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Facebook news feed overhaul – how your nonprofit can prepare

John Haydon — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 14:03:53 +0000

Well, we all knew this day was coming.

Facebook has finally decided to pull the plug on almost all types of public content from pages.

Why?

Because Mark Zuckerberg wants to make a better Facebook. One with less clickbait, engagement bait, and hopefully less fake news.

The News Feed’s goal is shifting from “helping you find relevant content to helping you have more meaningful social interactions.”

How is the News Feed changing?

To inspire meaningful conversations, the News Feed ranking will now prioritize:

Posts from friends that spark back-and-forth conversations.
Videos and news articles that spark back-and-forth discussion.
Posts from friends and family over posts from Pages.
Posts with longer comments over posts with shorter comments.

Facebook will continue to reduce click bait, engagement bait, and other types of passive content.

Less Buzzfeed quizzes and more posts from mom needing help with Facebook.

Why did Facebook make this change?

First of all, this change shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Pages that don’t engage have had diminished exposure in the News Feed for years.

The bottom line is that without happy users, Facebook can’t sell ads. If your posts don’t inspire, Facebook won’t put them in the News Feed.

What does this Facebook News Feed change mean for your nonprofit?

First of all, don’t freak out.

Nonprofits have a clear advantage over consumer brands and businesses. People talk more about the causes they care about more than the clothes they wear.

All these changes to the News Feed require a shift in your nonprofit’s Facebook strategy.

Here are just a few recommendations:

Stop posting passive content: Stop posting content that doesn’t engage. For example, links to your latest blog post, event announcements, or pics from your board retreat (yawn).
Inspire meaningful conversations: Posts that ask followers to share their advice and recommendations will naturally spark more meaningful conversations than that link to your latest blog post. Keep in mind, your followers are waiting to share their own stories, their journey. For example, diabetes organizations should publish more posts that encourage followers to share their own diabetes experiences and tips.
Focus more on Facebook Groups: Be helpful, put the members first, and create meaningful conversations between members. And if your Group is public, make sure it’s connected to your Facebook Page.
Put your Page first: Make sure supporters who want to see your posts see them first in the News Feed. Especially core supporters who might worry about missing posts from your Page.
Mix email and Facebook: If you have an email newsletter, you’re ahead of the game. On a regular basic, feature your most engaging post from the previous week. Invite subscribers to join the conversation by commenting on that specific post. Also a great way to grow your fanbase.
Use Facebook Live to generate massive engagement: Facebook Live video is the #1 type of content on Facebook, getting 6X more reach and engagement than videos and pictures. During your live broadcast, get people commenting by asking for their tips, stories, advice. Read this post for more on getting started with Facebook Live.
Invest in Facebook ads: If you don’t have a Facebook ad budget, you’re really not serious about Facebook. Start investing more in Facebook ads to give your most conversational posts more exposure.
Create content designed to make your fans look awesome: People share content on Facebook, whether it’s a video from your Page or a blog post from your website, because they want to appear entertaining, informed, connected, etc. to their friends. Creating content that helps your supporters achieve this goal leads to more engagement and organic reach.
Share news your people are already talking about. Create meaningful conversations around trending news your community might already be talking about. It’s much easier to join a conversation than it is to start one.

Facebook will always put friends and family first when it comes to the News Feed. The more you adopt the same mindset with your strategy, the more successful you’ll be with Facebook.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported.

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New Humanitarian Aid Apps Provide Real-Time Access & Information

Caroline Avakian — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 15:03:39 +0000

Relief Web, a humanitarian information source on global crises and disasters, and a digital service of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), recently released four mobile apps that aim to serve different members of the humanitarian aid community.

Each of these app aims to solve a problem or address a challenge that will meet specific needs of humanitarians.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the apps:

ReliefWeb Crises App

– Information gathering and making sense of a fast-paced humanitarian crisis can be challenging. This app provides key figures, access to latest reports and maps, real time financial status, as well as a comprehensive overview for each crisis. All of this is kept updated in real time.

– The app allows you to quickly compare different crises and gather the history of each event, so you can follow the evolution of a situation. Some recent examples: Haiti’s Hurricane Matthew and the crisis in Syria.

Headlines App

-Humanitarian situations evolve rapidly. Headlines App provides a general overview of the latest humanitarian developments globally.

