Social Media for Nonprofits: Listening, Setting Goals, Storytelling

Social Media for Nonprofits:

Listening, Setting Goals, Storytelling

Eric Melin@Spiral16

Spiral16 provides a robust software platform with services for Internet tracking, analysis, and reporting.

Spiral16 gives companies the key insights they need from the web and social media to make smarter decisions and gain a competitive edge.

Spiral16 Overview

Nonprofit Opportunity

• Online fundraising continues to grow with 73% of organizations raising more in 2011 than 2010

• Online giving continues to grow fastest for small organizations

• Advocacy continues to play a key role in online engagement

- 2012 Convio Online Marketing Nonprofit Benchmark Index™ Study

- 2012 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study, M+R and NTEN

- 2012 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study, M+R and NTEN

Start With What You Know

You’ve identified your

organization’s goals already.

Now think about how you can achieve those goals through a

social media program.

Nonprofit goals Social media program Success

3 Things to Remember

Social Media is a Component Use it to support your existing

organizational strategy.

• Create a structure for your program based on the unique needs of your nonprofit.

• Build it from the ground up.

• The more customized, the better.

• Social media does not support every goal effectively.

Social Media Isn’t Free.

It takes valuable time.

You need human resources for:

PlanningContent creationMonitoring Measurement AnalysisCreative insight …and more.

Tools Are Not Strategies 

• Twitter• Facebook• Blogs • Forums• YouTube• Foursquare/Gowalla• Image-based sites• Pinterest• LinkedIn

Being active on these platforms is only important if using them helps you reach your goal.

Where Do You Start?

The First Step is Listening                                    

• Monitor mentions of your organization, common abbreviations

• Look for mentions of your events• Monitor keywords around your cause or

issue• Find mentions of your executives• Identify how far your other campaigns’

reach is• Learn from language, strategies of

similar nonprofits

Insights From Listening                                    

• Where are people talking about you and what are they saying? Identify advocates.

• Is there a community built up around your events? Should you create one?

• Who’s talking about your cause? Can you forge a partnership?

• What is the sentiment surrounding your CEO?

• Where have you or others’ similar campaigns succeeded/failed?

Data Drives the Strategy                                    

Listening allows you to identify opportunities.

Knowing the online space will inform how you build every facet of your social media program.

examples to start with

- Blackbaud , Social Media Learning Series: Marketing Communication

Practical Applications for Social Media

Research Community Around Your Issue/Topic

 Using keywords that relate to the issue and NOT the organization, the client could see where to prioritize engagement.

Research Your Digital Footprint

Using organization-related keywords, the client was able to compare the volume of the issue vs. the organization itself.

They found that online forums contained tons of discussion.

Blogs made up 46% of online activity. The challenge for any organization regarding blog engagement is TIME.

It’s important to figure out which blogs merit the effort and time of the team. While every blogger is important and every voice counts, some voices are more powerful than others.

Prioritize Engagement  

Recommendations                                    

One recommendation for this nonprofit was to monitor forum activity closely for both brand management and issue research.

Another was to engage influential forum users and start a niche community.

Since their events were so popular, another suggestion was to utilize a simple mobile video app around events and start an event-branded YouTube channel.

6 Steps To An Effective Social Media Program

1. Identify organizational goals.2. Align goals with social media program.3. Establish benchmarks.4. Set realistic targets.5. Measure KPIs to determine success.6. Look at results, find ways to improve.

Social Media Case Study                                    

Spiral16 collected and analyzed relevant Livestrong web results for 18 months.

Livestrong makes a compelling case study on how to successfully engage people online for its cause.

This study looked at Team Livestrong—the community outreach arm of the charity—and two key fundraising events, the Livestrong Challenge Series and the Ride for the Roses Weekend.

Social Media Profiles Are Authentic and Personal

Every member of the Livestrong organization is a passionate user of social media communicating the organization’s message.

CEO Doug Ulman is a cancer survivor with over a million Twitter followers.

Ulman doesn’t just broadcast the Livestrong message—he engages everyday with the Livestrong community, setting the bar for social media use and engagement for the organization.

