The Wonderful World of Social Media and How to Get Your Chapter There

The Wonderful World of Social Media and How to Get Your Chapter There

So you want to create a LinkedIn account for your Chapter, but don’t know where to begin. We here at NAJA can help. After you’ve read and memorized our delightful treatise entitled “NAJA Social Media Guidelines” and have shared it with your Chapter, we’re happy to help you begin.

What are you waiting for? Let’s get started!

LinkedIn: www.LinkedIn.com

What is it?

LinkedInstrengthens and extends your existing network of trusted contacts.LinkedIn is a networking tool that helps users share information about your Chapter.

Why use it?

Establish and grow your presence by building a Company Page (Junior Auxiliary Chapter Page): JA Chapters can highlight their mission and objectives while also engaging supporters by creating a LinkedIn Company Page. Your Company Page allows you to easily post status updates, share news, find volunteers, grow your community, and stay in touch with your followers.

Find volunteers (Recruit Junior Auxiliary members): With 300M+ registered professionals and 82% interested in volunteering, LinkedIn is the best place to post opportunities for joining Junior Auxiliary. Posting about recruitment opportunities on LinkedIn will position your Chapter in front of relevant professionals who are interested in donating their skills and expertise to a nonprofit.

There are two ways you can set up an account for your Chapter: 1) as a Company Page or 2) as a Group.

How to get started with setting up a Company Page:

You can only set up a Company Page if the Chapter has an email address associated with the Chapter. Ex. . You cannot use a Gmail address.

The member creating your page must have a personal LinkedIn account (they are free). The member will go to their Home Page and hover over the “Interests” link in the top bar. Click the “Companies” link in the drop down box that appears. On the far right of your page, a yellow box appears. Click “Create.”

After you click Create, you will come to this screen:

Type your Chapter Name (“Junior Auxiliary of ….” ) under Company Name and the email address for your Chapter representative. Make sure you write this information down in your notebook for the next person who will handle this account.

After you click Continue, you will receive an email from LinkedIn, and it will walk you through how to finish setting up your Company page. You will then add your Chapter Description, History, Logo, Images, and any other pertinent information you want to share. Here is a great tutorial on how to set up your Company page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfS-hB4nqo4.

Regarding your logo, you can use your local JA logo or the official NAJA logo that can be found at and downloaded from our website: http://najanet.org/view/15

After your Chapter page is created, invite LinkedIn members to follow you!

Remember to post pictures, articles, upcoming events, etc. to build your content and gain more followers and ultimately Chapter supporters.

NOTE: Regarding pictures, make sure you review your Chapter’s policy on using pictures of any children. You must have permission from parents to use pictures of children.

*If you don’t have an email address with your Chapter domain, you can instead build a LinkedIn Group.*

Why use it?

Your Chapter can create a branded LinkedIn Group in order to grow a community of individuals interested in your cause. Think of it as a community sponsored by your organization.

How to get started setting up a Group:

From the top navigation bar, go to the “Interests” link and then click the “Groups” link in the drop-down list that appears.

You will see your Groups page with the main section and a Create a Group button along the right side of the screen. Click “Create a Group.”

Now you begin uploading information for your Chapter. The first step is to upload the logo for your Chapter.

LinkedIn requires a logo. Regarding your logo, you can use your local JA logo or the official NAJA logo that can be found at and downloaded from our website: http://najanet.org/view/15

The file format must be PNG, JPEG, or GIF, and the memory size of the logo cannot exceed 100KB. Click the Browse button next to the logo box. In the Choose File dialog box that opens, locate the logo file on your computer so LinkedIn can upload it; then click Open.

Provide your Chapter information and settings, including Chapter name, summary, description, type, website URL, manager email, whether you want people to automatically have access to join or be pre-approved by you or another manager, and whether you want your group visible on your member's profile pages.

You have only 300 characters in your group summary, so choose your words wisely.

Since your Chapter is located in one geographic region, select the appropriate check box.

This is important for networking with other members in the same area.

Read through the Terms of Service, and then select that check box.

At this point, you should see a page where your logos and information are uploaded and ready for review.

Click the “Create a Group” button to create your group on LinkedIn.

If you want your group discussions to be visible to everyone, click the “Create an Open Group” button. If you want your group discussions to be visible only to members, click the “Create a Members-Only Group” button. Either way, after you click that button, you're taken to the newly-created home page for your new group, and your request is submitted.

You should see your newly-created group page. Your new group is ready for members!

After your Chapter group is created, invite LinkedIn members to Join!

Once you have your group set up, here are two great features:

Email your LinkedIn Group.

One of the perks of managing a LinkedIn Group is the fact that you can literallyemailthe members of your group --up to once per week. These emails take the form ofLinkedIn Announcements, which are messages sent directly to the email inboxes of group members (if they've enabled messaging in their settings). This is a prime opportunity for generating leads from LinkedIn, particularly if you've built up a robust group of users.

Poll your LinkedIn Group.

In addition to emailing, you can alsopollyour group members. Just go to the group (it's up to group managers to decide whether everyone can publish polls regardless of group membership), and in theDiscussionsection of a group, click the poll icon (it looks like three horizontal lines) within the discussion composer.

In addition to having a Company Page and/or Group, ask your membership to promote your Chapter:

Your members, board members, and supporters are already your strongest advocates. For those who have a profile on LinkedIn, encourage them to add LinkedIn’s Volunteer and Causes section to their profiles so they can showcase their service and champion your Chapter across their professional networks simultaneously.

Date Created: February 2015