Social Media For Nonprofits

Ten Ways to Improve Your Nonprofit’s Social Media Strategy: What we learned from “Social Media for Nonprofits”

admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:15:52 +0000

Guest Blog Post by Dylan Nord, We-Care.com

1. Tell stories

Think like a journalist; your followers are counting on you to entertain and inform them with relevant content, and the best way to give your message power is by telling a genuine story. Tell your supporters about your recent campaign to raise awareness, or your recent delivery of text books to Africa, or the $10,000 grant you just received. Charity: Water found that their most successful content was “Stories from the Field”. People connected to stories like that of Helen Apio who felt beautiful for the first time in years thanks to her accessibility to clean bathing water.

2. Be positive

You want to create long term relationships with your supporters. When your supporters donate or volunteer they feel great about themselves and their participation in your organization. A nonprofit can reinforce these positive feelings by thanking supporters, highlighting specific donors, and showing the impact made possible by supporters. People are receptive to emotional positivity. Bombarding people with helpless statistics is never as powerful as a great photo of rescued dog or a child.

3. Think analytically

Social media is reactive and your supporters will tell you which content they like through sharing, liking, and engaging. Give your supporters what they want and they will thank you with engagement.

4. Tailor content to platform

What works on Facebook doesn’t necessarily work on Twitter, and what is powerful on your blog might not make sense on Facebook. Who says what is popular on Google+ will resonate on Twitter? Every social media platform is different. Take the time to learn what content works on different social media platforms and how to tailor your message to work on each platform.

5. Map donations to impact

When a supporter makes a donation they experience a surge of happiness from affecting a change and being a part of something inherently good. As a nonprofit, you are an agent of change, and you have a responsibility to your donors to show them where their money is going and the change they are a part of. Share a video of your most recent project, or a picture of a rescued animal, even a simple note updating them on your work can go a long way in connecting donations to impact.

6. Become a content curator

Every nonprofit has an opportunity to become an authority on a particular subject. Determine a topic related to your organization and deliver the most relevant and timely content to your supporters. For example, the ASPCA updates supporters on animal rights laws, and news worthy stories of abuse or rescue. They contextualize relevant stories, news, and information and deliver it in a timely manner to their followers – you can do the same.

7. Thank, answer, comment – repeat

“If you are just trying to push your message out, you are missing half the value of social media,” the CEO of Save The Children, Carolyn Miles, eloquently explains the reactive power of social media. Many of your supporters have found your organization on social media with an intent to interact – answer their questions, join the comment conversation, and thank them whenever possible.

8. Plan, schedule, push

Although a lot of your social media content must be crafted spontaneously in reaction to things happening now, some of your most important content can be planned ahead of time to ensure quality and decrease work load.

9. Try Google +

Google+ now has over 100 million users. Many of your supporters are already on Google+ and more are joining every day. You can build a Google+ presence with little effort. Take a week and work to see who you can connect with using this new platform – what do you have to lose?

10. Consider a CEO or ED blog

Harness the knowledge, expertise, unique perspective, and network of your CEO or Executive Director by creating a personal blog, or twitter for them to tell their story. Many supporters will feel like they are getting a privileged look inside your organization.

We’re Doing It Wrong! or, 7 things we learned from SM4NP

admin — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:00:37 +0000

Guest Blog Post by Joy Scott & Jaci Dahlvang, Children’s Home Society’s North Seattle Family Center.

Last month, two staff members at North Seattle Family Center had the privilege to receive scholarships to attend the Seattle Social Media 4 Nonprofits conference. Here are some of our lessons learned!

Videos are awesome.

Our biggest takeaway from Justin Ware’s presentation on Online Video Done Right is JUST DO IT! Videos help nonprofits connect to individuals and media outlets like no other medium can. Don’t worry about the tools! Tripods are great, but they can be cheap (or jerryrigged). Audio clarity is more important than video quality. Smartphones are our friends! Use the tools you already have to create a new method of engagement. Most of all, have fun and keep the video under 5 minutes!

Embrace Internet memes.

This was an idea brought up throughout the day, and showcased effectively in Justin Ware’s “Hoarders” parody. Lots of us in the nonprofit world work with very serious issues. This doesn’t mean we can’t increase awareness of our work in humorous or irreverent ways! Here at NSFC, we feel that Food Lifeline is a perfect example of raising awareness of serious work in wonderful and pop-culturally relevant ways.

Won’t you be my neighbor?

We could all use a lesson from Mr. Rogers from time to time. Be a good Social Media neighbor! Connect with individuals *and* organizations. Comment, ask questions, like statuses, and help promote causes that align with your own! In nonprofits, we’re all in this together! Connect with your neighbors in order to serve your populations to the fullest!

You’re not as awesome as you think.

Don’t worry, we know this isn’t really true. But people don’t want to hear about your daily tasks or the money you need to keep the lights on. The want to hear about the differences you’re facilitating in people’s lives. People want to give *through* you, not *to* you. Whenever possible, have other people talk about how awesome you are – it carries a lot more weight!

Everybody loves a winner.

Philanthropy has fundamentally changed since the advent of the Internet! People can now be a part of causes like never before. Good fundraising tools ensure that every $10 donor can feel like a $10,000 donor! Make sure that giving doesn’t stop at the gift receipt. Bring people on to your winning team, and let them know the progress that they have made!

Do the least amount possible.

For most nonprofits, social media is an “additional task as assigned.” Here at NSFC, our roles encompass everything from handyman to IT professional to accountant, even though most of us have only been trained in social services. We don’t have time to reinvent the wheel! We need to make use of all the wonderful tools that exist already, especially when it comes to fundraising and volunteer recruitment.

Act like an 8 year old.

Think of your favorite 4th grader, and take a page out of their book. Use your social media platforms to ask questions! Any questions! Lots of questions! Research shows that posts ending in a question mark are far more likely to receive responses. Lee Fox also showed us that Generation Z is more philanthropic than we ever give them credit for. Invite them to be a part of the wonderful work that you’re doing!

What did YOU learn from SM4NP? How will you use it to change the world?

Scholarships Available for Social Media for Nonprofits— Atlanta, November 17, 2011

admin — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 07:00:17 +0000

Thanks to the generous support of our sponsors, a limited number of full scholarships are available for small nonprofits looking to attend the upcoming Social Media for Nonprofits conference in Atlanta, November 17, 2011. The scholarship is good for one full registration only, it doesn’t apply to travel, lodging or other incidental expenses.

Interested candidates should post no more than three sentences as a post on our Facebook page, describing how your organization hopes to benefit from better leveraging social media. You also need to get 5 people to “like” your post! Preference will be given to organizations with budgets under $500,000. Please be sure to include the following pieces in your post:

Your organization’s name
Your organization’s website address
Your email id, so we can inform you if you are selected or you can send us an email at ritu@socialmedia4nonprofits.org

So let us know— how can a better understanding of technology, and social media in particular, help you better serve the community? And as a bonus, if you get 10 of your friends to like or comment on your post, we’ll give you another ticket!

See you in Atlanta!