MSAF Social Media eBook: an Overview

Developing a Social Media Strategy

Hmmm . . . So you want to start a Non-
profit
• Did you know there are more than 1,000,000
groups recognized by Internal Revenue Service as
nonprofits?
• That is a HUGE number of Causes & folks being
served
• In your area, how many Non-Profits are viable &
self-sustaining?
• Not sure what that means? We will cover those
two subject areas in-depth. Follow the links &
get a head-start.

Hmmm . . . So you want to start a Non-
profit
• The reason most nonprofit groups are started is:
– A person or group of people get together with some
public-spirited purpose and agree to marshal
resources from among themselves and the wider
community to address that cause.
• A NONPROFIT becomes a corporation by:
– Filing its articles of incorporation with the state
(usually the secretary of state, attorney general or
Department of Commerce) and successfully obtaining
a certificate of incorporation or a charter

Types of Non-Profits
• Informal: You can be a nonprofit organization just
by getting together with some friends. An
example of this would be a self-help group. In this
case, you’re an informal nonprofit organization.

• Under Fiscal Sponsorship: If you don’t have
enough resources for start-up costs, fees or skills
to initially handle finances, or if the organization
will exist only long enough to address a specific
need and then disband. An example of this would
be supplying under-privileged school children
with supplies at the start of the school year

Types of Non-Profits
• IRS Tax-Exempt: You must be a corporation,
community chest fund or foundation to
receive this status. One example is a
“charitable nonprofit” or 501(c)(3). This type
of organization provides the extended benefit
to their of an income tax deduction for all
charitable gifts.

• Tax-Deductible: IRS Publication 526 lists types
of organizations that are eligible.

Why Incorporate?
Unsure of who, what & why?

• You can incorporate your nonprofit so it exists
as a separate legal organization in order to:
– Purchase property as an entity.
– Establish a bank account under the organization’s
name & accept Donations
– Ensure that the nonprofit can continue on its own
(even after you’re gone).
– Protect yourself personally from liability from
operations of the nonprofit.

Incorporating your Non-Profit

• You incorporate your nonprofit by:
– Filing articles of incorporation (or other charter
documents) with the appropriate local state office.
• What are ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
– The first key charter document, the articles of
incorporation must be filed with your state.
– In most states, the state attorney general or secretary
of state is designated as the public’s representative for
dealing with registration of charter.

Why Incorporate your Non-Profit
• TAX EXEMPTION
Incorporation facilitates application for federal
and state tax-exempt status.
• LIMITED LIABILITY
With rare exception, individuals who control the
corporation are not responsible for legal and
financial obligations of the organization.
Therefore, there is less personal risk. The
corporation can incur debts and have legal
obligations. It owns its own property.

Board of Directors

• Your board of directors is comprised of a
group of local or regional leaders:
– They are volunteering their time to LEAD your
nonprofit organization.
– They are also the spokespersons and advocates
for your organization.
– Your organizations bylaws should include the
descriptions of the board’s offices, as agreed to by
the board.

9 Reasons for having a Board
NO Board, No one is driving the Car

• Your Board of Directors are the Drivers
– They Champion your Cause
– They guide the Mission of your Cause
– Their Credibility brings funding to your Cause

Board: Reason #1

• Determining purpose and establishing mission
– Founding boards help define the organization’s
mission
– Over time new boards ensure it stays current
– An organization’s mission statement explains what
it does, why it does it, and whom it serves

Board: Reason #2
• Setting policy
• Boards are responsible for establishing policies
regarding:
– Staffing
– Evaluations
– Periodically reviewing founding documents
– Creating and maintaining records
– Budgeting
– Managing facilities
– Public relations
– All other matters essential to the viability and success of
the organization

Board: Reason #3
• Communicating mission and achievements to the
larger community
– Nonprofits depend on community support and
funding, and the board serves as its ambassadors,
getting the word out. The board should be involved in:
• Defining the message
• Selecting the best mechanisms for disseminating the
message based on need and budget
• Budgeting for public information and outreach
• Putting in place evaluation strategies to measure
effectiveness
• Periodically adjusting communications based on results and
resources.

