Social Media Strategy: Don't Wing It
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1) The document provides guidance for non-profits on developing an effective social media strategy, emphasizing the importance of understanding target audiences and inspiring meaningful engagement and action through compelling content. 2) It stresses the need to secure organizational buy-in, develop a detailed plan that integrates social media with other strategies, and go beyond just posting to actively engage followers. 3) The document also highlights measuring social media success through relevant metrics that track meaningful outcomes rather than just activities, and ensuring goals and resources are properly aligned.
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Social Media Strategy: Don't Wing It
- 3. Don’t Wing it with Social Media – Stop Being a Silly Goose Do you even have a social media strategy? Do you have one, but you’re wondering why your social media strategy hasn’t taken flight? Are you waddling around… doing it like you did it when someone said to put up a FB page in 2012? Do you have ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ but don’t know what to do with them? Time to stop fooling around…
- 4. No More Tip-Toeing Your prospects are here already - empowered to have ‘real time’ conversations. In multiple places. At multiple times. On their own terms. Your donors expect it. They have a voice that’s louder than at any point in history. Get in the room and listen. Social media was made for cause publicity – letting folks spread the word about things they care about. Generation “C”.
- 5. Put Hip to Arm Hop on board! Understand the impact social media already has on your organization + the impact it can have. Internal support Secure buy-in to develop an institution-wide social media strategy to reach more people and raise more dollars. Plan Develop a social road map that integrates with other marketing and fundraising strategies. Action Go beyond ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ to inspire value-for-value exchanges and meaningful action. Resources Determine and find the resources you need – preconditions to success. Measure Learn to measure “Return on Interesting” (meaningful ROI or ROE)
- 6. HOP ON BOARD! Why you should invest more resources in social media 41% of nonprofits attribute their social media success to having developed a detailed social media strategy . Source: Avectra
- 7. 47% of Americans learn about causes via social media and online channels. Source: Avectra
- 8. 56% of those that support nonprofits on the Social Web confirm that compelling storytelling is what motivates them to take action on behalf of nonprofits. Source: Waggener Edstrom
- 9. Social media engagement inspires further action Source: Waggener Edstrom
- 10. People are giving more through social media. Source: MDG Advertising
- 11. INTERNAL SUPPORT How to get the rest of your organization on board 1. Secure buy-in from the top. People fear “to go where no one has gone before.” Show them that’s not the case. You can’t do this alone. Don’t count on a “grassroots” effort to establish a social media program that will change the culture. The “top” holds the purse strings and sets the strategy. 2. Persuade with examples. Find successes; check ‘references.’ -- Find solid campaigns you admire; call them up and conduct a research interview. -- Share articles; case studies; infographics; facts that show impact. -- Pair them with folks they respect who are already on board.
- 12. Move Social Front and Center Move 1. Build a social task force. Everyone gives and gets in a networked nonprofit. Cut across departments. Include stakeholders from all relevant functions – HR, Marketing, Development, Programs, IT 2. Frame it as virtual word-of-mouth. Ask, what’s most effective marketing strategy? Tried-and-true most effective form of marketing now has a virtual stage. 3. Lead with relationship-building; not technology. Social media is inherently social! The power to engage and connect is the greatest gift of social media. Mindset transformation – Developer of relationships Invitational – Asks who’s interested? Transformational – Way to build constituentCentered relationship-building machine!
- 13. PLAN Integrate social media with other marketing and fundraising strategies Stop the random acts of marketing. Engagement moves from observing… to following… to endorsing… to contributing… to owning… to leading. Social media lends itself well to engagement – a great entry point to ultimate investment. It’s tempting to just dive in and start posting; Don’t. Honestly assess your organization’s goals—and how social media’s unique strengths – encouraging dialogue -- can help further them Cartoon by Hugh MacLeod
- 14. Understand your Market People come before technology and tactics Research and target different audience segments. Use personas; picture who you’re writing to – -- Demographic? Lifestyle? Interests? -- Who influences them? -- Personal goals? Understand your own persona.
- 15. Build a Content Strategy Select Promotion Channels Blog Email Social network(s) .
