Assignment 5- Research Report
Table of Contents:
Introduction………………………………………………………………………..1
Methodology………………………………………………………….……….……1
Results…………………………………………………………….….…………….1-4
Discussion…………………………………………………………………….…..3-4
Recommendations/Conclusion……..…………………………………….4
References………………………………………………………………………..…..4
Introduction
The Red Cross is a humanitarian non-profit organization that works to ensure respect for human life and minimize human suffering. The organization is part of one of the largest humanitarian networks in the world and has a series of ongoing initiatives locally and internationally. Volunteers and staff at the Red Cross work to provide critical services, from emergency and crisis relief to disaster aid (Paquin 2017).
As one of the leading humanitarian organizations in the world, the Red Cross requires a social media presence that reflects their overall success. Currently, the Red Cross’ primary target audience is potential employees, volunteers, and donors (Dozier 2014). Effectively targeting this audience on social media is imperative, as the organization needs this support to continue to fulfill its objectives.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkkkAxbOjns
Methodology
In order to conduct this report, we reviewed the Red Cross’ presence on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. To perform this audit, we used the information learned in WRIT240 in addition to our own previous experiences with social media. With this knowledge, we analyzed each platform, taking note of the following factors: post frequency, content shared, and level of engagement with users. In addition, we evaluated the overall aesthetic and visual appeal.
Results
Instagram Analysis
To date, the Red Cross has an Instagram following of over 19,600 people. The organization mainly uses this platform to share photos of their relief missions, blood donations, and other related initiatives.
https://www.instagram.com/redcrosscanada/
Strengths
-The organization often personalizes their posts by sharing photos of their volunteers and including a short introduction about that individual in the caption. By sharing personalized content like this, the Red Cross is successfully humanizing their brand. This tactic is significant as research suggests when people can connect with an organization on a deeper level, they will feel more comfortable donating money to their cause (Balkhi 2019).
Weaknesses
-The Red Cross’ Instagram feed is not very unique or creative; it seems that most of the photos they share serve the purpose of educating their audience on their initiatives or cause. Although this is important, their feed lacks aesthetic appeal as most of the content shared is not visually engaging.
Twitter Analysis
To date, the Red Cross’ Twitter following is very strong with a total of approximately 155,000 followers. Their twitter feed is mainly composed of photos, links, videos and text tweets which are all related to their ongoing initiatives.
https://twitter.com/redcrosscanada
Strengths
-The organization is very active, posting regularly on this particular platform.
-The organization often retweets content from other Red Cross branches, sharing photos as well as information regarding their crisis or disaster relief initiatives. This is significant as it makes it easier for potential donors to access information and contribute to a particular cause.
-The Red Cross’ tweets are concise and to the point. All of the links included in their tweets are also shortened with bit.ly again to make communication easier and more organized.
Weaknesses
-Many different branches of the Red Cross have separate Twitter accounts. Rather than having one unified account, various accounts hold the title ‘Red Cross,’ such as Red Cross US, Red Cross International, and more. This raises concerns as these accounts seem to lack a coherent sequence or connection, which makes it difficult for the audience to easily access the particular account or information they may be looking for.
Facebook Analysis
To date, the Red Cross Facebook page has a total of 133,408 followers and 132,650 likes. The organization mainly uses this platform to share with the public a series of upcoming initiatives or events they will be holding.
https://www.facebook.com/canadianredcross
Strengths
-The content posted on this platform is relevant and informative. The organization often uses this platform to promote different Red Cross events, making it easy for potential volunteers to get information about how to get involved (Ciarallo 2014).
-The captions they include on their posts are also brief and clear, which is essential for engagement and keeping people easily informed.
Weaknesses
-The Red Cross is not as active on Facebook as they are on other social media platforms, as they only post once every day or every other day. Additionally, the audience is not very engaged with the content shared on this platform as it is clear most of their posts do not receive a lot of re-shares or comments.
Discussion
The Red Cross has a strong social media presence, but as results suggest, there is room for improvement. To maximize their online potential, the Red Cross must focus on improving their appeal on Instagram, making all their online platforms more coherent, and increasing their activity and audience engagement on Facebook.
Conclusion /Recommendations
The Red Cross should include more opportunities for audience engagement. Currently, their social media profiles are mainly a tool for them to post their own photos and information, but giving the audience a chance to contribute could increase engagement. For example, they could hold contests for the audience to post their own photos of their work with the Red Cross.
To improve their aesthetic on Instagram, the Red Cross should consider running campaigns related to their upcoming projects. By creating a campaign, the organization would post a series of similar videos and pictures and also create a custom hashtag to try to encourage others to get involved by sharing their own photos.
The Red Cross should try and improve their presence on Facebook by increasing their frequency of daily posts. To increase engagement, they could try and spark a conversation online by asking their audience a thought-provoking question or for their personal opinion on a particular topic (Goodman 2011).
To increase cohesion amongst all social media platforms, the same content should be shared amongst all. By doing this, the Red Cross would be able to maintain a consistent brand identity amongst all of their online platforms.
Overall, the Red Cross’ online presence is off to a good start; however, there is still a need for some improvement. By following these recommendations, our hope is that the Red Cross will be able to take their online presence to the next level.
References
Balkhi, Syed. 2019. “5 Things You Can Do to 'Humanize' Your Brand.” Entrepreneur. Retrieved April 1, 2019 (https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/325370).
Ciarallo, Joe. 2014. “How the Red Cross Uses Social Media for Disaster Response and Engaging Donors.” Medium, Salesforce for Marketers. Retrieved March 31, 2019 (medium.com/salesforce-on-marketing/how-the-red-cross-uses-social-media-for-disaster-response-and-engaging-donors-9e4e2f7d2477).
Dozier, Barbra. 2014. “The American Red Cross.” Barbra Dozier's Blog. Retrieved April 1, 2019 (barbradozier.wordpress.com/2014/08/27/the-american-red-cross/).
Goodman, Gail. 2011. “Three Ways to Spark Engaging Social Conversations.” Entrepreneur. Retrieved April 2, 2019 (https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/218165).
Paqui, Marie-Lise. 2017. “The use of social media in crisis and the new Facebook crisis centre.” Canadian Red Cross Blog. Retrieved March 31, 2019 (https://www.redcross.ca/blog/2017/11/the-use-of-social-media-in-crisis-and-the-new-facebook-crisis-centre).