Board: Reason #4
• Maintaining organizational integrity and
accountability
– The board is ultimately responsible for ensuring
adherence to legal standards and ethical norms and
establishing policies and procedures to guide its
members and staff.
– Nonprofit organizations have come under increased
scrutiny in recent years, caused in part by a few
organizations that failed to maintain appropriate
oversight and therefore fell victim to fraud,
embezzlement or other breach of public trust.

Board: Reason #5
• Effectively planning (ensuring mission is
carried out)
– In addition to strategic long-range planning, the
board should also insist that the staff develop an
operational planning process
– This translates the strategic plan’s goals and
objectives into a concrete work plan
– The board should periodically assess its own
operations to ensure that it and the organization
are working at optimum capacity and efficiency

Board: Reason #6
• Hiring, oversight, assessment and supporting the
executive director
– One of the most important responsibilities of a board
is the hiring of the executive director
– Establish specific long-term priorities with clear
objectives for at least one year of the new director’s
service
– Clarify which functions belong to the board and which
to the executive director
– The board should provide support and constructive
feedback to the director, including an annual
evaluation based on specific measurable goals

Board: Reason #7

• Cultivating resources, raising funds, and
contributing to the bottom line
– Another important function of a board is fund-raising
– It is important for board members to understand they
must contribute more than their time and expertise
for program activities
– They are expected to identify outside funding
resources and make an appropriate annual financial
contribution to demonstrate commitment

Board: Reason #7

• Cultivating resources, raising funds, and
contributing to the bottom line
– The board should approve a fund-raising plan with
a case statement
– A written statement of need that expands the
organization’s mission and purpose and tells
potential funders why the organization needs
money and how it will be used

Board: Reason #7

• The Case Statement Should Answer the Following
Questions:
– What is the organization and what does it do?
– Why does the organization exist?
– What is distinctive about the organization?
– What must be accomplished?
– How will this campaign enable it to be accomplished?
– How can the donor become involved?
– How do donors benefit from this organization?

Board: Reason #8

• Meeting fiduciary responsibilities.
– Board members have a responsibility to assure
that the organization remains financially sound
– While the treasurer and Finance Committee have
the chief responsibility of developing and tracking
the budget, it is every member’s responsibility to
understand the budget, investment procedures
and the organization’s financial history

Board: Reason #8
• Meeting fiduciary responsibilities
– The board must put fiscal and accounting policies and
procedures in place to ensure integrity, legal compliance
and smooth operation
– These mechanisms will include preparation of an annual
budget based on goals and realistic projections
– Development of accounting guidelines and/or
authorization of accounting services
– Acquisition of software packages to facilitate
documentation and projections
– Standards for record creation and retention, and
– Policies regarding submission and board review of finance
and tax documents

Board: Reason #9
• Recruiting volunteers and exercising ongoing self-
management
– A commonly overlooked board responsibility is that of
identifying and developing future leaders.
– Current board members are in the best position to know
how best to fill an expertise or constituent representative
need with new board members.
– Boards often frequently overlook the sensitive area of self-
evaluation.
– An organization should conduct an informal and ongoing
assessment at every meeting and a formal assessment
annually
– By evaluating its performance in fulfilling its
responsibilities, the board can recognize its achievements
and reach consensus on which areas need to be improved

Board leadership Challenges
a reality
• The current Economic Crisis is a serious
challenge for all sectors of our Society, but
even more so for Non-Profits!
• In times such as these, NPOs need a vibrant,
creative & innovative Board
• Leadership is needed more during times of
uncertainty than in times of stability
• Implementing a Social Media Strategy
REQUIRES innovative Leadership

Build your Board Socially!
Equals greater Board involvement
• Social Media & prospective Board Members
– No difference in meeting & engaging
• Donors
• Volunteers
• Recipients or Clients of your Cause
– Find them using same strategies
– LinkedIn yields the greatest opportunities
– If a Board Member has his or her Board Roots in
Social Media, you are OVER 50% of the way to
having a Social Media Strategy for your NPO

Why implement a Social Media Strategy?
Results

• 1st: What is a Social Media Strategy?
– A coordinated & focused effort
– Designed to reach specific goals & targets
– Implementing to varying degrees, different Social
Media Platforms, which are all inter-dependent
upon the other