– It is a tool that allows you to follow a person or location, i.e., “Ki-moon”, “Aleppo”,
“Gender”, “Refugees”,etc., and see what has been published on ReliefWeb that matches your search.

Videos App

– Videos allow you to get a much better sense of how things look in the field better than most reports usually can. It is a resource for complex , quickly changing situations, such as the ones in Syria and South Sudan, as well as for sudden onset disasters.

– Video is becoming a preferred reporting format for humanitarians, but prior to this launch there has been a gap in specialized video platforms that can gather these videos quickly and make them easy to access. ReliefWeb editors select relevant videos from more than 300 humanitarian sources, organize them, and make them available.

Jobs App

– Job finding can be challenging in the humanitarian system due to short-term appointments, short application deadlines, and fast paced recruitment. However, finding the right people quickly is key to the success of any humanitarian operation. The Jobs App provides access to most available jobs in the humanitarian sector.

– You can create a job search that matches your interests and skills and see when there are new jobs matching your search, i.e. communications officer, jobs in Sudan,
internship, etc.

All the apps allow you to bookmark reports to read later, and importantly, to share their content via social media.

Mobile visitors to ReliefWeb have increased significantly in the last few years, according to Adrian Ciancio, product manager at the digital humanitarian information service. “In 2015, mobile visitors to our site increased by an overwhelming 71%, of which over 90% were new visitors. Although we have a mobile version of the website, we believe that the apps allow us to package, curate, and organize content in ways that better serve the needs of our audience,” Ciancio said.

The team will also be conducting an impact evaluation on all the apps and plans on gathering user feedback in the upcoming months to improve and expand on the apps.

You can download the apps here: http://labs.reliefweb.int/apps

This piece was originally published on The Huffington Post

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported.

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5 Creative Ways to Engage Supporters with Instagram Stories

John Haydon — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 15:13:00 +0000

Instagram Stories create an extra layer of visibility for your nonprofit – whenever you want that visibility.

Like Snapchat, Instagram Stories last for 24 hours. And like Snapchat, stories are told in a series of pictures and videos.

Users who’ve published Instagram Stories within the past 24 hours appear at the very top of the home screen:

What are the benefits of Instagram Stories from a communications perspective?

Let’s dig in!

Get on the marquee with Instagram Stories

When you publish a story your profile picture appears at the top of the home screen (as shown above), giving your brand extra visibility. Once your stories expire (after 24 hours), your brand will no longer appear in the marquee.

In other words, the simple act of publishing Instagram Stories creates more visibility your brand!

Content with an expiration date:

Before Snapchat, social media content was assumed to be permanent on the Internet. In fact, Facebook updates, Twitter tweets, and Instagram posts all have a unique URL called a permalink – a permanent link to a piece of content. No expiration date.

But with Instagram and Snapchat stories, social conversations can have a shelf-life. An expiration date helps you:

Create a sense of urgency: If your people are going to act, they have to act now. The story won’t be there tomorrow.
Get and keep their attention: The stories only last seconds, pay attention, or you will miss out.
Inject more “human” into your brand: People seek to engage with people, not brands. Brands are fiction, people are everything. Instagram Stories allow you show supporters the people behind your brand – immediate, transparent, and spontaneous.

5 Creative Examples of Nonprofit Instagram Stories

A few nonprofits have started using Instagram Stories in very creative ways. Here are five examples.

1. Do Something

Do Something engages users in a creative and fun mini-campaigns to grow and engage their mobile supporter base.

2. Stand Up To Cancer

Stand Up To Cancer invited Instagram followers to a live Q&A with Sharon Jones to discuss her new documentary.

3. PETA

PETA invited Instagram followers behind the scenes to film a new PSA about the dangers of leaving your dog in a hot car.

4. Pencils of Promise

Pencils of Promise invites followers to tap through a series of pictures that promote#BacktoSchool. Fun, interactive, and creative!

5. Monterey Bay Aquarium

Monterey Bay Aquarium entertains with cool facts and bad puns… Hovercraft!

What other creative Instagram Stories have you seen?

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported.

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Using Virtual Reality for Social Change Work

Caroline Avakian — Mon, 16 May 2016 12:58:08 +0000

By Caroline Avakian

Virtual reality is a newer medium that has the potential to revolutionize the way many global development and human rights organizations communicate their work. It also presents an opportunity to virtually bring supporters, donors, and all others curious about the work being done on the ground, right to the communities and people they would otherwise not have access to.