- 16. Build a Content Calendar Start small. Grow slow and steady. Avoid a passive profile like the plague (i.e., anything that isn’t on a consistent schedule). Schedule specific times to curate, create and promote. Keep a running content ideas file. Engagement RCA - content must be: Relatable, Conversational, Actionable
- 17. Be Smart about Content Begin with highest yield; lowest cost ‘buckets’ and markets.
- 18. Build a Promotion Strategy Build your email list. Yes, email is #1 online media tool and most direct way you communicate with folks. The thing that will hold you back most is lack of prospects. Systematically capture leads – if you don’t have a well-designed opt-in form with a headline describing the benefits of joining your mailing list – then this is the #1 reason your promotion strategy sucks. Promote where your folks ‘hang’. Google+ to create circles, communities and hang-outs – way to become trusted authority. LinkedIn Groups build relationships and demonstrate your expertise. Launch discussions or contribute (professionals, aka supporters, tend to ‘hang’ here).
- 19. ACTION Inspire active engagement. OLD: 1. 2. 3. ‘Likes’ and ‘Follows’ Passive Push; broadcast “wherever” NEW: 1. 2. 3. DAR and CTA Actively feed your ‘influencers’ Give them something interesting, useful, engaging, shareable Pull from where your audience ‘hangs’ Not transactions, Relationships Stop counting ‘likes’ and ‘follows’
- 20. Anti-Social = No Action Principle of Reciprocity: Telling = Monologue Sharing = Being useful; Creating emotional experiences; Giving Don’t ignore Actions Social Media Mantra: Unless I intend to engage I won’t do it.
- 21. Get Creative to Inspire DIYsilverware mirror recycled from Goodwill Mission-related cookies from Surfrider Food Board Social networks are becoming more visual. I love Pinterest! Record a 60-second personalized video thank you using V-snap on Twitter
- 22. Get Creative to Engage Quozio turns words into images in seconds Video Inspirational quotes Contests on your blog or Twitter (e.g., name your favorite justice movie and win a water bottle). Tell remarkable story on FB; ask folks to share their stories
- 23. More Creative Engagement Google+ to create circles, communities and hang-outs – way to become trusted authority. LinkedIn Groups build relationships and demonstrate your expertise. Launch discussions or contribute (professionals, aka supporters, tend to ‘hang’ here). Contests on your blog or Twitter (e.g., name your favorite justice movie and win a water bottle). Tell remarkable story on FB; ask folks to share their stories
- 24. RESOURCES The resources you need. How to find them. A PRECONDITION to getting into the social media game. Enough human and monetary resources to (1)develop, (2) implement and (3) measure your plan’s success. But just like with Goldilocks, you want to get it ‘just right.’
- 25. How Much do you Need? Social media is like a puppy. If you’re gonna Do you want us all? We dare you! Who’s driving? Them or you? get one, you gotta care for it or it’s gonna die. Don’t overdo it. Don’t adopt new ones if you can’t care for the ones you’ve got. Strike a balance. If your puppies aren’t thriving, consider whether to give to someone else (hire/outsource) or seek a trainer (consultant).
- 26. Nothing takes care of itself Figure out roles and responsibilities: Who does what? In-source with existing staff? New staff? Outsource? Social capital (board members, volunteers, other connections)? How many hours (per week or month) is it expected to take? What training is necessary to build necessary skills? Determine the needed budget: How much is it going to cost?
- 27. MEASUREMENT What success looks like for you. How to measure your return. SMART OBJECTIVES are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. Cartoon, Hugh MacLeod, Gaping Void
- 28. Specific meaningful measurements of activity Before launching a campaign put tracking codes into each social media platform and initiative. There are many metrics from which to choose.
- 29. Measure the right things Shortvs. Long-term metrics Goal Mobilize support for online advocacy campaign and rally/event -- # of ‘likes’on FB page -- # of ‘likes’ for FB post -- # of RTs -- # of folks who view blog -- # of comments on blog Target Audiences Donors, Former staff, Members Tools FB, Twitter, Blog Short (transaction) Long (transformation) -- # of users signing online petition -- # of users taking action (e.g., attend event) Results; not activity. Loyalty; not transactions.
