Toolkit #1: Social Media Mastery

How to build an engaged online community and showcase your work effectively

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Part 2 12 minutes

How to create content that works

What's in this toolkit?

Social media can feel overwhelming when you're running a community group or small organisation. But it doesn't have to be about perfect posts or going viral. It's about showing the human side of your work, connecting with your local community and helping people understand how to get involved.

Whether you're starting from scratch or want to make your existing social media work harder for you, this toolkit gives you practical strategies that don't require hours of daily posting.

The 70/20/10 guideline

  • 70%

    • Photos from events

    • Member stories and achievements

    • Behind-the-scenes preparation

    • Before/after repair successes

  • 20%

    • Quick tips on repairs, etc

    • Seasonal sustainability advice

    • "Did you know?" facts about waste
/circular economy

    • How-to content related to your activities

  • 10%

    • Upcoming events

    • Volunteer recruitment

    • Calls to action

Create content themes for consistency

Themes can help you build up a consistent set of stories without having to reinvent the wheel every time. The following are examples but feel free to use or edit to work for you.

  • Monday Motivation

    Member spotlight or success story

  • Workshop Wednesday

    Tip or tutorial related to your activities

  • Throwback Thursdays

    Celebrating a past event or win. Ensure it’s at least 6 months ago.

  • Friday 
Feels

    Behind-the-scenes or fun moments from the week

Make your captions work harder

When writing a caption consider the following pointers to help make the caption work as hard as possible for you.
Start with action or results: "Fixed", "Saved", "Learned", "Discovered" - these sorts of updates feel like solid news that people will want to read.
Include specific details: Numbers, names, locations make posts more engaging
End with a question or call to action: Give people a reason to engage (this helps boost how many people see your post).
Use hashtags strategically: 3-5 relevant hashtags rather than long lists

Use these proven post formats

  • Before and after posts:

    "This [item] looked ready for the bin, but after 30 minutes at our repair café, it's got years of life left. Next repair café: [date/location]."

  • Member achievements:

    "[Name] had never used a sewing machine before joining our group. Six months later, she's teaching others! What skill would you love to learn?"

  • Behind the scenes:

    "Setting up for tonight's clothing swap. 200 items already donated and we're not even open yet! Doors open at 7pm."

  • Community impact:

    "March update: 45 items repaired, €800 saved by our community, 12 new skills learned. Small actions, big impact."

  • Community connections:

    “This month we lent out 4 lawn mowers, 2 hedge trimmers and our trusty old wheelbarrow. Looking to borrow a tool? Get in touch!”

  • Question posts:

    "What's the oldest thing you own that still works perfectly? We love hearing about items that were built to last!"

Suggested hashtag combinations

  • For repair content
    #RepairDontReplace #CircularLiving #[YourTownName] #CommunityRepair #FixItFirst #CircularLiving #CircularCommunities 

  • For sharing/swap content
    #CircularCommunity #ShareDontWaste #[YourTownName]Community #SecondHandFirst #CircularLiving #CircularCommunities 

  • For growing/making content
    #[YourGroupName] #[YourTownName] #CommunityAction #Sustainability #LocalCommunity #CircularLiving #CircularCommunities

Toolkit #1: Social Media Mastery

How to build genuine engagement

How to build an engaged online community: Part 2

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