How nonprofits can find the right mix of personal and professional for their social media profiles. From a Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com webinar in July 2009.

1. The Personal
-Professional Mix:
Getting It Right in
Social Media
Created Especially for
Staff at Nonprofit
Organizations
Flickr: kteague

2. What’s on the Menu
• The Dilemma
• Different
Approaches
• Nonprofit Examples
• Some Suggestions
for Being
Personable
Flickr: Georgio

3. Where does this
dilemma about the
personal/professional
mix come from?

4. Real Conversations Aren’t Scripted
Trying to live the
“social” in social
media can be a little
scary when you know
your conversations
might be visible
forever.
Flickr: Kris Hoet

5. Balancing Responsibility with Freedom
• Nonprofits fear
someone will say
something
inappropriate.
• Staff fears censorship
of their personal lives.
Flickr: Mr.Enjoy

6. Blurring of Personal and Private
• “Personal” no longer
equals “Private.”
• Work and home lives
collide all the time.
• Real privacy becomes
even more important,
but the lines are
different for each
person.
Flickr: rpongsaj

7. Meeting Expectations
• You might fear
boring friends with
work, and boring
colleagues with your
personal life.
Flickr: Tom Coates

8. Everyone is a Spokesperson
• This is terrible if you
can’t trust most
people to say the
right things.
• This is fabulous if you
can.
Flickr: DrBacchus

9. Webinar Poll Results
27 Webinar Attendees from Nonprofits across the U.S. and Canada, July 15, 2009

10. How are organizations
responding to this
dilemma?

11. Intel v. Wall Street Journal
Intel Wall Street Journal
• Promoting upside • Preventing downside
• Guidelines • Policy
• What to do • What not to do
• Encourages • No discussion of
conversation, adding reporting process, only
value, sharing after publication
expertise and • No mixing biz and
excitement pleasure
Source:
http://www.kellieparker.com/2009/05/17/intel-wsj/

12. Your Options
• Go for it and see
what happens
• Discuss it informally
• Create supportive
guidance (Intel
model)
• Create restrictive
policy (WSJ model)
Flickr: lu lu

13. Customize by Site
• Can take different
approaches on
different social
media/networking
sites, blogs, etc.
• Easier to draw lines
on some sites than
others

14. What’s the Right Mix?
The 5 Most Common
Approaches
Nonprofits Are
Taking
Flickr: Tracy Hunter

15. Keep Profiles Totally Separated
• Personal and
professional both
exist and don’t
blend, ever.
• Even if it sounds
ideal to you, it’s
probably unrealistic
(requires intense
discipline)
Flickr: shizzy0

16. Personal Profile, Some Work
• It’s yours personally,
and you mention
work unofficially,
and that’s fine with
everyone.
• Yours to keep if you
leave the job.
Flickr: Pixel Theif 

17. Personal Profile, Mostly Work
• It’s mostly about
work, but you
mention personal
info too
• Would go silent or
require username
change if you left
job
• May or may not be
“official” Flickr: evelynishere

18. Official Profile
• Exclusively
organizational
updates and
responses
• May or may not
know the person(s)
behind the updates
Flickr: deltaMike

19. Multiple Profiles, Working
Together
• Official profile for
work (personality
yes, personal no)
• Perhaps separate
program or chapter
profiles too
• Staff encouraged to
talk about work on
personal profiles
Flickr: buba69

20. Webinar Poll Results
27 Webinar Attendees from Nonprofits across the U.S. and Canada, July 15, 2009

21. Let’s look at what three
nonprofits are doing.

22. National Wildlife Federation’s Approach
Source: johnhaydon.com

23. Official NWF Twitter Accounts
http://www.slideshare.net/danielle.brigida/using-social-media-to-protect-wildlife

24. We Know Who’s Behind NWF

25. What the Official Account Does
http://www.slideshare.net/danielle.brigida/using-social-media-to-protect-wildlife

26. Official and Unofficial NWF Tweeters
http://www.slideshare.net/danielle.brigida/using-social-media-to-protect-wildlife

