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Jewish Museum Milwaukee

Expanding Non-Profit Social Media Reach

Alexi Loomis

Cardinal Stritch University

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Abstract

The project objective was to gain insight into the power of social

media, and the impact of connections by understanding your target

audience. To do so, it was crucial to learn about Uncertainty Reduction

Theory in order to comprehend the driving factors of a successful

Facebook page. I was able to create a simple 12-step plan to help the

museum increase their Facebook reach, along with a 12-step

promotional radio campaign guideline.

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Organization Background and Needs

The Jewish Museum of Milwaukee is a non-profit museum that

celebrates the Jewish Community in Southeastern Wisconsin. The

Museum hosts a wide array of engaging and interactive displays of

Jewish history. The JMM (Jewish Museum Milwaukee) was founded in

2008 by Marianne Lubar, and is currently run by a Board of Trustees.

The museum is home to many exhibits, events, and education

seminars in which the community can learn more about Jewish culture

and history.

The Museum is committed to sharing this story and the life lessons

it brings with it, so that we may enhance the publics awareness and

appreciation of Jewish life and culture

(Jewishmuseummilwaukee.org).

As a class, we were able to sit down with a few of the Museums

leaders, to better understand their vision for their communication

materials, and social media. In doing so, we could then start to

analyze how we could use our knowledge of public relations, and

social media to enhance their audience and promote their events. In

this meeting, it was mentioned how the Museum would like to expand

their normal audience to a younger generation, the Millennials. In

order to reach this age group, (20-30 years of age) the Museum
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needed help with their Social Media platforms, which included:

Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. The Museum lacked

consistency with their social media pages, and desired advice on how

to garner more views and attention to these specific outlets. With this

information, I decided to gear my attention to enhancing their

Facebook page with a set of guidelines that could help increase their

Facebook reach and possibly bring new faces to the Museum. I was

also able to develop a promotional radio campaign in hopes that the

Museum could use their strong talk radio connections to draw

attention to the Museums upcoming exhibits and events.

Literature Review

In the process of researching Facebook, I found five articles that

correlated with the questions I was looking to answer. These article fit

in the categories of shareable content with earned media, radio,

expanding Facebook reach, and Uncertainty Reduction Theory.

Shareable Content and Earned Media

For the first article review, I examined an article entitled, Digital word

of mouth: motivating and engaging Millennials with shareable

content written by Amelia Adams at the University of Arkansas

Scholar Works program. I selected this article to help me better

understand what drives Millennials to interact with brands and

companies online.
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The motivation behind the research of this article was to

understand how to effectively engage with Millennials online, and to

recognize what tools are needed to do so. With the right amount of

social leverage, you can connect with Millennials and earn powerful

advocating for your brand. Adams notes, Millennials increasingly

crave genuine, customer focused information that content marketing

delivers. This is why smart marketers have begun entering the realm

of content marketing. Content marketing is a strategic approach

focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent

content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience (Adams,

2015). These content marketing campaigns usually include the use of

social media, blogs, company-brand websites, online communities etc.

Another large focus of this article was the idea of earned

media. Earned media drives the idea that online word of mouth from

consumers through shares, reposts, likes, mentions, hash tags,

reviews, recommendations on social media platforms are gold mines

for companies/brands. If your brand can be mentioned through the

social media pages of Millennials, your companys success rate of

interaction will be higher. Word of mouth information and shares on

social media is highly coveted by all types of brands.

In order for Adams to better understand Millennials on social

media, she conducted a 36-question survey among 260 Millennials,

and held in depth interviews with 2 local businesses. She examined the
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following themes from the perspective of both consumer and brand by

looking at:

1) Brand engagement via social media and online platforms

2) Motivation as a means of participation in earned media

marketing campaigns

3) The potential for share ability to propel earned media.

The conclusion of the survey was that Facebook was mostly used

among Millennials, with Instagram and Snapchat following. The brands

that were most followed used Instagram to reach their target market.