The award-winning, “Clouds Over Sidra” a virtual reality film that was released in January of 2105, was one such film. It follows a twelve year-old girl named Sidra in the Za’atari camp in Jordan — currently home to an estimated 84,000 refugees from the Syrian civil war. The groundbreaking film shot for the United Nations using the Samsung Gear VR 360-degree platform, is the first ever film shot in virtual reality for the UN and is designed to support the UN’s campaign to highlight the plight of vulnerable communities, particularly refugees.

Since the success of “Clouds Over Sidra” there has been some buzz on how nonprofits and global development organizations might be able to leverage virtual reality to build awareness of their causes.

One such organization taking on virtual reality is Trickle Up. Trickle Up is a global poverty alleviation organization that works with the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people to help them achieve financial independence and social connection. I spoke with Tyler McClelland, Trickle Up’s Communications Officer, to learn more about what the learnings, challenges, and best practices were for them as a smaller organization, taking on VR for the first time.

What made Trickle Up decide to try VR?

Trickle Up works in some of the poorest and most remote places on earth and for most of our supporters, making the journey to visit our participants and get a feel for their lives just isn’t possible. But when it is possible, the experience is overwhelmingly powerful. This past April, I had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala and visit a group of women living in small communities on the mountains outside of Tamahú. Being steps away while they engaged with customers in shops they’d built—some of which were the first markets in their communities, really imparts a great appreciation for what they’ve accomplished. Being in their space and experiencing their lives, even briefly, made me understand their circumstances in such a visceral way. I was able to form a human connection, and that’s difficult to translate when you’re stuck behind a screen.

When I returned from Guatemala, I was so inspired by the women I’d met and was thinking of ways I could bring what I’d experienced to our wider audience. At the same time, VR was starting to be embraced by humanitarian organizations and the media, like the UN and New York Times. I watched one now-famous example, Clouds Over Sidra, and was surprised by the amount of empathy I felt for Sidra just by being transported into her world through my smartphone and some cardboard. It was eerily similar to the feelings I had when visiting Olivia Chiquin in her shop outside Tamahú. If there was ever a ‘light bulb moment,’ that was it. I knew we had to find a way to transport people into Olivia’s world.

Walk me through Trickle Up’s VR planning process.

Trickle Up holds an annual fundraising gala where we feature videos from the field to showcase our work to some of our biggest supporters. For me, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to try doing something like VR, since we’re always trying to think of new ways to bring our work to life for our guests. The first step, and it’s an important one, was to ensure internal buy-in from management and my team. It was critical to have everyone on the same page from the outset and have a clear idea of our objectives and a general outline for the content.

After that, it was a matter of identifying a creative and production team. We have the great privilege of being blown away every year by the talent and generosity of our friends at Bodega Studios, a production company here in New York, who donate their time and energy to create stunning videos for the event. The planning process for the project really started in a creative brainstorm with them. It was critical to have the support of creative and engaged thought partners at that early stage, to both rein us in and encourage us to let our minds wander a bit in terms of the possibilities. Since VR was a bit of an experiment for both of us, we decided to focus on the immersive qualities it offers and create a series of brief experiences where viewers could be dropped into the lives of Victoria and Selvin Tiul, a family in northern Guatemala, and join a savings group meeting with Las Azucenas, one of our longest-standing groups. In February, the crew from Bodega met up with our field team in Guatemala and literally climbed a mountain to capture these experiences on film.

The final piece of the puzzle was deployment: How were we going to distribute the VR pieces? We needed a couple of components to get our VR content out there: a hosting platform and a printer who could print Google Cardboard glasses. There are several companies who host VR content, including YouTube 360, and several companies who print cardboard glasses, which can be found on the Google Cardboard website. We found a company who could actually do both the printing and the hosting, which was ideal. Once we had the glasses printed and the content online, we were ready to deploy. At our gala, we set up a booth with trained staff and volunteers to demonstrate and help guests experience the videos. Having VR at the event generated a lot of curiosity and excitement.

How did you determine your logistical requirements and what vendors to use?

The best advice is to do your research, and be clear about your objectives, needs, and resources. We knew we wanted to deploy our VR at an event, offer it as an incentive for donors, and to promote an upcoming Americas campaign. Like most small nonprofits we don’t have a large communications or marketing staff or budget, and knew we would need to find vendors to tackle various parts of the project including the production of the VR videos, hardware, web hosting, and a distribution platform. And, there were additional considerations because we were launching at an event. We needed staff and volunteers to be trained on the technology so they could show guests how to use it, drum up enthusiasm, and troubleshoot during the night. We decided to rent a number of iPads and iPhones for staff to use to demonstrate during the cocktail hour, and we needed to work with the venue to ensure we could access enough bandwidth to stream the content.

