SIGMA KAPPA Voices Strong Hearts United. V Handbook for the Webmaster Chairma 2015 Sigma Kappa Sorority . Webmaster Handbook . page 2 FOREWORD "The purpose of Sigma Kappa Sorority is to provide women lifelong opportunities and support for social, intellectual, and spiritual development by bringing women together to positively impact our communities." Article II, Section 1 Sigma Kappa Sorority Constitution This purpose builds on the values of our organization: friendship, loyalty, service and personal growth, all bound by a promise. National council affirms that Sigma Kappa collectively can only grow through the prosperity of each individual chapter. Such prosperity must begin with sound and lasting leadership. Each chapter officer is provided a handbook designed to give her the information needed to perform the duties of her office and assist the chapter in achieving the Sigma Kappa Standards of Excellence. Serving as a chapter officer exemplifies Sigma Kappa's purpose and values. © 2014 Sigma Kappa Sorority Sigma Kappa Sorority Webmaster Handbook . page 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS The Alumnae Webmaster 4 Resources 4 Volunteer Assistance for the Alumnae Webmaster 5 The Webmaster's Role in Public Relations 6 The Fundamentals of Public Relations 6 Creating a Positive Image Online 6 Creating and Maintaining a Chapter's Website with the GIN System 7 Where to Begin 7 GIN System Login and Access 8 Website Setup Guide 8 Utilizing Social Media 9 Sigma Kappa Sorority Webmaster Handbook . page 4 THE WEBMASTER The Webmaster is responsible for developing and maintaining a chapter website based on the guidelines set forth by the Sorority in the Internet and Related Technology Policy, Panhellenic policies, university policies, and any applicable Federal, state, and local laws, especially those governing computer and telecommunication use, privacy and publicity rights, and defamation. The Webmaster may be elected or appointed by the chapter. The alumnae webmaster reports to the alumnae vice president of communication or chapter president. In light of these responsibilities, the webmaster must do the following: Read, comprehend and follow the Sigma Kappa Visual Standards Guide. Set goals for the chapter website. Create a chapter website based upon the goals and the specific documents mentioned above. Develop a maintenance plan to routinely update the chapter website with current chapter events and information. Work closely with the chapter's public relations chairman to leverage the website in the chapter's public relations activities. (i.e. include the URL on flyers, press releases, advertisements, etc.) Work with the alumnae VPM to utilize the chapter website in recruiting new members. Help chapter members understand that their personal online activity also reflects upon the Sorority and educate members about these policies and laws when creating personal websites or blogs, using social media, and using e-mail. Resources In addition to this handbook, the VPM should have the following resources to properly do her job. Many of the resources can be found in annual supplies on Live Sigma Kappa. Sigma Kappa Sorority Webmaster Handbook page 5 Resources and materials include: 1. Sigma Kappa Visual Standards Guide 2. Sigma Kappa Internet and Related Technology Policy, part of National Policy Handbook 3. A copy of applicable Federal, state, and local laws, especially those governing computer and telecommunication use, privacy and publicity rights, and defamation 4. A list of goals for the office 5. Chapter calendar 6. Community calendar of events Volunteer Assistance for the Alumnae Webmaster Alumnae chapters have a volunteer dedicated to assisting alumnae chapters with their public relations and communications efforts. This volunteer is called the alumnae public relations coordinator (APRC). The vice president of communication is encouraged to consult the APRC in her district regarding publicity ideas, website maintenance, and other related issues. The vice president of communication should note the APRC's contact information at the beginning of her term, and respond promptly to any requests or communication she may receive from her. Contact information for district volunteers can be found on the Sigma Kappa website. In addition, each district has an alumnae district director (ADD). You are encouraged to reach out to the ADD for ideas and resources as necessary. THE WEBMASTER'S ROLE IN PUBLIC RELATIONS As the Webmaster, you have a significant role in managing the public's perception of Sigma Kappa. The website conveys the image of your chapter, communicates information about recruitment, philanthropic projects, and other upcoming events, helps potential new members and other stakeholders to learn more about Sigma Kappa, and serves as a communication tool for collegiate members and alumnae. When unfamiliar with a company, store, product, or organization, where is one of the first places to look for information? The Internet. The chapter website is a public relations vehicle and can help positively communicate with all of your publics. A website