Twitter is perhaps one of the fastest-moving social platforms. With hundreds of thousands of tweets being shared every day, maintaining visibility and driving engagement become key challenges for most Twitter marketers. Here are a few tips for your non-profit to make sure that its tweets don’t go unnoticed.

1. Share fresh, trending content consistently

The quality of content you share and the frequency of your posting activities are two important factors that determine the amount of engagement you’re able to drive on Twitter, or any other social channel for that matter. Take a look at UNICEF’s Twitter page and you’ll see that they’re rather disciplined with their posting – they share one tweet almost every two hours.

However, maintaining consistency and quality can be quite challenging, especially if you’re curating your posts and sharing them manually. Using content curation and scheduling tools like DrumUp and Feedly is a smart solution to this problem. These tools simplify the process of content discovery and save you significant time and effort in the process.

2. Use custom hashtags for dedicated campaigns

Custom hashtags are a great way to make your content more discoverable, while also creating a strong call to action around a campaign. When you use custom hastags, it also becomes easier to track conversations around them. As a result, you’ll be able to better monitor your campaigns and identify followers who are engaging actively with you. This also gives you an opportunity to interact directly with such followers by thanking them for their support or encouraging them to spread the word further.

3. Get your team involved in your Twitter campaigns

Additionally, custom hashtags also serve the purpose of SEO. Since search engines now index hashtags, using a custom hashtag consistently across multiple social accounts will help enhance organic search results. Tools like Keyhole and Hashtagify are extremely useful in tracking and monitoring hashtags.

Pushing content through employees’ or volunteers’ personal accounts can help you pull some weight on Twitter, particularly if you’re just starting off, or don’t yet enjoy a massive following. However, this can be a tricky terrain since not all of them may be willing to pitch in. You have to be careful not to coerce your team into retweeting or sharing your posts. Instead, just make sure that they’re genuinely interested in your campaign, and everything else will follow.

But it’s not always easy leveraging a large group of employees, volunteers and campaign partners to talk about your cause or campaign on social media. You need to make sure that there’s a unified message coming out of all these conversations. One way to do it is to issue broad guidelines that all your employees or volunteers should keep in mind when sharing any branded content. Design an employee/volunteer engagement program that focuses on how social sharing will benefit them. Keeping them in the spotlight will also help you retain their interest in the long run.

To read the full article please click here. 

This article was originally sourced from Social Fish here. 

Internet Australia, the peak body representing Internet users, welcomed the release of the NBN three year plan, which gives greater certainty to the market and to Internet consumers.

CEO Laurie Patton commented:

“Our members have genuine concerns about the viability of the ageing copper network which should not be ignored, but whatever technology is used, we need to make sure the rollout is undertaken as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Earlier in the year Internet Australia called on the Government and the Opposition to hold a bipartisan Digital Future Forum to create an agreed national strategy so that we become a leading player in the digitally enabled world economy. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten supported this but the Abbott Government didn't respond either way. So today we have renewed our call in the hope that Prime Minister Turnbull will agree to our proposal.

The Internet is not just about our economic future however, it provides a powerful platform for social good. This includes improved delivery of health services, especially in regional and remote

areas, and opportunities for innovation in the field of education”. 

2016 is the National Year of Digital Inclusion. We owe it to all Australians to build a fast, ubiquitous national broadband network that is open and accessible to everyone. 

Internet Australia chair, George Fong runs an ISP in regional Australia. He comments: 

“This three year plan will promote certainty, especially in regional and rural areas and allow local

councils to better develop economic and social strategies around broadband infrastructure. It’s as

much about reach as speed. Both are critical to the sustainability of regional and rural communities. Digital natives, as opposed to us (older) digital immigrants, make decisions about where they want to live and work based on accessibility to the Internet”.

This media release was directly sourced from the Internet Australia website here. 

Media contact:

Laurie Patton | 0418 777700 | ceo@internet.org.au

The Perth Convention Bureau’s (PCB) 2016 Aspire Awards are now open to individuals involved with not-for-profit associations who can apply for the City of Perth, the City of Mandurah and Giving West Scholarships funded by PCB under its Aspire Program. PCB is also pleased to announce the launch of the Telethon Kids Institute Award, open to staff at the Telethon Kids Institute. The aim of the Aspire Program is to assist the individual’s personal and professional development through attendance at a relevant international conference. The funding covers travel, accommodation and registration expenses to the maximum value of the award.