Before a Millennial would choose to follow a brand, the most important

factor they are looking for is quality of the content. Millenials want to

see that a brands posts are authentic, and visually engaging. Another

important factor was that a brand did not post too often. Posting too

often becomes overwhelming and your posts will be looked over.

The article stated that if a brand uses sales and promotions at

the forefront on their shared posts, Millenials are more likely to view

and share the page. In regards to earned media, it is crucial that

friends tag each other in posts so that it is then shared with more

people, and creates more traffic to company/brand site.

For my communication work with the Jewish Museum, I wanted to

take this idea of earned media, and the understanding of what dries

Millenials to interact with brands online, and implement it into my

project. My set of guidelines for the JMM Facebook, contains

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information on how to attract likes, and get shares within a targeted

group of people. I found it highly important to create visually appealing

and creative posts. It will be key to attract viewers by publishing posts

that will gather attention. I also believe that if JMM can enhance their

likes and shares among the community, they will have garnered

success with earned media. People are much more likely to trust

messages about your brand when they read or hear about it in the

media, than through a hard sales message.

Structural Features in Radio

For the second article review, I examined an article entitled,

Sounds like a winner: Examining structural features and basic content

in five years of award-winning radio. This article was written by

Sungkyoung Lee and used in a conference paper for the International

Communication Association. I chose this article to help me better

understand what makes a successful radio advertisement, in hopes

that I could use this knowledge to help create my own radio ads for

the Jewish Museum.

This article looks into the details of what makes a successful

radio advertisement and how to capture listeners attention. This

critique of radio delves into technical production, creativity/copy

writing and voice talent.

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In the content analysis, authors Lee and Kobach examined

award-winning ads voted on by radio mercury, and Production

Magazine. Their goal was to identify the basic structure and content

that the radio advertising production community recognizes as

excellent. The study also looked at the types of structural complexities

they contained, products they advertised, and whether humor or

sexual content was used as a creative strategy.

One of the many studies focused on two important features of

voice: voice changes and the gender of that voice speaking. It was

found that having too many voices in an advertisement causes for

cognitive overload. One study noted their findings of how higher

pitched voices make a speaker be perceived as less competent, less

truthful, weaker, and more nervous.

One study found that music and singing could help communicate

feelings and influence a listeners mood. Music made people feel happy

(or unhappy), and also affected emotion by using different tempos and

loudness. These can be important outcomes of advertising. Sound

effects also play a large part in the success of an advertisement. This

may consist of a door ringing, a thunderstorm, a clapping noise etc.

According to Lee, Sound effects have the greatest impact on imagery

and affective response compared to other imagery-evoking strategies

in radio advertising (Lee, pg. 32, 2007).

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When talking about the impact of humor, it was found that

listeners did in fact enjoy hearing humor. Studies found that people

prefer to get the facts of an ad with humor involved. The more

successful an advertisement, the more humor it contained. However, in

order for the ad to be effective, it must focus on the brand and the

intended communication; otherwise, humor can detract from the ads

value. In addition, humor works differently around the world and across

different audiences, which could limit the ability of a funny ad to be

used in a number of markets.

After reviewing this article and its findings, I can take what I

learned and apply it to my written radio advertisements for the Jewish

Museum. I can send a page of information on how to present the ad

and what might make that add successful. If we were to add some

humor, sound effects, and a deeper voice, maybe our add will generate

more interest in the museum itself.

Uncertainty Reduction Theory

In an effort to better understand how I could contribute to the

success of the Jewish Museum; I choose to read about Uncertainty

Reduction Theory in Communicating Under Uncertainty: Interpersonal

Communication, a scholarly article written by Michael Roloff and Gerald

Miller.
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Uncertainty Reduction theory was developed in 1975 by Charles

Berger and Richard Calabrese. It is one of the only communication

theories that focuses on the initial interaction between people prior to

communication. Berger believes that there are at least two kinds of

uncertainty that you face as you set out for your first meeting with

someone. The first deals with behavioral questions, and the second

focuses on cognitive questions aimed at discovering who the other

person is. This theory asserts the notion that when interacting, people

need information about the other party in order to reduce their

uncertainty. When people have gained more knowledge or information

on something, they are then able to predict the others behavior and

actions. This can be crucial in the development of any relationship.

