Reaching out to rotaractors

I served almost every role imaginable in my 12 years in Rotaract in Australia, before I decided it was time to find a Rotary club. I was invited to join a club whose members were mostly over the age of 50 with the thought that I could inject some youthful experience into it.

But it didn't go according to plan, maybe I was a bit too rambunctious or overly enthusiastic (I was). Or maybe they weren't willing to change, even subtly (they weren't). I almost left Rotary altogether because I stopped enjoying it. I eventually ended up in another club, and I've been able to play a larger role in creating an environment that is engaging members of all ages.

Here are some of my insights into why Rotaractors make the best Rotarians!

WHY RECRUIT THEM?

For starters, Rotaractors make great members because they already know so much about Rotary. They've been educated in how Rotary works, what the structure is, what the main causes are, and they are trained in leadership [skills] that they can translate straight into Rotary. Equally important, they bring new ideas that can invigorate your club.

HOW TO RECRUIT THEM

The most important thing is investing time in their lives by: Giving them a role to play beyond simply attending club meetings - Ask them to serve on your board or on a committee. Partner with them on some of their Rotaract club's events. Sponsor them to attend a Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) weekend or to attend the Rotary International Convention. Over the course of a year or so, you are going to know who they are, what their experience is, what they are good at, and what they are willing to give, and these are the kind of people who will definitely join your club at any age. Involving them in a project - Offer a variety of projects so they can choose one they are passionate about. And be willing to entertain ideas they bring to the table.

It's important to really listen to them. Rotaractors want to feel like they are respected and that their ideas count. For example, draw on their skills with social media, fundraising or international development. Mentoring them - Most young adults are actually attracted to the idea of mixed-age clubs because they are able to benefit from the knowledge and experience of older members.

Strengthen the connection between Rotaract and Rotary International during World Rotaract Week (7-13 March 2022)

Article by Evan Burrell.

I’m ready for my close up!

Have you considered sharing short video content as a membership recruitment strategy?

If you haven’t explored short video to promote your Rotary club, you may be missing out on a perfect opportunity to connect with a wider audience over social media.

But, I hear you ask, is video really possible for my little ol’ Rotary club? Absolutely! Nowadays you don’t need professional gear, expert editing skills or software. You don’t even need to be super-confident in front of the camera – all you need to do is tell a story. When you look into the lens of the smartphone camera and you talk directly to your Facebook fans as if you’re in a room with them, this creates more intimacy and connection.

Film impromptu, personal videos to get some great engagement on your Rotary club Facebook fan page. Keep the videos short in length – one to two minutes is fine – and don’t worry about getting it just right, usually the first take is the best. So, what do you film? Film a real personal story that is unique to your club, perhaps the reasons why you joined. Film your members in action on a project; maybe even the process of how you cook the world’s greatest Rotary sausage!

Interviews are another great way to bring people to watch your videos. Perhaps after your guest speaker has spoken to the club take them aside and record a small summary interview about what they just presented. Remember, the more interesting and unique your interview is, the more likely people will share it across their own social media network.

Remember, though, not all video content needs to be produced by you; instead, guide your audience to videos that help communicate Rotary’s objectives. A search on YouTube will provide you with plenty of Rotary related video content.

Lastly, what do you want your viewers to do once they’ve watched your video? Present a distinct call to action, like: “Learn more about joining our club by visiting our website” or “Donate towards our fundraising appeal”.

As online video continues its huge rise, hopefully you’ll find plenty of inspiration about how you can use it to show off the best side of your club!

Article by Evan Burrell

A New Year Rotary resolution

It’s another new year, and with it come more decisions, responsibilities, and — more importantly — some inspiration.

A new year is a great time to make a fresh start for Rotary. So how do you get off to a good start? That’s a question many Rotary members ask themselves when January 1st rolls around. Some dive straight in and make a big SPLASH! Others ease into it a little more gently, hangovers not withstanding.

If you can identify with some of these New Year’s resolutions, you should be good to go for 2022.

Keeping your club in shape:

People often make New Year’s resolutions to live a better life. They might want to eat more healthfully or exercise more often to shed a few extra pounds.

You can make resolutions for your club for the same reason — to help it stay in tip-top shape for the coming year.

So ask yourself some important questions. Has your club grown in membership? How did your fundraising efforts compare with those of the previous year? Is your club PR getting better? Are you meeting your club goals?

A little bit of club exercise could make all the difference between a successful club and a sluggish one.

Re-engage:

Since your club thrives on the engagement of your members, it makes good sense to look at your projects and meeting structure and see where you can make some improvements.

Set some new goals to re-engage with your fellow members and the community.

Find out if your fellow members are happy with the club and its direction. Assess your club traditions: Are they a benefit to the club?