Referrals Come Mostly From TwitterMore than 60% of Livestrong’s inbound website traffic comes from social media.

Twitter is the #1 tool to communicate with the community, with referrals three times higher than those from Facebook.

Main site is most

influential, with multiple

branded channels spreading content,

being linked to, and being

used as sources of Livestrong

info.

Clear Content and Sharing Strategy

Six of the Top 10 most influential web pages are from the official Livestrong organization, while the remaining four were created by passionate Livestrong fans.

Community of Advocates Drive Web Content

Supporters are in charge of the message online—not the news media.

Advocates Help Sentiment Remain PositiveDespite accusations of drug use, Lance Armstrong stayed

in the spotlight, keeping to his schedule of charity events, bike rides, speeches and endorsements.

In the midst of an investigation, Armstrong stayed in the public eye, constantly updating his nearly three million Twitter followers, and appearing at all of his charity events.

Events Help Sentiment Remain Positive

Having a steady stream of easily shareable events … and online assets supporting these events helps increase goodwill

Sharing, Storytelling Connects Emotionally

The Facebook landing tab inspires storytelling.

Facebook wall has become an online community for cancer survivors to share their candid experiences.

Stories Convey Passion

Stories Are Inspirational

Stories Connect People to Your Cause

Stories Raise More Money and More Awareness                                    

steps to tell great stories

1. Connect the string of facts to find the story.

2. Push beyond the facts. Tell a simple truth of your organization and/or humanity. Get creative.

3. Think of the difference you make as a movie—with a beginning, middle and end.

4. What is catalytic? What brings people together? - Dan Portnoy, The Non-Profit Narrative

Effective Storytelling

“The Force” Volkswagen commercial

1. Facts: Passat demo – nice house, family, children of the 70s. Benefit: remote start.

2. Push beyond the facts: Passat makes people feel good about themselves, can create special moments with your family.

3. Beginning: Kid with imagination. Middle: Kid struggles to feed imagination. End: Kid succeeds and is stunned!

4. Truth about being human: Imagination rewarded: Moments like this bring people closer together.

The Goal: Win the contest to open for

The Hurdle: A two-step registration process & single-vote limit.

Social Media Case StudyStorytelling & Call to

Action

Social Media Case StudyStorytelling & Call to

ActionGoal: Get more online votes than the other four bands.Strategy: Mobilize friends and family to spread the word on Facebook/TwitterAssets: Links to our music, blogs on my site, band siteProblems: Voters have to register as a FoxFanatic first and confirm through their email. Then they could only vote once. Not easy to explain, too many steps, not easy-to-share instructions.

Bottom Line: We needed to tell a story that would resonate enough to make strangers want to register, vote, and share.

1. Facts: The Dead Girls are big KISS fans and would make an excellent opener.

2. Push beyond the facts: They are all huge KISS fans, have been since they were kids. Help make a dream come true.

3. Beginning: 7-year-old kid dresses up as KISS. Middle: KISS inspires him to play music, which he does for almost 20 years. End: Give the story a happy ending.

4. Truth about being human: As cheesy as it sounds, you can make a dream come true.

We had yet to hear KISS' music, but I knew them from the KISS cards I had gotten at the grocery store.

So we lip-synced and mimed our "instruments" to the only 45 record I had--Glen Campbell's "Rhinestone Cowboy."

Visuals Make the StoryEden Prairie, MN at Granny’s House

We knew the Space Ace, Catman, and Demon, but no one wanted to be Paul Stanley cuz he only had a star on his face and we didn't know his name (It was Starchild!).

Our cousin Julie had to take his role, it was decided, and we called his character "Poopyman."

Tapped Into Nostalgiaand Basic Human Emotions

Placemats for drums, crayons for sticks, Lite Brite logo: ready to rock!

/

Put a Face on the Campaign(Or a Blank Slate Anyone Could Identify

With)

/

The Result? Dreams Do Come True

Thank you from

Let us know how we can

help!

Eric Melin@Spiral16

@SceneStealrEric