- 30. Attainable: start small With an easy-to-handle project to measure. Shares Conversions to subscribers Responses to your post’s CTA (e.g., emailed Congress person; donated; volunteered)
- 31. Realistic: Return On Interesting If it’s not realistic to measure "return on investment" in a strictly financial sense, don’t. ROI = Engagement that will increase probability of sales/donations, and is an essential part of your marketing mix. You’re investing in a journey to get folks aware, interested, engaged and, ultimately, invested. If you’re interesting, folks will engage. Keep interesting and engaging with them, and the donations will come. Creating interesting content requires knowing your target really well.
- 32. Timesaving Use measurement to save time. Don’t waste energy measuring things that don't get results. Counting ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ may show you’ve been busy, but it won’t show you’ve been smart. Use what you measure to get better results in the future. Cartoon by Hugh MacLeod, Gaping Void
- 33. Take-aways 1. Hop on board the social media train. Prospects are already there. 2. Technology is just a tool. Use it to deliver value. Use it to connect. 3. Constituent-centered. Look into their eyes; not your mirror Cartoon, Gaping Void, Hugh MacLeod
- 34. Take-aways 4. Engage to inspire action. Don’t just slap up a FB page. 5. No more winging it! Learn. Invest. Plan. Measure. 6. Don’t get discouraged.
Notes de l'éditeur
- Guessing many of you have dipped your toe in the social media waters, and wonder why you aren’t reaching more people or raising more dollars. This webinar will explore why winging it (e.g., putting up a page and sporadically begging for ‘likes’ and ‘follows’) no longer works in 2014. NO PANIC ZONE: You don’t need presence on every platform. You do need to find the right platform(s) for your audiences AND make what you do count. You must do it strategically and holistically. Can’t just do it ‘on the side’ – perhaps to appease board members. That’s what I call a “pretend social media” program. Forget the word ‘media’ (my hunch is that it won’t be long before we simply drop this quaint terminology and begin to consider our development/marketing communications strategy holistically). CONTINUUM – A-I-I-I -- Social is a key way we become aware. Social is the way we learn more and get interested.. Social is very much the “human” language we speak. SO…
- Don’t WASTE this opportunity. Worse yet, don’t let your audience talk about you behind your back – w/o planning to join the conversation. people will check out yelp reviews, facebook posts and twitter activity before they decide to invest with you. May as well join the conversation. (a one-time positive Yelp review is nice; it becomes transforming when you respond/thank the Yelper and they share with their friends and then do it again (one-time negative reviews can be devastating if you don’t respond and try to turn them around). Nonprofits often think they must choose between spending on program and ‘niceties’ like social media. But if you don’t create awareness and drive engagement, you’re not going to have clients to serve. POINT: Conversation is happening. You must pay attention! Every generation. It’s been called GENERATION “C”onnected. Embrace social media as the essential communications medium that it is today. Today it’s one of the principle ways folks find out about and interact with brands. Time to…
- It’s not ‘hip’ or cool to wing it when it comes to your marketing or fundraising strategy. It starts w/ being interesting.. If your strategy is institution-wide you get access to ALL the interesting things going on… not just the few things of which your development or communications staff may be aware. you want to be SHARED. You want ENGAGEMENT Plan. How not to lose sight of your own business goals. This is the WIIFM. You’ve got to be headed somewhere you want to go. Sharing with the right people who share the values your organization enacts. Getting them to share with like-minded folks… Engaging in a dialogue about your work so that it begins to seem meaningful and essential to lots of folks… and making it easy for new folks to find you. So….
- 1. Marketing got more complicated over past decade as we went from 1.0 (internet) to 2.0 (social media) to 3.0 (mobile). At this point, you wouldn’t think of not having a website would you? No! It’s how folks found you…. Now, they find you… You guessed it! 2. It’s important to recognize that everyone else is playing this game (including your competitors); it’s beyond time for you to get into it. And the latest research reveals that it really does drive both customer acquisitions and sales. (Hubspot’s 2013 State of Inbound Marketing Report). BTW: I’ll refer to a lot of resources today. I’ve collected all of them – and LOTS more – in an 8-page ‘Hop on Board Social Media Resource Guide’ you’ll find on Clairification.com - and I’ll send you a link to it after the webinar.