Application information and guidelines are now available at http://www.pcb.com.au/aspire; the deadline for applications is the 31st March 2016. 

A wide range of assistance and advice is available to help you apply, for more information contact PCB’s Director Stakeholder Relations, Tracey Cinavas-Prosser on +61 (0)8 9218 2925 or email aspire@pcb.com.au. A free workshop lunch will be hosted on 12th February 2016 at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. All interested parties are welcome to attend, for more information on how to register please visit http://www.pcb.com.au/aspire/aspire-events

The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA), the body that administers the self-regulation of advertising in Australia, has announced a revised definition of ‘advertising and marketing communication’ to include relevant direct-to-consumer public relations materials.

Material such as social media promotion, blogging and tweeting on behalf of a brand will now be captured by the AANA Codes, so that consumers can make complaints about this type of material to the Advertising Standards Bureau as part of the current system of advertising self-regulation.

Put simply, if it’s content distributed directly to the consumer that the brand can control – eg. it doesn’t go through a journalist working for a news organisation – it is advertising.

Brand owners will not be responsible for editorial content in traditional or social media which they did not produce or that they cannot control.

It’s a fairly common-sense definition, but until now the industry lacked a clear definition.

“Responsible advertisers are already taking the initiative and reviewing their consumer public relations communications against the AANA Codes, as it forms part of their advertising mix. This evolution aligns the AANA Codes with international standards and current practice among brand owners,” says Sunita Gloster, CEO of the AANA.

The AANA’s announcement was welcomed by the Public Relations Institute of Australia, with national president Mike Watson saying that it reflects and respected transformations in contemporary professional communication operating environments. “In addition to specialist communication with traditional publics, such as media, regulators, employees, investors, and so on, this evolution of AANA Codes reflects reality in that PR practitioners are now communicating directly with consumers more than ever before,” he says.

Mel Cullen, chair of the Public Relations Council, also approves of the approach, saying it provides members of the public with a clearer complaints procedure. “The AANA Codes ensure that when a member of the public has a complaint about marketing communication that is targeted at them, they can make a complaint to the Advertising Standards Bureau, irrespective of whether the material was produced by a public relations, marketing or advertising executive.”

The revised definition in the Codes will come into effect in 2016 and will apply to all AANA Codes and future codes.

This article was originally sourced from Marketing Mag here and was written by Peter Roper. 

Alzheimer’s Australia welcomes the announcement of $43 million in new funding to be shared among seventy-six new researchers for dementia research.

The Minister for Health, The Hon Sussan Ley said this commitment will support bold and innovative research ideas to tackle the huge impact of dementia and find ways of preventing and curing the disease that is currently the second leading cause of death in Australia.

Alzheimer’s Australia National President, Professor Graeme Samuel said “we are delighted to see such a significant investment into dementia research. With cost of dementia set to outstrip that of any other health condition by 2060, it is evident the pressing issue is to build capacity in dementia research, to ultimately reduce the burden of disease on the health system.”

This $43 million is part of the Australian Government’s $200 million commitment to boost dementia research. The NHMRC National Institute for Dementia Research will support the research fellows to ensure Australian dementia research remains at the forefront of international efforts to tackle this chronic disease and better support people living with dementia and their carers and families.

Professor Samuel continued, “this news offers over 342,000 Australians, whose lives are affected by dementia, new hope. We look forward to seeing this crucial contribution into dementia research translated into results to create a healthier Australia.”

This media release was directly sourced from the Alzheimer's Australia website here. 

For further information please contact: Bianca Armytage, 0407 019 430, bianca.armytage@alzheirmers.org.au 

At their recent Annual General Meeting members of the state-based Commercial Vehicle Industry Association of Queensland took the unprecedented step of unanimously approving the transition to a national mandate and the creation of a new national representative body to be called Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia. As a consequence, the CVIAQ will exit a federated body it has been a part of since 1986.

‘With the transfer of responsibility for regulation of the heavy vehicle industry from the states to the Commonwealth and the creation of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, our industry needs a strong national voice dedicated solely to the interests of our members,’ said CVIAQ CEO Brett Wright. ‘Unfortunately, within the old federation policymaking was in the hands of the passenger-car dominated motor trades associations.’

