SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PROJECT

KEVIN SURYADHARMA
 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PROJECT BRIEF

Since its inception in 1965, South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) has established itself

as an umbrella organization working within the community, providing opportunities to enhance

self-sufficiency and create a safety net for short-term and ongoing support. With 2 auxiliary

divisions, SMOC is a federally designated community-based poverty alleviation organization

serving MetroWest Massachusetts and beyond.

As a multi-service agency, SMOC holds a unique position, offering integrated community-based

services recognizing the complexity of individuals' and families' lives and the interconnectedness

of their needs. As a Community Action Agency (CAA), the organization consistently seeks to

foster self-sufficiency through community advocacy at both local and statewide levels.

Unfortunately, despite its significant presence, impact, and influential mission, the organization

lacked an empowering brand identity and visual representation. This led to a lack of clarity in the

public's understanding of the organization's purpose and the positive changes it brings to the

community. This skewed perception worsened during a civil rights case between South

Middlesex Opportunity Council and The Town of Framingham, concerning the relocation of one

of its substance abuse shelters.

SUCCESS METRICS

It became crucial for the organization to regain the public's trust to deliver better services and

expand its reach. Recognizing the pivotal role of branding as the initial touchpoint for donors,

service recipients, government officials, and the general public in supporting the homelessness

alleviation mission, the organization should initiate a comprehensive rebranding effort upon the

commencement of the new strategies, specifically to diversify and increase funding streams.
 THE APPROACH

Rebranding a legacy brand with a rich history and varied perceptions demands a strategic

approach backed by extensive research. Additionally, various brands operate intricately under

SMOC's umbrella. Each group of brands/departments has its director and a marketing associate

responsible for their communication strategies. An overarching identity needed to be developed

by understanding both internal and external brand perceptions. This process aimed to establish a

unified direction for the brand's progression and form a robust identity adaptable to the

subsidiary brands.

BRANDING AND MARKETING SCOPE

The organization recognized that this project would naturally evolve and continually progress. A

branding scope was formulated to immediately propel the brand forward, carefully selecting

items based on SMOC's most utilized and effective marketing mediums at the time:

• Brand Essence, Personality, and Positioning Statement

• Logo and Typography Revitalization

• New Website (UI and UX)

• Marketing Collateral Development and Photography Direction

• Fundraising Events, Publications, and Social Media Plans

• Fundraising Appeals and Future Communication Protocols

These elements need to be performed and the amount of positive interactions and direct (to

donation) conversion rates will be measured as a performance metric.

 RESEARCH PROCESS

Nonprofit branding is inherently emotional and rooted in familial history. To gather accurate

findings, studies focused on members closely associated with or receiving services from the

organization. A 4-month research process was led with the following research executions:

• In-depth interviews with 23 board members, the Executive Director, and 3 C-level executives

• Focus group studies with 10 employees ranging from program directors to administration staff

• Intercept interviews with service recipients/clients at the organization's office

• In-depth interviews with 5 major private donors and 5 foundation executives

• Brand benchmarking with global, national, and state-level humanitarian nonprofits

The extensive branding research aimed to comprehend the current perception of SMOC's brand

and anticipate the expected brand evolution. It also highlighted positive attributes and pain points

experienced by individuals in their interactions with SMOC.

FINDINGS

In-depth interviews unveiled a common understanding that despite employing over 800 staff

members and spanning generations, SMOC's brand lacked polish and scalability. The

organization's content marketing pre-rebranding resonated at an adolescent level, establishing

emotional value with a select audience but lacking the strategy to encompass all programs or

reach new audiences effectively.

The objective is to align SMOC's marketing strategy with the organization's size and maturity

level, transitioning from an adolescent level to a more sophisticated one. The brand identity

should authentically reflect the mission while driving engagement from existing and potential
audiences. Importantly, the brand strategy must ensure consistent identity across the

organization.

One significant step in the branding process involved gathering sentiments about the current

branding. Adjectives associated with the brand before the rebranding initiatives included:

• AGING/OLD

• UNRELATABLE

• OUT OF TOUCH

• CONFUSING (regarding independently run programs outside the SMOC umbrella)

• DULL

• CONTROVERSIAL

These findings were unsurprising as marketing, branding, and communications were not

prioritized. However, since 2014, SMOC recognized a significant increase in funding from

private and foundation donors, prompting a shift toward delivering emotionally resonant values

to these potential donors.

Moreover, when asked about the desired future portrayal of SMOC, commonly mentioned

adjectives were:

• FRESH/YOUNG/FRIENDLY

• COMMUNICATIVE

• TRUSTWORTHY

• APPROACHABLE
• PASSIONATE

• COMMITTED

BRAND APPLICATIONS AND MARKETING MATERIALS

To this day, most of SMOC's marketing activities are still conducted through print mediums.

Therefore, the focus was on strengthening every aspect of the organization's print marketing

executions. Comprehensive brand guidelines should be developed for SMOC, starting from a

more emotionally driven photography direction to ensuring consistent visual presentations across

different surfaces and increased advertising frequency.

 ONLINE MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

The organization had been perceived as

unrelatable, out of touch, and controversial.