What are the benefits of a Social Media
Strategy?
So many
• Primary Benefits:
– Social Media Marketing is or can be . . . FREE!
– Causes are social by nature, therefore connecting
through social channels is a natural
– Social Connections take place over a longer period of
time & are deeper in commitment, therefore the
outcomes have greater value
– The Trust Factor of a knowledgeable friend or Social
Connection, PULLS like minded people to a Brand or a
Cause
– Pulling clients to a cause has greater value than that
of typical Brand Marketing, a Push Style method of
reaching potential customers

Social Media Strategies require
combinations of the following:
• Various Platforms, for varying Goals or
Targets: but they all must connect to the
Cause or NPO’s Web Site:
– Blog: Cause
– Blog: Board
– Blog: Volunteers
– Blog: Clients/Recipients
– Micro-Blogs

• Various Platforms, for varying Goals or Targets:
but they all must connect to the Cause or NPO’s
Web Site:
– Facebook: Personal
– Facebook: Cause
– Facebook: Avocations
– Facebook: Volunteers & Cause
– Facebook: Volunteer Avocations
– Facebook: Board Members & Cause
– Facebook: Clients or Recipients of services

– Twitter: Personal
– Twitter: Cause
– Twitter: Volunteers
– Twitter: Board Members
– Twitter: Clients/Recipients

– YouTube: Cause
– YouTube: Board
– YouTube: Volunteers
– YouTube: Clients/Recipients

– Linkedin: Cause
– Linkedin: Board
– Linkedin: Staff
– Linkedin: Volunteers
– Linkedin: Clients/Recipients

Content DRIVES Social Media Success!
Old saying . . . Content is King or Queen!
• A few Social Content Facts as of Feb. 2012
– Over 1.5 million pieces of content are shared on Facebook
daily
– Approximately one in every 13 people on earth are active
Facebook users
– The number of Twitter users increases by 300,000 every
day
– Twitter users send 55 million Tweets per day, or 640 per
second
– Facebook added 100 million users in less than nine months
– Interactive content is shared 11 times more often than
static content

• The challenge is to engage effectively on social
sites and then drive fans and followers back to
the NPO website
• Therefore Content should be INTERACTIVE
• Why?
– It is most likely to be consumed and enjoyed,
bringing your audience back for MORE
– It is most likely to be shared among social media
channels


• Interactive Content Increases Time on a Site
• According to research compiled from AOL,
Nielsen and MarketingProfs, 53 percent of
time spent on the internet is directly
attributable to content consumption
• 96 percent of what is consumed and shared
does not link to a static web page!


• In other words, consumers are demanding
interactive, digital content
• To drive interactions and make your site
“sticky,”
• Your Cause must offer content that today’s
Volunteers, Donors & Recipients have come to
EXPECT & are drawn to while sharing with
others

• Content that WORKS:
– Videos, entertaining or interesting interviews,
Audios, Surveys or interactive quizzes or other
applications which create an emotional
connection
– An Emotional Connection will get the user to
Register for more information, for more emotional
future connections
– Capturing a Registration is key to an NPOs Long
Term Success!


• When an online content strategy is designed
around the concept of a “hub,” companies can
create an educational resource that will generate
and nurture leads far beyond the duration of a
simple
• A Hub is seen in the following Graphic: Content
flows in a circular pattern


• When an online content strategy is designed
around the concept of a “hub,” companies can
create an educational resource that will
generate and nurture leads far beyond the
duration of a simple
• A Hub is seen in the following Graphic:
Content flows in a circular pattern
Donor, Facebook Donor,
Volunteer Content Volunteer
or Client Share or Client

Web Site
Content


• Content that WORKS:
– For Profits, your typical Brand Name, offers a Quid
Pro Quo: you give me something & then I give you
something
– Register & get a Coupon
– NPOs can have Partners
– Those Partners can provide “Giveaways” that
induce registration

• According to the Marketing Experiments
report, Clarity Trumps Persuasion
• Your content must answer at least the first
two of these three simple questions within
the first seven seconds of a prospect’s arrival
to the Web page
– Where am I?
– What can I do here?
– Why should I do it? Most important for NPOs


• Whenever a visitor clicks on a link, the first
thing they need is to orient themselves about
where they are and why they should stay.
• If your content doesn’t clearly establish that
relevance for the visitor, they will leave

