Social Media forNonprofits
Wahine Mediasocial media strategy, training & implementation for business@karenweikert | @wahinemedia
Becker Communicationspublic relations, marketing/advertising, online communications@WilburWong | @HawaiiPR
Slides: http://bit.ly/AFPSocial
#AFPSocial
How nimble are you? If you’re like Jack, you’re willing to jump through hoops to get those donor bucks.
But are you willing to pour a bucket of ice over your head?
The Ice Bucket Challenge ignited millions across the globe to raise awareness and donate to a cause… IT WENT VIRAL!
What is it?
THE CHALLENGE:
Dump a bucket of ice cold water over your head (or donate to ALS Association) and take a video of it. Then challenge 3 friends to do the same by tagging them on social!
So far…
Facebook: 28 million joined the conversation and 2.4 million videos shared
YouTube: 2,330,000 videos uploaded
Over 50 political figures, 200 athletes, 200 notable actors, and 220 musicians have participated
Celebs loved it. Just ask @mlauer
Show me the money!
“The ALS Association is Grateful for Outpouring of Support: Ice Bucket Donations Reach $88.5 Million” (ALSA.org Press Release, 8/26/14)
Compared to $2.6 million during the same time period last year
Who started it?
This was not a campaign started by the ALS Association, but by young people who wanted to support the cause
Pay attention to Generation Z! They are ‘social’ savvy and can easilyraise money for a cause
Much more than just the money it raised
Think of the joy, laughter and goodwill, not to mention personal participation from millions
Social proof: peer pressure in a positive way
1.9 million new donors to ALSA.org
How do we replicate?
Make it ridiculously cool to do!
Funny always works
Easy (low barrier to participate)
Social by nature
“Whether we should” is pushing up daisies...
Let’s talk platforms
Your org’s sweet spot will be based on where your audience hangs out
It might be Pinterest!
Let’s talk platforms
98% of charities and nonprofits in the US are active on at least one social media site (91% in 2013)
Facebook period! 98% of nonprofits are on Facebook (Hubspot.com + Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report)
It’s where the people are… yes, even those without wrinkles
Holding up their dance card
86% of nonprofits are on Twitter (can tweet donors, funders directly)
33% using Instagram
30% using Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google+ give or take
YouTube is 2nd most used search engine in the world
Your audience expects to see you on 3-4 profiles
Hashtags are important
Hashtags help tell the story #livedlongenoughtoseethis#donatenow #volunteer
Hashtags are how people find you
Don’t forget events and tweetchats
Hashtag today: #AFPSocial
Frequency & timing
How often is enough? It depends on your insights
Remember the algorithms
Frequency & timing
Generally speaking…
Facebook: 3x-5x week
Twitter: 4x day
Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and others: 3x week
And when?
Generally speaking…
10:30, 12:30 & 3:00pm are great!
B2B conversation best in am
Weekends only if you’re there to respond
Facebook insights
Tweriod.com
Storytelling and story making
Your story starts with your brand
Your brand story is the heart and soul of the brand: who you are + who people think you are
Every post reveals what makes you tick, and creates audience experience
Signals: Are you walking the talk?
Social media is visual storytelling…
93% of all communication is nonverbal
Photos/videos elicit emotion
Don’t underestimate the power of video
Photos get 53% more likes, 104% more comments, and 84% more link click-thrusthan text-only posts
Captions… keep them short & pithy
Two sentences max—one-two punch that delivers. Add personality
Link to website for details: names, stories, dates, places, significance
Shorten links
Don’t use internal language
Keep it simple
And fun…
Types of story
Use nostalgia
Be a mythbuster
Ask a question or answer it
Give human attributes to non-human things (cats, coffee cups, staplers)
Whoever has the best content wins!
Why? Because it gets shared
Keep it light, fun, and what interests you
Inspiration #MotivationMonday
DIYs, video interviews
Memes (branding can reduce shares)
Inspire us
Tasteful branding
Lead AND follow…
Your muse
Don’t leave it shriveling on the vine…
Want your community to grow? The things NPO’s must remember
Social is not your soapbox
Know your audience and serve up deliciousness on a silver platter
#1 mistake nonprofits make: “me, me, me”
#2 mistake nonprofits make: not responding
The power of the social relationship
It’s not about you
Balance your content
Prioritize story making over marketing 5/1. 5 posts for others to every 1 post about you
Talking about you, you’re not listening
You centric: We are proud to share our outstanding accomplishments and community impact!