- May as well put your best foot forward
- So… you’ve got good reasons to hop on board. But… how do you persuade the “powers that be” it’s worth the investment (beyond sharing these slides, of course!) LAUNCH POLL#1: My boss thinks social media is a fad My boss thinks it’s okay to do it, as long as she doesn’t need to be involved. My boss thinks we should do more of it because it’s free. My boss fully supports it and knows we need to hire someone to do it.
- Chances are good that if you have any social media it “sprouted” up from a few folks who liked it and advocated for it, but it’s not yet really internalized as critically important to your fundraising/marketing goals. If your leaders think it’s the “FRONTIER” it’s time to show them the mainstream bread-and-butter value it has. You don’t want s.m. siloed in a corner being attended to by lowest level staff member or volunteer or intern. LAUNCH POLL #2: Social media responsibility at my nonprofit:1. falls under the purview of the “C” suite (e.g. E.D.). 2. resides with marketing.3. resides with development.4. resides with I.T.5. resides largely with volunteers, interns or whoever on staff has time to tweet/post/blog.6. is effectively shared between more than one department. 2. Persuade slow and steady… drip proof. A CAUTIONARY TALE: Kodak thought they could stay pat w/their film + analog camera empire. They’re dead. Other dinosaurs? Records. Video stores. Newspapers. You must adapt/change if you don’t want to become irrelevant. 3. The boomer problem :Many boomers are not coping well. I’ve had so many boomers say to me, I’m not going to learn how to text, I want to talk to someone face-to-face doggone it and I’m going to track them down till I find them face-to-face,” Assure folks that embracing high tech does not mean abandoning high touch. BUT… in 2014 and beyond you have to learn that if you want to communicate with people across all age groups then… learn how to text, …how to tweet… get out of your comfort zone and rigidity that every kind of communication must be either by letter or email or even face to face because that isn’t necessarily effective. The best advice I can offer is to gently suggest an embrace of change and having some fun. Remember being a kid? We learned by playing.
- 1.Task force helps you Avoid silos. Remember: Constituents see only ONE you. Everyone has to be able to connect with folks via TODAY’s channels (can you imagine 20 years ago someone saying “I’ll only use the mail, not the phone.”. So source the wisdom of your crowd to begin to develop clarity of all the potential riches your organization has to offer potential supporters. 2. Who could have known that the tried-and-true most effective form of marketing – word of mouth – would have a virtual forum in which to run rampant? Wha’t the “word” you’re going to share? Source the wisdom of your crowd to begin to develop clarity of all the potential riches your organization has to offer potential supporters. 3. If you’re boss thinks it’s about technology, they may think it’s peripheral; not essential. Transform the Marketing Mindset – Not as purchaser of ad space… or a spinner of ‘pitches’ for media… but as developer of relationships. It’s not something you do to folks (seems time-consuming; unnecessary; pushy). Managed effectively, it’s something FOR them. And what folks do for you (as influencers, advocates, askers and givers). It’s perplexing to still hear folks asking “do we really need to “do” social media?” Do you need to text and respond to your kid’s texts? Well… only if you want to be in touch!!! That holds true for your constituents as well. Your constituents want to be invited in… transported… taken for a ride. So now you’re ready to hop on board. Great! But hold on a second. Your job is to find which BOARDING PLATFORM they’re on. Creating social media accounts is easy. It’s which ones you select and what you DO with them that matters. Which is why you need
- You started to count FB friends, Twitter followers and the like. The more they grew, the more you patted yourself on the back. Stop patting! Stop going for instant gratification as you cross tactics off your list as completed. They won’t provide real results that will help you sustain your organization for the long term (i.e., stop going for the “buzz”; chances are no one is buzzing about how many ‘likes’ you have except you). Do you post something on your Facebook page; somebody ‘likes’ you; then you never correspond with that person again? Do you ask for comments on your blog; somebody comments; you never respond back to that person? Why even bother if you’re just going through the motions? 2. You’ve got to know where you’re going, or any road will take you there. GO THROUGH EXERCISE WITH YOUR TASK FORCE How do you want folks to engage with you? What do you want them to do? Why? Then… Develop a social road map that integrates with other fundraising and marketing strategies to get you to that place. Otherwise, you’re wasting your time. No one wants a fair weather friend. LAUNCH POLL #3 When it comes to our social media plan, our philosophy most resembles: 1.I’ll think about that tomorrow. 2.Our first priority is a new website. 3. Website is okay; trying to get more emails. 4. We rock our website and email; focusing now on new channels. I know you’re thinking that you don’t have time to plan and you can’t afford that luxury. Really, you can’t afford not to indulge in that luxury. The more you plan, the better you can enact a strategy on a shoestring budget – and the better results you’ll get so it’s WORTH THE EFFORT.