can become one of the chapter's most effective public relations tools, if done properly and maintained on a regular basis. Remember that any member of any one of your publics might visit the website at any time. Therefore, it is very important that the website contain positive and relevant information about the chapter at all times. Sigma Kappa Sorority Webmaster Handbook page 6 The Fundamentals of Public Relations Public relations is the function that maintains an organization's relationship with society in a way that most effectively achieves the organization's goals. Sigma Kappa's publics are the people, organizations, and entities which are associated with the sorority in some way. Communicating with our publics is a major component of a website. Our publics include: Alumnae members Collegiate members New members Potential new members Parents/family members National Officers Alumnae Panhellenic Other fraternities and sororities Other community organizations Neighbors The community at large Media Local businesses Area high schools Social and philanthropic organizations Creating a Positive Image Online It is important that the chapter website portray a positive image of Sigma Kappa and its members. Image is the sum total of all the things that are said by and about an organization combined with all the impressions it creates by its own actions. Visually, the Sigma Kappa image must be consistent from chapter to chapter. This handbook and the Sigma Kappa Visual Standards Guide gives clear direction on the reproduction of the Sigma Kappa wordmark, logo/tagline, colors, and coat-of-arms as a website is created and maintained. A Sigma Kappa chapter might create a positive website image by: Complying with the guidelines set forth in the Sigma Kappa Internet and Related Technology Policy. Complying with the Sigma Kappa graphic standards. Posting only high quality, appropriate pictures of the chapter members, while reflecting your chapter's diversity. Posting pictures and information about the chapter's community, philanthropic, sisterhood, and recruitment activities, including the impact created by such events and the organizations or individuals who benefited. These may include: Sigma Kappa Sorority Webmaster Handbook page 7 Ultra Violet Campaign Walk to End Alzheimer's Service projects, including gerontology work and your Inherit the Earth project Non-alcoholic social events with other sororities or fraternities Chapter sisterhoods Events and activities that support other organizations or the community Founders' Day Convention/RLC Other events or activities that portray Sigma Kappa's values Posting pictures and information about chapter and member achievements, including: Academic and professional honors National Sorority recognition (Standards of Excellence, other awards) Community/Panhellenic honors Members who are officers in other organizations Significant community recognition Posting copies of press releases the chapter has sent out. Posting copies of articles that mention the chapter, including articles from the Sigma Kappa Triangle, with express written consent from the editor of these publications. Sigma Kappa Sorority Webmaster Handbook page 8 CREATING AND MAINTAINING A WEBSITE WITH THE GIN SYSTEM The GIN System provides each Sigma Kappa chapter with the opportunity to build and maintain a chapter website. Nationally approved templates are available for chapters to customize. No other chapter websites should be used, as the GIN System websites are linked to the Sigma Kappa website. Where to Begin? Follow the Sigma Kappa website guidelines. National council has implemented an Internet and Related Technology Policy to protect the Sorority, our chapters, and our members. This document details the specific guidelines that each chapter website must meet at all times. While we want the website to express the chapter's individuality and personality, it should also positively reflect the national organization's standards and ideals. Therefore, all Webmasters must learn the guidelines set forth in the Internet and Related Technology Policy and strictly adhere to them when creating and maintaining the chapter's website. GIN System Login and Access To edit your website, you first must be an administrator of your chapter's GIN system. To gain administrator access, email Sigmakappa@GINsystem.com and indicate your request. Once you have administrator access, you will have the ability to update other chapter members' access levels as well. The GIN System has three levels of member access: Administrators: No more than five chapter officers should be given administrator access. Administrators should include the chapter president, VPC, webmaster, and PR chairman. Officers: This level of access will allow members of your chapter to send out emails and text messages, upload files, post events to the chapter calendar, manage the point system, and more. Grant officer access to those members of your chapter who will need to perform these duties. Member: All other members of the chapter will have the ability to view content via the GIN system. Member login