posAbilities launches unique social media campaigns to help cultivate community of belonging
Michelle Strutzenberger
It’s a new world that aims to create a more cohesive community by blending community gardens and social media; and posAbilities is among the trailblazers.
Under the direction of Alisha Mann, network marketer for the community garden initiative Can You Dig It, posAbilities now has a 10-week campaign underway that is using social media channels to engage more people in its community gardens.
Featuring Leslie Ladybug, the 10-week campaign includes the release of two brief videos a week. One shares an inclusive gardening tip, and a second tagged “ask Leslie,” answers questions from community members about gardening, giving back to their community and how to make friends in the garden.
Twitter followers have jumped from 11 to 70 in about three weeks and the Facebook page already has over 270 likes.
The social media also appears to be working in terms of engaging more people off-line, says Alisha. Three people participated in a recent community garden event because they had read about it in the social media channels, engaged and then decided to get out and participate.
With eight weeks of the campaign left to go, Alisha says the hope is more people will engage, leave comments, ask questions and share their stories, all with the bigger purpose of creating this community of true belonging.
The Leslie Ladybug campaign is the first of two social media campaigns posAbilities is undertaking this year.
“As an agency we’re continually striving to find new ways and appropriate ways to deliver our information in a timely way to our employees and to invite their participation in all of the exciting initiatives that are going on,” says posAbilities director of community engagement Monique Nelson.
“Social media lends itself very well to this.”
The goal is also to connect employees with community-members more.
“We see (social media) as a wonderful bridge to connecting staff, persons served and families,” says Monique.
“Social media is no longer something that is quirky,” she adds.
“It’s definitely mainstream, and we feel it’s an essential way to reach out to all of our stakeholders. It’s an opportunity to build new relationships with people online that turn into offline relationships.”
And that is certainly happening, as another recent happened illustrates.
A community-member who is vegan and drinks water decided to attend a posAbilities beer and burger fundraiser, after connecting via Twitter and learning how the organization is aligned with his own life mission.
“That’s an example of someone we wouldn’t have met necessarily just walking down the street, but we’ve now made a true friend,” says Monique.
From a friend in social media, he’s become a friend in community who will no doubt be part of furthering the posAbilities community development vision.
The posAbilities website has a social media section where interested staff in particular can find more information and support for joining the organization’s social media activities.
PosAbilities also plans to continue providing training opportunities to staff and persons served on the use of social media.
On Twitter, join the conversation at either @posabilites11 or @canyoudigitca. Like posAbilities’ Facebook page here and the Can You Dig It Facebook page here. Find the recent Can You Dig It videos on YouTube.
Feel free to comment by e-mailing michelle(at)axiomnews.ca.