- Market: How can you be successful if you don’t know who it is you want to have a conversation with so you can nurture a relationship? Figure out who you’re writing for. Otherwise you’re just shouting out into the ether. Invest some time in figuring out your constituent’s needs, hopes and dreams. Only then can you offer them something they’ll value enough to engage with you. [One strategy is to do an exercise where you develop personas for your organization and for your constituents; then you make a match – Topic unto itself--see articles by Hubspot and Heidi Cohen in my RESOURCE GUIDE + downloadable Workbook from Socialbrite;. Watch my “Keys to Nonprofit Blogging that Drives Engagement” webinar. ]. Find your own personality and authentic voice. The best way to engage your audience is to speak their language. You may have a few different voices (professional LI; familial FB, flirting, etc.). Use the right voice with the right audience.
- Content is king: Another topic unto itself. But let’s do a quick review: Content is a terrible thing to waste. All channels are not created equal. Or equal for everyone. Don’t just pick one because a board member suggested it. Or it’s what you use at home. I advise beginning with a blog (it + website is HOME FOR YOUR MESSAGE) It’s your CONTENT HUB (can be leveraged e-news, email, social channels, grant proposals, appeal letters) HABIT: Create ‘fresh’ interesting content; Remember your blog is not a glorified brochure. It’s much, much better! It’s a super-charged website that enables conversations! Quite a great tool! We never used to know whether folks read our brochures or not. If you’ve got analytics installed on your blog, you can tell. And you can ask folks what they think. then adding email (GETS MESSAGE HEARD and still the #1 way folks get info online) and one s.m. channel (GETS MESSAGE SHARED; Email is not a collaborative tool – which is why you must go beyond it). You don’t need to be everywhere. But you do need something. And you need to be thoughtful about this. I say go “ALL IN” one place rather than HALF ASSED in many. Remember: this is social media ACCORDING TO A PLAN!!!!! Without a PLAN, your strategy SUCKS! Where do your Personas hang out? That’s where you want to share. Because chances are good that the primary ways you communicate with your constituents are things you already have: Your website and email. If you start with those – and really maximize them – then add some new stuff to nurture and build relationships that will lead to further bonding w/you and investment? … yay!...
- 1. Small Ambition: Too many marketers think they’ll post here, there and everywhere with great stuff. Then reality sets in and they find they can’t keep the pace up. The result is Facebook pages with no content, Twitter accounts with no messages in months... all of which looks BAD to the audience you wanted to impress in the first place Avoid a passive profile like the plague. Check Why Social Media is a Waste of Time where I describe (1) different ways to engage on five of the most popular social media: Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Pinterest and LinkedIn, and (2) common traps we fall into that sabotage our social media strategy. 2. Content calendar templates in Resource Guide 3. Content is king, and really is your most important marketing/fundraising tool. For my own blog, I’ve found that subject matter trumps time of day/day of week any time. Your client stories; News stories that relate. Program stuff w/universal appeal (Tip sheet to keep seniors safe; Reading list; Recipes from staff; clients). Contests for your blog, FB, Pinterest… (best Justice movie, song, quote) endless possibilities here. Hold brainstorm meeting. Subscribe to s.m channels of nonprofits you admire – it’s okay to “borrow” their ideas and adapt (lots of good ideas on SOFII and in RESOURCE GUIDE). 4. Plug in your saved up ideas. Can’t go into this in depth, but… INTEGRATE. There are some good articles on in Resource Guide What you’re after: July1st BLOG post tied to independence day (Author; Title; Content details; Due Date; Assigned to X); Tweet post 3X/day July 1,2,3; Post link to FB 2x/day, etc.; You’re going to include article in monthly e-news w/link to DONATE button to help fund “independent living” for your clients w/disabilities. 4. RCA- A great recording captures our attention. It transports us. It carries us away. It brings us into the music/story in an easy flow – and gets us tapping toes or even up on our feet dancing! No blah, blah.. We did this… Like us… Share us… Do stuff for us. Think what YOU can do for your donor. Then, they’ll REALLY like you! Your content has to be as much about the reader’s needs and desires as it is about you and what you do. Remember: Your reader will always ask WIFM? Make sure you always answer that question. BOTTOM LINE: Having a content strategy is probably the most important way to keep your social media program on track. In other words, if you have a plan, and dive that plan, you’ll get somewhere deep. It’s important not to ‘wing it’ here! Assign the task to yourself (or a member of your team), calendar it, close your door, turn off your email and do it.
