Legal Hospice of Texas

Social Media Marketing Project: August 8, 2011

Zayd Mabruk Anastasia Maston Daniel Peng

II. Background Section: Founded in 1989, Legal Hospice of Texas is a Dallas based non-profit organization that specializes in providing legal services to low income individuals who have been diagnosed with HIVdisease or who have a terminal illness. This organization works to provide legal services at no charge to individuals in the DFW Metroplex as well as its surrounding counties. Examples of the legal services one of their clients may utilize include: Preparation of a Will and/or a Living Will. Preparation of Medical or Durable Power of Attorney. Appointment of an Agent to Control Disposition of Remains. Declaration of Guardianship.

There are three requirements their clients must meet to receive these services: Clients must be diagnosed with HIV, AIDS, or other terminal illness. Clients must have legal needs that have come about as a result of their illness. Clients must reside in one of the 16 counties Legal Hospice of Texas serves. Clients must meet the income requirements set forth by the board of directors.

Legal Hospice of Texas Statement of Value: We are building a community in which people, regardless of health or economic status, have access to justice. Legal Hospice of Texas Mission Statement: Our mission is to provide timely and compassionate legal services to low income individuals with terminal illnesses or HIV disease.

III. Project Objectives: Upon meeting with Harvey Mireles and Pete Flores, both full-time staff members for Legal Hospice of Texas, we were able to determine what their current position was with regard utilizing Social Media Marketing, as well as what their desires were for taking this type of marketing to the next level. This organization already had a head start as they already had accounts established with both Twitter as well as Facebook. Their Facebook account at the beginning of this project had 420 followers, and they had 31 followers on Twitter. The key area of opportunity established was to continue their efforts of increasing awareness utilizing these channels on a more consistent basis, not only during times leading up to a big event, but also during the times in between events. Below are the objectives we determined would need to be implemented for Legal Hospice of Texas to effectively accomplish their goal of increasing awareness of their organization via Social Media Marketing: a. b. c. d. e. f. Increase followers on Facebook and Twitter. Increase awareness of upcoming events. Create/locate content to grow follower base/post content. Create staff /volunteer profiles to garner more volunteers. Revamp the events section on website. Increase email marketing activities by creating a database of member/donor contact information that is easy to update as needed. g. Create a testimonial video of someone who used the Legal Hospice of Texas in order to aid in increasing donor, follower, and volunteer base. This video can be used on the website, YouTube Channel, and on Facebook. h. i. Create a video that highlights The Legal Hospice of Texas and their work with Donor Bridge. Provide them with resources to explore to get an intern to assist as webmaster.

IV. Marketing Activity: For our group, upon choosing the organization we would be working with, we wanted to make sure we completed a thorough assessment of what channels of social media marketing Legal Hospice of Texas was already utilizing prior to meeting with Pete Flores and Harvey Mireles. This would allow us to obtain an unbiased first impression of the organization, much like a potential donor/volunteer/member would encounter when working to first learn about the organization. Listed below are some of the initial issues we determined. Legal Hospice of Texas Website: The website handles professionally; however, the content on the website needs to be updated. When we first reviewed the website there was information about an event that happened more than two weeks ago. The social media connections are at the bottom of the page as well as contact information creating an issue where those visiting the website, have to look extensively in order to find those connections. o Making the social media connections more dominate on the website could help increase the number of likes on Facebook, and the number of followers on Twitter. There is a staff section to the website; however, there is no content about the staff such as pictures, bios, and contact information. We dont know anything about who works there. o Adding content in this section could assist in building interest for the organization. For example, what brought each staff member to the organization, and why do they enjoy working for the organization.

The mission statement and statement of value are instrumental. But the problem lies in the fact that although the Legal Hospice provides great service, there is no record of that service on the website. o The website does have brief testimonials about the service of Legal Hospice of Texas; however, it would be beneficial to building emotional interest to have some of the testimonials elaborated upon.

