Guest post by Chad Norman
Internet Marketing, Blackbaud

You have a social media strategy – now what? Using your various social media channels to meet strategic goals is the right way to operate, but some time you need an idea or two to help you get there.

One year ago, Melanie Mathos and I created 50 Social Media Tactics for Nonprofits to help organizations do just that – plug good ideas into good strategies. The response has been overwhelming and inspired us to create 50 (More) Social Media Tactics for Nonprofits. These basic to intermediate-level tactics can be used to support a variety of strategic goals and get your supporters to take action.

Below you’ll find 10 tactics to help you get started.

Add a Facebook Like button

1The Facebook Like button is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your website and blog content. After >customizing this widget at Facebook.com, you can easily put it into your site’s template in a matter of minutes. Each time a visitor “likes” something on your website, that activity will appear in their Facebook feed and drive some of their friends to your content.

Display the rules for your Facebook community

2Some nonprofits stress out about how to handle negative comments on their Facebook Page’s wall. If you think this will be an issue, simply post a “commenting policy” on the info tab of your Facebook Page. This will give you the freedom to moderate content with full transparency and give your supporters the right expectations. The Humane Society of the United States has used this effectively on their Facebook Page.

Support a specific call to action with its own tab

3If you don’t have calls to action on your Facebook page, you’re missing a huge opportunity! By using the FBML application, you can create custom tabs that feature programs and other activities. The Best Friends Animal Society does this effectively with their “Adopt!” tab. Other tab names that can get visitors to act include, “Sign Up,” “Volunteer,” “Donate” or “Register.”

Launch a friend campaign to broaden your audience

4It never hurts to ask, and that’s true when you’re trying to get new supporters to join your Facebook Page. Your current Facebook fans all have networks of their own (the average Facebook user has 130 friends), so don’t be afraid to ask them to reach out and get their friends to join. The California State Parks Foundation launched a “Friend Get a Friend” campaign via two updates to their 517 fans. Within two weeks, their page went from 517 to 33,000 supporters — and they now have close to 60,000!

Continue reading »

George Weiner, CTO of DoSomething, during our panel

 
When you moderate a panel at BlogWorld Expo, ironically, sometimes you’re the last person to blog about it.

Such is the case with the Oct. 16 “Mobilizing your social network” panel with this all-star lineup: Andres Glusman of Meetup.com, Justin Perkins of Care2, George Weiner of DoSomething and Giselle Diaz Campagna of Free Speech TV. There were some valuable resources mentioned, so I’ll try to assemble them here into a neat package.

• JD Lasica (that’s me) offered a one-stop shop for resources on how nonprofits and cause organizations can use social tools: http://bit.ly/mobilize — a landing page that aggregates resources on social networking tutorials, handouts, top fund-raising tools and much more. This includes the short presentation I gave during the panel on steps to mobilize your supporters. Also, download this free flyer on 12 steps to mobilize your cause: bit.ly/12steps-flyer

• Andres Glusman of Meetup.com (8 million members) offered a powerful presentation that went beyond showing off the organization’s cool Meetup Everywhere feature — a way for you to mobilize your constituency. “Recognize people who are active on your behalf,” Andres urged the crowd. “Create a regular routine that can be annual, quarterly or monthly. Build a routine that people can set their watch to, to build up momentum around an organization.”

See Meetup Everywhere on Tumblr for best practices and examples.

• Justin Perkins offered this frogloop article about cutting-edge integrated social media strategies and multi-channel social network campaigns. (By the way, Care2 is up to 14 million members now and still growing like gangbusters.)

• Justin cited the campaign Care2 did for climate change advocates 1Sky. They recruited an email list of 10,000 people, used data mining to determine which Facebook and Twitter users would be most the most active and created a funnel that let to five or six precinct captains who canvased door to door and organizing house meetings on behalf of a campaign. I may have gotten a detail or two wrong but the overall point was that organizations should take steps to move from online action to offline activity.

• Justin also pointed to this article on how to bring social network avatars to life and an essay on how slacktivism is a misnomer.

• Giselle Diaz Campagna offered to work with nonprofits interested in having their stories told through video on the freespeech.org site and DirecTV Channel 348 and Dish Network Channel 9415. Don’t step away from controversy, she advised. “We loved it when Glenn Beck did a piece on us,” she said.

