Verify your site to add credibility & authority

Target audience: Nonprofits, cause organizations, foundations, NGOs, social enterprises, Web publishers — anyone with a Pinterest account and a website.

You may have missed the announcement Thursday that Pinterest is now giving website operators a way to verify your website on your Pinterest profile page. If you manage your nonprofit’s Pinterest account and want to associate it with your nonprofit’s website, follow the steps below.

The idea is that by attaching your online identity to your Pinterest account, it bring a little more authority and credibility to your pages on there. It’s a good idea to go ahead and do that, since the pinboard-style image sharing website is now the third most popular social networking site, behind only Facebook and Twitter. (We’re at http://pinterest.com/socialbrite, come say hi and show off your own boards.)

3 steps to verify, but you need access to your site

1To begin, log in to your Pinterest account and select Settings in the dropdown under your icon at the top right. Scroll down and click the Verify Website button next to your site’s url. Note that Pinterest only supports verification for top-level domains, like www.yournonprofit.org (or .com, .biz, .net, etc.).

2Pinterest will then take you to https://pinterest.com/domain/verify/, a page that should look like this:

You’ll notice the top line of the instructions includes a link for you to download a small html file. Download it. Then upload it to the root level of your website. It’s simplest to use a ftp client to upload it; make sure it’s at the root level (that is, /) so that Pinterest can find it. (If ftp scares you, find the office techie and she can do this in seconds.) Here’s ours: http://www.socialbrite.org/pinterest-70859.html

3Return to the same page as in step 2 to complete the process. Click the link that says, “Click here to complete the process.” That’s it!

When you do, and if you uploaded the file to its proper place, Pinterest will be happy and will confirm that you’ve been verified. Readers will then see a checkmark next to your domain in search results. They will also see the full website URL and checkmark on your profile page. See the image at the top of this article. Pinterest only allows one verified domain per account.

As TheNextWeb reports: “The new features comes just a week after Pinterest launched user blocking and reporting. It’s clear the service is looking to step up its image in the area of security and privacy, which is particularly important given all the hacking and spamming that’s happening on the site.”

Any questions?

The post 3 steps to add your nonprofit’s url to Pinterest appeared first on Socialbrite.

Twive competition pits cities against each other to see who’s most generous

Guest post by Ifdy Perez
Community manager, Razoo

More than 200 organizations are preparing to bombard the online world with Twive and Receive — Twive combines the words Twitter and Give — a 24-hour fundraising competition on June 14. Twive pits cities against each other in a competition to see which city is the most generous in America, and one of the tools these nonprofits will be using includes Pinterest, the third most-visited social network in the country.

Here’s a list of five ways you can use Pinterest to drive traffic to your online fundraiser that works both for Twive and any other fundraiser your nonprofit starts!

Pin images and videos about what you do

1Through Socialbrite’s John Haydon, I learned that the emotional part of our brains processes images better than words. Tell your nonprofit’s story by uploading pictures or videos from events your organization held, the people and communities you’ve helped, and even of your staff members. Images are all around you — you just have to look for the ones that represent what you do.

If you’re pinning a blog post, make sure you have images on there that Pinterest can capture. Also avoid any copyright issues by using images with a Creative Commons license, such as these on Flickr.

Communicate often and consistently

2For fundraising events like Twive and Receive, communicating to your donors about what you need them to do often and consistently (on Pinterest or elsewhere) is very important because the more you appear in front of them, the more they’ll remember what you’re telling them. Narrow down the primary things you need your donors to support you on. Try keeping the list to three or fewer items.

For example, you may want to ask them to “Donate and Ask Your Friends!” and provide the links so they can do it easily without any confusion. The number of times you communicate to them should be based on how you currently communicate with them. If they’re used to hearing from you once a month, start with that and build up to a couple of times a month or weekly as the event date gets closer.

Create a contest within a contest

3Creating a small contest within your overall Twive and Receive strategy could get your supporters pumped to help you win! You could offer gift cards or other rewards to the person who gets the most pins/likes related to your fundraiser. This could help boost the engagement you get on Pinterest and will get your supporters excited (to help you win a prize on Twive day). Another outcome is that you’ll be directing them to your website, which can increase donations with a strong site.

Respond to every comment

4Part of engaging your supporters is by responding to their messages to you. Answer any questions and comments they leave on your pins. They’ll notice that you acknowledged them, and this will help you build a relationship that can last beyond Twive and Receive. You’ll reinforce the message about your fundraiser by being interactive with your followers. And by doing that, you’re giving them more reason to trust you, support your fundraiser, and become lifetime donors of your organization.

Show you’re relevant and resourceful with boards

5Pinterest is a way for your nonprofit to be a resource for your followers by curating good content they’ll want to read, while you promote the good works of your organization. Think about the major topics related to your nonprofit’s audience. You can have a board of “Success Stories,” “2011 Gala Pics,” or “Video Testimonials.” Make sure the board is topical and clearly tied to your fundraiser/cause’s effort so that it builds value.

A final word

See what the 200-plus Twive and Receive participants are doing to spread the word about their fundraiser! Here’s how to sign up!

The post 5 ways to use Pinterest to promote your cause or fundraiser appeared first on Socialbrite.