Make some personal resolutions, like bringing a friend to every meeting or telling more people about Rotary. The people you ask could make great new members, so tell the people you work with, the people you socialize with — even your family — that your Rotary club is a great organisation.

Mentor a new member. Do you remember your first few club meetings? Were they confusing? The new Rotary year could be your chance to help a new member get past that confusion and discover what Rotary, and your club, is all about.

The important thing to remember for this new year is to choose your resolutions, set some goals and a schedule for accomplishing them, and then make them happen!

Happy New Year! 🎉🎉🎉

Article by Evan Burrell

Using social media to show the lighter side of Rotary

I like to present a lighter, more fun, more humorous side to Rotary on social media. I find it grabs people’s attention, member and non-member alike.

I come up with new, sometimes silly, ideas that inspire people and make them laugh — like using photo editing software to post a picture of Paul Harris taking a selfie, or posting a video of Past RI President Ron Burton dancing Gangnam Style, or posting an eye-catching image using #WeAreRotary. It’s all meant to get a response or reaction.

We can use social media to show that not only are we making a positive difference in the world, but we are having fun doing it. This makes the idea of Rotary more relatable, especially to new generations, who may feel disconnected with some of the formalities of Rotary but are avid users of social media.

Posting inspiring messages, funny pictures, or fun facts gives Rotary members a chance to feel involved. But content needs to be sticky. Sticky content is content that people are actually interested in, want to share, and want to interact with. That’s critical to maximizing the impact of the message. And it must come from a personal and honest place.

I had a lot of fun way back at the 2014 Rotary International Convention in Sydney, Australia, taking thousands of selfies with Rotarians, Rotaractors, senior Rotary leaders, and even the pop vocal quartet Human Nature! I then compiled all the photos into a video and shared it over my social media networks. It generated such a great response from people who saw the convention in a different light. That little bit of extra fun and inspiration could be just what it takes to convince a person to start a project, knowing there is a huge network of supportive, helpful, friendly, and fun-loving individuals willing to help.

Social media also acts like a collective mind when it comes to sharing ideas and knowledge. Whereas before we might have had a roomful of Rotarians eating tasteless chicken, it’s now possible to promote an idea by posting it on Facebook and have it seen by huge numbers of members all over the world. Without having to eat a bite!

In the end, all we are trying to do is use social media to connect and have FUN. I have incorporated this into Rotary and my life. Social media to me is, by definition, something that has no bounds. But we should also do our best to empathize the good qualities of our organization in a way that helps others relate to us as approachable, positive, and fun.

If you would like to connect with me on social media, you can find me on Facebook, Instagram at @changemakerevanburrell

Article by Evan Burrell

Marketing with memes

Are you looking for a fun way to engage people on social media? Have you considered using humorous memes in the marketing of your Rotary club?

Ok, but… what is a meme anyway?

A meme is an image, video, piece of text, etc., typically humorous in nature, that is copied and spread rapidly by internet users, often with slight variations.

So why should you use a funny meme in your social media content?

It can be hard nowadays to get users’ attention as they are scrolling through their newsfeeds, but marketing with humour and familiar pop culture imagery can engage potential followers.

On social media, memes usually take the form of a GIF or static picture playing on a familiar theme, meaning or phenomenon, often with text layered on top of or over the image.

Across all industries, more established companies are using memes and humour to build community, relate to their audience, and stick in their followers’ memory. This can be a great way that your Rotary club can be relevant to a new audience.

Memes are funny, and that helps foster community among your followers. They create a sense of belonging because your audience can relate to the situation you refer to, and everyone’s in on the same joke.

If you can make your audience laugh, you’ll attract followers and help viewers relate to your club.

Because memes are often related to a current trend or event, they can make your club more real, modern and human. Memes appeal to contemporary or cultural events that your viewers know about, which feels authentic and fresh. This content serves to bring a community together and makes your club seem more relatable, especially if you are trying to target millennials.

The key is to be authentic and not overly conservative. Edgy content demonstrates that your club has a personality and unique voice to set you apart from everyone else.

Once you have an idea of the content your followers are interested in, make relatable jokes and move quickly to comment on relevant fads and cultural trends.

Many popular brands are using memes as an effective marketing strategy. But, like most creative processes, trust your instincts on humour. If you don’t think a meme you’ve created is funny, interesting or insightful, your Facebook page audience probably won’t either.

It is vital for our clubs to find new ways to be relatable in the digital world, and using humour is a sure-fire way to achieve that.

So, go forth and be a meme machine!

Article by Evan Burrell.

Need a boost?

Are you confused by Facebook’s many advertising options and how to choose the right one for your club?

Do you know that when you pay to boost a post you could potentially reach over 300,000 plus people?