In Uncertainty Reduction Theory, there are a series of axioms to

explain the connection between Bergers central concept of

uncertainty and eight key variables of relationship development. A few

of these variables include: verbal communication, similarity, and

shared networks. Miller writes, Verbal Communication: Given the high

level of uncertainty present at the onset of the entry phase, as the

amount of verbal communication between strangers increases, the

level of uncertainty for each interactant in the relationship will

decrease. As uncertainty is further reduced, the amount of verbal

communication will increase (pg. 127). This is important because are

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conversation begins, you can start to discover things about each other

that make you feel more confident in each others presence.

Similarities between each person will also help reduce

uncertainty. Miller writes, The more point of contact you establish with

a person, the more you will feel you understand her inside and out

(pg. 129). If people can see that you have shared connections, and

shared groups on Facebook, they are more likely to look at your page

over other Facebook pages without similarities.

Shared communication networks also help reduce any

uncertainty. If you have friends, family, co-workers in common, you are

more comfortable around a person, and more willing to open up with

them.

When relating these three variables to the Jewish Museum, it will

be crucial that we can help reduce any uncertainty the public may

have about the museum. In order to get Millennials through the

museum door, we have to first reach out on social media by creating

photos and hash tags in reference to Milwaukee and the Jewish

Museum. If we can start a simple conversation over social media

(Instagram post, Twitter, survey, asking a question), I do believe that

that could aid in reducing peoples uncertainty about the museum and

help in drawing attention to a place of unfamiliarity.

I also believe, that having the Jewish Museum create some sort

of dialogue on their Facebook page, could help to reduce uncertainty. If

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they can pose weekly conversation starters to the public on Facebook,

they are breaking down communication barriers of uncertainty.

Therefore as a class, it is important that we create and provide

the communication materials needed to reach Millennials. This will

include: press releases, social media photos/posts, panoramic video,

PSA radio; all materials that can help people understand the story and

mission of the Jewish Museum. It will be important that we drive home

the idea that anyone is welcome at the Museum. People may think that

because it is a Jewish Museum, that they will not have any personal

ties to it. We need to send the message that everyone can find value in

the museum even if you are not Jewish, seeing as most people in the

U.S. are products of immigrants.

Expanding Facebook Reach

For my third article review, I analyzed how the Jewish Museum

uses their Facebook page. For my background research, I wanted to

better understand how small businesses could use Facebook to reach

more people. I came across an article on meltwater.com entitled, 10

Easy Ways to Expand your Facebook Reach, written by Robert

Rydefalk. The article lists 10 easy ways to help get your Facebook

noticed. Rydefalk writes, Facebook Reach is ultimately the most

important metric on Facebook. If you dont know how to reach your

followers, you will fail no matter how many followers you have.
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1. The first way to expand your Facebook reach is to be personal

and funny. Rydefalk acknowledges that you should think of your

presence on Facebook as a performance. You are there to enlighten

and entertain. Make sure to showcase funny and quirk things that take

place at your workplace. Do something fun and unexpected. For the

Jewish Museum, this could mean posting interesting facts about certain

days in history, or sharing something about an employee that people

may find funny.

2. The use of hashtags is very important, and not just on Twitter.

Rydefalk writes, Hashtags today are everywhere and you need to

learn how to use them to increase your reach (Rydefalk, 2016). It is

important to understand what hashtags would be relevant to your

business. The article states, Youll also want to search for currently

trending (or viral) hashtags to see if you might be able to create a

connection (Rydefalk, 2016). The Jewish Museum could use hashtags

to increase traffic to their page. Whether it is on Facebook, or

Instagram, they should understand what hashtags garner more views

for their page. It is also important that you do not have an

overwhelming amount of hashtags per post. Pick ones that will stand

out and really relate to your message.