• George Weiner gave a passionate presentation that showed how social media and video could be used as part of an educational campaign to curtail violence against teen girls and young women. One out of three teens will be abused online. If your nonprofit has any programs for young people, you should collaborate with DoSomething.

• Several of the audience members were with political organizations rather than nonprofits, such as two representatives of evoiceamerica, which makes it easy to email your elected reps.

• Justin also pointed to this resource of 17 nonprofit benchmark studies.

Other highlights from BlogWorld’s nonprofit track

I was darting in and out of sessions during BlogWorld — juggling interviews I was giving, interviews I was conducting and networking in the hallway — but managed to capture a few other highlights:

• Learned more about mobile fundraising service Mobilecause from its CEO, Douglas Plank.

• According to Douglas: 70% of all US households donated to a nonprofit last year, totaling $227 billion given by individuals. 7% of the US gross domestic product comes through the nonprofit sector. 8% of Americans work in the nonprofit sector.

• Mark Horvath of InvisiblePeople.tv led a great discussion-in-the-round. Snippets: He recommends YouTube for video hosting because of its nonprofit program, while others said nonprofits should use Vimeo because the site supports Creative Commons licenses and lets you actually download the damn video. (In either case, read their Terms of Use.)

• Horvath said YouTube turned over some of its front page programming to the subject of homelessness one day this year, and fully one quarter of the views came from mobile devices.

• One participant recounted the funny story of trying to live-stream the CTO of the federal government from his Washington, DC offices. “Live streaming from a government office? One of the most difficult things in the world to accomplish.”

• Quote of the conference came from Mark Horvath, talking about importance of audio in any video. “I was once told by an audio guy, ‘Without us you’re just surveillance.’ I will go with audio over video.” Excellent!

Continue reading »

If you’re confused by Facebook Pages, this will be a change you’ll welcome: Facebook has just released a new admin panel for Facebook Pages.

Previously, accessing all the important task areas for a Page was a bit difficult –  mainly because there were different locations for each task.

For example, if you wanted to edit an application, you’d go the center column of the admin Page. But if you wanted to send an update to fans, you’d have to go to right column, click on “Send An Update To Fans” and then go to another Page to actually write and send the update.

Now, locating everything makes much more sense.

Accessing the new admin panel

When you click on “Edit Page” under your main image, you’ll see that Facebook has now placed a top-level admin menu in a left-hand column.

Drilling down into the admin panel

To go to a specific area, simply click on the admin topic on the left. The center of the Page will then display that specific admin feature.

Facebook wants to make life easier for Page admins

You’ll most likely find this new interface much more intuitive and easier to use (I know I did). And if you get a bit lost or confused, there’s a help section as well.

I’ll be publishing a series of new videos to walk you through the entire admin panel, so stay tuned.

What do you think about the new admin panel?

Photo by Vardhana

Looking at the blurring lines between corporate social responsibility & cause marketing

Guest post by Beth Kanter & Kami Watson Huyse
Zoetica

Aligning with a cause is a great way for a for-profit company to both raise its profile while doing something good for society at large. For nonprofits and causes, having the right corporate partner can leverage the impact of the social change work.

Associating a product with a social or environmental cause people care about is a popular marketing tactic with consumers. More than two in five consumers bought such a product in the past year, according to the 2010 Cone Cause Evolution Study. And according to that research, 75 percent of people donate to a company identified nonprofit, illustrating that corporate altruism is not only good for the bottom line,but also good for society.

A case of cause marketing gone bad?

However, the ways that companies and causes have aligned in the marketplace have ranged from the sublime to plain old slimy. Nonprofits need to consider: Should we partner with companies? If so, how? And those that choose poorly are subject to being the conduits to green washing, pink washing and any other kind of washing you can imagine. When the accusations start flying, it can get ugly fast.

Continue reading »

Photo by Luc Legay on Flickr (CC BY-SA)

Social networks have provably made a difference in people’s lives

Guest post by George Weiner
Chief Technology Officer, DoSomething

Like a bull through a china shop, Malcolm Gladwell’s recent article in the New Yorker, Small Change: Why the Revolution will not be Tweeted, plows through social media enabled activism, dismissing its past and future potential as a tool for impact. Full disclosure, I am a huge fan of his work and have read almost every page he has written, but I think he missed the mark here. He has a flare for using selective case studies to draw brilliant macro social behavioral theories, and this article is no different.