• The Content Currency Equation
– Content is the new medium of exchange between
companies and buyers or NPOs &
Donors/Volunteers/Clients
– With customers taking control of their buying process
and so much information competing for notice, the
relevance of your content must be perceived as high
enough to pay for their attention
– The value of your marketing content as currency is
also determined by how many of your visitors decide
to pay you by sharing their information and opting in
to receive more


• The Content Currency Equation
– When your marketing currency is perceived as
high, more prospective customers are willing to
exchange their information for your content
– An additional benefit is the willingness of those
prospects to share your content with the growing
number of people involved in the decision made
during a lengthening buying process

• 6 areas to monitor & question:
– Time - Are prospects viewing one article for 5 seconds or
spending the time necessary to read the entire piece? Do
your prospects stay for the entire Webinar or leave after
the first 15 minutes?
– Depth - Do prospects read one page and leave your
Website, or do they tend to click on links to related
information and travel more deeply to explore the content
more fully?
– Interaction - In addition to how many registrants your
Webinars get, measure the difference between unique
attendees and total attendees.

• 6 areas to monitor & question:
– Social - How many of your visitors and followers are
sharing your Webinars, white papers and other content
with their social networks via Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook
or mentions in their blog posts
– Opt In - What percentage of visitors who visit your landing
pages are opting in for your gated offers? This includes
Webinar registrations, newsletter subscriptions, online
demos and other content offers
– Referrals - Are your prospects only visiting your Website
when prompted by an email? Or are they coming to you
via social media, search returns, peer recommendations or
on their own? Being findable is the new “black” for
marketing

• These 8 methods will focus listening to cultivate
insights used to improve your marketing content’s
currency value:
– #1 Phrasing: One of the best ways to increase relevance
with prospects is to use the language they use to talk
about their problems
– If they talk about bottlenecks, discussing performance
improvements may not produce the same level of
engagement as using the words they use intuitively
– When you listen to visitors, make note of how they
describe issues of importance
– Remember that listening to your customers may not
produce the same results as you've already indoctrinated
them with some of your Cause terminology and language.

• #2 Webinars: One of the ways to get up to speed
about prospects is by attending Webinars your
Visitors attend. Sure, it's helpful to hear other
experts talk about the issues, problems and
solutions, but what's really valuable are the
questions asked by attendees
• Addressing those questions and comments in
your next piece of content can help to boost its
success, as well as your company's credibility and
expertise

• #3 Blogs: Following the most active blogs in your
industry
• This is a great way to listen to your visitors,
Donors, Volunteers or Clients
• What you're looking for is not just timely topics of
interest, but comments.
• How people respond to the blogger's point of
view can provide a lot of insight to the concerns,
beliefs and interests that are top of mind for your
followers (or people like them)

• #4 Twitter Streams: What I mean by Twitter
Streams are hash tag searches for keywords or
solutions.
• Use a program like TweetDeck or TweetGrid and
dedicate 2 or 3 columns to hash tag searches
pertinent to keywords your Followers use.
• This concentrates how many Tweets you have to
plow through, makes for a quick study of phrasing
and content is—regardless of where your
Followers happen to encounter it online—the
higher your currency value

• #5 Bit.ly Links: Many of the links used on Twitter are created by the
URL shortener Bit.ly.
• If you copy and paste the link into a browser and add a + (plus) sign
at the end and click enter, you can see a stream of who has
Tweeted the link and any comments readers have posted
• You can click through on their Twitter handles to learn more about
the people interested enough to share that information with their
followers
• This information also provides an impression about the level of
interest in the topic by displaying how many clicks, Tweets and
shares have happened over time
• Additionally, the number of responses provides an idea of the level
of influence of the original Tweeter, who may be enticed to help
you spread your company’s ideas to interested followers

• #6 LinkedIn Groups: Using profiles of people like
your prospects to get a baseline about a specific
segment is a good start.
• But to get a feel for their sentiment about a topic,
monitoring and participating on groups they
belong to can provide great insights that translate
back to improving your content relevance.
• Make sure when you participate that it's never to
sell, only to provide valuable insights, answer the
questions asked or ask questions about topics the
group is focused on discussing