information is the same as their Live Sigma Kappa login information. If they do not have login information for Live Sigma Kappa, members should click the "claim account" button on the member login page of the Sigma Kappa website. After securing administrator permissions, log into the GIN system through your chapter website using your Sigma Kappa username and password. From the MY MENU Sigma Kappa Sorority Webmaster Handbook page 9 dropdown, select the "Manage External Website" feature under the Administrator menu. This will bring you to the back end of your external website. Website Setup Guide Upon first entrance to the back end of your website, you will see the 12 Steps to Setting Up Your Website. You can come back to this page at any time by selecting the Website Training link in the top right hand corner. Below, these 12 Steps For Setting Up Your Website are expanded upon and will help you populate your website. Contact the GIN staff if you have questions. 1. Select Website Design You can change your design at any time, as often as you would like. All three available designs have been branded and approved by Sigma Kappa. Upon switching designs, all of your content, photos, and officer information will transfer automatically. You may notice that when you switch between the different designs you might need to crop some of your slideshow images to fit that specific template. 2. Edit Welcome Message Sigma Kappa has provided you with a default welcome message so that your website is never empty. We encourage you to update this message to be specific to your chapter as it is most likely the first item a visitor to your website will read. 3. Add Photos We encourage you to add photos to the homepage slideshow, interior page slideshow and the homepage photo (if the design you are working with has one). The photo editor allows you to crop, add filters, frames, and stickers when uploading your photos. Until your chapter's pictures are added, the photos shown are default pictures provided by Sigma Kappa. 4. Create Chapter Scrapbook Albums You have an unlimited number of scrapbook albums you can add. We encourage you to add albums of events such as service projects, recruitment, Founders' day, alumnae/collegiate events, etc. The scrapbook albums are a great place for potential new members to see the great things your chapter is doing. 5. Add Social Media Links The chapter website is designed to show the most frequently used social media icons on the front end of your website. If your chapter does not use one of the social media outlets offered through GIN, simply leave that option blank and the icon will not appear on the front end of your website. You are encouraged to create additional social media accounts for your chapter if you are not already using the options available. Sigma Kappa Sorority Webmaster Handbook page 10 6. Select to Display Chapter News or Twitter Selecting Twitter will show your group's Twitter feed on the left side of the website homepage. By selecting Chapter News, you will be prompted to fill out your local news manually, including a subject and description of the exciting news. 7. Update Footer Information Update the mailing address and chapter email address in the footer information section to allow potential new members and other stakeholders to quickly view where they can contact the chapter with questions and comments. 8. Add Officers to the Officers Page Bio pages are easy to update with an officer name, position, bio, photos and customizable fields. There is no limit to the amount of custom fields you may add for each officer. You can choose between the three different bio page layouts. 9. Update the Contact Page Updating your contact information is important for outside members or potential members so they have the most up to date information for your chapter. 10. Add Recruitment Content Adding recruitment content is important for your chapter, as many potential new members visit chapter websites when moving to a new area or researching the alumnae chapter. It is important to display information that is welcoming to new members and helps them understand what to do to join the chapter. 11. Add Music, Forms and Fundraising links You have the capability to upload music to your chapter website as well as embed forms for philanthropy events, for potential new members to fill out to indicate their interest in the chapter, or for other purposes. If you are fundraising for an upcoming event, you can easily embed the link onto your chapter website. 