Gladwell’s frustration with the social media craze is apparent as he assembles and then reacts to a list of over-hyped quotes and accolades for the infant platforms. “Are people who log onto their Facebook page really the best hope for us all?” he asks after contrasting the casual commitment of many Facebook users to their causes with the indefatigable determination of civil rights protesters. His question is legitimate – not every member of Facebook is the next best hope for social change – but in Gladwell fashion it is dismissive of many counter-examples where social media have been integral to transformative events.

Barack Obama used Facebook and broader online networks to deliver unprecedented access to his campaign and the political process and was rewarded with immense grassroots support and fundraising success. So my answer to Gladwell’s question is: Yes, Obama is on my short list for people who are the “best hope for us all.”

A tool need not work in every instance to be valuable. The story is not “Social networks always work”; it is that they can work. My biggest fear of Gladwell’s article, especially given his credibility and platform, is that it will serve as the rallying cry for old-school not-for-profit organizations to keep their heads in the sand.

I believe social media is a must for not-for profits seeking to increase their impact. If a nonprofit or not-for-profit (NFP) relies on people in any way, then they must go where they are and where they communicate. The common thread that can be drawn between successful social media NFPs is the participation from the executive level. This is a world in which Gladwell has zero experience and that has to be considered before it becomes the gospel of NFP execs choosing to insulate themselves from change.

Continue reading »

As you probably know, Twitter just launched a new version of its website that makes it much more user friendly.

Don’t be afraid to opt into the new interface — you can always go back to the old version. In the 5-minute video above, I’ll walk you through the major enhancements, including:

• Expanded conversation view for replies
• Expanded context around individual tweets
• Picture and video preview
• Detailed information about retweets
• Conversation view of direct message
• Suggested people to follow and add to lists

Continue reading »

Guest post by Melissa Nelson
Media Production and Outreach Manager, Blackbaud

Video is a great way to engage constituents in your mission. It adds a visual element to what might be an otherwise text heavy email, blog, or website. Supporters react to hearing and seeing real people talking about issues or an organization’s mission coming to life with visual examples.

A video that actually empowers constituents to take action and interact with your organization is key to a conversational video.

First, think through the four basic steps:

1. Set the tone
2. Convey real purpose
3. Define the need
4. Inspire supporters

Then you can think holistically about the content and how your video can create conversation.

Asking for feedback is a great place to start. In your video, send an invitation for ideas and welcome feedback by asking open ended questions. Bring your viewers closer to your mission by asking them to contribute content or respond to a question. Make it easy for viewers to leave a comment. Take it a step further by interacting yourself; responding to comments makes it even more interactive.

Feedback can also come in the form of video conversations. Invite your constituents to respond with videos of their own, appear directly in your video to offer feedback, or even create their own edited video in response.

Include links back to your website in your video. A video should be a way of giving enough information to entertain and spark interest — while leaving the viewer wanting more. Reference your website graphically — and mention where a viewer can learn more, register to volunteer, or help your organization’s mission financially.

Make your videos clickable. Add interactive annotation layers to videos, and invite others to add them as well. YouTube’s annotation feature is an interactive layer of clickable text boxes. The key is to annotate with a call to action at the end of the video directing viewers to your website. Then, at the conclusion of the video, they’ll find it easy to learn more about your organization and can spend time exploring your site.

Another aspect of YouTube’s annotation feature is the community, which enables constituents to add annotations as well, thus furthering the conversation. Encourage viewers to add their own thoughts and references to your videos via annotations.

Promote your video in a variety of social media channels. If your video lives on YouTube, for example, shorten that link and share it on Facebook and Twitter, then encourage supporters to continue to grow the conversation.

Continue reading »

To help you get the most out of your Facebook Page, there are several applications you should check out. You may have heard of some of them, but there may be a few others you didn’t know about.

I hope this list is helpful. Have your own favorite? Please add it in the comments below.

