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Patriot PAWS Research Report

Emily Crosbie, Brooke Spencer, & Zain Dewsi

WRIT240: Writing for Social Media & the Web

Module 5: Assessment of an Organization

April 5, 2019

Patriot PAWS and Their Use of Social Media

Abstract

    This paper reviews the foundation known as Patriot PAWS and was created to assess the organization’s proficiency as operating social media as well as promotions via the internet. Recognizing that social media has gain exponential traction over the last decade, it has become important for companies to stay abreast on various online platforms. Due to this, Patriot PAWS has developed an online presence using social medias such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter in order to inform the public of their mission, progressions, and so on. It is through this that an analysis can be conducted to see both the advantages and disadvantages when compared to other similar organizations in the state of Texas. In the end, findings showed that despite their prominent presence on social media, Patriot PAWS fails to stay current by not having an accessible website and to make it user-friendly. Thus, it has been concluded that recommendations could be made for more efficient use of texts; a stronger online presence; and the use of subheadings.

Introduction

    In 2005, founder Lori Stevens established Patriot PAWS Service Dogs: a foundation built off of donations in lieu of training and providing service dogs to retired veterans and others with mobile disabilities for free! Working with large companies like PepsiCo and Purina Pro Plan, they are able to place service dogs all across the United States while also providing volunteer and training programs for inmates or college students to partake in. With their partners, they hope to engage in their community’s diverse demographic while promoting a positive cause among all.

Methodology

    Using an interpretive analysis based on assessment of websites and social media posts, the purpose of this research was to analyze and assess Patriot PAWS’ use of promotion and social media. Using various research styles and secondary sources, researchers were able to dichotomize the website and social media publications and compare them to other similar foundations in the community. This in turn will be able to help inform the organization of what strategies they should implement to improve their platform and social media presence.

Findings

    Patriot PAWS has a prominent online presence across multiple social media platforms website such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, in addition to their own website. Posts are uploaded on social media on a daily basis to continuously engage with the online community. However, since posts are usually only made once per day, the online presence does not become too annoying. Patriot PAWS makes good use of their social media to offer constant updates on promotions, puppies in training, activities going on to engage the public, as well as day-to-day happenings with the organization. The organization is committed to informing and updating the community about their movements using seasonal newsletters which allows donors and other potential investors to see where the funding is going.

    While Patriot PAWS is committed to maintaining an online presence, they do not receive much community engagement. Compared to competitors in the state of Texas, such as “Hounds for Heroes,” Patriot PAWS has fallen behind with less followers, and interactions with public. There are not many responses to Patriot PAWS’ posts, but they will respond promptly when there is an interaction from the community. Personality shines through with use of amusing emojis, photos, and hashtags, on social media platforms. Hounds for Heroes has a much more usable website comparatively and easier access to information with larger print to catch audience's attention. The Patriot PAWS website has many links to other social media platforms as well as for donations, but the social media link buttons are not very noticeable or big enough on website for sharing, and no explicit sharing button anywhere on website. Similarly, links to donation options, newsletter subscriptions and current events posted are available, but can be easily missed.

    Finally, while it is clear that Patriot PAWS makes an effort to maintain their online presence through multiple platforms, their branding is not consistent across all of their social media. For example, photos are different between websites pages, and social media profile pictures. Thus, some aspects of their social media presence are quite good but there are lots of areas for improvement.

Discussion

    After a thorough analysis of the Patriot PAWS online and social media presence, it is clear that the visual components of their website are in need of an overhaul. The text formatting and layout of the website could benefit from some redesign, especially in terms of the size of links and text. Patriot PAWS could also make more use out of search engine optimization (SEO) to improve web traffic. Specifically, the on-site aspect of SEO which involves keyword optimization to allow the website to be seen and noticed by search engines. The organization has good use of hashtags and emojis to try and engage audience on the social media platforms, but could be more consistent in their daily posts, and perhaps a higher frequency as well. By posting more promotions and events, Patriot PAWS may be able to compete with similar organizations in Texas.

Recommendations

    Using the study’s results, 4 final recommendations can be made to improve Patriot PAWS online presence:

-More efficient use of text on website: larger print for headers and social media buttons can be more present. This can be done using contrasting colours on the website or by having a larger font. 