12. Add pages The navigation that has been provided to you is the minimum requirement from Sigma Kappa. You can add as many additional pages and subheadings as you wish. If you are hosting a specific event or want to add another officers page for your chapter, feel free! You are encouraged you to make these sites as specific to your chapter as possible. You will notice that some pages are partially-locked and some are fully locked. A partially-locked page means the top portion of the page cannot be edited because the information has been provided Sigma Kappa National Headquarters staff. A locked page means that the information cannot be edited, nor can you add additional Sigma Kappa Sorority Webmaster Handbook page 11 information. This information has also been provided by Sigma Kappa National Headquarters staff and cannot be altered. Sigma Kappa Sorority Webmaster Handbook . page 12 UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA Standards of Excellence challenges each chapter to utilize social media in addition to the chapter website. Social media plays an important role in sharing information! You don't need to post every day but try and keep your account active by posting every couple of days. When posting to social media, think about your entire audience. Many of your followers are probably chapter members or members of Sigma Kappa, but other fraternities and sororities, potential members, and community members may also be following your chapter. Chapters must follow the internet and related technology policy outlined in the National Policy Handbook as well as any technology policies outlined in the chapter Code of Conduct. Here is a brief overview of some frequently used social media tools: Facebook Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. Facebook is a widely used among collegiate and alumnae members. It provides the opportunity to share information through fan pages and to create events to promote upcoming chapter functions. Sigma Kappa also provides approved cover photos for your chapter to utilize. Facebook does not restrict the number of words or characters used so if you have a longer message to share, this can be a great outlet. If you are active on other outlets, it can be quite easy to find that social media's app within Facebook, such as Twitter. The Twitter app in particular will allow you to automatically push your tweets directly to your Facebook profile. (You can also do this with Instagram.) For You Tube videos, you can paste a link in a post and have a picture preview, making it clearer as to what you are linking to. In the end, it can be quite simple to promote your social media all in one place on Facebook, which more often than not, will hold your largest audience. Twitter Twitter is an online social networking service that enables users to send and read short 140-character messages called "tweets". Registered users can read and post tweets, but unregistered users can only read them. This type of platform is particularly useful for quick updates, announcements and shout outs. Including short links with tweets will get your followers quickly to where they need to go. Instagram Sigma Kappa Sorority Webmaster Handbook page 13 Instagram is a quick and fun way to share your chapter with friends, family, potential members, Inter-fraternal friends and campus partners through pictures and videos. When you're done snapping your picture and editing it on your phone or tablet, you will be asked whether you want to post it on any of your platforms. Just sign in and they'll be automatically posted. Tumblr Tumblr is a social networking website that allows users to post multimedia and other content to a short-form blog. This posting format is consistent with websites like Facebook in the sense that users can post multimedia content, in an open space that others may view. Within your account settings in Tumblr, you can enable the sharing of posts to your Facebook timeline or Twitter. You Tube YouTube is a video sharing website. Using video is a great marketing tool. It may be helpful to include links to your other outlets in the description boxes of your videos, or even within the video itself, so people who want to follow you and keep up-to-date of your new video releases can do SO. Posting Do's and Don'ts Through these and other various social media platforms, chapter members have the opportunity to represent themselves, the chapter, and the national organization in a positive, uplifting light - or in a negative one. It is important to remember that you are what you post, so be sure to post only positive things, and nothing that includes drinking to excess, drug use, explicit language or references to sex. Additionally, be sure to never post any degrading commentary about any individual, organization or group, including Sigma Kappa. As Webmaster, take the opportunity to help educate your chapter on what is and is not appropriate to post on social media. Some things are easily overlooked, and it is important that chapter members understand how to best portray themselves. Remember that, in addition to upholding the values and image of the sorority and your sisters, you are also doing yourself a favor by monitoring what you post on social media. In a 2014 poll conducted by Undercover Reporter, 91% of employers screen a candidate's social media accounts before hiring them. So remember, think before you post! Sigma Kappa Sorority Webmaster Handbook page 14 Sigma Kappa Sorority Webmaster Handbook . page 15 SIGMA KAPPA Voices Strong Hearts United. 695 PRO MED LANE, SUITE 300 CARMEL, IN 46082 317-872-3275 f: 317-872-0716 e: INFO@SIGMAKAPPA.ORG WWW.SIGMAKAPPA.ORG Sigma Kappa Sorority Webmaster Handbook . page 16