In their Social Media Handbook for HRDs Netherlands Helsinki Committee and Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights are sharing useful tips for effective communication on social media.
The Handbook (in Russian) is based on organisations’ experiences in the field and contains not only practical advices but also links to various useful sources (free photo libraries, online infographics and flowcharts makers, specialized online cources and many others).
As authors mention:
“Since 2015, we have been supporting civil society organisations in the eastern part of the OSCE region in the sphere of communication and outreach, including development and implementation of communication strategies designed to contribute to higher appreciation of human rights work by the general public. Thousands of new supporters were attracted on social media by partner NGOs, human rights topics were raised by mini-campaigns that vary from linking human rights to traditional values to promotion of human rights defenders.
While training and accompanying partner organisations, we have stumbled upon some common mistakes that NGOs commit in their social media presence (primarily, on Facebook). Most of us are (intuitively) aware what (not) to do, but it takes commitment and experience to implement it. Since overwhelming majority of organisations in the region do not have trained dedicated staff in charge of social media presence, we have prepared an accessible handbook in Russian with some basic principles and tips that will help to increase effectiveness of your team efforts on Facebook”.
Please share the document with NGOs and individual defenders that might benefit from it!
Also don’t hesitate to let authors know: hrd@nhc.nl if you would like to receive:
– an annex with examples of good and less good social media posts;
– a hard copy of the handbook.