Online Content Strategy Assessment

Website Analysis
www.nationalservice.gov

AmeriCorps's official website, nationalservice.gov, is compelling immediately upon visiting the homepage due to the engaging photos used as icons for the individual sections of the Corporation for National and Community Service's website. AmeriCorps and CNCS remain consistent with their brand by using the colors red, blue, white and black throughout their entire website to highlight sidebars as well as other useful content and information. The biggest takeaway, I feel, for users viewing the webpage is the extensive FAQs they provide for potential service members. Existing AmeriCorps programs can also order a selection of marketing materials at no cost through the website. The overarching mission of AmeriCorps is to get people involved in their communities, so their website is constantly fostering involvement with their brand throughout by clearly outlining the requirements and benefits of serving, how to apply, what service experiences are available, and what others have done as part of their service and they impact that that has had, which could potentially inspire someone to serve or to start a program. All of the content provided by the website is original.

Social Media Platform Analysis (Facebook)
www.facebook.com/americorps

The multiple divisions of the Corporation for National and Community Service each have their own social media presence and personalities. AmeriCorps's facebook page is compelling in how it provides the government agency with a warm and inviting personality. It remains consistent with its brand in that the content it publishes and shares relates solely to the purpose of promoting service, whether it is advocating for Facebook users to apply or its sharing stories of service members across the country. The AmeriCorps Facebook page is fun and engaging for users because they very effectively mobilize around offbeat holidays, such as National Cat Day, and pop culture, often using memes to communicate and relate to its younger members. AmeriCorps often uses their Facebook page and other social media to bring attention to campaigns around national days of service and other initiatives, such as the Mayors Day of Recognition for National and Community Service. Facebook users can engage with these posts by following to see what is going on locally for them and if there isn't already an event plan, they could start one. This also is a means of fostering involvement with the Facebook users. The content published by the Facebook page is mostly original, but the page often shares news articles and other aggregated content related to AmeriCorps service.


The biggest difference between the nationalservice.gov website and AmeriCorps's Facebook page is that while the website is representative of all national service programs and initiatives, the AmeriCorps Facebook page is able to focus on and give a voice to solely that one program. It effectively humanizes and distinguishes the program from other national service efforts, giving it a unique presence and voice that users can engage with and relate to. The Facebook page often directs people to the website in order to read more or engage further with the content they provide. AmeriCorps has also recently started using "Thunderclap" for its major campaigns. "Thunderclap" refers to themselves as the "first crowd-speaking platform." Similar to crowd-funding platforms, Thunderclap allows individuals to commit to sharing content at a designated time, the idea being that if enough people sign up, the message will reach all of their friends. Users give Thunderclap permission to post on their behalf by signing up for their campaign. AmeriCorps first used this on their 20th Anniversary last year. I took part in the Thunderclap campaign which effectively helped AmeriCorps become a trending topic that day.

The Personality of National Service

As I explored briefly in last week's post, AmeriCorps's branded "personality" fulfills the requisite tenets that Bhargava outlined in our reading; uniqueness, authenticity, and talkability.

Uniqueness

AmeriCorps is unique in that it is the only domestic national service program funded by the federal government. The service opportunities provided by AmeriCorps are also unique in that, unlike many traditional volunteer opportunities, it is more of a hybrid between community service and a job in a professional workplace. Volunteers commit to a contractual amount of time and are compensated modestly for their time and efforts and are provided with training and skills that could lead directly to a position in a government agency or nonprofit organization.

Authenticity

AmeriCorps does not place volunteers just anywhere - potential AmeriCorps programs submit concept papers that reflect community needs informed by the community themselves. Based on that need, volunteers are allotted to communities and projects receive supportive funds and administrative assistance. Programs confer regularly with a Community Advisory Board, comprised of the people receiving services, that informs and guides program structure. Communities and volunteers work together to better serve the community. They do not leave anyone without a voice.

Talkability

It is my perception that most people hear about AmeriCorps through word of mouth and service stories. They either know someone who served, have served themselves, or have received services from an AmeriCorps member or program. Many hear about AmeriCorps through local news stories covering a project's impact in their community. The brand is very relatable, the stories are powerful and meaningful, and this creates a discourse surrounding service that promotes inclusivity and positive outcomes.