Logistically, our pro bono team at Bodega Studios handled all the creative, shooting, editing and sound, and the VR content can be viewed on a phone, tablet or computer. One of our main objectives was to create an immersive experience, so we decided to print cardboard VR headsets so that viewers would have the feeling of being in Guatemala with Trickle Up participants. The headsets were also a fun take-away and allowed viewers to use their smartphones to view the content anytime, anywhere after the event. Google hosts a website for Google Cardboard which features a number of certified vendors who can print branded headsets. We chose a company to print our cardboard glasses who also offered to host the VR content and provided a direct link to a Trickle Up branded page on their website, which eliminated the need to download an app for viewing. For me, this was the perfect solution because it eliminated a barrier to participation—having to download another app to your smartphone—and solved all of our distribution needs. But there are companies that offer all these services separately, so it’s easy to build a solution that suits your objectives. And one final thing: When you’re on a tight budget, don’t be afraid to negotiate.

In an emerging medium like VR, how did you approach storytelling?

VR is still such a nascent medium, I think most storytellers are still figuring out how to put its unique evocative qualities to use.

Our objective from the beginning was to create immersive experiences as companion pieces to the videos we usually feature at our annual gala

Through the traditional videos, we’re introduced to Victoria and Selvin Tiul, and women from the Las Azucenas savings group, and hear them tell their stories. Then we offered the VR pieces as a way to immerse you in their world. You can visit Victoria in her home, watch Selvin doing chores in their yard, and sit in the middle of a savings group meeting with Las Azucenas. The VR pieces are like little time capsules where you can drop in and experience that moment in time with the women in our program. But as the technology becomes more ubiquitous, storytelling will necessarily become much more central to VR. The possibilities of telling a story to someone in a 360-degree environment is fascinating and challenging. I love it because unlike traditional storytelling, which often relies on a passive audience, it empowers the audience to be actively engaged. That’s something that’s very much in line with Trickle Up’s values.

You launched your VR experience live at an event. What challenges did you face?

Deploying the technology was a big challenge because many people are still unfamiliar with VR. We had to ask ourselves plenty of questions: How can we make the videos as easy to view and accessible as possible? How do we account for the varying levels of comfort with technology of our guests? How can we ensure the experience is safe? How do we build enthusiasm for the content without jeopardizing the other objectives of the evening?

Ultimately, we had to make a few choices: Since the VR content was a companion to the video pieces and because we wanted to give our guests the chance to “opt-out”, we decided not to have a shared moment during the program, which was something we had considered. Instead, we set up a booth at the cocktail hour to generate excitement for the rest of the evening. The cardboard glasses were available to take from the booth, and a few pairs were distributed at each table for guests to use during dinner. We also decided to rent iPhones and iPads for staff and volunteers to demonstrate with, and for guests to use at the booth instead of their own devices. In addition to staff and volunteers being trained to assist guests, a portion of the printed program at every table setting was devoted to instructions for use. We also decided to purchase extra wifi at the venue to support streaming the content. And the greatest challenge was the display and streaming. VR videos are extremely heavy and require advanced graphics cards (think iPad 3s and above—iPad 2s just won’t work, trust me), and a colossal amount of wireless bandwidth to stream simultaneously. So, of course there were a few questions I wish we’d asked ourselves: What technical specifications are necessary to run the content on an iPad or iPhone? How much bandwidth will be necessary to stream VR content? But we didn’t, and had to make a few last minute decisions and call in a few favors to get iPads that could handle the VR and add a little extra to our budget line for wifi. It was certainly a learning moment.

Producing VR can be a significant commitment, how did you ensure it was worth the investment?

From the beginning we knew the content would need to be evergreen, serving multiple purposes for our external communications and fundraising. We deployed the VR experience at our annual gala, which injected the night with energy and enthusiasm that was well worth the investment—we were able to bring key supporters on one of our most important nights closer to our work than we’ve ever been able to before. Introducing them to Victoria and Selvin Tiul and the women of Las Azucenas in this way was a first for us, and such a memorable experience. In coming months, we will also be offering the Trickle Up Google Cardboard headsets, along with the video and VR content, as a special reward for donors who sign up to make automatic monthly gifts, and to promote a new campaign to grow our impact across the Americas to reach hundreds of thousands of more families like Victoria and Selvin’s.

