🌐 Digital Marketing

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Article Table of Contents

What does VSL for Digital Marketing?
Managing your Digital Brand

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🆔 How to Name your Home: this article addresses some recommendations and requirements as to naming your home.
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Additional Resources

Tips for getting more online reviews: This external article offers some helpful tips and tricks on getting more review

🌐 How does VSL Support Your Digital Marketing?

Vanderburgh Sober Living works collaboratively with Operators to maintain several digital marketing channels, each of which described below.

VSL Website: www.vanderburghhouse.com

The Vanderburgh Sober Living website displays listings for all Chartered homes, provided that the operator receives Core Services. VSL homes are listed under the Homes section. "Homes" pages feature photos and a description of each home.

Please ensure that your page is up-to-date and correct: as an Operator, please feel free to proactively request changes to the page for your home.
Each home will have its own URL as well, which will look like this, for example, www.vanderburghhouse.com/elmhome.
Each home has a corresponding shorter URL, which would look like this, for example, www.vanderburgh.house/elmhome.

Sober House Directory: www.soberhousedirectory.com

The Sober House Directory website is maintained by VSL in service of all guests and operators of sober houses, even if not affiliated with VSL. We believe that a universal directory for recovery housing is important in furthering our mission as an organization and are excited to offer this service. As an Operator, your home will also be featured here. Core Services clients are displayed as "Supporters", with greater visibility.

Social Media

VSL maintains a social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Social media is a valuable outlet to market your home and establish a reputation and brand for your home(s). To facilitate the success of your home, we will need marketing collateral from you as an Operator. We will do featured posts about your home on our social media channels, which will require you to submit one photo and a brief story about one of the positive aspects or members of your home that you would like to highlight each month.

Social media posts will be featured across VSL social media channels including Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook.
Post requests: if you would like something posted on one of our social media pages, please email marketing@vanderburghhouse.com.
Your own pages: We will create a Facebook page for each one of your homes as they open up--they are accessible to you for you to update.

Other Websites

We have a presence on several other websites which are not under our direct or indirect control. These sites function as directories run by several different organizations. These are important listings to maintain for better visibility and search engine optimization (SEO). The more listings we have on others’ sites linking back to your page, the higher your page will appear in search results. Maintaining accurate information on all directories is crucial to the success of your home.

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🤳 Managing your Digital Brand

Reviews

Online reviews are critical because they build trust with potential guests and improve your online visibility. Reviews can be posted on Facebook Pages and other directory-type listings.

Ask your guests and House Mentors to leave detailed reviews about their experiences.
Ask your referral sources to share positive feedback on their interactions.
Ask VSL staff to personally review your home
Ask your friends, family, and supporters to post honest and positive reviews.

Tips for getting more online reviews: This external article offers some helpful tips and tricks on getting more reviews.

Review the Vanderburgh Sober Living main pages

We ask that you take a moment to visit the Google page for Vanderburgh Sober Living and the Sober House Directory. We would love your feedback on all of our pages in the form of reviews, and we encourage you to spread the word and ask others for reviews and engagement as well.

Provide content to VSL

In addition to doing online reviews, we ask our community to provide content to keep our public image fresh. By contributing content, you can leverage our marketing team to edit and post on the website and social media.

What you can provide VSL:

Written Content: Articles, stories, or updates.
Photos: High-quality images of events, activities, or experiences.
Videos: Short clips or longer videos showcasing your experiences.
Testimonials: Personal endorsements and success stories.
Other Content: Any other materials you’d like us to share on your behalf.

How VSL leverages your content:

Website: Posting on our main page and linking back to your pages.
Social Media: Sharing across our social media channels to reach a wider audience.

Your contributions help us maintain an engaging and dynamic presence, benefiting both your pages and our main platform.

LinkedIn engagement enhances professional visibility and networking opportunities

LinkedIn is a powerful tool that you can use to improve your networking and ultimately build a stronger community and establish and grow your referral relationships. We recommend that you update (or create) your LinkedIn account. With this account, you can connect with colleagues, referral sources, and community members in an effort to raise awareness of your home and availability. If you don’t have an account, please visit www.linkedin.com to create one. If you are creating one for the first time, we recommend you use your @vanderburghhouse.com email address.

Do you want a custom banner image?

We are pleased to work with you to produce a banner image to help showcase your new endeavor with VSL. Please reach out to us if you would have interest in having a custom banner image created for you. Please see below for an example.

Facebook

Posting on Facebook helps reach a wider audience and fosters community engagement

Your Home's Facebook Page

Each Vanderburgh Sober Living Home will have its own designated Facebook Page. This will be entirely under the Operator's jurisdiction. The Marketing Team at VSL will help set up and help with any questions, but this is the Operator's responsibility to run. Here are instructions on how to access your page and post!