- Every time you try to do too many things, and try to be all things to all people, you’re in that risky diversification territory. Let’s say you put up a Pinterest board (new product) and start hoping random folks will find you (new market). Or you add a Google+ presence (new product) and wait for folks to add you to their circles (new market). Every time you find yourself going in the direction of diversification, pull yourself back. Take a moment to clear your mind. You must get clarity around your goal: using social media to help achieve your business goals; not having it compete for resources you’d rather invest elsewhere. So build new ‘products’ slowly and steadily… once you’ve got them, it’s time to take them to market!
- 1.Many check email on their smart phones as soon as they wake up! Optimize for mobile! Get them to join your Email List: Be the first to learn about volunteer opportunities.Don’t miss breaking news. Here’s a great tip sheet… reading list… recipe… Put your email subscribe link on you website; on your blog; on inside pages. And put it at the top so folks can’t miss it. Remember, if folks are coming to your Home Page via FB or Twitter or G+, you’re going to want to reap the benefit of this action. If your subscribe box is not super compelling, you’ve wasted your opportunity. And, check this out: For many blogs, 70-80% of visitors are new and will never return (per Social Media Examiner). You want to be able to deliver info – enews, blog posts, appeals… directly to people’s in-boxes, that’s the height of accessibility. 2. Promotion must be done through channels where your audience lives or it’s akin to a tree falling in the forest when no one is there. Where does your target audience go for information? What media do they use? I hear a lot of folks saying their constituents are older and don’t use social media. Well, that may be true. But the largest growing segment of social media users are seniors. SURVEY YOUR MAILING LISTS. I also hear a lot of folks saying they do Facebook, and that’s enough because it’s the biggest. Maybe. But if 50% of your constituents are on LinkedIn, and only 25% are on Facebook, what does that tell you? Just wishin’ and hopin’ that someone will subscribe… or that something will go viral… doesn’t cut it. You’ve got to purposefully build and connect with your audience. And you’ve got to make it really clean what you want them to do, and super-easy for them to do it! So… how to get in on this action?
- Go beyond ‘likes’ and ‘follows’. Passive activity. What do you want reader to learn, feel, do? Offer a clear CTA (even if just ‘please RT’). If you asked a donor face-to-face for a gift and they gave you a THUMBS UP, would you count that as a victory? Pull for engagement. Give them something interesting, helpful and --- dare I say--- engaging?! To get comments/shares/tweets/any ACTION… you must strike an emotional chord – an “Aha! That’s me!” I relate to that. I know people who would relate to that. 2.Influencers: Social Media Today study found that most individuals are not influenced by their social peers (Facebook "Likes" and +1s). So rather than spend your time and energy here, why not spend it finding and engaging your influencers to become evangelists on your behalf. These are the folks Malcolm Gladwell referred to in The Tipping Point as the connectors and mavens. It’s who people go to for advice (e.g. Mommy bloggers; Foodies; Health & Fitness bloggers). So your goal is to become a trusted resource and authority for these influencers. Also want to feed your natural advocates:……………… AND while we’re talking about being social in this space, guard against…
- Value-for-value exchange holds true in spades w/social media: If you use it simply to broadcast stuff about you, you’re not going to get much in return. No clicks. No shares. No actions. No gifts. Your mantra should be PAY IT FORWARD. If you’re not offering gifts, why should folks give them? But… Once you do take the step to actively ask folks to comment, share, volunteer, give… don’t be rude. It’s SOCIAL media. Not anti-social media. Infuse your strategy w/spirit of generosity. 2. Don’t ignore folks. If you say “Pls RT” and they do, then THANK them! If you ask for comments and they do, RESPOND! 3. Intentional engagement is what makes social media worth it. It’s about building/ sustaining relationships with constituents that ultimately redound to your/their benefit; a true win/win. Remember: They’re just tools. If you don’t use them properly, with care and purpose, they won’t do much for you. What matters is how you use them (your purpose), what you say (your content), who else shares your messages (your fans/supporters/constituents) and how you listen (and apply your insights to your branding strategy). Many businesses and non-profits look at social media as a money-first or money-only channel. If it won’t bring in $$, then why? I would recommend tempering expectations that social is about fundraising and just focus on being a resource, useful and/or entertaining to your core audience. Make people happy with your content. The donations will come . NOW… to the fun part!