Last words of advice on what a nonprofit should know before venturing out into the brave new world of VR?

The most important thing you need to start venturing into the world of VR is to do your research. There’s an ever-growing amount of VR content in the world—watch it, get a grasp of the possibilities, and think about how it can best serve your organization’s objectives. And be clear about your objectives. Spend some time researching vendors so you can make an informed decision about who and what combination is right for your objectives and your budget. (And as I mentioned, don’t be afraid to negotiate.) Get internal buy-in from management and your team because having clear expectations from the start is essential to a smooth production process and especially important when taking on a new media form like VR. There will be lots of questions, and thanks to your research, you’ll have (most of) the answers.

To view Trickle Up’s virtual reality films, click here.

To learn more about Trickle Up, visit their website at TrickleUp.org

*This piece was originally published on The Huffington Post.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported.

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3 Core Twitter Strategies That Will Never Die

John Haydon — Mon, 04 Apr 2016 16:42:29 +0000

Twitter followers will be more likely to retweet your content if they like, know, and trust you. But where do you start? How do you develop a strong network on Twitter?

One way to think about building a stronger network on Twitter is to focus on three core Twitter strategies: Search-Building, Raft-Building, and Klout-Building

1. Search-Building Twitter Strategies

An important part of any online strategy is search. How will people find you when they want to find you now? How will people discover you when they’re trying to solve a problem?

But how does Twitter help you get found – both on Twitter and Google?

Tweets from highly influential users tend to rank higher in Twitter search results.
Tweets linking to your website, from highly influential users help increase your website’s ranking on Google.

To build your organization’s search profile with Twitter, pay particular attention to the prevalent keywords in each tweet.

Use your focus keywords – especially when tweeting links to your website.
Nurture relationships with key influencers who care about your cause (more on that below).
Tweet hashtags that contain your keywords. Use hashtagify.me to discover the top hashtags for your cause (as shown below).

2. Klout-Building Twitter Strategies

Although it’s not perfect, Klout is at least one number that quickly tells you if your influence is growing or shrinking. It can also show you who is influential among your network.

You can build Klout on Twitter in a number of different ways, but mostly by creating value for your followers:

Share content that’s valuable. You can’t build Klout if you’re mostly sharing garbage.
Connect with other influencers in your cause who have a high Klout score. Use the Klout extension to display Klout scores on Twitter.com (as shown below).
Starting meaningful discussions by asking questions.
Mention users with high Klout scores in your Tweets.

3. Raft-Building Twitter Strategies

Imagine you’re whitewater rafting with a bunch of friend who each have their own rafts. The water is initially calm, but eventually you come to a place in the river where the rapids are much more intense. Being smart, you reach out and grab your friends’ rafts pull them close to you. You tie them all together with a rope, creating one huge raft that will never flip over!

One of the best uses of Twitter is to build a strong community of mutually supportive advocates. For example, peer organizations working towards the same outcome. Together you can accomplish more than each of you can separately.

Start building rafts with these tactics:

Organize key relevant users into Twitter lists. For example, bloggers, advocates, etc.
Retweet the most relevant and engaging tweets (lots-o-retweets) from key users on these lists.
Ask yourself: Besides retweeting, how else can I support their Twitter agendas?
Consider joining or hosting a Twitter chat that benefits the group.

What do you think?

What’s your best Twitter strategy? Post it in the comments below.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported.

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Should Your Nonprofit Use Snapchat?

John Haydon — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 14:02:31 +0000

Snapchat is a mobile app that lets users share photos and videos that are deleted in 24 hours. Snapchat users share snaps (temporary videos and photos) privately with a few friends, or as stories with all their followers.

What people love about Snapchat

You might be wondering why someone would use a social network that deletes everything they share.

If you’re wondering this, you were probably born before the internet. You never had “that talk” with your parents about being safe online. And you never had to worry about a potential employer digging through your Facebook updates. Which is why millennials love Snapchat.

The best thing about Snapchat is that all posts are deleted by default. So snappers don’t need to worry about an everlasting online persona.

