Nonprofits: Getting Started with Social Media

JULIA CAMPBELL, MPA978-578-1328JCAMPBEL04@NORTHSHORE.EDU

CSP002–ACN 17510Social Media Marketing for

NonprofitsFebruary 29, 2012

North Shore Community College

GREAT TO MEET YOU! Where do you work? What is your experience with social media? What do you hope to get out of this course?

GETTING STARTED WITH SOCIAL MEDIA

What is social media and why is it important? Importance of a good nonprofit website –

components and characteristics Email Marketing- what makes a great email

newsletter and why it is vital to a nonprofit Blogging – what is a blog, how to set it up, how to

create content, why it is important Social media strategy and social media

policies (internal and external)

MANDATORY READING FOR NONPROFITS

Information in this presentation is taken from: Social Media for

Social Good by Heather Mansfield

WHAT IS “SOCIAL MEDIA”?

Think of regular media as a one-way street where you can read a

newspaper or listen to a report on television, but you have very limited

ability to give your thoughts on the matter.

WHAT IS “SOCIAL MEDIA”?

Social media, on the other hand, is a two-way street that gives you the ability to communicate too.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? Social Jumpstart put together a great infographic

showing just how much happens per minute on the social web.

http://www.socialjumpstart.com/ Here are a few tidbits:

1090 Pinterest Visitors7610 LinkedIn Searches700K Facebook messages sent175K Tweets on Twitter2 million Youtube video views — WOW!!!

IMPORTANT TO NOTE You will need to be

adaptable. Technology shows no signs of slowing down.

You should not expect customer service or help lines (unless you are paying).

Tools are low-cost, but not FREE.

Fear is counterproductive – this is no longer new.

Building communities is not a waste of time.

Less is more. Quality over quantity.

Just jump in!

YOU TAKE THE GOOD, YOU TAKE THE BAD…

ProsFree!Can level the playing field

– budgets do not dictate success.

Successful nonprofits are now able to use these tools to increase word-of-mouth.

Increase genuine interaction and relationships.

ConsNot really free. (Sorry!)Requires time commitment

and certain level of skill.Can be overwhelming.Hard to measure ROI –

takes time to build relationships and convert leads.

(Though this is changing…)

WEB 1.0 – THE STATIC WEB

YOUR MESSAGE HERE

SORRY WEBSITE GATEKEEPERS…

The frustrating, time-consuming and expensive model for website creation and maintenance is now completely avoidable and totally unnecessary.

4 MUST-HAVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A NONPROFIT WEBSITE

1) Easy to use CMS (Content Management System) – WordPress, Joomla!, SquareSpace Customizable themes Ability to incorporate a blog There are some “one stop shops” that

offer everything – Blackbaud, Donor Community, Convio

4 MUST-HAVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A NONPROFIT WEBSITE

2) Good writing. 2-3 sentence paragraphs – one idea per

paragraph, 100 words or fewer No rambling, cliches, fluff, jargon Spelling Grammar PRECISION

4 MUST-HAVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A NONPROFIT WEBSITE

3) Professional graphics and photos. Strong visuals Graphic design (banner for the top of

the website, blog and email newsletter, Donate Now/Subscribe buttons, social media icons)

Start a digital library Purchase stock photos

4 MUST-HAVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A NONPROFIT WEBSITE

4) Simple, consistent navigation.

Consistency is key! All pages the same

dimensions All photos the

same size and in the same place

Simple, visually powerful home page Avoid clutter and too much scrolling! Consistent design Limit colors to 3 or 4 Short paragraphs 2 or 3 column layout Subscribe to e-newsletter Social media icons Donate Now button on every page Host your blog within your website Donate Now button prominent

WEBSITE DESIGN BEST PRACTICES

http://www.idex.org/

http://cure.org/

http://afaint.org

EXAMPLES OF EXCELLENCE - WEBSITES

It has your organization’s branding and colors (not PayPal or Google Checkout)

Give donors to ability to opt-in to your email newsletter

Give donors the option to give monthly or quarterly

Give donors the option to give in honor of someone or as a gift

Expediency and ease!

5 MUST-HAVES FOR A “DONATE NOW” PAGE

Network for Good JustGive.org (operated by Guidestar) Blackbaud, Convio What about PayPal?

Some people don’t trust PayPal No branding options Technical issues People think they have to create

an account Small potatoes

ONLINE DONATION VENDORS

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE E-NEWSLETTER

Email is NOT DEAD. Email is the only tool used by large numbers

of people from all generations. – Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project

NOT simply an electronic version of your print newsletter!