• #7 Feedback: Direct learning about the opinions and
reactions to your NPO, Programs and Services is
available in a variety of flavors
• Whether or not your Webinar attendees stay for the
duration of your event and are interested enough to
ask questions is real-time feedback
• Customer surveys post-Webinars help as well. Contact
center reps are on the front lines, interacting with your
customers daily and salespeople are speaking with the
very types of people marketing content is responsible
for attracting.
• Incorporating a variety of feedback into your listening
can serve as validation for the types of information
you’re gathering through other methods


• #8 Metrics: Paying attention to whether or not
prospects are responding to your email is a form
of listening, as is measuring bounces on specific
Website pages and time spent with another input
for your consideration when developing content.
• Metrics are the ultimate
• Noting the keywords site visitors use to find your
Website is THE GUAGE of what’s working and
what’s not.

Social Media is smokin’ HOT!
Everybody is talking about it, using it, connecting on it . . .

Social Media = Millions of users & 100s of Millions of interactive
hours daily

• So many users & so many methods of interacting
• & so little time!
• With so many Visitors & Potential Captures, tailoring Content
is key
• How to tailor content is knowing your visitor, which, you can
generally get to know starting with Generational Models

Begin with a
Generational Comparison:
• If you know who they are, then learning to connect is
much easier
• Who is who
– born between 1946 - 1965 - The baby Boomers
– born between 1966 – 1982 - Generation X
– born between 1983 – to date - Generation Y or Millenials

Level of trust toward authority

• Boomers are confident of self, not authority.
• Gen Xers have a low level of trust toward authority.
• Millennials have a high level of trust toward
authority. Yet they are less trustworthy of individual
people. Perhaps it’s from being born into an age of
terrorism or maybe it’s their overprotective parents
or the danger-obsessed media.

What do they view as the ultimate
reward?

• Boomers want a prestigious title and the corner
office.
• Gen Xers want the freedom not to have to do
something.
• Millennials prefer meaningful work.

How were their parents
with them??

• Boomers had parents who were controlling.
• Gen Xers parents were distant.
• And Millennials? Their parents were intruding. Or,
as my Millennial-age intern tells me, they have
“helicopter parents”—they’re always hovering.

What are their views toward
having children?
• Boomers are controlled, their children were planned.
• Gen Xer’s are doubtful about the possibility of
becoming parents.
• Millennials are definite about parenthood. In fact, they
view marriage and parenthood as more important than
careers and success.

And overall family life?

• Boomers were indulged as children.
• Gen Xers were alienated as children.
• Millennials were protected as children.

Views toward education?

• Boomers want freedom of expression.
• Gen Xers are pragmatic.
• Millennials need the structure of accountability

Political orientation

• Thankfully, boomers want to attack oppression.
Without those views we might not have had civil rights
or we may still fighting a war in a little country called
Vietnam.
• Gen Xers are apathetic and more worried about the
individual.
• And the Millennials, the Facebookers and Tweeters? It
should be no surprise that they crave community,
engagement, equality & social justice.

Last but not least, the views
on the big question.

• Boomers want to know, “What does it mean?”
• Gen Xers need to know, “Does it work?”
• Millennials are curious to know, “How do we build
it?”

Social Inclinations and technological
prowess of X & Y . . .
• They are your next generation of leaders

• They are very comfortable/knowledgeable with &
about technology
– It is an integral, moment to moment part of their life

• For them, the world is flat and has no boundaries

Social Inclinations and technological
prowess of X & Y . . .
• Very high skill level in social networking activities
• They want to feel connected to the mission and
have fun with whatever they do
• Strong affinity for community service and
volunteering for a good cause

• What kind of “Good Cause?”

• Let’s use Political Fundraising as
an Example of a Good Cause

Fundraising: a very relevant generational
difference

• Obama’s Campaign:
• $32 million raised from 275,000 people who gave
$100 or less
• Almost the exact opposite, in % of & level of giving,
of Hilary Clinton

Long Tail: The end of the 80/20 rule
Click on slide
Web 2.0 shifts control to the Long Tail
to generate motion
making more use of the resources, caused
due to

• Adoption of Web as a global platform

• Low Cost of hardware and software

The New Way
(with a bigger and longer tail)

The Old Way
(Pareto Principle, Control
or 80/20 rule)
20%

When Web 2.0 is applied…

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Tail

If Obama can, your Cause can!
Web 2.0 significantly increases total value
contributed by larger distribution of
smaller value donors.

