Recruiting new volunteers with social media.

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are great for attracting new volunteers to your group. It’s fine for groups to have their own, public pages and to post images (as long as they’ve got permission from everyone featured). Often, the first place a potential volunteer looks to find out about their local group is on Facebook or a similar channel: these pages, can help you look organised and well-established, which builds trust.

We’ve put together a package of images for you to use on your channels, along with some suggested text to post with each (below). Of course, if you’re feeling confident, you can write your own text too. Please take a look at our guide How We Talk, which is available on the Scouts Brand Centre.

While the first image is just for sharing privately with your existing volunteers – to encourage them to ask parents to lend a hand – the other five are for your public pages or groups. You can use these campaign-style, by posting one a day for a week. You can re-use the images too: we’ve given you two different suggestions for text you can use to accompany each image, to get you started.

Image for sharing privately with existing volunteers (if you have a private Facebook or Whatsapp group)

• 27% of parents and carers of our young people said they’d volunteer.
  However, 49% said they’d never been asked.

Template text to post with the image: ‘It can feel awkward to ask, but over a quarter of parents would love the chance to volunteer. Next meeting, see who’d like to lend a hand.’

Or

‘This surprising stat was revealed in the Scout Experience Survey 2019. By simply asking parents if they could lend a hand, you could find yourself new volunteers.’

Images for sharing publicly with potential volunteers (if you have a Facebook page or group, a Twitter profile, a Whatsapp group, or an Instagram profile)

• Expert at shoes laces and fist bumps.

Template text to post with the image: ‘Every volunteer has a unique skillset that makes them brilliant. Discover yours: scouts.org.uk/volunteer’

Or

‘You don’t need every skill to be an amazing volunteer – just the important ones. Find out more: scouts.org.uk/volunteer’

• Not pictured: the mini bus driver, sandwich maker, photo taker.

Template text to post with the image: ‘It’s the simple things that create life-changing experiences for young people. Lend a hand: scouts.org.uk/volunteer’

Or

‘[Local area]’s young people need volunteers: scouts.org.uk/volunteer’

• You look like a role model.

Template text to post with the image: ‘Help young people gain skills for life. Join the team: scouts.org.uk/volunteer’

Or

‘[Local area]’s young people need volunteers to help run their group on [day of the week] nights: scouts.org.uk/volunteer’

• You don’t have to be Bear Grylls to volunteer.

Template text to post with the image: ‘Don’t know how to put up a tent? Not a problem. scouts.org.uk/volunteer’

Or

‘We’ve already got a Bear. We need a you. scouts.org.uk/volunteer’

• We need tea makers, activity planners, tidy-uppers and helpers for as little or as much time as you can spare.

Template text to post with the image: ‘We’d love a hand with giving [local area]’s young people skills for life. Join our team: scouts.org.uk/volunteer

Or

‘[Local area]’s young people need volunteers: scouts.org.uk/volunteer’

All of these images are available to download in the Scouts Brand Centre, just search 'recruitment'.