Social Media Doesn't Have to Be a Bear

Scouting U is a one-day leader training program designed for YOU, the volunteers and leaders in Scouting. The day provides ideas and resources in areas to benefit your Pack, Troop, Team or Crew. Scouting U is offered once a year to assist ALL Scout volunteers in their Scouting positions. Click here for the Scouting U page. This page contains tips, resources and instructions on how to build a social media page for your unit, which was covered in the Scouting U 2019 course titled, “Social Media Doesn’t Have to be a Bear!” Please use these resources, even if you were not able to attend the Scouting U course, to learn more about social media, and how to effectively use it to promote your unit, use Facebook groups, create Facebook event invites, and more!

To download the handouts, please see the Course Materials section below.

SOCIAL MEDIA IMAGE RESOURCES

The Dan Beard Council, Boy Scouts of America and the National BSA Council offer many digital resources that can benefit your unit by enhancing their social media pages. Please see the list below.

Dan Beard Council Media Center | The Dan Beard Council has a Media Center filled with links to resources for your unit social media pages such as photos, videos on YouTube, press releases, #ScoutSHARE Day, Brand Identity Guidelines, and more!
http://www.danbeard.org/media-center/

BSA Marketing & Membership Hub | The Marketing and Membership Hub is a resource to help you serve more youth in your area. From recruiting ideas to social media best practices, the Hub provides a one-stop resource to discover, activate, and improve your marketing and recruiting strategy. https://scoutingwire.org/marketing-and-membership-hub/

BSA Brand Center | The National BSA Council offers this resource to provide branding materials for all of its programs. Visit this site to download photos, videos, social media images, templates for promotional pieces, and more. https://scouting.webdamdb.com

Your Scouting Families | The very best place to gather photos is within your unit! Use the Tips for Good Visuals handout to guide you on what would be a fun image to share on your social media pages. Media Release Form. Parents can fill out this form to give permission to share photos of their Scouts on unit pages.

SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK

Online social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have made it possible for virtually anyone with an Internet connection to create and be part of online communities where people can discuss Scouting and share stories, photos, videos, and other types of media.

Although using social media is not a Scouting activity, their use to connect with others interested in Scouting can be a very positive experience. But the creation and maintenance of these channels requires forethought, care, and responsibility. For that reason, the Boy Scouts of America has developed guidelines to help you navigate the use of social media channels. These guidelines are a complement to the BSA’s existing Youth Protection policies and training. Click here for the BSA Social Media Guidelines page which will lead you to the most current version of the Social Media Playbook.

RESOURCES TO FIND POSTS TO SHARE ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES

Dan Beard Council, BSA’s Facebook Page | The Council’s Facebook page is a great place to share content from. Topics include updates about trainings, local Eagle Scout projects, Council events, Scout It Out partnership opportunities such as the Reds, Bengals, Newport Aquarium, and more. https://www.facebook.com/DanBeardCouncil/

Don’t forget about the Camp and District Pages to share content from as well:

Dan Beard Council Fireside Chat Newsletters | The Dan Beard Council sends out a monthly newsletter filled with different topics you can share with your units from updates on camp, training opportunities, youth protection updates, special events, and more. To sign up to receive the Fireside Chat and see the archive page, visit the site below. Click here for the Fireside Chat page.

Scout It Out | The Dan Beard Council brings you special activities for your Scouts from our partners across the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area all year round such as the Bengals, the Reds, Newport Aquarium and more! Visit this page often as events and special offers are added throughout the year. Take photos of your Scouts at these events and use the hashtag “ScoutItOut” on social media to spread the word about these great Scouting activities!
Click here for Scout it Out!

Dine Out for Scouts | The Dan Beard Council has partnered with many local restaurants that will give back to Scouting when you visit their establishment during a particular day and time and mention the Scouts. These events would be a great option to share with your units on your social media pages to promote giving back to Scouting. Click here for Dine Out for Scouts!

Boy Scouts of America | The Boy Scouts of America website offers information on all of the programs of the BSA, safety and youth protection training as well as training and awards. You can find many interesting topics here to share with your units. Visit the website or their Facebook page.
https://www.scouting.org/ | https://www.facebook.com/theboyscoutsofamerica/

Boys’ Life | The monthly magazine, Boys’ Life, offers an entertaining and educating variety of general interest articles, fiction and cartoons while reinforcing Scouting’s strong values and programs. They also have a Facebook page to follow and share articles directly from there.
https://boyslife.org/  |  https://www.facebook.com/boyslife/

Scouting Magazine | Scouting magazine is the official resource for adult leaders of Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA members, and Venturers. Scouting magazine and Scouting magazine’s official blog, Bryan on Scouting, are produced at National BSA Council. Find interesting Scouting articles and stories to share on your unit pages both on their website and Facebook pages. https://scoutingmagazine.org/ | https://www.facebook.com/scoutingmagazine/

Bryan on Scouting | A blog for the BSA’s Adult Leaders. https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/

YouTube

FACEBOOK BOOST POSTS

Boost posts are a type of ad only available on Facebook business pages. Because they appear higher up in news feeds than non-boosted posts and are served to an audience beyond your existing page fans, these posts can be a relatively inexpensive way to easily reach more potential customers. For step-by-step instructions on how to create a boost post, click here.

FACEBOOK EVENTS

Facebook Events is a feature that can help you organize social gatherings for your Scouting families and the general public via Facebook. You get a dedicated page for providing all the details of your event plus a range of tools to notify friends about it and keep track of who’s going. Anyone can create an event on Facebook — and best of all, it’s free. Your event can be published as an invite-only event (private) or as an event that’s open to anyone (public). For step-by-step instructions, click here.

COURSE MATERIALS

Questions? Please contact Julie Whitaker, Marketing Executive, at (513) 577-7699 or email at julie.whitaker@scouting.org.