High $ value
donors,
Smaller
distribution

Control
20%
Low $ value
donors, Greater
distribution

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Tail

Social Media is EVERYWHERE!

• Varied Platforms: Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,
LinkedIn & Pinterest
– & so many others!
– Some . . . with an acute focus on assisting Non-profits
• Which I am going to provide you with in this Presentation

The level of Engagement is off
the Charts!
• Why?
• PERSONALIZATION:
– If the Platform or Application is greatly personalized towards
the Member or User, the experience will be much more
personal, therefore have greater value to the individual, &
the Member or user will make it a personally relevant
engaging experience.

• Just for kids? The Younger Generations?
• Should you, as a Non-profit get involved?
• Are you missing something if you don’t?
• Can this work for your organization?
• I get asked these or variations of these questions all
the time! The answers are No, Yes, Yes and Yes.

Social Media is Pervasive
• & No, it’s not just for kids
– Millions of people from all generations are
participating
• Yes, you should get involved
• Yes, you are missing an amazing opportunity for
your organization
• Yes, social media will help advance the goals of
your Cause at a minimum of 30%
• So . . . let’s get planning

Step 1
Look, Listen, Learn

• Initially I am addressing a Newbie?
– Someone who is new to starting-up a Non-Profit
– Someone who has a somewhat limited
technological skill set
– Someone who either has NO budget or a very
small budget

Step 1
Look, Listen, Learn
• So Mr. Newbie, you must observe the lay of the
land, get to know what is out there that can help
your Cause
– What tools are out there for beginners or NPOs with a
very limited or no budget?
• Initially, I strongly recommend, in this order:
– Networkforgood.org
– Causes.com
– Crowdrise.com
– AndYOU.JnJ.com
– VolunteerMatch.com
– Sparked.com
– Do they have what an NPO needs to succeed?
• Yes!!! You DO NOT need to go any further than these 5 to
kick-start your Cause.

First Tool – Network for Good
Look, Listen, Learn

• Go to Network for Good (NFG)
– www.networkforgood.org

• Founded by:

• NFG provides a secure, convenient donation system
that makes it possible to give to any charity,
anywhere, anytime!

Network for Good: Results!!

• Returned $25 to the sector for every $1 invested in
Network for Good
• Raised over $500 million in online donations to
more than 60,000 different nonprofit organizations
• Built a Volunteer Network that connects users across
the country with more than 200,000 local,
international and virtual volunteer opportunities
• Taken fundraising viral and raised well over $3.4
million via fundraising widgets

2nd Tool – Causes.com
• Create a Cause you believe in!
– Easy to do at http://www.causes.com/
– Largest platform for activism and philanthropy
• 170 million members!
– Empowers individuals to create grassroots communities
• 500,000+ member created Causes!
– Take action on behalf of a specific issue or nonprofit
organization
• $40 Million raised on behalf of 27,000 Non-profits
Anyone can change the world.

3rd Tool - Crowdrise
• Go to www.Crowdrise.com
– unique blend of:
• Online Fundraising
• Crowdsourcing
• Social networking
• Contests
• Other nifty, usable stuff!

Crowdrise
• Crowdrise has Reward Points!!
– Very cool concept, just like your loyalty points you
earn when you use your credit card to buy, buy &
buy some more!!
– Wearables, Tees, Hats & Hoodies!

• Easy to use profile creator & share via the
Control Panel: Start a fundraiser immediately!

4th Tool - &You
• Go to www.andyou.jnj.com
• Sponsored by
• Free digital tool designed for both individuals
and verified 501(c)3 organizations
• The &you widget takes:
– Volunteer and job opportunities
– Ways to Donate
– Events
– News
– Puts them in one place!

5th Tool - VolunteerMatch
• Go to www.volunteermatch.com
• 70,953 Active Opportunities
• 80,995 Participating Organizations
• 5,874,450 Referrals Since 1998
– Supported by the Carnegie Foundation
– Supported by the Ford Foundation
– Supported by the Hearst Foundation
– Supported by the Kellogg Foundation

6th Tool - Sparked
• Go to www.sparked.com
• Connects nonprofits with skilled
microvolunteers who donate their time to
your specific projects.
• http://blog.sparked.com/category/microvolun
teering-2/
• Code development, highly technical skills that
are very expensive to hire: provided for FREE!