3. It is important to comment on blogs using Facebook

comments. Make sure to look around to associate relevant content to

your own interests and brand. If the blogs use Facebook comments, be
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sure to post a comment with your thoughts and opinions on the posts.

Make sure to link the comments to your business Facebook page.

4. Use call to actions in Facebook posts. Rydefalk gives the

example,

Like this post if you love pizza! Did you find this post insightful, Share

it with your friends (Rydefalk, 2016). Call to Actions can be a direct

marketing tactic, and a great way to engage with your posts and share

them with your friends. Doing so will increase your Facebook reach.

The Jewish Museum could greatly benefit by creating posts that spark

conversation.

5. Be sure to ask questions. Asking someone a question can be a

great way to engage that person. It can activate your followers, and at

the same time it can give you answers to questions that might be

crucial for your companys sales and marketing. Rydefalk writes, Keep

in mind that the goal of asking a question should be to start a

discussion. Be apart of that discussion and reply to followers

comments (Rydefalk, 2016).

6. Connect with other pages. By liking and connecting with other

companies you can improve your Facebook reach. This is also a great

tactic when decreasing uncertainty with people looking at the Jewish

Museum Facebook page. If people see that the JMM has connections in

common, people are more likely to look at the Museums Facebook

page.
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7. Be sure to use images. Use high quality images, quirky

images, images of clients and staff, and lastly, images that show the

joy that your company brings.

8. Take advantage of Facebooks promotion rules. Today,

Facebook has made it much easier for companies to post promotions

and contests on their Facebook page. Contests are a great way to

improve reach. You can incentivize your followers to comment on

posts, and interact with the company.

9. Use social media monitoring or Facebook insights. This allows

you to learn about traffic on your page. You can then see what posts

are drawing the most attention and learn what works and what doesnt

work for your brand.

10. Do your research and watch other companies. By looking at

other successful brands, you can start to understand what draws

views, and what people want to see.

This article gave me great insight into what draws people to a

Facebook page in addition to expanding Facebook reach. These tips

helped me in creating my 12-step Facebook guide for the Jewish

Museum.

Code of Ethics

In the creation of any communication materials, ethics need to

be a top consideration. In my literature research, I became accustomed

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to the National Communication Association Credo for Ethical

Communication principles published in 1999. Out of the nine principles

there were three that stood out to me and my personal code of ethics:

We advocate truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason

as essential to the integrity of communication.

We promote access to communication resources and

opportunities as necessary to fulfill human potential and

contribute to the well-being of families, communities, and

society.
We accept responsibility for the short- and long-term

consequences for our own communications and expect the

same of others. (natcom.org)

These three principles are the most important because they put

emphasis on the responsibility of communicators to put our best and

most accurate information out there. It is important that the material I

have completed for the Museum is honest, and sheds a positive light

on Milwaukee and the Jewish community. I also wanted to make sure I

was researching accurate information from the Internet, so that the

information I conveyed to the Museum was credible and reliable.

Communication Products
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For my communication products, I created two different sets of

guidelines that can be implemented to increase traffic and visibility at

the Jewish Museum of Milwaukee.

The first product I developed was a list of 12 tips geared towards

enhancing the Museums Facebook look, and communication with their

target audience. After researching several articles online and doing

content analysis on the JMM Facebook page, I compiled a list of the

most important steps to take when trying to reach a larger audience.

These tips and tricks consist of:

1) Creative, funny, or inspirational posts

2) Liking, commenting, and interacting with people on Facebook

page and other similar brands

3) The use of Facebook Targeting feature
4) Posting more videos
5) Keeping posts short and not over posting
6) Posting engaging content
7) Determining best days and times to post/keeping consistency
8) The use of Promoted Posts
9) Requesting feedback
10) Using caption contests or fill in the ______ blank
11) Asking people to share page through a competition
12) Encouraging photo tagging when at museum

These tips can be extremely beneficial to the Museum not only to

enhance their Facebook page, but also to help promote events/exhibits

the Museum.