Snapchat explains:

Our default is delete. Conversations are ephemeral unlesssomeone chooses to save or screenshot them. And if they do,we do our best to make the sender aware. Just like a face-to-face conversation content stays impermanent unless someone goes out of their way to record it.

Snapchat by the numbers:

Launched in 2011
100 million users
6 billion video views every day
86% of Snapchat’s users fall into the 13 – 37 age range
$100,000 is the minimum ad spend for brands.

How nonprofits use Snapchat

There aren’t many nonprofits using Snapchat. But the ones that are using it are pretty damned creative.

For example, DoSomething.org recently published a series of snaps promoting their Everyday Superheroes campaign1. The campaign, which ends March 31st, encourages participants send a card to someone who makes the world a better place.

Their snap story begins with Ricky looking for a special way to show his appreciation for Puppet Sloth:

Ricky is encouraged to download an Everyday Superheroes card and give it to Puppet Sloth:

Puppet Sloth loves his card:

Everyone is happy:

Finally, Snapchat followers are encouraged to be part of the story by joining the Everyday Superheroes campaign:

How does this campaign benefit the organization?

They stay top of mind with followers on their turf (Snapchat).
Their followers are reminded that DoSomething.org is cool and creative brand.
They grow their list (emails and phone numbers) as followers join the campaign.
They leverage exclusivity and urgency (snaps are gone in 24 hours).
Participants share the campaign with their friends with their own creative snaps.

So should Your Nonprofit use Snapchat?

During a recent Hump Day Coffee Break we discussed three questions you should answer before jumping on the Snapchat bandwagon:

Are YOUR people there? Do your supporters, donors, and volunteers use Snapchat? What percentage of your audience is comprised of millennials?
Do you have the bandwidth? Do you have the time and resources to manage yet another social network?
How will you add value? What will you share that’s useful? What will you share that’s entertaining?

Here’s the recording from the Snapchat training:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported.

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Facebook Live Video for Nonprofits

Caroline Avakian — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 17:04:16 +0000

By Caroline Avakian

Facebook recently added the ability to livestream (live video) on Facebook, catching up to the explosive popularity of livestreaming apps like Periscope. While Facebook Live was recently only available for celebrities and then some early livestreaming adopters, it has now rolled out this feature to everyone with an iPhone in the US, and plans are that Facebook will roll this out to the rest of the world in the coming weeks. We can only predict that a version for Android will be coming soon as well. Now, the thing is that Facebook Live Video is available only for individual profiles and for verified pages. Verified pages receive those little round, blue checkmarks right next to their names.

So what does all this mean for nonprofits who rely on Facebook to communicate with their Facebook fan communities? Here’s a quick breakdown:

The How-To:

The most important thing to know is that even if your nonprofit has a Facebook page, it doesn’t mean you can start broadcasting. Your nonprofit’s Facebook page needs to be a verified page (at least for now), in order to use this new feature. Here’s how you can start the verification process for your organization’s page.

You can only broadcast from your iPhone, not your PC or desktop. As you’ll see the live video icon will only appear on your Facebook status update bar on your mobile phone.

As of this publishing date, Facebook Live Video is available only for US-based iPhone, but a little experimenting with the app over the weekend helped me figure out that your Android-user fans/friends, also get a Facebook notification when you go live and can watch, as do iOS users.

Here’s a photo of where to find it on your status update bar

Once you’re in, Facebook will ask you permission to access your camera and microphone. You can then select which of your Facebook audiences can join your live video, and they can comment/like your live videos while the video is in progress. You can flip the camera angle to face you or right in front of you, via a little arrow icon provided on the top right corner of your phone screen. The comments and likes from your community will appear directly below your video as you’re broadcasting. When you’ve completed your broadcast, you have the option to save the video to your phone’s camera roll, and the live video recording will automatically save to your Facebook timeline.

The downside right now is that Facebook Live doesn’t yet integrate with Facebook Pages – a mobile app that helps you manage your Facebook accounts – which is the most logical way a nonprofit would start trying to stream video. Hopefully, that is coming to us soon.

I wrote an article not too long ago, about how nonprofits can use Periscope/livestreaming for social good and many of the points are as equally applicable to Facebook Live as they are to Periscope. I have included and modified those points here.

5 Ways Nonprofits Can Maximize Facebook Live Video

1) Facebook Live Video from “the field”

If the bandwidth is there, we’ve just opened up a great way for communications and program officers to broadcast field visits abroad and beneficiary interviews (when appropriate). The same goes for local nonprofits who really have the capacity to live stream important “mission moments” that might otherwise go unshared.