This perception arose due to the minimal

communication the organization had with

communities, leading to obscurities

regarding the organization's activities and its

actual positive impact. To address this, the

organization should open a conversation

forum through established social media

accounts. Additionally, a monthly newsletter

needs to developed as the agency's news

outlet, serving as a platform to understand audience behavior and an effective means to reach

potential donors in new communities. Heat mapping tools can be utilized, and A/B testing should

be conducted to understand the content most likely to engage recipients and effectively convert

active engagements into online donations.

A NEW SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN

The new Campaign Theme for South Middlesex Opportunity Council: "Home Sweet Hope".

Most of these strategies will be implemented on SMOC’s Facebook and Instagram handles as

they are the two crucial social media avenues that bring most revenue to the organization.

1. Storytelling Through Humans of SMOC: Create a series of heartwarming and inspiring

stories featuring individuals who've been helped by SMOC. These "Humans of SMOC"
 posts share personal narratives, showcasing resilience and the journey from homelessness

to stability.

2. Challenge Campaigns: Launch interactive challenges encouraging community

involvement. For instance, a "Sleeping Bag Selfie Challenge" where people share selfies

wrapped in a sleeping bag, tagging friends to do the same, spreading awareness about

homelessness. For each participation, pledge to donate a sleeping bag to someone in

need.

3. Behind-the-Scenes Tours: Offer virtual tours of SMOC facilities, showcasing the day-to-

day operations, success stories, and introducing staff members. Use live streams or

interactive Q&A sessions to engage the audience and answer questions in real-time.

4. Engaging Polls and Quizzes: Create polls or quizzes related to homelessness statistics,

misconceptions, or local community issues. For instance, "Did You Know?" polls about

homelessness facts or quizzes about understanding the challenges faced by homeless

individuals.

5. Interactive Fundraising Events: Organize virtual fundraising events like a "DIY Shelter

Challenge" where participants build miniature shelters using household items and share

their creations on social media. Encourage donations for each entry, with prizes for the

most creative shelters.

6. Collaborations and Takeovers: Partner with local influencers, artists, or celebrities for

Instagram takeovers or live sessions discussing homelessness, advocating for SMOC, and

sharing personal stories or skills that align with the cause.

7. Visual Impact Series: Share visually stunning infographics, short videos, or carousel

posts breaking down complex issues like the root causes of homelessness or success
 stories of individuals who've overcome it. Use vibrant graphics and engaging visuals to

make the information easily digestible and shareable.

8. #ThrowbackThursday Stories: Share nostalgic posts about SMOC's history, milestones,

or impactful moments, celebrating the progress made and encouraging followers to

contribute to the ongoing journey.

9. Community Spotlights: Highlight local businesses, volunteers, or organizations

supporting SMOC's cause. Encourage followers to patronize these businesses or

volunteer, fostering a sense of community support for the cause.

10. User-Generated Content Campaign: Encourage users to share their acts of kindness

towards the homeless community, whether it's donating clothes, volunteering time, or

even sharing uplifting messages. Feature these submissions on the organization's social

media channels.

Infusing positivity, storytelling, and interactive elements into the content can foster engagement,

educate the audience, and inspire action towards homeless alleviation efforts.

WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT TO COMPLEMENT SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

SMOC's website had undergone two major redesigns, but it still failed to deliver the core visual

identity of the brand. This was mainly caused by the lack of defined structure and framework of

how the brand visuals should be executed. The problem was also magnified because there were so

many staff who were in charge of marketing executions, causing many mismatched presentations.

As this organization started its rebranding journey, it became the main developer that initially

produced the brand visuals, starting from the website. The organization should ensure that the

visual concept is strong and replicable for future applications.

During intercept interviews with service recipients, inquiries were made about the participants'

pain points when accessing services from SMOC's website. They mentioned frustration when they

were trying to find information and steps to receive services; most of them gave up and decided to

call the number instead, occasionally clogging the phone lines. Insights were gathered from the

program directors who felt that the website was so unorganized that they would rather just make

phone calls or emails.

These alternative routes the users take during their journeys defeat the main purpose of SMOC's

website, which is to deliver concise service information and self-explanatory next steps to assuage

case workers' workload. This organization should tackle the problem by introducing new ways of

displaying information, cataloging services into 6 service core areas, and reducing clicks to get to

a specific service page. Two cogent routes for users to quickly arrive at their desired service page

can be engineered. A/B testing should be conducted with the same interview participants.

Considering most of the service recipients are not tech-savvy, the aim should be to ensure the

routes provide easy maneuverability and their micro-interactions enhance user understanding.

BRAND AUDIT

To ensure the consistency and natural evolution of SMOC's branding, biannual brand audits

should be conducted involving several program marketing associates within the organization. All

marketing articles, collaterals published within a fiscal half-year, and future marketing plans will

be gathered and evaluated to assess uniformities and variances. This evaluation is aimed to

identify areas for improvement, whether in typography, color choices, photography direction,

marketing frequency for maximizing reach, or enhancing marketing vendor relationships. This

exercise will facilitate the visual and essential advancement of SMOC's brand from its initial

establishment.