Last week, we learned in class that brand equity is determined by how the brand is meaningful, different, and salient.

Meaningful

AmeriCorps is meaningful because of the impact it has on communities. Often referred to as "moments of impact," it is a way for service members and communities to reflect on what sustainable mark the program has left on the community. AmeriCorps programs are specifically engineered to have sustainable, lasting, and meaningful impacts on the communities they serve. They also provide services that are lacking in a community and would otherwise not be available without the help of AmeriCorps members.

Different

AmeriCorps is different in that it is a structured service opportunity. Many members who participate in AmeriCorps are fresh out of high school or college and are looking for opportunities to shape their future career paths. AmeriCorps provides loan forbearance and interest repayment for qualified loans, modest stipends, education awards, and other unique opportunities and benefits that other service programs do not. AmeriCorps members walk away with new skills that prepare them for the workforce or to return to school.

Salient

The AmeriCorps brand is salient due to the eponymous "A" that represents their brand and is included in mostly all marketing efforts both at the federal level and within individual programs ephemera (t-shirts, buttons, water bottles, etc.) The "A" has come to represent the program and is a way to recognize an AmeriCorps member anywhere. Some programs require members to wear a uniform that prominently features the AmeriCorps "A," usually as a patch on a sleeve or the chest.

Image Source: nationalservice.gov

I would say that, overall, AmeriCorps's personality is very real and relatable to all demographics of people in the U.S. Their impact leaves positive and lasting effects on communities throughout the country. They provide services where they are needed and work together with communities to "get things done," as is noted in the "AmeriCorps Pledge" every service member recites upon swearing in to their term of service. Their personality is most certainly informed by and reflective of their mission and goals. The program is mutually beneficial in providing service to communities and to the members. We learned in class that a brand's "value proposition is based on the product being offered, its key features, the demographic it effects, and its key benefits to that demographic. I believe that AmeriCorps's value proposition would be as follows: AmeriCorps offers volunteers of all backgrounds unique service opportunities that provide them with new skills and life changing experiences that can open doors to new professional and educational opportunities following service.

AmeriCorps in the News

The National Service website features seven tabs at the top of their website, the fourth being a drop down menu for the newsroom. The main newsroom site features stories sorted in the following categories: press releases, media advisories, proclamations, official statements, social media hub, links to their social media accounts, and outreach resources. The main media contact is featured prominently on the top right of the webpage. The Corporation for National and Community service uses their newsroom as way of communicating policy changes and updates, highlights of moments of impact of national service throughout the country, and to announce special initiatives by CNCS and/or the federal government. AmeriCorps’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts function in much the same way but focus more on storytelling. Often they will share or repost content from community partners.

Upon googling “AmeriCorps,” a web user would find similar stories of service throughout the country, mostly at the local level, in the news section of Google. The first three pages of results solely feature local news coverage of service members making an impact in their immediate communities.

In the Rohit Bhargava readings from Week 1, we read about personality and how company’s can present and communicate their individual personalities. Bhargava defines personality in this context as “the unique, authentic, and talkable soul of your brand that people can get passionate about.” I would say that through their website and social media presence, AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service have created a unique, authentic, and talkable soul that many people are passionate about. Many people hear of AmeriCorps through word of mouth, either through their friends, families, or colleagues that are currently serving or have served through the past, or they hear about the difference AmeriCorps members are making in the community. This makes AmeriCorps highly relatable, and it presents it as something to feel good about and to passionately support because of its positive impact on both communities and the lives of service members.

I think the most important part of Lisa Bytner’s presentation in our class last week was when she explained the importance of networking and how you should always be developing and maintaining relationships with clients and others in your field. While AmeriCorps does not have “clients” in the traditional sense, I would say that they strive to build relationships with current, past, and potential new service members and community partners (often referred to as “host sites” for members).

Why AmeriCorps?