Understanding the options of boosting and promoting various posts can help you make better budget decisions.

I’m sure you’ve heard the news that Facebook has changed their algorithm again, and that means it’s probably decreased the reach and views of your own Rotary club’s Facebook page. This means that to be seen in your community’s news feed, you may need to spend a little bit of money on a Facebook ad.

But you don’t need to pay to boost or promote every single post you put on your Facebook page. Just choose the best posts made up of your own content – and the best ones show a vibrant, happy club in action.

Boosting a post is very easy to do and available for any post on your page’s timeline. All you need to do is click “boost post” in the lower right corner of your post. It’s that simple!

When you decide to boost a post, you have the option to choose either pushing the post to “People who like your page and their friends” or “People you choose through targeting”. The targeting option is usually a better option, because it lets you select which people you want to reach, as well as their location, age, gender and interests. You’ll also be able to set your budget, which can be very cost effective.

If you do boost a post, be clear on what you want to achieve. Are you wanting people to come to an event, or is it just a general awareness advertisement?

The ability to reach a vast, targeted audience at such a low cost is revolutionary. So, why don’t you give it a go?

Article by Evan Burrell

How to delete a doppelganger

Has someone pretended to be you or a friend of yours on Facebook? It can be a horrible experience when you realise, can’t it?

But how can someone just impersonate you on Facebook, I hear you ask?

It’s easier than you might think. Setting up a new Facebook account with a name the same as yours, or a very similar name, is pretty straightforward. Then, all they need to do is find a profile picture of you, go through your friends online and start posting to them or the world at large.

Of course, your close friends and family will usually spot that something isn’t quite right and call out the ruse. It can be a bit of a distressing experience, though, especially if the imposter posts deliberately nasty content.

Thankfully, there are steps that can be taken to have these evil doppelgangers removed and to protect your online reputation.

Facebook provides a quick way to report accounts that you think are impersonating your own. To start the process, go to the imposter’s account and click on the three dots to the right of the message box in the cover photo section at the top of their page.

A drop-down menu will appear, from which you’ll need to select “Report”.

A new window will appear with three options. Select “Report this Profile” and follow the onscreen instructions. Facebook will then investigate the imposter’s behaviour and hopefully remove their account very quickly. It is also a good idea to change your own profile picture and check the security settings on your account.

If you’ve been a victim of account impersonation on Facebook or any other social media site, then be sure to report it as quickly as possible. Let your online friends know what’s happening, and not to add or interact with this new account, as it is probably a fake.

Fear not, though, these social media giants like Facebook do have safeguards against this sort of identity fakery, so don’t let this turn you off from your own enjoyable experience of using social media.

The safety measures to report these fakes are there for your protection, so don't be afraid to use them.

Article by Evan Burrell

When trolls attack: How you can protect yourself online

When you hear the term “troll”, what do you think of? I suppose most people would think about three Billy goats trying to cross a bridge!

However, the troll now takes a slightly new form. In today’s lexicon an online troll, or simply troll, is a malicious person who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages or spam online, such as a comment on a Facebook post, an anonymous email or another online discussion forum. The primary intent is to provoke other users into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal online discussion – hence the term “trolling”.

Does your social media account get negative comments? Or do you unintentionally post negative comments yourself? How you respond to trolls can impact on you and your club’s reputation.

Here are a few tactics that may help you defuse the negative situation in the best possible way.

1. Don’t give them the satisfaction: Retaliating, commenting and reacting will give the troll the satisfaction of knowing you saw their nasty comments. Ultimately, once they realise they’re not going to get a reaction, they’ll move on.

2. Report or delete: Some trolling that takes place can be highly abusive and offensive. Occasionally, trolls even make threats to people. In these instances you should be reporting them. Facebook makes it easy to report a nasty comment and they won’t know it was you that reported them. Remember, though, there is a thin line between being free-spirited and opinionated and being a troll, so you may just want to delete a comment.

3. Set boundaries: If you have a troll problem or want to make sure you don’t run into one, set some personal or club guidelines on social media. The goal isn’t to completely remove all negative comments and photos etc., but the guidelines should be reasonable (for example: no abusive language, no harmful remarks, no bullying) and not too harsh so as to stop people from engaging with you.

4. Be nice: Treat all your friends, fans, followers and trolls kindly. In most cases, trolls are looking for a reaction, so don’t turn to angry mode on social media. The worst way to deal with a troll, hater or even just a disgruntled person is to be combative or sarcastic. Whether you respond to the trolls or report their doings, you should always be professional and pleasant on your social media.

Remember, “Don’t feed the trolls”; keep your cool when the going gets tough and you’ll make the online experience a safe and fun place for everyone.

Article by Evan Burrell