Today we are delivering this bitesize 'Connect and Communicate' digital training on behalf of Newark and Sherwood CVS. Were running these bitesize training sessions alongside our one hour ‘How to’ series of digital training. The bitesize and how two sessions will be run bi-weekly, as well as us running a monthly clinic where you can book appointments to ask topical questions.

In this session we will be focusing on the use of online social platforms to connect and communicate with others digitally.

What is being socially connected? When talking about social connections we are referring to maintaining digital relationships via digital platform i.e. social media. You might have heard of, or even have registered accounts with some of the bigger social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and more.

Alongside benefitting us on the personal level of ‘keeping in touch’. Social platforms can be of immense use to your community and/or voluntary group. Connecting on a digital platform with members of your group allows you to grow your online community. Helping to increase opportunity and find new members, by spreading your group's message and inform members or the general public.

The different platforms

There are a multitude of social media platforms that you can use to connect. Each platform hosts unique features that will be of varying value, depending on how you wish to socially connect. The best ones for social connectivity are Facebook (which we will be focusing on today), Twitter, LinkedIn, You Tube, Instagram and Pinterest.

Other platforms that can be used are messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Snapchat. Video broadcasting apps such as TiKToK, You Tube, Periscope. Photo based apps such as Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Flickr, and microblogging apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Google+. When choosing the right platform for you/your group, it is important to identify your community and what platforms they use or prefer.

As Facebook is the largest social media platform globally, this is the recommended place to begin building your online network. However, if you decide that you want to look into other social media platforms to build community, I would advise that you look at how you will navigate the specific features and functions of the platform to make it work for you and your group.

What is Facebook? Facebook is a social networking website which allows users to sign-up for free profiles, allowing you to connect with family, friends, work colleagues or other people you know online. It allows users to share pictures, music, videos, and articles, as well as their own thoughts and opinions with however many people they like.

Today we will be covering Facebook, owing to it being the most globally used social media platform. What sets Facebook apart from the competitors, is its popularity. At last check, Facebook boasts over 2.7 billion active users. Facebook is interactive, collaborative, and informative. With features such as:

Newsfeed: News Feed highlights information that includes status updates, profile changes, upcoming events, and birthdays, among other updates. This is the main stream of information on Facebook.

Likes and reactions: The like button enables users to easily interact with status updates, comments, photos, videos and links, shared by friends and advertisers.

Personal timeline: This is the page shown when viewing your own personal profile. It is the display of your Facebook activity such as status updates or shared posts. Information such as your Facebook friends, likes and photos appeared on the left-hand side.

Photo albums: This feature allows you to upload a group of pictures to your Facebook profile. An example for a Facebook photo album would be ‘holiday in Italy 2016’ or 'members meeting 2018'.

Private/public groups: Facebook Groups can be created by individual users. Groups allow members to post content such as links, media, questions, events, documents, as well as allowing them to comment on these items. Groups are used for collaboration, discussions, events, peer support and creating an online community.

Events: Facebook events are a way for members to let friends know about upcoming events in their community and to organise social gatherings. Events require an event name, network, host name, event type, start time, location, and a guest list of friends invited. Events can be public or private. Private events cannot be found in searches and are by invitation only.

Messenger: Facebook Messenger is an instant messaging service and software application. Facebook Messenger lets users send messages to each other. Complementing regular conversations, Messenger allows users to make voice calls and video calls - both in one-to-one interactions and in a group.

Possibilities of Facebook: You can use Facebook to facilitate many different group activities or conversations. For example you could use Facebook for exercise groups, sharing culture/music, games, finding other groups, hosting group activities, parties, and finding like minded people.

A Facebook Group is a place for group communication, support, and for people to share their common interests and express their opinion. They allow people to come together around a common cause, issue or activity. To organise, agree objectives, discuss issues, post photos, and share related content. Anybody can set up and manage their own Facebook Group, and you can even join up to 6,000 other groups.

• Any Facebook user can make a Group
• Some groups let anyone join but others might be private
• When joining a group, whether private or public, your Facebook friends might see that you've joined it
• Some groups are secret and can't be searched for, in which case a qualifying group member (Administrator) has to invite you
• Leaving a group will not notify the other members
• Only the creator of the group and anyone they make an Administrator has the power to invite someone to a group.

How to create a Facebook group

• Click in the top right + symbol of Facebook and select 'Group'
• Enter your group name, choose the privacy option, and then add people to your group
• Click Create
• Once you create a group, you can personalise it by uploading a cover photo and adding a description.

When speaking to and interacting with people you may know personally, it can be easy to forget to keep an element of privacy. The security of the internet can sometimes be compromised, including social media platforms. So it is always best not to share personal information on the site.

Do's and Don'ts of connecting socially online

• Don’t overshare private or personal details about yourself
• DON’T believe everything you read
• DO be positive. Social media can be used to boost your image and build connections
• DO use privacy settings and follow password recommendations
• DO share with the online community information about your group, so that you can connect with new members, other groups and the public.

Facebook Messenger also has a video calling feature. This is a topic we have covered in our previous ‘Connect and Communicate’ digital training sessions. If this is something that interests you, visit the video calling basics training link at https://spark.adobe.com/page/CxjCAwuzp3SaI/ for more information.

Facebook Messenger is a great tool for facilitating social connections and communication. Our next ‘Connect and Communicate’ session will look at online messaging. This is where we will look at how to use Facebook Messenger and what the benefits are.

Thank you very much for attending. We now have time for some questions and answers. If anyone has something they would like to ask, just type your question into the Zoom Q&A panel.