The brand I’ve chosen to study through the duration of CM502 is AmeriCorps. As some members of the program may know, I spent the last two years serving through AmeriCorps, spending one year as an AmeriCorps VISTA member and one year as an AmeriCorps VISTA Leader. National service is something that is very near and dear to my heart, and I hope that it continues to gain traction in the hearts of other Americans. I chose AmeriCorps because the brand could be considered both simple and complex, as it represents multiple factions of national service as a whole.

I was first introduced to AmeriCorps while I was an undergraduate student at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Allegheny College, in collaboration with Edinboro University, Gannon University, and Mercyhurst University, hosts an AmeriCorps VISTA Program covering Erie and Crawford County in Northwest Pennsylvania. As a student, I minored in the interdisciplinary program Values, Ethics, and Social Action (which has now been rebranded to both a major and minor in Community Justice Studies). My minor required me to take service-learning courses and also become a service leader on campus. My time in VESA exposed me to the AmeriCorps program on campus and I knew that I wanted to commit to being a national service member upon graduating. My senior year, I interviewed with many AmeriCorps programs and ultimately chose to serve as a VISTA with Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven in Connecticut. I continued my service for an additional year, serving as a Regional VISTA Leader, supporting two statewide VISTA projects: Connecticut Campus Compact and the Veterans Recovery Project of Connecticut.

AmeriCorps, along with Senior Corps and the Social Innovation Fund, are programs supported through the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), a federal agency established in 1993 with the signing of the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 by President Bill Clinton. CNCS is charged with the responsibility of mobilizing Americans into service. CNCS was expanded in 2002 by President George W. Bush with the creation of USA Freedom Corps and again in 2009 by President Barack Obama when he signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.

The mission of CNCS and its programs is to “improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering.” You can read more about their mission and guiding principles here: http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/who-we-are

AmeriCorps mobilizes individuals aged 18 and older to serve in their local communities. While each AmeriCorps program varies, members receive a small stipend for their service and/or the Segal Education Award, which can be used to pay off qualified student loans or as a scholarship to further one’s education. Many colleges and universities provide a “match” to this award through additional scholarships and opportunities for students. Members who serve with AmeriCorps VISTA, Volunteers in Service to America, serve for 365 consecutive days, receive a living allowance equivalent to 110% of the poverty line for the county in which they serve, and receive a full Segal Education Award, the amount of which is the equivalent of the Pell Grant (currently $5,775). Members can choose to receive a $1,500 cash stipend award in lieu of the Segal Education Award. While in service, AmeriCorps VISTA members who choose the Segal Education Award can also put their loans into forbearance, with the Department of Education paying off the accrued interest at the end of their completed terms. Upon completion of service, AmeriCorps VISTAs are also granted one year of Non-Competitive Eligibility status, allowing VISTA alumni who meet the minimum qualifications for a federal job to be hired by a federal agency without having to compete with the general public.

Image Source: nationalservice.gov

AmeriCorps members serve in schools, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other community organizations. They tutor students, build the capacity of community programs, combat food insecurity, help develop leadership skills in our youth, combat poverty, provide support in national disasters, rebuild homes, raise funds through grant writing and development work, and so much more. In many communities, their presence is well known amongst community residents and leaders alike. AmeriCorps VISTA is often referred to as the “domestic Peace Corps,” its more recognized sister program that sends Americans overseas to complete similar work in other countries. When the congressional budget is being determined, the appropriation of funds for the Corporation for National and Community Service is always up for questioning. Many of our legislators and their constituents find the idea of “paid volunteering” to be a waste of congressional funds. The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015 provides $1.054 billion for the Corporation for National and Community Service and its programs, a $5 million increase over last year’s fiscal budget. This year, the President’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget requests $1.18 billion for CNCS. The support for national public service programs spans party lines. Governor John Kasich called for more public service opportunities as a way of tackling the crippling student debt problem in the third GOP debate this year. Martin O’Malley, Hillary Clinton, and Chris Christie have all gone on the record saying that they would expand public service if elected as president. Television shows such as Melissa and Joey and The Middle have featured AmeriCorps programs by having characters on the show join AmeriCorps programs. The recognition of public service and the validation of its impact is growing steadily.