-Making sure to use optimal language: SEO (search engine optimization) will bring more visitors to the website through the use of keywords and backlinking to other sources or related information.

-In order to keep up with competitor’s online presence, Patriot PAWS should be working to help build their online platform and brand recognition. By doing so, their website should be able to gain more traction which will ultimately lead to more donations and recognition as they grow on a larger-scale.

-By organizing the website with different subheaders at the top, it will help visitors be able to navigate the website and make things like the donation button or their mission statement more accessible. As of now, it can be found only be scrolling to the bottom of the page making it difficult to find if someone is not as tech-savvy.

Conclusion

    Patriot PAWS has a fairly decent online and social media presence. They have made a consistent effort to engage with the public and spread awareness for their organization. However, their level of consistency has not been enough to keep up with similar organizations in the same area. There are four main areas of the Patriot PAWS online persona that require some changes. They need to make more efficient use of text on their website, as well as optimizing their text for the on-site component of search engine optimization. Next, they need to continue to improve their social media presence with more consistent and frequent posts to keep up with competitors. Finally, the website could be better organized to make for a more pleasant user experience. Overall, Patriot PAWS is on the right track to building a strong online presence and should continue to gain attention from the public if they make a few changes.

Bibliography

“Chapter 14: Visual Design.” The World of Writing: a Guide, by Kate Mangelsdorf and Evelyn Riggs. Posey, Longman, 2011.

“How Traditional Companies Are Using Social Media in Unexpected Ways.” The Globe and Mail, 12 May 2018, www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-marketing/traditional-companies-use-social-media-in-unexpected-ways/article17564456/.

“New Patriot PAWS partnership to Help Connect Veterans With Service Dogs.” Blue Ribbon News, 2017, accessed 1 April 2019, https://blueribbonnews.com/2018/11/new-patriot-paws-partnership-to-help-connect-veterans-with-service-dogs/.

“Our Mission.” Patriot Paws Service Dogs, accessed 1 April 2019,  https://patriotpaws.org/.

“Patriot Paws celebrates 10-year anniversary with eight canine graduations.” Chron, accessed 1 April 2019, https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Patriot-Paws-celebrates-10-year-anniversary-with-12854026.php

Multimedia Used for Reference

KTBC Fox 7 Austin YouTube News Video “Prisoner’s help train Patriot PAWS Puppies 10/2016,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc9PfLmzak8.

Patriot PAWS Youtube video “Patriot PAWS - A Snapshot of Our Mission” https://youtu.be/nbY81ZJXa-I

“Patriot Paws celebrates 10-year anniversary with eight canine graduations” https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Patriot-Paws-celebrates-10-year-anniversary-with-12854026.php

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Social Media Assessment: Patriot PAWS (Part A, Person A)

Research Report: First Draft (Part A)

(Brooke Spencer) Person A

Organization chosen:

Patriot Paws (“The mission of Patriot PAWS is to train and provide service dogs of the highest quality at no cost to disabled American veterans and others with mobile disabilities and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in order to help restore their physical and emotional independence”).

Social Media Audit/Pros & Cons:

PRO: Presence is prominent on multiple social media platforms (Facebook, website, Twitter, and Instagram), and there are buttons on website that link to each network.  Multiple promotions on social media, but also constant updates on puppies in training, activities going on to engage the public, as well as day-to-day happenings with the organization. Not many responses to Patriot PAWS’s posts, but will respond promptly when there is an interaction on the organization’s post. Personality shines through with use of amusing emojis, photos, and hashtags, on social media platforms.

PRO: Posts are uploaded on social media almost every day (usually only once) to continuously have audiences engaged. Not to the point where prominence online is annoying, and is constantly engaging with use of personality.

CON: Brand is not consistent between each platform (only see logo on website, and photos are different between websites pages, and social media ‘profile pictures’)

CON: Social media link buttons are not very noticeable or big enough on website for sharing, and no explicit sharing button anywhere on website. Links to donation options, newsletter subscriptions and current events posted are available, but can be easily missed because of small wording posted and other promotion is at bottom of website.