2) Q and A’s

Facebook Live Video offers a great new way to connect with your Facebook supporters by having the ability to conduct livestream Q and A’s with your program participants, executive director, program director, celebrity ambassadors, and others. The comment function allows your Facebook fans to ask questions or post commentary as you’re livestreaming, so it’s exceptionally interactive and relatively fast. Think about a Facebook Live series – doing a series of light ‘Meet the Staff’ Q & A’s, or designating a portion of your weekly staff meeting to a Facebook Live Video Program Update and short Q and A afterwards. That’s a great way to let your supporters know ahead of time what you’ll be doing and what to expect.

3) Events Broadcasting

Facebook Live Video is a great way to let your supporters in on events that they’re interested in but can’t attend. That $500 per plate gala dinner can now be accessible via Facebook Live Video. How great would it be to have a staff or volunteer correspondent at your next benefit, fundraiser or conference, in charge of showing viewers around and chatting with honorees and guests? It’s a fantastic way to share these exclusive events with your Facebook community.

Attending a rally, friend-raiser, or other on site event for your nonprofit – bring your supporters along with a livestream on Facebook.

Another way to break the fourth wall, is to do an office tour led by your staff and interns. Showing the inner workings of your organization and the people behind the status updates, has been shown to increase engagement and trust for nonprofits.

4) Crowdsourcing

If you’re looking to get some quick feedback on a new project, logo, initiative or maybe just some input on what your supporters like and would like to see more of, Facebook Live is a great tool to survey a clearly social media savvy focus group.

5) Announcements

Have an announcement to make? Did you just receive a big grant from USAID or added an awesome new hire or volunteer to your team? Expanding your work to a new country? Added a new program? Did you host a contest and want to announce the winner? You can use Facebook Live Video to go live with your big news and involve your community more directly.

Nonprofit Best Practices for using Facebook Live:

Be prepared BEFORE you click the “GO LIVE” button. Given it’s an amateur live broadcast you do get some leeway, but try to be as steady with the shots and as well-prepared as possible. You don’t want to necessarily script the broadcast but remember that you’re telling a story. So what is the story you want to tell? Why have you asked people to come and watch this broadcast? What value does it have? What’s in it for them? Make sure you can answer those questions. Also, provide some guidance to your viewers as to what type of questions or feedback you’re looking for. Engage them. Remember live video is still social, so it’s a two-way conversation. Viewers may be hesitant to use the comments section of the video, so make it ok by prompting them to do so. Any good story has a beginning, middle and end to it, so it’s a really good idea to create a bullet list of what you want to happen during each stage of the broadcast, to ensure everyone on your team is on the same page. Above all, remember, all good media production rules still apply.

Title your Facebook Live Video broadcast well. Tell us what it’s about in a concise way.

Final Thoughts:

I think Facebook Live Video has great potential for nonprofits. Live video can take engagement to a whole new level and if the bandwidth is there, give nonprofits and global NGO’s the ability to share the on-the-ground work that is being done. Many nonprofits have been reluctant to try Periscope and other livestreaming apps because they are hesitant to add a new tool and they’re unsure how to use it effectively and appropriately. Having live video available right from your organization’s existing Facebook page is a way to introduce broadcasting to an audience that knows you well without having to download, learn and keep up with an entirely new tool.

From another perspective, I wonder how many nonprofits will be comfortable with the risk inherent in live video? While we’re seeing so many nonprofits using social media wisely and experimenting, most nonprofits still like to have tight control and management over any content they produce. As we have seen in the past, nonprofit teams that are more comfortable with risk and social sharing will help pave the way for other organizations who will wait until this tool is less new and seemingly less risky. Ultimately, lack of complete content control and the inability to quickly seed out inappropriate comments will present the biggest barriers for a nonprofit’s use of Facebook Live. As of today, you can’t block people right from their comment on the live video, like you can on Periscope. Hopefully, that will change soon.

Lastly, for organizations already comfortable with video, being an early adopter of Facebook Live may present a wonderful opportunity to produce more live video and offer your Facebook audience a chance to see and hear more than traditional social media updates allow for. Live Video is dynamic, fast, and unedited visual storytelling. Definitely a new frontier for nonprofits wanting to explore storytelling, organizational transparency, and community building.

