Project Proposal
Background/Initial Research:
Dating and relationship violence is unfortunately a prevalent topic in today’s society. According to the Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ACADV), one in five, or 20 percent, of all dating couples report some type of violence in their relationship[1]. Because this statistic is so alarming, many organizations are forming to help prevent dating violence and educate teenagers about the signs and what to do. Thankfully, Safe Harbor has created a project to educate teenagers of the Upstate.
Safe Harbor is often known as a shelter in Greenville, SC for women and children who are victims of domestic violence. However, Safe Harbor does much more than simply protect those who have been abused. According to Safe Harbor’s Web site, one of their main focuses is to educate those in Greenville, Anderson, Pickens and Oconee Counties about domestic violence and how to help.
The most recent project Safe Harbor created to educate those in the Upstate is the Relationship Education Project (REP). According to Julie Meredith, REP was formerly known as The Megan Project, but the name was changed because the story of Megan’s violent relationship was outdated. REP was created in order to reach out to teenagers and educate them about dating violence in relationships of their age. According to REP’s Facebook page, REP has had success in reaching teenagers by visiting various high schools in the Upstate and presenting information on dating and relationship violence.
The Relationship Education Project, like all prospering projects, could use some help with getting its name out and reaching more of the target audience. REP’s Facebook page, for example, does not have any interaction between the project and teenagers. The only people whom REP “likes” and who “like” REP on Facebook are high schools in the Upstate that REP visits. The Facebook page also only has one picture- the REP logo- and only writes statuses about visiting high schools or hosting fundraising events.
Through my research, I have discovered that other domestic violence shelters and educational programs have Twitter accounts and extensive Facebook pages with multiple means of interaction. After searching Twitter, I discovered Safe Harbor’s account, but REP does not have a Twitter account or anything on their Facebook page that encourages interaction with teenagers. Other sites, such as the LifeWorks Relationship Counseling & Educational Service’s Facebook page, have posts that ask questions so their followers will respond and a conversation will begin on the page. Pictures and videos are also posted on the pages of other domestic violence shelter and educational programs, creating emotional appeal and responses from followers. What I have noticed the most about REP’s social media use is that they do not post or comment nearly as much as other programs. I have seen many Facebook pages of domestic violence education programs that post at least one thing every day, like the Dating Violence Prevention Center’s Facebook page. This allows the page to show up in the “News Feed” of the followers more often and then generate conversation.
Problem Statement:
Safe Harbor’s Relationship Education Project does not have much interaction occurring on its social media platforms between teenagers and the representatives.
Overall Goal:
As a group, we plan to start and increase interactions between REP and teenagers in the Upstate. We would love to see a two-way-flow of conversation between curious and educated teenagers and REP representatives. Our group also plans to create these interactions through REP’s online social media platforms.
Objectives:
· Increase the number of teenagers who “like” REP’s Facebook page by at least 15 people.
The first objective our group has for this project is to increase the amount of “likes” on REP’s Facebook page by at least 15 high school students. This objective is important because the more students that “like” the Facebook page, the more attention REP will get; and attention leads to interaction, our overall goal. Also, once someone “likes” REP’s Facebook page, REP’s posts will show up in their news feeds, reminding them of the project and dating violence- a big plus!
· Create a Twitter account for REP.
The second objective our group has for this project is to create a Twitter account for REP. This objective is important because Twitter is steadily becoming a popular social media outlet for teenagers. If high school students see REP on Twitter, they will assume the project is making an even bigger effort to educate teenagers and that relationship violence is, in fact, important. It will be just one more tool to show prevalence.
· Introduce incentives for teenagers to “follow” REP’s Twitter and Facebook after the speaker visits their high school.
The third objective our group has for this project is to provide REP with incentives to get teenagers to “follow” the Twitter and Facebook accounts after the REP speaker visits their high school. This objective is by far the most important because it will provide REP with the most interaction between teenagers and the REP representatives. If we can influence the high school students that they will somehow benefit from or enjoy following REP on Facebook and Twitter, multiple opportunities for interaction will open up.
Deliverables:
Throughout the process of this project, our group hopes to deliver to Safe Harbor and REP:
· 15 examples of Facebook updates and 15 examples of Twitter posts.
Providing Safe Harbor with 15 samples of potential Facebook updates and Twitter posts will be beneficial to increasing the interactions on REP’s social media platforms. The more interesting and prominent the posts are about the lives of teenagers today, the more followers REP will gain and retain. These posts and updates will all be relevant to current news stories and trends that high school students associate with. The posts and updates will include quotes, stories, photos, videos, and links to other domestic and relationship violence stories/sites.
· 15 other relationship violence educational programs’ Facebook pages and Twitter accounts that REP should follow.
Providing Safe Harbor with 15 other sites/pages of relationship violence educational programs that REP should follow will keep the representatives of REP who are in charge of the social media platforms updated and inspired. There are so many other relationship violence projects that have high interaction with their followers through social media platforms. Taking ideas from the projects’ pages on this list will help to increase REP’s interactions and get them on the right start.
· Two incentive ideas to influence high school students to follow REP on Facebook and Twitter.
Providing Safe Harbor and REP with two incentive ideas to influence students to go home after a REP speaker visits their high school and follow the Facebook and Twitter accounts will be very beneficial. Not only will the incentive ideas allow for more followers, meaning more interactions, but they will also keep the students thinking about relationship violence the rest of the school day and trip home. This is important because if a teenager is suffering a violent relationship, this incentive will cause him/her to contemplate seeking help more often than usual because they will have an incentive to take action.
Timeline:
· By the week of October 19, 2011, our group will: research REP’s social media platforms and create a list of weaknesses and areas of improvements.
· By the week of October 26, 2011, our group will: research other relationship violence educational project’s accounts and create a list of those accounts and their strengths.
· By the week of November 2, 2011, our group will: gather a list of 15 example Facebook status updates and 15 Twitter posts for REP.
· By the week of November 9, 2011, our group will: create two incentive ideas for teenage students to follow REP’s Facebook and Twitter accounts after a representative visits their school.
· By the week of November 16, 2011, our group will: present all of our research and materials to Safe Harbor and REP and answer all questions they may have about the social media platforms and our suggestions.
Success Metrics:
Seeing the outcome from all of the hard work always pays off in the end for both the client and the PR consultants. To measure the results of our suggestions and recommendations to REP, our group has established a few metrics. However, this project will be a continuing effort to increase the interaction on REP’s social media platforms, so the results will need to be observed into next semester as well. The success metrics include:
· Check the Facebook page of REP to see if 15 high school students have “liked” it
· Check Twitter to see if REP has created a successful account
· Check REP’s Twitter and Facebook page to see if they are following at least 15 other pages/accounts
Our group predicts that if REP implements all of our suggestions provided, within three months the three metrics above should all be met and the interaction on REP’s social media platforms will increase.
Using these success metrics will also help our group to determine what to do differently when continuing to increase the interactions on REP’s social media platforms.
Final Pitch:
Our group is determined to provide Safe Harbor and REP with enough Facebook and Twitter information to increase the interaction between high school students and the REP representatives on the project’s social media platforms. In order to do so, REP will need to take into consideration: all of the example Facebook and Twitter status updates/posts, all of the incentives to influence students to follow their accounts, and to follow the other relationship violence education programs’ accounts provided. I believe that we will be able to meet our goals and help out a prospering project in the Upstate.
[1]Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence. (2000). Retrieved from: http://www.acadv.org/dating.html#statistics
