Helpful Social Networking Tools for Inviting
While they don’t replace personal invitations, social networking sites can be good tools for widening your inviting “net” and promoting your event to the community. Try these on for size:
· E–mail – Great for getting the initial invitation and details out to many people at once. Just be sure to blind copy everyone and do personal follow–up a few days after the e–mail is sent.
· Facebook – This is multi–generational and is a fun way to create an event, post the details, and invite your Facebook “friends.” Don’t worry about this tool if you’re not already on Facebook-- chances are, someone in your group is. Create your event and connect to RESULTS. www.facebook.com
· E–vite – This is a free service that lets you create a custom event and do excellent tracking of guests, event updates, and more. Like any online tool, however, it requires offline follow–up www.evite.com
· Meet–Up – This is another service that allows you to promote an event and invite others to join, but it requires a) a maintenance fee to create a group, b) is more passive because people find your group on their own and c) anticipates that you will use the service on–goingly to manage an active group. www.meetup.com.
· Check out blogs in your local newspaper, your local chapter of Organizing for America, and other sites for active people in your community.
Sample Facebook Posts
Facebook posts can be long, and you can use them to link to relevant articles and even the RESULTS page or Global Campaign for Education Page. You can also create an Event, and post it on your personal profile with a few sentences about the importance of this event. Here are some samples:
“Did you know that 85% of a child’s brain develops by age five, before a child even enters school, yet over 200 million children worldwide under five can’t fully reach their potential due to lack of poverty and opportunity? Come join our RESULTS Chapter during the Global Action Week on Education to see how you can help all children get Rights from the Start with access to Early Education!”
“Take action during the Global Action Week on Education with RESULTS! Join our Chapter on <insert date, time, and location> to find out how you can take part in making education a right for ALL children!”
Sample Twitter Posts
Make sure tweets are less than 140 characters (with spaces) and have them be direct, and to the point. You can highlight a startling fact, ask a question, or link to research that shows how important early childhood education is. If you have a link to your event, put that in your tweet. You can go to tinyurl.com to shorten links so they can fit within your tweet. Also, you can simply tweet your event title, time, and place, or pair a startling fact with a method of contacting your chapter to give people more information! Here are a few examples:
“Did you know early childhood interventions have been proven ways to break the cycle of poverty? Join us in making Early Ed a right for all!”
“Want to help give all children access to quality education? Join us for our Global Action Week on Education Event! Contact me for details!”
“Did you know that 85% of a child’s brain develops by age five, before a child even enters school? Help make Early Education a right for all!”