If Funds are not an issue

• The following Graphic is what your overview
of your Social Media Strategy

• To reach this level of integration, this level of
engagement requires expertise, time &
patience

A Social Media “Hub”: Interconnected
Develop a Plan using a combination of these Platforms
for different demographics, verticals, groups

Blog Vlog Tweet FB eNews Pin Linkedin

Cause
Web
Site

Step 1
Look, Listen, Learn
• As a Newbie, you MUST ask questions
– A great way to get information and learn quickly
– Lots of people are willing to help and share
knowledge
– There are numerous online resources, places to
ask your questions
– Using your favorite search engine:
• Enter the following, but localize the search by including
your city or state:
• “Non-profit resource provider”

Step 2
Define Your Audience
• Search for your base
– Using multiple channels
– Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc
• Where are those you want to serve?
• Where are your donors?
• Where are your volunteers?
• Where are your advocates?
Go find them.

Step 3
Develop a Plan

• Set a goal or goals
– Why are you doing this?
– What do you want as a result?
– Who will you serve?
– What is success for this Project, this Program?

Step 3
Develop a Plan

• Possible Outcomes
– Learn something you didn’t know
– Tell your story to new people
– People sharing information about you, your Cause
– Gain experience with two-way communication
– Create a community of advocates, evangelists for
your Cause

Step 3
Develop a Plan
• Develop your initial strategies
– Strategy for building a Board of Directors
– Strategy for building an active passionate group of
Volunteers
– Strategy for Fundraising
• Annual Donations
• Micro-Donations

• Strategies can be long term or short term

Step 3
Develop a Plan
• Example Possible Long Term Strategies
– Educate your target audience about the cause by
identifying, sharing and discussing pertinent
online content employing a basic repetitive series
of events, beginning with:
• Blogging on your Cause Web Site
– Posting on Facebook Cause page “New Status” about most
recent Blog
– Tweeting link to Blog or tweeting complete blog
– VLOG (video blog) on your YouTube Cause Channel
» Posting a link to your VLOG on your Web Site, Blog,
Facebook & Tweet the same link or Tweet the VLOG

Step 3
Develop a Plan

• Define your tactics
– Tactics are specific actions you will take to execute
the strategy
• Who
• What
• When
• Where
• How much

Step 3
Develop a Plan
• A few examples of Tactics
– Marketing Coordinator to write and post 3 blog posts per week
following the editorial calendar
– Marketing Coordinator, Director of Development and Marketing
Manager to Tweet and Re-Tweet blog posts using Twitter when new
blog entries are posted
– Twitter feeds link to main Facebook page
– Deploy 5 emails to the A, B & C mailing lists over a two-week period
• Emails to include a PURL that drives traffic to landing pages that
recruit people to your cause
– Include landing page URLs in daily Twitter Tweets

Step 3
Develop a Plan

• Determine your success metrics
– What does success mean to you?
– How will you measure and record progress?
– Keep it simple (KISS)

Step 3
Develop a Plan
• Possible Success Metrics
– The number of advocates you add over a defined
period of time
– Change in the engagement level of advocates in
that period of time
– Increase in number, size, frequency of donations
– Time it takes to mobilize X number of advocates
regarding an action

Step 4
Staff Your Team

• Internal
– Your biggest cheerleaders and enthusiasts
• Not always the higher ups with the titles
• External
– Get help
• Extend your network
• Paid participation ensures it gets done
• Expertise is invaluable

Step 5
Deploy Your Tools

• Core Tool – Your Blog
– If you don’t have one (or more) you need one,
now
– Fastest, least expensive means for you to
distribute timely information about your
organization and its efforts on a regular basis

Step 5
Deploy Your Tools

• Create an editorial calendar
– What will you say and why
– What should people do in response
– How will your constituents use this information?