27. Advice for Unofficial Accounts
http://www.slideshare.net/danielle.brigida/using-social-media-to-protect-wildlife

28. Client Privacy Concerns Stopping You?
If the American
Red Cross and
Easter Seals can
figure it out, your
small org can too.
Flickr: bejealousofme

29. American Red Cross’s Guidance
How do you balance the personal/professional mix online?
You need to determine your own comfort level in discussing
work in your personal communications. Just be responsible
and remember that the NHQ social media team will see all
mentions of the Red Cross and may contact you to praise
your discussion, invite you to contribute to our corporate
online spaces, or to give you guidance about how to talk
about your work responsibly. Always follow our Fundamental
Principles.
Source: American Red Cross Social Media Guidelines
for Chapters and Blood Service Regions.
http://sites.google.com/site/wharman/social-media-strategy-handbook
Emphasis added.

30. Red Cross Official Account
“We use
@redcross
strictly to
disseminate
real time
disaster info
and
preparedness
tips.”

31. Lots of Red Crossers Tweeting!

32. Wendy Harman, Red Cross Employee
Personal profile,
transparent
about working for
Red Cross, but a
blend of personal
and professional.
Not branded as
Red Cross.

33. How the Red Cross Handles Challenges
“A challenging comment can become a robust
discussion that increases understanding of the Red
Cross. There’s no need to be afraid of talking to
your supporters. If you have any trouble or don’t
know how to handle a particular comment, contact
the social media team at national.”
Source: American Red Cross Social Media Guidelines
for Chapters and Blood Service Regions.
http://sites.google.com/site/wharman/social-media-strategy-handbook
Emphasis Added

34. Easter Seals’ Guidelines for Bloggers
1. Be Responsible. 6. Write What You
2. Be Smart. Know.
3. Identify Yourself. 7. Include Links.
4. Include a Disclaimer. 8. Be Respectful.
5. Respect Privacy of 9. Work Matters.
Others. 10. Don’t Tell Secrets.
Source: http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2008/04/nonprofit-blogg.html
Emphasis Added

35. Easter Seals

36. How to decide what’s
right for you.

37. What’s It Like Offline?
How integrated
are the work
lives and
personal lives of
staff otherwise?
Flickr: ninahale

38. How Big Might This Get?
How many
people are likely
to be
communicating
about the org? A
handful or
hundreds?
Flickr: ktylerconk

39. Just How Big is the Risk?
How likely is it
(seriously) that
things could go
badly? And how
would a policy
mitigate that?
Flickr: jeremybarwick

40. Webinar Poll Results
27 Webinar Attendees from Nonprofits across the U.S. and Canada, July 15, 2009

41. Tips for being more
personable online
(while still protecting
your privacy).

42. 3 G’s of Good Social Media Marketing
Good nonprofit
social media
marketing is
• Genuine
• Generous
• Grateful
Flickr: Editor B

43. Good Ways to Be Personal
• Retweeting, linking, liking (shows us what
you like)
• Commenting (shows us how you think)
• Share What’s a
Little Different
(funny, cool,
or interesting
to you)
Flickr: faeryboots

44. 3 G’s of Bad Social Media Marketing
Flickr: Annie Mole
Bad nonprofit social
media marketing is
• Greedy
• Grandstanding
• Grabby

45. If It Gives You Pause . . . Pause.
• Politics
• Religion
• Anything Illegal
• Anything Sexual
• Possible Ick Factor, e.g.
Personal Hygiene
• Hot Button Social Issues
• One Person’s Snark is
Another’s Insult
Slide title comes from Intel’s Social Media Guidelines Flickr: cambodia4kidsorg

46. The Traditional Advice . . .
• Don’t post if you’d
be mortified if your
mom, boss, future
spouse, or future
boss saw it.
Flickr: wotthe7734

47. But Always Be True to You
• If you are being
genuine and
thoughtful, and you
lose someone
because of
something you said,
is it really a loss?
(IMHO, No.)
Flickr: faeryboots

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49. Let’s keep in touch!
Kivi Leroux Miller
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