The vote was the result of an intense 18 month period of work which included attempts at reform of the old federation, a national consultation of members and industry leaders, creation of a robust business plan and the development and delivery of a communications campaign. CVIAQ was advised throughout by association consultants THINK: Insight & Advice.

‘We were in unchartered territory and we relied on the expertise of Randall Pearce of THINK to navigate our way through the myriad issues,’ said Wright. ‘He provided clear and wise advice at every step along the way to this terrific result,’ he said.

‘Many professional and industry groups complain that the old federated structures are no longer fit for purpose but don’t feel as if they have any options,’ said Randall Pearce, managing director of association consultants THINK: Insight & Advice. ‘Fortunately, Brett and his board exercised real vision and courage to bring about the change.’

Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia is designed to be a modern national association. Instead of state-based offices, HVIA will have three regional offices in Melbourne serving Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, in Perth serving WA and the Northern Territory and Brisbane serving Queensland, NSW and the ACT. ‘We are implementing a matrixed management structure where each national manager will be responsible for a national program as well as a geographic region,’ according to Wright.

To ensure that the new association is seen as a truly national organisation, the new offices in Melbourne and Perth will open on the same day on 1 March 2016. The board is already reflecting the new national character of HVIA with three new directors elected at the AGM from outside of Queensland. ‘Our board meetings will rotate through the regions and we will continue to recruit directors from across the country as we make the transition,’ said Wright. ‘Exciting times indeed!’

This media release was directly sourced from the CVIAQ website.

For more information contact: Brett Wright, CEO, CVIAQ, 0419 716 050 

Two of Australia’s largest independent, not-for-profit aged care providers today announced plans to merge into a single organisation capable of delivering more high quality services to more people every day.

Board Chairman of RSL Care, Mr Pat McIntosh, and RDNS Board Chairman, Mr Paul Montgomery, said the decision to combine strengths would give customers access to a comprehensive continuum of services from home nursing and support, through to retirement living and residential care.

“The Boards have identified this opportunity to create one trusted organisation enabling us to leverage our combined scale and experience. Working together we can deliver more health and wellbeing services for more Australians than we could possibly provide alone,” Mr McIntosh said.

“With a combined history of over 200 years of continuous service to the community, RDNS, like RSL Care, share a proud legacy of service to Veterans and their families. By joining forces we will deepen our commitment and further enhance our service to this important group.”

Mr Montgomery said: “Today marks the beginning of the journey to bring together two organisations with a shared mission and commitment to deliver high quality services, and to positively respond to the changing needs and expectations of our clients.

“Australia’s health and aged care sectors are experiencing unprecedented change. The move to consumer directed care, advances in technology, and the demands of an ageing population are transforming the landscape in which we work.

“These developments create enormous growth opportunities for RDNS and RSL Care and we can best respond to those opportunities by merging to become a bigger and stronger organisation.”

Crucially, the merger will be managed in a way that ensures total continuity of services for clients and residents of RDNS and RSL Care, plus stability for employees.

A snapshot of merged capability

• More than 6,000 staff plus over 400 volunteers
  
• Working with more than 25,000 customers every day
  
• More than 4 million home visits made to clients every year
  
• Provision of Veterans’ support to more than 22,000 people per annum
  
• Delivery of more than 25,000 episodes of care using telehealth
  
• An asset base of more than $1 billion and combined revenue of approx. $500M
  
• Combined reach and influence in communities across Australia, operations in New Zealand and a recognised presence in Asia
  
• Strong delivery in research, innovation and design with RSL Care complementing the industry-leading research conducted by the RDNS Institute
  
• A Registered Training Organisation courtesy of RDNS’ Education and Learning Centre
  

Stephen Muggleton, designated CEO charged with building the strengths of these two organisations into a single entity, expressed his conviction that the merger would bring significant benefits to customers, staff and the wider community.

“This is a complementary merger of two organisations from a genuine position of strength and compatibility,” Mr Muggleton said.

“By bringing together our expertise and research capacity, we can build our understanding of customer experiences and create innovative services that better support customers and promote independence.”

Mr Muggleton said the organisations were complementary in many ways, sharing a strong alignment and a deeply felt commitment to improving the lives of more Australians.

“We are not just adding two organisations together,” Mr Muggleton said.

