Social Media:Overview and Strategies for NGOs

Gregory HellerPartner & Strategist

CivicActionstwitter @gregoryheller

Agenda

What is “Social Media”Why it is important to NGOsHow to develop a StrategyMeasuring Success

What Is It?

Social Networks and Social Media are not the same!

photo credit: flickr :: muffet flickr :: Andrew Mason

Social Networks

Social Networks are the connections people make with one another. Technology empowers this through websites like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and countless others.

photo credit: flickr :: kentbye

Social Media

Social media is online content created by people and shared over social networks.

photo credit: Library of Congress

The Big Picture

Social media is fundamentally changing the way humans connect and share information and ideas.

It is also YAPS (Yet Another Paradigm Shift) in communications. From a one-to-many mode of communication to a many-to-many mode.

This is unique and unprecedented.

Social Media Is...

Connection, Conversation and Contribution through:

Sharing Participation Authenticity Adding Value

“"The Conversation Prism" Brian Solis & Jess3”

Why Is It Important

This is the direction internet communication is headedYour networks are there:

other organizations, donors, board members, etc...People are talking behind your back!

the conversation is happening with or without youIncreasingly people are searching there

Modes of Social MediaMicrobloggingSocial BookmarkingMedia Sharing

MicrobloggingFrequent Status UpdatesLinks

sites news videos

Breaking NewsRapidContemporaneousConversation

Microblogging

Short: Constrained length (Twitter 140 characters)People “follow” you, you “follow” peoplePublic conversation with other users

Social BookmarkingPeople share their bookmarksEasy to see what's interesting to peopleSee how other people “Tag” the same pages (we'll talk about Keyword Research in a minute!)

deliciousbookmarks & notes (reader)

Social BookmarkingInside Delicious

One way it happens... Share This/Service Links on websites

Photo SharingFlickr – share photos with friends and strangers

tag photos to be easily findable add them to “groups” Post comments, and discussions license them under Creative Commons 2.5~3 million new photos each day, over 3 billion in total

Facebook – increasingly used for photo sharing post to “wall” or albums Tag and Comment More than 1.5 million pieces of content (web links, news

stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are shared on Facebook daily.

Video Sharing

YouTube – Videos, Video responses, comments, rating, favorites

YouTube is the #2 Search engine in the World 20 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute

Others: Vimeo, Revver, blip.tvuStream.tv for live streaming

Examples of NGO's Using Social Media

Social Media Strategy example: Photo Petition

Social Media Strategy example: Photo “Contest”

Social Media Strategy example: Using Video to Connect

Oxfam used a YouTube video first to introduce their campaign against Starbucks and then to present a “Thank You” from the people Oxfam Supporters helped.

Social Media Strategy example: YouTube Video Campaign

Using Twitter

Promotion

Invitation, Engagement,

Audience Building

Petition

Use Multiple Channels

Facebook Fan Page

Facebook Causes

Developing A Strategy Of Your Own.

Look Around

Conduct Preliminary ResearchWhat are other orgs like yours using/doingWhere is your audience

Nielsen Media Metrics Pew Internet Surveys and Reports Survey them yourselves

Who are the important/connected peopleWhat are the keywords

Develop A Plan

P.O.S.T. Framework (Groundswell, Forrester Research)

People: Identify your audience Objectives: Identify your objectives Strategy: Develop a strategy Technology: Identify the right tools/sites

Ready?

photo credit: flickr :: Jon Marshall

ListeningDeveloping a Listening Strategy is essential Where to listen

Google News and Blog search, Technorati, Twitter How to listen

feed readers (Google reader, Bloglines) Schedule time to listen

When & how to respond Comment, Blog post, Tweet, letter to the editor, op-ed

Keywords...

And why they're important:

Search. What your audience searches Keywords determine relevancy Relevancy determines findability

Keywords...

And how to find them:

Look at “competitors”Brainstorm with your staff, members, audienceGoogle Trends (http://www.google.com/trends)Ask for help/feedback from others

On Twitter, or Facebook for exampleDelicious

Finding KeywordsUse Delicious to see tags used by others

Listening Tools: Twitter Search

Search for Keywords, Look at Trending Topics

Search & Hash Tags

Listening Tools: Google Reader

Google ReaderLeverage your listening, use Google Reader to share

Get ConnectedGo where your audience is

Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, WiserEarth, Ning Twitter YouTube

Participate, Engage, Contribute Build and use social capital. You can't save it.

Growing Your NetworkMake a commitment to “be there”On Facebook: create a “page” not a group.Start with everyone in your organization

Grow from there, use blog, website, TwitterDon't attempt “action” until you have Critical MassTake the Long View

Join the conversationYou know who is talkingYou know what they are talking aboutYou know where they are talking

Assign staff resourcesMake time in the scheduleCheck in to make sure it is happening

MicrobloggingFind interesting people/companies and follow themPost regularly: “What has your attention?”

Links to your blog, but be sure to provide context Links to other interesting articles, sites, etc... “re-tweet” interesting/useful posts reply to the people you follow don't post many times in a row Provide value to the people who follow you

Find People To FollowWeFollow.com

allows Twitter users to “tag” themselves for others to find.

MrTweet.com makes recommendations

Adding Value

Know your audience, understand what they will find interesting and useful. Give it to them.Provide unique insightShare “privileged” information

Measuring Success

Measuring Success

Followers, friends, subscribersLinks, retweets, mentionsFacebook “Insights”Views, Favorites, Ratings

Numbers are useful, but don't tell the whole story

Tools For Measurement

Google Analyticstwitter.grader.com, twinfluence.com, twitalyzer.comFacebook InsightsYouTube Insight

Google Analytics

Specifically Look at your “Referring Sites” report.

Look for specific Social Media sites. Measure their increase correlated with your use of tools.

Twitter Metrics

Twitter Metrics

Twitter Metrics

YouTube InsightInsight shows stats on all of YOUR videos.

YouTube Video Stats

Notes and Resources

Visit Our Website:http://CivicActions.com/social-media