Using social media to recruit, develop, and support resource families

1. AEA Conference | May 17, 2017 Pat Rhoads Social Media Specialist, AdoptUSKids Tracy Serdjenian Associate Director, National Resource Center for Diligent Recruitment at AdoptUSKids Using social media to recruit, develop, and support resource families

2. Who we are

3. Recruiting resource families on social media How do we get more resource families???

4. Recruiting resource families on social media Who to target • Cast a wide net: • Bring in families, then screen to best fit • Don’t forget your response system • Data on best families? Use to target your posts

5. Recruiting resource families on social media

6. Recruiting resource families on social media Image from http://ymarketingmatters.com/ How often to post? Varies by platform. • Facebook: • 4-7 times per week, evenings and weekends are best • Twitter: • 3-20 times per day, early morning, evenings, weekends • YouTube: • As content is created • Others you’re using? Instagram?

7. Recruiting resource families on social media Timing of posts – what is best? • First of all, keep it constant, and consistent: • Constant is relative – not necessarily daily • Experiment with time of day you post: • People on mobile devices means better engagement, often in non-work days and times • Leverage special times of year or events: • Holiday season’s emphasis on family brings greater interest • Post content to leverage that • Be sure content reflects children in your caseloads (age, race, etc.)

8. Recruiting resource families on social media What do you post to recruit? • Basic foster or adoption info • Inspirational stories, images • Upcoming trainings, etc. • Resources around parenting,esp. foster and adoptive Don’t overlook video…

9. Recruiting resource families on social media Ideas from the field • Use Facebook for family finding • Utilize “pay per click” Facebook ads for data-informed recruitment • Talk with older youth about using Facebook for child-specific recruitment

10. Recruiting resource families on social media Ideas from the field • Create a YouTube channel or videos that: • Share what it’s like to be a foster or adoptive parent • Provide general information about children and youth in care • Offer reasons to consider becoming a resource parent • Support targeted-recruitment efforts

11. Developing and supporting families Great, we have more families! …Um, now what?

12. Developing and supporting families What do you post to develop and support families? • Matching events, Heart Galleries, etc. • Success stories • Resources around parenting, esp. foster and adoptive (post-adoption and foster parent support) • Information about support groups, relevant Facebook groups, Buy Nothing groups (free supplies?)

13. Developing and supporting families Posting to recruit families is not enough • You can’t develop families if you ignore them: • Responding to comments and questions • Don’t forget direct messages (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) • Boils down to customer service

14. Developing and supporting families A good customer service example

15. Developing and supporting families Ideas from the field • Create a private Facebook group for resource families • Create a private Facebook group for waiting families • Create groups for specific populations or to address specific topics • Offer opportunities for two-way communication • Recognize the expertise of experienced resource families and the value of peer support

16. Developing and supporting families Responsiveness is key! • Ensure that your response system addresses social media inquiries • Provide accurate information in a timely and professional manner • Engage, develop, and support prospective families from the beginning

17. Discussion (5-10 minutes) • How is your agency using social media to recruit, develop, and support resource families?

18. Free (or cheap) tools Can you help me organize all this?!

19. Free (or cheap) tools Facebook • Free to post, respond, message, etc. • Free analytics • Good for images, video, and text • Private messaging • Can target your posts (paid) at VERY low costs • Paid ads also inexpensive

20. Free (or cheap) tools Hootsuite • GREAT for managing Twitter • Schedule posts/tweets • Monitor who replies to you, or mentions you to others • Communicate via direct messages (private) • Monitor hashtags, lists, and more https://hootsuite.com/plans/free

21. Free (or cheap) tools Social media “events”: • “Old school” Twitter chats: • Q&As with existing resource families • Virtual meet-and-greet with older youth • Facebook Live: • Q&As with existing resource families • Broadcasting from events

22. Free (or cheap) tools

23. Free (or cheap) tools Growing your following… on a (nonexistant) budget • Links from your website • Email signatures • Cross-promotion • Other digital properties, such as email lists? • Also, Google Alerts…

24. Systems-level considerations Policies and practices for resource families • Review existing confidentiality and privacy policies and practices: • How do they apply to social media? • How might social media be different? • Involve and engage stakeholders in creating policies and guidance and providing feedback • Support normalcy for youth in care • Address safety, privacy, and confidentiality concerns

25. Systems-level considerations • Provide clear policies, guidance, and information to resource families around their own social media use • Support resource families with social media use by children/youth in care • Engage staff, resource families, youth, and other stakeholders in discussing and understanding policies and practices: • Provide training • Offer resources • Engage in discussions • Know that it may not be “one size fits all”

26. Systems-level considerations Agency social media policy • Helps get leadership on board • Defines goals, tactics • Lays out communication chain • Defines actions for addressing negative comments, spam, etc.

27. Systems-level considerations Agency social media policy considerations – privacy • In child-specific recruitment: • First names only • No DOB, school, etc. • Watch for “inadvertent” identifiers, such as buildings in background, school apparel, etc. • Protect resource families too: • First names only • Don’t publish contact info • No work, home, etc., information

28. Systems-level considerations Agency social media policy considerations – logistics • Who is responsible for: • Deciding what to post, and when • Replying to comments, messages • Handling the “undesirable” stuff – negative comments, trolls, etc. • How do you deal with those “undesirables”? • Hiding off-topic negative comments is a great tactic • Existing families may respond on your behalf • Move contentious conversations to private messaging • Delete spam or scams, ban users

29. Additional resources • NRCDR – Is Your Response System Family Friendly? (131 KB PDF)http://adoptuskids.org/_assets/files/NRCRRFAP/resources/is-your-response-system-family-friendly.pdf • NRCDR – Using Customer Service Concepts to Enhance Recruitment and Retention Practices (852 KB PDF)http://www.nrcdr.org/_assets/files/using-customer-service-concepts-to-enhance-recuitment-and-retention-practices.pdf • NRCDR – First Impressions: The Power of an Effective Response System (webinar)http://www.nrcdr.org/webinars/response-systems

30. Additional resources • NRCDR – Using social media in recruitmenthttp://www.nrcdr.org/placement-stability-and-permanency/tools-and-resources/using-social-media-in-recruitment • AdoptUSKids – Social media and your foster and adopted teens http://www.adoptuskids.org/about-us/news-and-announcements/story?k=social-media-teens • Child Welfare Gateway – Social media in adoptionhttps://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/adoption/intro/social-media-adoption/ • NYMag.com – Using Facebook to find familieshttp://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/12/nycs-new-strategy-for-helping-parentless-kids.html

31. Q&A and discussion • Has your agency developed policies or practices related to social media use by the agency and/or resource families? • What questions or challenges have emerged in your agency related to social media use? How did you address them, or how are you working to address them? • What questions do you have for the presenters and your colleagues in the room?