• Twitter App – This app automatically re-posts your tweets in your Facebook Page status. A big time-saver, but a potential bother to your connections if you use Twitter a lot, or if you tweet about topics that aren’t related to your Page.
• Selective Tweets – This app allows to you to selectively post a status update on your Facebook Page from Twitter simply by adding the hashtag #fb.
• Facebook Notes – Allows you to create formatted text with images, links to a post or add an RSS feed from your blog. Set it and forget it!
• Blog RSS Feed Reader – This a bit more robust than the Notes app. You can add an image for your feed, add multiple feeds and even send out alerts to friends of new updates.
• Flash Player – This app allows you to upload Flash videos or games to your Page, which can create a highly customized experience for your fans.
• Static FBML – This app allows you to add certain types of HTML within a custom tab that can be named to match your brand.
• Extended Info – This app works much like the Static FBML application but is slightly easier to use. You can add lists, images, videos and other pre-formatted sections to a custom tab.
• Fundrazr – This app makes it easy for your supporters to fund-raise for your cause. You can sell tickets to events, communicate to members and event track results with an analytics feature. They also have a great relationship with PayPal.
• Giving Impact – This is a donation engine that you can integrate into your existing website, but they also have a Facebook Page app that looks extremely robust. Nonprofits would also be wise to investigate their Giving Impact Grant program.
• MyFlickr – Display your Flickr photos on Facebook so that your connections can view them, comment on them, and tag them without leaving your Facebook Page.
• YouTube Video Box – This app is pretty straightforward. Search for videos, add them to a custom tab and share them easily on with your connections.
• Poll Daddy Polls – An easy way to increase engagement and understand your fan base is with simple polls (yes / no, three choices). This app also has a sharing element to it: As soon as users vote, they are given a choice to share their vote with their friends.

Continue reading »

Photo by Fensterbme on Flickr

Video can boost donations in nonprofits’ year-end fundraising

Guest post by Michael Hoffman
CEO, See3 Communications

Adding video to your end-of-year online campaigns can help you achieve, and even exceed, your year-end fundraising goals. That shouldn’t come as a surprise. We know that video can connect people to the work you do every day in ways simple text just can’t match. We also know that the distance separating the web and television is narrowing. Your website is becoming a channel and the web is already a hybrid mix of media where video plays a dominant role.

How big is video online? More than 85% of US internet users watched online video in July, and on average they spent more than 14 hours doing it. More than 24 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute, and there are as many people over 55 watching video on YouTube as there are under 18. You might think of Facebook as an important social network, but it is now also the third most popular video site on the web. And Cisco says that 90% of the world’s data will be video in four years. Holy smokes!

Bottom line: If you aren’t developing a video strategy, you are not going to capture the mindshare of Internet users.

So how can we put the interest in video to work for our organizations, specifically your year-end fundraising? Here are 6 ideas to get you started:

Reuse your existing assets

1While video can be expensive to produce, it can also produce large returns. One way to make video more affordable is to reuse existing assets. The American Jewish World Service (AJWS), for example, shot amazing video of their work in India, Uganda and El Salvador a few years ago. While the programs continue in those countries, the original video also referenced the work they were doing at the time around the South Asian tsunami. In 2010 much of their focus was on responding to the earthquake in Haiti. By re-editing footage they already had to include new material from Haiti, AJWS saved tens of thousands of dollars while still getting a relevant and powerful video asset. Start with an accounting of what video and photo assets you already have, and see how they can be put to work for your year-end plans.

Explore personalized video

2We have witnessed a very strong ROI from fundraising videos that utilize personalization. Personalization is a technique that uses your donor data to automatically insert the supporter’s name in the video. The viewer is then watching a video about them or their friends. This strategy powerfully cuts through the clutter of all the generic fundraising requests that happen at the end of the year.

Here’s an example of a video See3 produced in partnership with Charity Dynamics for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event. In this example, the video would be used to get Beth Kanter’s friends to donate to support her participation in the event. Her name was automatically inserted, and all she had to do was share the link. If it were a real case, the links on the video page would go directly to Beth’s personal fundraising page. American Cancer Society saw a 10:1 return on investment from this effort. This personalization technique can be used to insert the donor’s name, asking them by name to step up an increase their gift in 2010.

Embed video on a donation page

3Video can compliment a donation page. Test, but be careful. When appropriate, a compelling video can persuade your potential donor to take the final step. When inappropriate, a video can distract or even prevent your visitor from making their donation. If you’re not sure whether your video belongs on your donation page, do a test run and track your analytics carefully. If you see conversions increase along with play-through rates, great. If your play-through rates increase but your conversions don’t, try optimizing with new content or removing the video altogether. Also be aware that if not set up correctly, video from non-secure sources can create security warnings on secure donation pages.

Continue reading »