Facebook Page: There is a sizeable number of likes; totaling 420; however, there is definite opportunity for this number to be increased. The information needs to be updated on a more consistent basis. Photos are lacking. There could be more albums of events, the actual workplace, pictures of volunteers in action, etc. Twitter: The set up looks great, but there is a lack of content and updates via twitter. Where are all the tweets? o Utilizing a resource such as www.hootsuite.com can assist in streamlining the process of tweeting on a regular basis. This service allows the organization to schedule when their posts on Facebook and Twitter will go out. This service is free right now. o Also, they can link up their tweets to simultaneously post on Facebook.

There is an extensive lack in followers as opposed to Facebook; only 31 followers while the Legal Hospice follows 48 pages. This is a significant gap.

Linked in: There is no page or activity for Linked In. There are only 4 employees who are part of the Legal Hospice organization on Linked In. o There needs to be some sort of page on Linked In where discussions can be had. This could definitely be beneficial when they are looking for more attorneys looking to donate their time to an organization such as Legal Hospice of Texas.

You Tube: There is a significant lack in content and the videos on the page seem like they have nothing to do with the core mission and value of the Legal Hospice; theyre fashion show videos. o The You Tube Channel could be a great avenue to explore for posting up to date video of client/volunteer testimonials, post videos about upcoming fundraisers and events, and to post footage from events that have recently taken place. The page was last updated in March of 2011 which signals a severe lack of content and updates. o The Fall season is full of events that Legal Hospice of Texas will be participating in. Now is a great time to start posting videos as to how the organization will be involved, and to post video clips of the actual events shortly after they been completed.

On July 21, 2011 our group met with Pete Flores and Harvey Mireles to discuss not only our findings, from first glance, but to also determine what their primary concerns were, along with what their

thoughts were on increasing their social media marketing activities. Listed below are the needs that were uncovered: A need to increase awareness via social media. A need to increase quality content. A need for consistency in regards to social media activity for all parts of the year. A need to keep their following informed, engaged, and involved.

After the meeting, we compiled our notes and built the creative brief to be delivered to Legal Hospice of Texas outlining the needs, objectives, and timeline we would all agree on. Due to the condensed timeline we would be working within, all parties agreed it would be most advantageous for our group to build a blueprint of recommendations that we could provide to Legal Hospice of Texas. This plan would outline the recommendations we as a group determined would be beneficial to the social media marketing cause, which could be rolled out and implemented by Legal Hospice of Texas on a timeline that best suits their organizational needs. This plan is to be delivered and discussed no later than Monday, August 8th 2011.

V. Results As a result of the format chosen for this project to be carried out, we do not have any immediate results to report. The blueprint of recommendations has been delivered to Legal Hospice of Texas, and it will be rolled out on a timeline to be determined by the organization. We are each committed to monitoring their progress by reviewing their website and various social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, etc) over the upcoming months. Upon the implementation of the Social Media Marketing Strategy we have prepared for Legal Hospice of Texas, they can expect to realize the following results: If content is consistently updated on the website, it will help drive website traffic and increase organizational awareness. By optimizing the links to the various social media channels on the website, the traffic to the organizations Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In pages will increase. Staff bios will provide a face to the company, thus boosting transparency, awareness, and make it easier for potential donors and volunteers to contact staff members. Testimonial videos will increase emotional interest in the organization and can also reduce the intimidation factor of seeking service. By utilizing www.hootsuite.com and Tweet for Twitter to streamline communications, a heavy burden will be lifted off the staff to keep up with both Twitter and Facebook. Consistently posting content on Facebook will entice more people to visit the page and spend more time learning about the Legal Hospice which will in turn boost the following. A boost in the number of tweets will signal an active organization who maintains an active Twitter page, thus boosting the number of followers. By continually updating the YouTube page monthly, Legal Hospice of Texas will see a rise in the number of viewers and eventually create a framework for a larger following.

VI. Suggestions for Improvement As a group, our only wish is that we had more time to work on this project. After learning more about what this organization does for our community, we felt fortunate to have the opportunity to help them increase their organizational awareness.