DCH Communications Review
The DCH committee has recently been reviewing social media platforms used within the club. Two platforms are used currently, these are: Facebook (FB) and the Spond app. While many members are already signed up to both, some use only one or the other. Somewhat confusingly, the club has four FB groups (Public; Private; Senior Endurance; Photos) to which DCH members and non-members have varying access.
With so many pages (plus Spond) there is concern that key messages, particularly those regarding training, races and events, will be/have been missed and that members will not be able to engage as well as they’d like. This might mean they miss out entirely on participation or simply learning about the achievements of their fellow runners.
To address this issue, particularly the problems associated with FB, the committee has sought to rationalise and reduce the number of social platforms. As popular as it is, it’s felt that FB can’t be relied upon to convey timely or easily retrievable club messages. Spond offers a big improvement, providing direct messages to each club member, messages that persist indefinitely, can be accepted or declined, added to a calendar and retrieved easily.
It’s recommended therefore, that Spond be the platform used to communicate ALL club messages and coaching information, with particular regard to sessions, upcoming races and sign-up appeals.
It’s proposed that content on the club’s public FB page will be added solely by our Communications Lead (Steph Hall-Barron) to promote the club, showcasing training and race performances with photos and stories (it will also be the contact point with the club for non-members). DCH members will use the private FB page to interact socially.
The committee takes the view that the Senior Endurance and Photos FB groups can now be retired. Spond will be the platform on which all formal session information is communicated to groups.
Members’ photos can be uploaded to the private FB group, the Spond app and/or can be sent to Steph to be placed on the public FB page. Access to the senior endurance and photos page will persist until the end of April. Coaches should already be using Spond for all session information.
Members not currently on the Spond platform will need to sign up (there will be a guidance document created to help people do this). To ensure that only current DCH members have access to the private FB page, all members will be removed and will need to sign up again.
The anticipated result of this review is that members will be more reliably informed about what is going on in the club, and therefore more able to engage. Also, the website is being updated to act as a notice board for general information about how the club operates and what it can offer.