“We are multiplying our capability and reach of service by bringing together two innovative and trusted organisations. The new merged organisation will be beautifully positioned to provide a range of flexible services to a growing aged population across Australasia. The broad range of clinical services also allows the organisation to provide practical solutions like chronic disease management, hospital avoidance programs, transition care and rehabilitation for Local Hospital Networks and Primary Health Networks.”

This media release was directly sourced from the RSL Care website here. 

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has recently launched its Strategic Plan for 2015-18.

ACNC Commissioner, Susan Pascoe AM, stated she was proud to be able to provide a strong sense of direction for the sector, the public, and ACNC staff.

“This plan sets our priorities and goals for the next three years,” Ms Pascoe said.

“As we move from the establishment phase, we are looking toward the next steps we need to take to continue to deliver on our objectives.

“Our priorities for the next three years are:

• Maintaining and enhancing public trust and confidence in charities
  
• Supporting charities to be healthy and sustainable
  
• Making it easier for charities by driving regulatory and reporting simplification
  
• Sustaining an independent, transparent and well-governed ACNC with positive culture and a strong customer service focus.”
  

Ms Pascoe said the ACNC was looking to build on the solid foundation it has set. Despite some uncertainty regarding its future, the ACNC has been focussed on implementing its legislation and building solid relationships with government agencies, other regulators and the sector.

“Notwithstanding some challenging circumstances, staff have been resilient and we have not wavered in our pursuit to establish a regulator that charities and the public can trust will act fairly, transparently and responsively.

“We’ve built the freely accessible Charity Register, available at acnc.gov.au/findacharity, that contains the information of about 54 000 charities, and we are committed to enhancing it further and keeping it up-to-date."

Ms Pascoe reaffirmed the ACNC’s commitment to working with other regulators.

“The effective performance of the ACNC is underpinned by collaborative relationships across government.

“We will continue working with other Commonwealth, state and territory regulators, and take a leadership role in best practice charity regulation nationally and internationally.”

Ms Pascoe also highlighted red-tape reduction as a key focus.

“The ACNC will continue to focus on red tape reduction by working with other jurisdictions and agencies,” Ms Pascoe said.

“Together we will reduce unnecessary and duplicative administrative requirements imposed on charities, and also minimise our own regulatory requirements where possible.”

The ACNC Strategic Plan 2015-18 is available at acnc.gov.au/strategicplan

Highlights of the ACNC 2015-18 Strategic Plan

• To develop a fully populated Charity Register with usable, accessible and accurate data.
  
• To analyse and report on charity data to demonstrate the contribution of the sector to the Australian community and identify sector trends
  
• To ensure a high take up of the Charity Passport by government departments to drive red tape reduction
  
• To develop and maintain a high calibre workforce that can effectively deliver the ACNC strategic priorities.

In 2015 Women & Leadership Australia is administering a national initiative to support the development of female leaders across all sectors.

From October 1 2015 the initiative will provide women in the professional services sector with grants for leadership development. More specifically, grant applications are open to women employed in the professional services sector at two levels. Please click on the preferred program link for details.

1. Senior Management and Executive level Women Leaders can apply for $12,000 Individual Grants to undertake the Advanced Leadership Program.

2. Women Managers can apply for $4,500 Individual Grants to undertake the Accelerated Leadership Performance Program.

Expressions of Interest

To request a Scholarship Grant Application Form or additional information please visit this website. 

Should you wish to discuss the initiative in more detail please contact Ian Johnson at the office of the National Industry Scholarship Program, Australian School of Applied Management on 03 9270 9016 or via ijohnson@asam.edu.au

Insurance & Risk Professional, the member magazine published on behalf of the National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) by content agency Mahlab Media, has won Association Magazine of the Year at the highly coveted Publish Awards. NIBA’s insurance content hub insuranceandrisk.com.au, created by Mahlab Media to drive thought leadership and community, as well as complement the magazine, was also named runner-up in the Business Website of the Year category.

The win marks the latest in a string of top industry awards, with the past 12 months seeing Insurance & Risk Professional and its wider content marketing strategy taking home no fewer than four wins at internationally renowned ceremonies the world over.

Mahlab Media’s MD Bobbi Mahlab says of the win: “The communications and content strategy we developed for NIBA is achieving its goals of creating thought leadership and establishing a valued resource for NIBA members. It has moved NIBA into the age of digital communications. We are delighted to be recognised on such an esteemed stage for our work.”

This media release was directly sourced from Mahlab Media.