Outtakes from Mashable’s Social Good Summit

Target audience: Nonprofits, NGOs, cause organizations, social enterprises, businesses, brands, foundations, educators, social media managers

Guest post by Jereme Bivins
Social Media Manager, The Foundation Center
There was no shortage of optimism, technology, and inspiring panelists and speakers at the Social Good Summit sponsored by Mashable, the UN Foundation, Ericsson and the 92nd Street Y last week. Topics ranged from the future of media, with media mogul Ted Turner, to a thoughtful conversation on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to the introduction of Skype for Education.

But no conference sponsored by Mashable would be complete without an analysis of the state of social media and the future of the online space for the social sector. Among the many lessons learned at the summit, some mantras echoed more resolute than others, particularly the increased emphasis governments, NGOs, nonprofits and individual activists are placing on social strategies to advance their missions.

According to Alec J. Ross, the Senior Advisor for Innovation to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, social media has fueled the “devolution of power from hierarchies to citizens,” a point underscored by the ongoing Arab Spring. With access to mobile phones and social media, governments and citizens are more closely connected. Where once a government official would entertain an audience only with his country’s affluent elites, now wealth is no longer a prerequisite to power.

Although there are many celebrities on Facebook and Twitter with armies of followers, there are also far more individuals and organizations with active networks of retweeters, bloggers and fast-growing social spheres of influence. This is immensely important for nonprofit organizations; no longer is wealth and celebrity needed to achieve meaningful social change. Instead, change can be achieved quickly and on a shoestring budget by using social media to build relationships, engage with decision-makers and organize compatriots.

Further evidence of this can be taken from the LIVESTRONG Foundation’s founder, Lance Armstrong, and CEO Doug Ulman. In discussing the immense success of the ‘LIVESTRONG’ bracelets, Ulman noted that part of their success was in destigmatizing cancer as an illness and empowering survivors to tell their story.

Now, as the foundation embraces the social Web, Ulman believes that social media is an even more powerful platform for advocacy and storytelling and will build exponentially on the impact the foundation has already made. Moreover, direct appeals, mass mailings and phone banking can be costly to organizations operating on a tight budget. Ulman argues that using Twitter and Facebook to cultivate relationships with supporters can reduce these costs (taking staff time into consideration, of course).

Creative use of the social Web will be a key to success

Additionally, the ubiquity of mobile phones and the social Web has also inspired an increasing number of world leaders and dignitaries to employ Facebook and Twitter to listen to their constituencies, connect with the younger generation and advance public-interest causes. In one panel, both Dr. Ida Betty Odinga, wife of the prime minister of Kenya, and the first lady of South Africa, Madame Tobeka Stacie Zuma, enthusiastically heralded social media as a preeminent communications tool, particularly on championing health-related issues in their countries. At the close of the discussion, the women composed their first tweets as audience members refreshed their screens in quiet anticipation.

Having decision-makers and other influential folks on the social Web gives nonprofits a tremendous outlet for direct communication and online organization. So the bottom line of the summit isn’t that social media is a big deal. Rather, it’s that social media is growing – fast – and organizations taking creative approaches to implementation, and advancing innovative solutions in the field will enjoy continued success.

The time to plan for 2012 has come. How will you be using social media for social good?

Image above by Gary He/Insider Images for UN Foundation on Flickr

The post How social media is advancing social change appeared first on Socialbrite.

It only works when it’s connected to the real world

At the National Conference on Volunteering and Service — which some folks call “the Super Bowl of nonprofit conferences” — George Weiner and I teamed up on one of the most successful Social Media for Social Good Bootcamps that Socialbrite has put on to date. (Socialbrite has put on camps in New York, San Francisco, Miami, London and elsewhere.)

For those of us who live and breathe tech and social media — me in Silicon Valley and George, CTO of DoSomething.org, in New York and Washington, DC — it’s always a good reality check to come to gatherings like this and see how the non-early adopters are faring.

The three-hour session we led yesterday offered a range of tips on how to use social media strategically for campaigns, for collaboration, for building community, and I invite you to browse through the presentation above, since the attendees found it useful: “AMAZING session” (thanks, Volunteer Centre) … “awesome, fantastic session” (thanks, NCVS) … “Great session!” (thanks, Groupon).

But there were more beginners in the crowd than I expected. For instance, only about five out of 50 particpants were using Google Analytics (the free tool every website and blog ought to have). None had heard of the Grassrootsmapping.org effort to document the Gulf oil spill, even though we’re right here in New Orleans. And only one out of 80 people (not counting me) at today’s session on data had ever used Tumblr, an easy way to post blog entries and photos.