Access Your Facebook Page: Log in to your Facebook account and navigate to your Facebook page. You can do this by clicking on your profile picture in the top right corner of Facebook and selecting the page you want to post from.
Create Your Post: Once you're on your Facebook page, locate the box that says "Create a post" or "What's on your mind?" This is where you can compose your post. You can add text, images, videos, links, and more to your post.
Add Content: Depending on what you want to share, you can type your message directly into the text box, upload photos or videos by clicking on the camera icon, or share a link by pasting it into the text box.
Tag People or Pages (Optional): If you want to tag someone or another page in your post, you can do so by typing "@" followed by their name. Facebook will give you suggestions as you type.
Add Hashtags (Optional): You can add hashtags to your post by typing "#" followed by a keyword. This can help your post reach a wider audience who are interested in that topic.
Share to Facebook Groups: After you've composed your post for your page, you can share it to Facebook groups that you're a member of. Below the text box, you should see an option that says "Share to News Feed." Click on the dropdown arrow next to it and select "Share to a Page You Manage."
Choose Your Page: A dialog box will appear with a list of pages you manage. Select the page you want to post from.
Add a Caption (Optional): You can add a caption to your shared post if you'd like. This caption will appear along with your post when it's shared to the group.
Select Facebook Groups: Below the caption, you'll see a section where you can search for and select the Facebook groups you want to share your post to. Type the name of the group you want to share to and select it from the list that appears.
Post Your Content: Once you've finished composing your post and selecting the groups you want to share it to, click the "Share" button to post it to your Facebook page and share it to the selected groups simultaneously.
Monitor and Engage: After your post has been shared, keep an eye on it for any comments, likes, or shares. Engage with your audience by responding to comments and interacting with your followers.

Personal Facebook

Your personal Facebook profile is another powerful tool for community outreach, marketing, and building a referral base. Take a look through your posts, photos, and bio sections to ensure that you present yourself professionally. We ask you to engage with the Vanderburgh Sober Living Facebook page, and any home pages that you are involved with. Start by “liking” each page, posting an encouraging message, and giving a “recommendation” for each of the two pages.

How to create Facebook post on a Facebook Home Page

Step 1: Log In to Your Facebook Account

Open your web browser and go to Facebook.
Log in with your username and password.

Step 2: Navigate to Your Facebook Page

On the left-hand side of your News Feed, find and click on "Pages."
Select the Page you want to post on from the list of Pages you manage.

Step 3: Switch to Using Facebook as the Home Page

Once you’re on the desired home's Facebook Page, look for the "Account" button on the top right corner.
Click the button and select "Switch to Page" to manage Facebook as the desired Facebook Page.

Step 4: Create a New Post

Once you're on your Page and using Facebook as your Page, locate the "Create Post" section at the top of your Page’s timeline.
Click on the text box that says "Create Post."

Step 5: Write Your Post

Enter your message in the text box. You can include text, emojis, and hashtags to make your post engaging.
If you want to add more elements to your post, you can:
- Photos/Videos: Click the "Photo/Video" button to upload images or videos from your device.
- Feeling/Activity: Click the "Feeling/Activity" button to add what you’re feeling or doing.
- Check-In: Click the "Check In" button to add a location.
- Add a Poll: Click the "Poll" button to create a poll for your audience.

Step 6: Customize Your Post (Optional)

What should I post you may ask? Post photos of your home, quotes related to sober living, videos of your home, etc. These types of posts have typically performed best in the past. Please coordinate with Dylan or Nora (Marketing/Community Outreach) if you need any ideas.
Use the customization options to tailor your post to your audience. You can:
- Schedule the Post: Click the arrow next to the "Publish" button and select "Schedule" to set a specific date and time for the post to go live.
- Boost the Post: Click "Boost Post" to pay for advertising and reach a larger audience.

Step 7: Publish Your Post

Once you’re satisfied with your post, click the "Publish" button to share it immediately.
If you scheduled the post, it will be published at the specified time.

Step 8: Join Local Facebook Groups

A great way to increase engagement and visibility on your posts is to share to local FB groups in your area. Looking for groups in your town, county, region, or local recovery pages. Follow the instructions below to increase your engagement.
- Part A: Find the Group You Want to Join
  - Use the search bar at the top of the page to find the group you want to join.
  - Click on the group's name to open its page.
- Part B: Request to Join the Group
  - Click the "Join Group" button.
  - Choose your Page from the dropdown menu.
  - Follow any additional instructions provided by the group admins.

Step 9: Share to Local Facebook Groups

Part A: Navigate to Your Page
- Switch to your Page using the profile icon.
- Go to your Page by clicking on its name.
Part B: Find the Post You Want to Share
- Scroll through your Page’s timeline to find the post you want to share.
- Click on the "Share" button below the post.
Part C: Share to a Group
- In the sharing options, select "Share to a group."
- Type the name of the group you want to share the post to.
- Add any additional text or context if needed. I would recommend a caption similar to "Please help us share this around! The Beacon of Light: Concord Recovery House in Kannapolis is now open. Applicants can apply online or call us at (844) 762-3747!
Part D: Post to the Group
- Click "Post" to share your Page's post to the group.
- By following these steps, you can join Facebook groups as your Page and share your Page's posts to those groups, helping to increase your reach and engagement.