- There are zillions of ways to get creative, far beyond the time we have in this space together. But here are a few ideas for you to noodle on (then check out the Clairification Pinteresting Nonprofit Fundraising Board. And the link this + lots more is in the Clairification Hop on Board Social Media Resources Guide on my website . Pinterest – know your audience. DIYers. Foodies. Weddings (do you rent your space out?) 24 things you can do on Pinterest (link to it in Guide) GAMES to play… CONTESTS to enter… VIDEOS to watch… BOOK REVIEWS… THINGS TO BUY… THINGS TO DONATE… CREATE GROUP BOARDS (ask folks to pin favorite quotes related to your mission)
- Quozio - Inspirational quotes or any text -- then share on Facebook, Pinterest, email and more. Free and easy. In my ‘HOP ON BOARD’ RESOURCE GUIDE VISUAL GETS SHARED MORE. Use video for this purpose too
- OJ: All posts on facebook, LinkedIn, comments here on the blog, and twitter will be considered valid entries. So much engagement they followed w/ justice songs and quotes.
- Without a ball and bat and 9 players per side you can’t play major league baseball.
- A ‘little dab won’t do ya” despite the iconic 1950’s ad for Brylcreem. You can’t simply put up a Facebook page and establish a Twitter account. That’s like buying a lawn mower and never mowing the lawn. You’ve got the equipment, but it’s doing nothing for you. And the mower doesn’t mow without some human power. The mower (and social media) must be used, and used regularly. Dabbling can actually hurt your brand, as your audience may feel ignored. 2. Social media, like puppies, can become your best friend. But rewards and friendship have their costs as well as benefits. Puppies and social media are decidedly not free; just like friends, they require care and feeding. Don’t jump onto every new platform without resources to keep content fresh and fans engaged. It’s better to do a few channels really well (channels that you’ve identified as being places where folks who are of value to you hang out) than to be everywhere inconsistently. 3. You don’t have to go crazy about this, and it doesn’t need to be a full-time person. But you do need to give this some forethought and have a plan.
- 1. Sonia Simone of Copyblogger created Sonia’s Law: Nothing Takes Care of Itself. 90% of websites are wretched. 90% of Facebook pages are wretched. 90% of content marketing programs are wretched. 90% of social media-based customer support is wretched. Businesses need help from actual experts — people who really get the rules of engagement in social media, and who understand how to translate that to business success. KANTER BOOK
- 1. See downloadable SMART Chart in Resource Guide Let’s quickly go through one by one
- Get internal agreement on audiences, goals (why) and measures of success (results) for each different platform and campaign. Google analytics
- If your work plan stops at “increase FB likes from X to Y or increase Twitter follows from Y to Z” as your sole objective, rethink! Your objective must relate to your “why;” it can’t just be a “what.” Shorter-term measures focus on online activities, but… Who cares how many “friends” you have if none of them are engaging with you? The most common metric mistake is emphasizing the number of fans you have over other markers, an approach symptomatic of a larger problem: viewing social as another mass medium through which branded content can be pushed. Liking is passive. Engaging is active. , over a longer time horizon you’ll want to look at what happens back in the physical world: how many people attend events and how much money is raised. You use Social Media to mobilize and energize and inspire; you measure whether you really engaged folks. If not, it’s a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
- Pick a particular campaign; Want to know how many folks from that campaign came to your website and joined your email list? How many actually signed your petition? Volunteered? Try to pick things to measure that MATTER – actions that are transformational and may lead to long-term relationship with you.
