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Social Media & Mentoring
Social media and networking offer numerous ways to engage with volunteers, youth, and staff with your program. According to Wave VIII of the Mentor Michigan Census, the majority of mentoring organizations report using some type of social media, with the use of Facebook being the most common.
Mentoring organizations report using social media for a wide variety of purposes, including: event publicity (75%), recruitment (66%), success stories (59%), networking (54%), and communicating with current mentors (51%). More information can be found within the "Social Media Use by Mentoring Organizations" Mentor Michigan Wave VIII Census report.
Additionally, many of today's youth use social networking as one of their primary methods of communication and it can be a wonderful way of keeping the lines of communication open. However, social networking has the potential to blur boundaries and raise questions of safety and appropriateness.
The following pages provide youth mentoring programs with tools on how to best utilize social networking to support mentors and mentees, recruit new volunteers, and market their program. Feel free to explore these documents and share with staff, mentors, or those who represent your program.
Resources
Overview of Social Networking Tools - a summary of the types of tools currently available, descriptions, and examples of each.
Applying Social Networking Tools: Resources for Nonprofits
Tips for Using Social Networking to Recruit Mentors - tips for creating and maintaining an effective social networking presence for your program and reach potential mentors.
Social Networking Tips to Share with Your Mentors
Tips for Mentoring Programs to Share with Staff and Those Who Represent Them
Further Resources to Explore - articles, newsletters, reports, blogs, and websites providing information, resources, tips, and strategies for utilizing social media.