Must be able to scan it quickly Call to action News story More like an “e-bulletin”

Do not send through Gmail or Outlook Do not send more than two per month. Do not get discouraged – 20% open rate

is considered average in nonprofit sector.

DO NOTS

E-NEWSLETTER BEST PRACTICES

KISS (Keep it simple, silly!) 500 words or less One to two news items Donate Now button and

Social Media icons Make it personal

(we/us/together) Make it sharable Screenshots of videos Send test versions SUBJECT LINE! Don’t/do send it like clockwork

http://www.care.org

http://www.oceana.org

EXAMPLES OF EXCELLENCE – E-NEWSLETTERS

WEB 2.0 – THE SOCIAL WEB

BEFORE YOU START, GET ORGANIZED

Define your goals and objectives. Raise money?Secure new volunteers?Increase website traffic?Build online brand?Foster social good?Create social change?

Write down 5-10 goals for your social media campaign.

BEFORE YOU START, GET ORGANIZED

Create a Social Media ROI spreadsheet (uploaded to Pipeline)

Receive Google Alerts and New York Times alerts for your nonprofit and your industry

Secure all Vanity URLs (facebook.com/jcsocialmarketing)

Save usernames and passwords! Need a square version of logo for avatars Learn basic HTML (

http://www.diosacommunications.com/htmltipsheet.htm)

BEFORE YOU START, GET ORGANIZED

Social Media Dashboards Schedule in advance Monitor topics HootSuite

Remember, it is always most effective to login and monitor each site individually.

Get buy-in from Executive Staff. Follow organizations with similar

missions and programs. Follow other local organizations (no

politicians!!)

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY (INTERNAL)

Samples at Pipeline Should provide basic guidelines to staff

members and volunteers What is appropriate to post Overview of privacy and legal issues General rules about using social media during

office hours Message should be one of education and

empowerment, not control and restriction. Short and sweet. Big picture!

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY (EXTERNAL)

Samples at Pipeline To post on your Facebook Page (Info),

LinkedIn Group, anywhere people are interacting.

Guidelines for your online communityWhat will be deletedNo spam

WORDS OF WISDOM

“A social media policy needs to be a living document. It isn’t a bunch of boilerplate written by a lawyer that sits in a drawer. Training and education must accompany the policy – and of course there must be a culture of learning, not blame.”Beth Kanter, The Networked Nonprofit,

www.bethkanter.org

BLOGGING

“Our blog is the hub of our organization’s social media strategy. It provides us an easy way to tell our stories on Facebook and Twitter, and because our blog posts are more personal than press releases and Web page text, it really allows people to get a sense of who we are as people, and not just who we are as an organization.” Allison Palmer, director of digital initiatives,

GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)

BLOGGING – IT’S VITAL!

It’s not blogging like it’s 2005 – no long editorials please!

Add a human voice.

Once or twice a week is just fine.

There’s always room for a well-designed, well-written blog.

BLOGGING ADVANTAGES Old news gets ignored. Allows your nonprofit to have

a consistent stream of fresh, timely new content for social media! Tell your stories Comment on breaking news Share resources

Grow number of fans and followers.

Improves SEO! Helps build your e-

newsletter list. Valuable statistics and data

Keywords searched, referral sites

BLOG DESIGN BEST PRACTICES

Integrate with your website Feature ability to subscribe to e-

newsletter and join social networking communities

Limit the widgets! Consistency with each blog – photos

same size and in same place, same font, same colors, same size fonts, etc.

Allow Comments, but MODERATE. Add Share functionality Add Search functionality

BLOG CONTENT IDEAS

Before starting, create a calendar.

Share and comment on breaking news.

Post calls to action. Share stories, photos,

videos Event recaps (visual!) Organizational updates Stories from the field

BLOG CONTENT IDEAS

Interview experts Allow Guest

Bloggers to Post Share Resources Share Useful Tips Solicit feedback

and direction from your supporters

Write numbered lists!

Highlight special donors, volunteers

9 IDEAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A NONPROFIT BLOGGER

Does not need to be a professional writer

Be confident Be curious Be disciplined Be gracious Have a thick skin Be organized Have some SEO and

HTML knowledge Enjoy social media!

http://www.charitywater.org/blog/

http://www.itgetsbetter.org/blog

EXAMPLES OF EXCELLENCE – BLOGS

RESOURCES

o Google for nonprofits - http://www.google.com/nonprofits/

o HubSpot.como SocialMediaExaminer.com o Mashable.como Beth Kanter – http://www.bethkanter.orgo John Haydon – http://www.johnhaydon.com