Step 5
Deploy Your Tools

• Search for lists on blog topics (there are lots of
them)
– Write a Top 10 Reasons post
– Interview a thought leader
– Highlight an issue related to your cause
– Hold a contest
– Discuss other blogs

Step 5
Deploy Your Tools

• Leverage Social Media
– Pull people to your cause
– Continue conversations
– Build trust – the first step in a relationship

Step 5
Deploy Your Tools

• Creation Tools
– YouTube
– Facebook Tabs: Wildfire, Involver or TabPress
– SquiDoo
• Use to tell visual stories
• Post only relevant material
• Link back to your blog and website

Step 5
Deploy Your Tools
• Sharing Tools
– Facebook
– Squidoo
– Twitter
– LinkedIn
– YouTube
– Pinterest
• Use to engage with others
• Post only relevant material
• Be helpful, add value
• Link back to your blog and website

Step 5
Deploy Your Tools

• Critiquing Tools
– StumbleUpon
– Digg
– Reddit
• Use to bookmark and vote
• Mark only relevant materials
• Choose material that is helpful and adds value

Step 5
Deploy Your Tools

• Posts that are outside your blog or website
create links
– Links provide incoming traffic
– Links are used by search engines
– Links improve your search rankings
– Links infer authority

Step 6
Participate and Engage

• Execute your editorial calendar
– Invite questions and comments
– Respond and thank people for their participation
– Respect differing opinions
– Befriend like-minded individuals and their friends
– Walk away from fights — do not engage

Step 6
• Develop a voice and brand
– Be consistent with what you say, how you say it
– It’s okay to be human, but you’re not here to be the life
of the party
– It’s like networking at a cocktail party — some are there
to drink, you’re not, be professional
– Don’t be a zealot
• Advance your cause in a calm, rational manner

Step 6

• Establish a pattern of use
– Match your use to that of your constituent base
– Divide up the day with your team
• Don’t get consumed
– Set limits to how much time you will spend each
day
– Stick to your limits

Step 7
Convert and Capture

• Convert your visitors and capture prospect
data
• Give them something that they want
– White paper, presentation, guide, T-shirt,
Membership, etc.
– Require they give you contact info in exchange

Step 7
Convert and Capture

• Use any and all methods to drive traffic to the
offer
– Email and landing pages
– Twitter and landing pages
– Links from other sites
– Google Adwords and landing pages

Step 8
Measure Results

• Google Analytics
– Tracks blog/website traffic and Adwords
campaigns
– Adwords campaigns add to your search results
• Inexpensive and controllable

Step 8
Measure Results

• Email and landing page analytics
– Tracks opens, bounces, conversions
– Track A/B tests of copy, layouts and images
– Track clicks on both graphics and text links

Step 9
Integrate Followers

• Onboarding
– A defined process for welcoming new followers to
your organization
• Create a plan to touch new followers at defined
intervals
• Pre-develop the onboarding messages
• Execute a multi-touch campaign for each new member
• Automate the effort to ensure it happens consistently
• Provide planned human contact as well

Step 10
Empower Advocates
• Creating connections between people is more
important than adding people
• Facilitate connections and many small groups will
form
• Each person you add creates opportunities to create
many more small groups because there are more
links than people

Step 10
Empower Advocates

• Provide advocates with tools
– Online conversation & meeting tools — celebrate progress
– Dashboard with downloadable templates for signs, ads,
etc.
– Online editing capabilities for customization (This
empowers ownership)
– Make it easier than starting from scratch
– Track what is used — make it better
– Reward those who participate

Step 10
Empower Advocates

• Generate activities for groups
– Meetups, Tweetups, Twestivals, Fundraisers, a-
thons, contests
– Use groups to foster friendly competition
– Celebrate everyone’s participation
– Encourage groups to be creative on their own
– Share what they do with others

Step 10
Empower Advocates

• Solicit funding from your followers
– Accept online donations
– Ask for and accept small amounts
– Thank donors immediately and often
– Tell them where their donation went
– Tell them what their donation did
Then, and only then, can you ask them again.

Now What?
What to Expect

• Social media done right is harder than it looks
– You will probably spend more time and money
than you planned
– Your ROI will be far greater than you hoped
– Your organization’s base will grow exponentially
– Your organization will be forever transformed

MSAF Social Media eBook: an Overview

Recomendados

Más contenido relacionado

Destacado

Destacado (9)

Último

Último (20)

MSAF Social Media eBook: an Overview