Communications Resources
Need help creating great newsletters, websites and brochures? These resources can help.
Need help keeping track of all the different terms with social media? This social media wiki might be helpful.
Need help writing a New Media Policy? Here are some resources:
- From the UUA's New Media Blog: Does the UUA have a sample “new media policy” for congregations? It’s a list of “some general principles that may help guide congregations in their new media use.”
- Safe Church guidelines for social media from the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut was the closest match to what I was looking for. It has specific suggested language, and even a way to create a small booklet to distribute.
- "Congregations Utilize Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Podcasting" from Interconnections is an article that provides an introduction to the major tools that a congregation may want to use, some strategic considerations in building a congregation's social media presence, and links to resources.
- 12 Tips for Developing a Social Networking Policy and Usage Guidelines for Your Church has another helpful checklist of things to consider.
- Church Crunch also recommends this Policy tool to help you develop a social media policy.
- Here is Fox Valley UU Congregation's social media policy.
Top Social Media Tools for UU Congregations http://uugrowth.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/social-media-tools/
A slide show on the basics of social media use in congregations has been created by the UUA. View it at http://newmedia.blogs.uua.org/2009/12/23/presentation-on-new-media-for-unitarian-universalists/
The recently launched UUA "New Media for Unitarian Universalists" blog (http://newmedia.blogs.uua.org/) discusses how Facebook, Twitter, and other new media tools can be used to promote UUA congregations and strengthen our religious movement. A recent post listed 9 ways for congregations to use Twitter to promote themselves.
Intrigued by all the new ways to communicate online but not sure how to use them for your congregation? Things like blogging, facebook, twitter, myspace and so forth? Visit the UUA's New Media Resources Project Webpage at http://www.uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/newmedia/
If you are interested in viewing the powerpoint presentation in the District Assembly 2008 Websites 101 workshop online, please click here. If you wish to download the powerpoint presentation to view on your computer, please click here. Please note you will need to have powerpoint on your computer to view this file. All the resources from this workshop are listed below.
UU Clip art is hard to find. Dress up your pages (print or electronic) from these websites: www.uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/leaderslibrary/interconnections/56647.shtml (chalices as images in fonts and the UUA chalice) and www.geocities.com/Athens/Sparta/6872/uuclips.html (buttons and other web images) and www.wisegorilla.com/images/UU/UU.html
Read an articles at the UUA website about congregational websites at www.uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/leaderslibrary/interconnections/56647.shtml and www.uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/leaderslibrary/55397.shtml
Add a banner for the UUA to your website. The instructions are located here.
Of particular note is the page on Guidelines for Electronic Newsletters and UUism On-Line, which is a complete guide.
Want a template for your website? Check out the UU Templates Project at www.firstunitariansociety.org/templateproject
Learn more about creating website at these webpages that provide information:
- Web Style Guide - www.webstyleguide.com
- A Brief Introduction to the Gentle Art of Crafting a Website for UU Congregations - www.unitarian.org/media/crafting/index.html
- UUWiki - www.uuism.net/uuwiki/index.php?title=Websters
- Web Site Development for Religious Organizations - www.religiousresources.org/homepage
Sign up for the UU Websters email list at the UUA website at lists.uua.org/mailman/listinfo/websters
Looking for a place to host your website? Check out these ideas:
uuism.net
FreeWebspace.net- guide to services that provide free or paid web space.
mydomain.com – points web browser to real site.
The UUA also produces a number of pamphlets available from the UUA bookstore. You can read them at the UUA's website pages on pamphlets.
While it's not print media, it is a way to reach out to others, that is the podcast. See our page on podcasts or check the uupodcasters.org website.