For my second communication product, I developed a 12-step

promotional radio campaign guideline of for the Museum. When we

first sat down with Patty at the Museum, she had mentioned that they
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have strong ties to the UWM radio station. Knowing that the museum

was trying to expand their age group to the Millennials, I believed that

developing a promotional radio campaign guideline could greatly aid in

targeting larger audiences. This set of rules consisted of:

1) Mapping out your demographics

2) Appointing some who is experienced with marketing to lead

promotional radio campaign

3) Establishing a budget
4) Choosing time frame to run radio ads
5) Deciding how far you want radio promotion to reach
6) Creating short press releases
7) Making spreadsheets/list of radio stations to contact
8) Choosing radio station and number of ads you will be buying
9) Creating radio script
10) Reviewing ad before going live
11) Asking for schedule of ad placement to ensure station is

playing ads during peak times

12) Keeping track of radio campaign results

By following these guidelines, JMM will have an easier time reaching

their specific demographics, and can ensure that their message will

reach more people. By using the radio and the Internet, the museum is

able to promote their events more effectively.

Discussion

There were many challenges that I faced in the process of my

research and completion of my products. During my research phase, I

found that there was a lack of scholarly articles relating to Facebook

and social media in general. When I did find articles, they were

outdated and the information was unsubstantial. Social media is

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changing every second, and every day there is something new to be

learned. Therefore, I had to turn to websites that generated new social

media content daily, in order to obtain the research and facts I was

looking for.

Another challenge I faced with this project was not having

enough tasks to create substantial communication products for the

Jewish Museum. Since we were all working producing content for the

same non-profit, I found this a challenge because I felt as though we

were all limited on what we could individually offer the Museum. This

also tied into the fact that I felt we did not have a clear idea of how we

could help the Jewish Museum. When they originally had asked for

help, they had stated how they would like to have more social media

content to post on their Facebook, and Instagram. As a class, we went

ahead and provided many options for social media posts only for them

to come back and say it was not what they were looking for. In our

eyes, we were producing posts that were visually intriguing and would

cater to the Millennials (what they wanted). Unfortunately, they were

looking for us to only use photos at the Museum for the social media

posts. This was difficult for me to swallow because as much as we

wanted to help them, they were putting regulations on what they

wanted us to do.

Lastly, I felt a lack of interest in the Jewish Museum. Personally, I

wish I could have worked with a non-profit that truly needed our help.
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My hope was that at the end of this project, I could feel like I made a

positive impact, and that the non-profit would be open to all of my

material and suggestions. It would have meant a lot to me to work

with a non-profit that didnt have the financial stability like the Jewish

Museum.

Conclusion

Finally being able to reflect on the semester, I can say that as a

class, we tried to make the best of what we were given. I enjoyed

pushing myself to create good content on a personal area of interest. I

greatly appreciated working with a spectacular professor, and group of

students for my capstone project. I wish the best of luck to the Jewish

Museum in their future endeavors.

References

Adams, Amelia Ashton, "Digital Word of Mouth: Motivating and

Engaging Millennials
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with Shareable Content" (2015). Marketing Undergraduate

Honors Theses.

20.

Griffin, E. (2009). Communication, Communication,

Communication (seventh ed., pp.

125-137). New York, NY: Frank Mortimer.

Lee, S., Kobach, M., Koruth, J., Potter, R.F., Banerjee, M., & Wang, Z.

(2006). Sounds

Like a Winner: Examining Structural Features and Basic Content

in Five

Years of Award-Winning Radio Ads. Conference Papers

International

Communication Association, 1-24.

N. (1999, November). The National Communication Association Credo

for Ethical Communication. Retrieved February 25, 2016, from

http://www.natcom.org/

Rydefalk, R. (2016, January 1). 10 Easy Ways to Expand your Facebook

Reach. In

Melt Water. Retrieved April 4, 2017, from

https://www.meltwater.com/blog/10- easy-ways-to-expand-your-

facebook-reach/
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