SOCIAL MEDIA REFORM: MIRACLE MESSAGES

This past summer, I interned at a San Francisco nonprofit called Miracle Messages, which seeks to reconnect homeless individuals with long-lost friends and family. It’s a wonderful cause, and I was honored to play a part in the work they did. I was brought on as a Social Media Intern, and was essentially given free reign to transform their Instagram page into a more sleek, marketable environment. There were a few major transformations that I decided to make from the start.

More graphics: Looking at the Instagram pages of major nonprofits (Greenpeace, Habitat for Humanity, etc), I saw a huge array of colorful infographics, and photos with bold text and graphics overlaid. A major part of transforming Miracle Messages’ Instagram was to inject some colors and visuals.

A wider variety of content: Before I started at Miracle Messages, the majority of their social media content were “reunion videos” of homeless clients and their families. These videos are truly touching, and I made sure to keep them in the mix, but I also realized that there needed to be more types of content. I decided to add motivational posts, holiday celebrations, and more promotional material to the stream.

A posting schedule: Before I got started, I looked back over Miracle Messages’ Instagram to see how often they posted. I found that there was an uneven rate of content - there would be a dozen posts for June, none for May, and three or four for April. Going forward, I wanted to get on a regular posting rate of 1-3 photos a week, along with at least one reunion story.