CON: Compared to competitors in the organization’s state (Texas) such as “Hounds for Heroes”, Patriot PAWS has fallen behind with less followers, and interactions with public. Hounds for Heroes has a much more usable website comparatively and easier access to information with  larger print to catch audience's attention. For Patriot Paws I could not find any information on when/how it was founded, where as with Hounds for Heroes I was able to find the information within seconds.

Patriot PAWS website: https://patriotpaws.org/ 

Hounds for Heroes Webpage: https://www.thedogalliance.org/hounds-for-heroes

Skeletal Draft of Report Through Sections:

Part 1: Preliminary Material

Title

Patriot PAWS and Their Use of Social Media

Abstract/Synopsis (bullet points will need to be expanded upon)

The research presented was designed to inform viewers of the organization Patriot PAWS and how they operate their social media as well as promotions via the internet. Both advantages and disadvantages can be presented through an analysis of Patriot PAWS’s website, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and comparison to other similar organizations in the state of Texas. This paper will demonstrate the ways in which Patriot PAWS effectively utilize social media to facilitate their own work, while simultaneously outlining the shortcomings in the organization’s use of social media.

Prominent presence on social media, but website design can be improved

Patriot PAWS needs better promotion, and use of website/sharing post options

Part 2: Body of Report (point form for skeletal draft)

Introduction/Literature Review

Patriot PAWS trains and provides service dog

No cost

Dogs are given to vets and those who have disabilities

Purpose of research is to analyze and assess Patriot PAWS’s use of promotion and social media

To inform the organization of what strategies for promotion work, and what needs improvements

Methodology

Interpretive analysis based on assessments of websites and social media posts

Qualitative based

Use of research/secondary resources to analyze website/social media publication(s)

Results

Advantages

Presence is prominent on multiple social media platforms (Facebook, website, Twitter, and Instagram)

Small buttons on website that link to each network.  

Multiple promotions on social media, but also constant updates on puppies in training, activities going on to engage the public, as well as day-to-day happenings with the organization. 

Not many responses to Patriot PAWS’s posts, but will respond promptly when there is an interaction on the organization’s post. Personality shines through with use of amusing emojis, photos, and hashtags, on social media platforms. 

Posts are uploaded on social media almost every day (usually only once) to continuously have audiences engaged. Not to the point where prominence online is annoying, and is constantly engaging with use of personality.

Brand is not consistent between each platform (only see logo on website, and photos are different between websites pages, and social media ‘profile pictures’)

Disadvantages

Social media link buttons are not very noticeable or big enough on website for sharing, and no explicit sharing button anywhere on website. 

Links to donation options, newsletter subscriptions and current events posted are available, but can be easily missed because of small wording posted and other promotion is at bottom of website. 

Compared to competitors in the organization’s state (Texas) such as “Hounds for Heroes”, Patriot PAWS has fallen behind with less followers, and interactions with public.

Hounds for Heroes has a much more usable website comparatively and easier access to information with  larger print to catch audience's attention.

For Patriot Paws I could not find any information on when/how it was founded, where as with Hounds for Heroes I was able to find the information within seconds.

Discussion

Visual components can be improved to enhance media/website optimization

Keywords and SEO (search engine optimization) are lacking to grab audience’s attention

Difficult to compete with other organizations that offer the same thing in the same state (Texas in this case). Organization must stand apart from crowd.

Good use of hashtags and emojis to try and engage audience on the social media platforms, and consistent usage of social media platforms.

Conclusion

Modifications to website, and suggestions to make information more accessible to public will enhance performance online, as well as promote organization on a larger scale

Recommendations

More efficient use of text on website: larger print for headers and social media buttons can be more present. Perhaps a different colour and bigger font can be incorporated. Use of wording to engage public audience will help: SEO (search engine optimization) will benefit with use of keywords and backlinking other sources/related information to promote and engage audiences

Part 3: Supplementary Material

Bibliography

“Chapter 14: Visual Design.” The World of Writing: a Guide, by Kate Mangelsdorf and Evelyn Riggs. Posey, Longman, 2011.

“How Traditional Companies Are Using Social Media in Unexpected Ways.” The Globe and Mail, 12 May 2018, www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-marketing/traditional-companies-use-social-media-in-unexpected-ways/article17564456/.

Multimedia

Patriot PAWS Youtube video “Patriot PAWS - A Snapshot of Our Mission”

https://youtu.be/nbY81ZJXa-I

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