
- Use your campaign hashtag
- Create reels to create variety in your content and increase engagement(3)
- Add captions to videos to improve accessibility(4)
- Avoid using too many hashtags. Aim to only include the best and most applicable hashtags.
- Avoid posting in landscape. Most Instagram users access the platform on their mobile phones. Aim to post vertical content to take up more screen space(4).
- Avoid overly edited or perfected photos. Aim to post bright but authentic images(4).
Need help with developing a promotional plan?
Visit the Promotions Pillar homepage of the Healthy Communities Framework to learn the definitions of marketing and the five steps to developing a promotional plan!
Email Campaign Best Practices
Use the following best practices to inform your email campaigns.
Limit the subject line to seven or fewer words to maximize attention.
Include links to the most important action or takeaway (i.e. registration) to a maximum of two links to keep the audience focused on the desired action.
Write your email so the audience can find the call to action or main takeaway without needing to scroll. Consider including a button near the top to draw attention to the action.
People commonly check their emails before they break for lunch and after they return.
Test if your emails are easy to read on a phone. Open your email on a phone and reflect:
- Is the text easy to read?
- Are links and buttons easy to click?
- Are there formatting flaws?
Hyperlink several words or an entire sentence to make the link easy to find and click in the text.
Include photo headers or embedded images to make emails more visually appealing and personable.
Including a staff person’s name as the sender in the “from” line makes your email more personal and likely to be opened.
For example: “from Susie at HEAL Organization” is better than “from HEAL Organization”
Use your signature to build connections and show the real faces behind the organization.
Stay Connected: Monthly Newsletters
Create a monthly newsletter to stay connected with your target audience beyond your campaign, promotions, program, or initiative. By sharing with your audiences regularly, you build better relationships and can share more about your organization and its goals(1).
Here are some topics to help you get started(1):
- Share programs, initiatives, or events that highlight how your organization is reaching your goals, addressing gaps, or strengthening the community.
- Highlight volunteers, staff, or participants in your programs and services. Share why they are involved or how they have helped you to be successful.
- Share success stories or updates on ongoing programs and projects.
Web Design Best Practices
Did you know that users only spend 15 seconds on a website before they decide to leave or stay(1)? Ask the following questions as you look to review your website(1):
- Is it easy to navigate?
- Are calls to action easily found?
- Do you include graphics, photos, or other design elements to increase visual appeal?
- Is your text short and easy to read?
- Do you include easy-to-find contact information, including an email and phone number?
- Is text free of typos and broken links?
- Is the information up-to-date?
- Do you limit barriers to action, such as:
- Lengthy registration/ account creation processes
- Multiple page click-throughs (i.e. needing to click through several different web pages to access information or complete an action)
Online Platforms to Get Started
The list below includes free and paid platforms that are available online to help you build your communications. Check them out!
Online graphic design tool for social media posts, flyers, presentations, and more. Free and paid accounts available at canva.com.
Free online service that shortens links. Primarily used to create short links for social media posts. Available at bitly.com.
Paid social media management software to help users create engaging content and increase followers. Available at hootsuite.com.
Online survey software. It can be used for registration, placing online orders, evaluation, and more! Free with a Google account. Available at google.ca/forms/about.
Online professional email service.
Free and paid accounts available at mailchimp.com.
Online events management tool. Free or paid, depending on event entrance fees and nonprofit status. Available at eventbrite.ca.
Free professional stock photos.
Available at unsplash.com.
Free professional stock photos.
Available at pexels.com.
Need help with developing a promotional plan?
Visit the Promotions homepage of the Healthy Communities Framework to learn the definitions of marketing and the five steps to developing a promotional plan!
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- National Recreation and Parks Association. Communications Toolkit: Attracting Families to Your Youth Sports Programs [report on internet]. The Association; 2021 [cited 2023 January 14]. Available from: https://www.nrpa.org/siteassets/youth_sports_communications_toolkit.pdf
- Business Community [Internet]. 10 Fundamental Do’s and Don’ts of Twitter Etiquette; July 2022 [cited 2023 January 14]. Available from: https://www.business2community.com/twitter/10-fundamental-dos-and-donts-of-twitter-etiquette-0418451
- Hootsuite [Interent]. 25 Instagram Best Practices for Faster Growth in 2023; December 2022 [cited 2023 January 14]. Available from: https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-best-practices/
- Hootsuite [Internet]. 12 Common Instagram Marketing Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them); July 2022 [cited 2023 January 14]. Available from:https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-instagram-mistakes/#7_Posting_landscape_content