I will be featuring nonprofits and NGOs using Facebook Live in creative ways, so let me know in the comments below of any nonprofits you know that are using it to engage their supporters.

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A Facebook Donate Button for the News Feed that Might Actually Work!

John Haydon — Fri, 11 Dec 2015 14:01:34 +0000

Facebook is testing a new fundraising app that just might make giving as “social” as liking, commenting, and sharing.

Called “Fundraisers”, the app will include a set of fundraising features for charities and nonprofits:

Share fundraising campaigns with Page followers
Use photos and video to tell fundraising stories
Track progress toward a campaign or project
Update supporters when fundraising goals are achieved
Customize donation amounts
Get donations via credit card or PayPal

But this isn’t the first time Facebook has dabbled with fundraising features:

In 2012 Facebook recommended a few third-party apps for fundraising.
In 2013 Facebook tested a Donate Button that never really took off.
In January of 2015, Facebook launched a Call-to-Action button for Pages that includes a“Donate” option.
More recently Facebook has partnered with large charities on campaigns like fighting Ebola (below) and the Nepal earthquake.

A Donate Button for the News Feed

Fundraisers puts the donate buttons where it matters – in the News Feed! This lets people donate directly from their news feeds instead of having to visit the Page (which rarely happens).

Below is a fundraiser for the Syrian Refugee Crisis that allows users to choose a specific donation amount. According to Facebook, users will be able to donate and share fundraisers in just a few taps.

And here’s a video demo of the donor experience:

Fundraiser is being tested with Mercy Corps, World Wildlife Fund, and 35 other nonprofits in the U.S. and will expand that list soon. You can sign up to get news about the rollout.

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(VIDEO) Leveraging Periscope App for Social Good

Caroline Avakian — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 13:22:28 +0000

As a follow-up to my post on Periscope for Nonprofits: A Quick Guide & Review, I gave a video interview last week with Stephen Shattuck from Bloomerang. The interview covers how nonprofits can leverage Periscope – Twiiter’s new live streaming mobile app – to better reach and communicate with their supporters and donors.

I’ve been getting so many questions, and there’s been so much interest in this new app from the nonprofit community, that I thought posting this video Q and A would be an additional way to get the Persicope basics down, as well as some best practices and ideas on how your nonprofit can put Periscope to work.

Is your nonprofit using Periscope? Let me know in the comments! I’m doing a series of early case studies on Periscope for Nonprofts, and would love to feature how your nonprofit is leveraging Periscope for social or environmental good.

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HatchforGood.org helps nonprofits tell their stories

Caroline Avakian — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 13:26:45 +0000

This past Tuesday, I attended the Social Media for Nonprofits Conference in NYC. There’s always great content and discoveries to be made at the #SM4NP Conferences. They tour around the country and are focused on providing great content and practical, tactical workshops and tools that nonprofits can put to work the next day. Full disclosure: I’m on their Leadership Council but I still know a good conference when I see one.

One of my favorite presentations came from Jereme Bivins and Jay Geneske from the Rockefeller Foundation. They were presenting one of their latest projects: HatchforGood.org. I had known about HatchforGood for a little while now but hadn’t given it a deep dive yet, so I was super excited to get this in-person primer at the conference.

Well, it’s really pretty great and it’s free. As the site tells us, Hatch acts like a concierge, connecting you to a suite of tools and a growing community to help you leverage storytelling to drive social impact and improve the lives of the poor and vulnerable around the world. The concept being that nonprofit’s stories don’t just materialize—they’re strategically planned, they’re creatively crafted, and they’re designed to achieve measurable outcomes.

Hatch has five sections, each designed to help you strategically craft, curate and share stories to drive social impact. As you answer questions, you are provided with suggested tools, case studies and resources that are customized to your needs. These recommendations will always be saved to your profile so you can access them later.
As you build your storytelling profile, you can explore case studies, look for ideas from storytelling thought leaders and even contribute your own. These resources can also be saved to your profile for later use.

Perhaps one of my favorite parts of Hatch is that it has an ‘Evaluation’ section, which helps you measure the effectiveness and impact of your work. That’s great news for data-driven organizations and an impetus for those who struggle with metrics to wrap their heads around the impact of storytelling.

Great storytelling tools that make us smarter as organizations don’t come around often so go ahead, sign up and see how others are telling stories. It may inspire you to explore new ways of telling yours.

Hatch is currently in Beta. You can learn more at HatchforGood.org

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