These are good, smart, motivated people — we need to break through the barriers and connect the tools and strategies with the organizations and causes that need them, starting with the basics.

So let’s take a deep breath and remember: We still have a lot of work before us, and there’s a lot of education yet to be done.

The post A reality check on social media appeared first on Socialbrite.

Whether you want to grow your membership, raise funds or loans, recruit more followers, gather petition signatures, find volunteers for your cause or connect with your community, Social Media for Social Good: How to Mobilize Your Supporters to Take Action will offer guidance that will help your organization create impact for years to come.

It’s the pre-conference bootcamp that I’m putting on with George Weiner, chief technology officer of DoSomething.org, at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in New Orleans on Sunday, June 5. If you’re going to NCVS, we hope you’ll join us!

This special 3-hour workshop will dive deeply into strategy, tactics and tools available to volunteer organizations and nonprofit managers. NCVS has no tech track this year, so get up to speed on the mission-critical social tools in your sector.

When & where

When: Sunday, June 5, from 2 to 5 p.m.

Where: New Orleans Convention Center

How much: $99 (If you’ve already registered, we’ll accept payments at the door)

Register: Enter the session identification code 5638 during the registration process. Register now

Speakers

J.D. Lasica is a social media strategist, nonprofit consultant and author who is considered one of the world’s leading experts on the social Web. He is founder of Socialbrite.org, a learning hub & global consultancy that works with nonprofits and NGOs, and Socialmedia.biz, which works with major brands. He has spoken at or given workshops at Harvard’s Berkman Center, Stanford, MIT, NYU, SXSW, the Cannes Film Festival and at events in Paris, Milan and Seoul. J.D. was named one of the Top 40 Silicon Valley Influencers and one of CNET’s Top 100 Media Bloggers. Follow him on Twitter at @jdlasica.

George Weiner is chief technology officer of DoSomething.org. a not-for-profit that uses communication technologies to empower young people to take action. Under his leadership, the organization has become an innovator in social media, mobile technologies and causes. He oversaw the complete overhaul of the site, landing a People’s Choice Webby Award in the Youth category. George is a self-taught techie and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a frequent speaker on nonprofit tech issues at forums including the Google Grants Conference, U.N. Youth Summit, National Conference on Volunteering and Service, NTEN and BlogWorld Expo and has guest lectured at NYU and NYIT. Follow him on Twitter at @georgecaweiner.

Agenda

Social Media for Social Good Camp will focus on practical, down-to-earth tactics and strategies that busy professionals can immediately take to engage supporters. The emphasis is on actionable takeaways. You’ll be introduced to several examples of nonprofits and volunteer organizations that are creating impact – with real-world examples you can learn from.

We encourage interaction and questions during our sessions! Let us know what you’d like to see covered, and tell us if you have any lessons learned that you’d like to share.

Some of the questions we’ll cover:

• What strategies & tactics will motivate supporters and newcomers to take specific actions on behalf of my organization or cause?
• What are the essential elements of a successful advocacy campaign?
• How can I successfully use social tools to mobilize volunteers, spread awareness, enlist supporters, raise funds and drive action?
• What metrics are critical to measure? (To drive social media decisions, ask, “What does the data say?” instead of “What does my gut say?”)
• How can storytelling and video advance the mission of my organization?
• Which organizations are creating impact, and what are they doing right?
• What are some of the cutting-edge tools and resources available for change agents looking to make a difference?
• What do you want to know? Email us in advance.

The camp’s format

Where possible, we’ll use a roundtable approach and a short small-group breakout session that encourages dialogue and interaction.

Snacks and water will be provided.

Series testimonial

This is part of Socialbrite’s nationwide series of social media bootcamps. We presented our camp to positive reviews at Personal Democracy Forum in New York and at Sustainatopia in Miami.

Hear what Jeff Pfaff, founder & CEO of mtbMobile, said about taking the bootcamp in this 60-second audio:

Jeff-Pfaff.mp3

Bonus materials

In addition to this 3-hour live training, during the bootcamp you’ll also be able to access eight full-color handouts and guides at no additional cost — and share them with your team.

If you’re attending NCVS, please register now and choose the session ID code 5638 during the registration process (the Sunday afternoon bootcamp). Questions? Let me know.

The post How to mobilize your supporters to take action appeared first on Socialbrite.