You centric: We will be selling Coach handbags. Come show your support!
You centric: Cindy Z. is our rock star volunteer of the month!
Respond with heart
Responding is walking the talk
Know who’s talking on your page and continue the connection
Be selfless. Make your fan the hero
You get what you give
Love spam?
Share the enthusiasm!
If you ask, be there for the answer
We hear you
Seed your logo
Seed your logo everywhere… you never know where it will bloom
The more you comment on others’ posts, the more your org is exposed to new audiences
A like is nice, but your logo isn’t seen with a like
Seed your logo
Leave memorable comments (what about the post resonated with you)
It’s old school to only follow a few! Have you liked every biz/potential partner’s page?
15-30 minutes 2x day to outreach
Do’s and don’ts ofthe ask
Do create an experience with every ask:“Caddyshack or Happy Gilmore? Tell us what you think was the best golf movie ever made in the comments below. And don’t forget to register for our upcoming golf tournament! #golfforgood”
Do give digital high fives, but don’t let them take over your feed
Do’s and don’ts ofthe ask
Do return the favor: “You light us up with your generosity all year long and now we want to return the favor. Here’s a little twinkle to light up your day!” [Christmas tree video]
Do share more ways to give ideas
Do’s and don’ts ofthe ask
Don’t ask too often — once a month so make it count (remember 5/1)
Don’t strive for a donation, strive for a smile
People are 200 times more likely to donate to a cause when a friends asks Blackbaud.com
It’s not about the money but…
"Like most businesses, non-profits tend to look at social media as a money-first or money-only channel. So I would recommend they temper the expectations that social is about fundraising and just focus on being a resource, useful and/or entertaining to their core audience. Make people happy with your content. The donations will come." —Jason Falls, Founder SocialMediaExplorer.com
Did you know that more than half of your donors are trying to give you money on their ipad and phone?
Campaigns… you get what you put in
Your ask can only be as big as your prize
Giveaway something that connects your target audience to your brand
Partner up and remember to scratch their back
Shortstack.com
Social is not free
Social is a pay to play model, and you want to be on the winning side of their algorithms
Typical ad budget: $200-300 / mo –Under 10k fans (split between profiles)
Experiment. Use split testing for targeted ads
Social is not free
If you’re not boosting, you will slip from the newsfeeds even if you have quality posts and fan engagement (two $10 boosts a week)
Target Hawaii if your donor base is primarily in Hawaii
You want numbers? Social’s got them
Social is fluid, and analytics tell you what works
Likes, shares, comments, and clicks(Facebook insights, Twitter analytics, Bit.ly)
Number of fans is important, but not as important as engagement rate
It’s okay to think big results…
but have you hiredto create thoseoutcomes?
Most common mistakes
Adding social media responsibilities to an overburdened plate. Guess what falls off when they get busy?
Diluting the message between many untrained voices
Ignoring profiles (risk)
Who should do the heavy lifting?
Social media is unique skillset
Tech savvy, full time, integrated with marketing, fund development and customer service
Ability to create content
Pumped yet?
Or…
Let your staff concentrate on content creation and let an outsource agency do the heavy lifting (content calendar, daily posting, engagement, outreach, social ad management)
TAKEAWAYS
Only truly “social” behavior succeeds
Creation over curation
Metrics matter
The “whether we should” conversation is pushing up daisies
TAKEAWAYS
Understand the technology
Storytell and story make
It’s not about you
Invest in it
Cool tools
HootSuite: manage multiple platforms
Facebook Page Manager: app
Iconosquare: Instagram search/services
SproutSocial: metrics
Keep in touch!
Karen WeikertWahine Media@warenweikert | @[email protected]
Wilbur WongBecker Communications@WilburWong | @[email protected]
Download this slideshow:http://bit.ly/AFPSocial#AFPSocial