- ROE--There’s definite value making target audience feel like your brand is a part of their life, and building a relationship based on loyalty and trust. Your leaders will likely not debate that measured success here will lead to an increase in investment (aka donations). Realist = Know your target audience in terms of marketing persona (demographic/pyschographic) . You’ve got to listen to what folks are saying – social media can be a giant focus group. You don’t want to just be ‘liked’ one time (Tell Kingdom of Camelot – I could get you 18,000 likes in a week-end!) . If folks like you, try to find out why. Then serve up more of what they like. You want to be shared again and again to build your email list. That’s your true ROI (or ROE.).
- If you get good email conversions from FB posts, do more. If from Tweeting, do that. If from discussions you start on LinkedIn groups, do that. If you want to throw everything on to the wall in the beginning to see what sticks, okay. But don’t get stuck there. Take down the stuff that’s slipped down from the wall. Only use what’s made to stick
- You need to be online because that’s where people will look for you. YOU DON”T NEED A LOT OF TIME TO STUDY IT. And talk about you. And influence others on your behalf. DECIDE TO DO IT. NIKE: Just Do It! Hope you have some ammunition to persuade “Powers that Be” why this is important. Maybe you’ll put a team together to brainstorm how you’ll use it, what you’ve got to offer folks that’s interesting, and how you’ll manage it internally. 2. Constituent-centered value. If your donor needs a hole, then use a drill. A hammer won’t get you there. If they don’t need a hole, figure out what they need. You’ve got to deliver value. And connect. The need to be personal doesn’t go away because we’ve got the ability to communicate via social channels. 3. No one wants to hear about you all the time. It’s a taste… an invitation to the dance…
- 4. PLAN comes in here. Merely bringing people together online is not enough. It’s like hosting a special event; then never following up with the folks who attended. What’s the point? That’s engaging in transactions within the space. You want to engage in transformation in the space. Slapping up FB page; then having a tech-savvy intren post photos to the wall every now and then… or tossing out random tweets when the mood strikes… might have resembled ‘cutting’ edge a few years back, but it’s not working any more. “A little dab won’t do ya” Where you go, go all in. 2. Inspire actions. Respond to actions. Track actions. If you look at the engagement path Beth and Katie talk about in Measuring the Networked Nonprofit, you’ll learn that you need to take someone’s hand on Facebook or twitter and walk them down a specific path where eventually they pull out their credit card. Usually once they’ve gone to your website and joined your e-mail list, where they are much more likely to donate to your cause. INVEST: It’s not free. You’ve got to research YOUR people; YOUR channels; and you’ve got to measure and test and make it work. 6. If it seems that only 10% of people do anything, that’s okay. This is the norm according to recent Forrester research. Your job is to be thoughtful every step of the way so that you can reduce barriers to action – make it easy, entertaining, meaningful, satisfying – for folks to engage. We have to go beyond like to ‘customer experience’. Because getting a like, similar to making a single sale or getting a first donation, is not going to build our brand over time. It’s what happens next… and next… and next… that makes the difference. Learn how to dedicate resources to listen, learn and adapt the processes, systems, experiences and prevailing culture that will entice and nurture supporter engagement. That’s worth your time. And it’s worth the time of your constituents. 5. Catch-as-catch-can is not a strategy. Develop a thoughtful integrated plan – social media, traditional marketing communications and development strategies linked together – to energize your brand.
- FINAL WORD: Hop on – Just have to DO IT! Internal support – everyone has to be on board. Plan and manage -- Peter Drucker: All great ideas are meaningless until they degenerate into work. You can’t just wing it anymore. This is not a game. It’s the REAL WAY folks engage with each other in the digital age. And, yes, it’s work – needs to be planned and managed. Action -- We have to go beyond like to creating a transformative ‘customer experience’ that inspires action. So call for the action. Resources -- dedicate resources Measure – begins w/knowing WHY you’re doing this. What will success look like? For your organization? For your constituents? What’s in it for you? For them? Catch-as-catch-can is not a strategy. Develop a thoughtful integrated plan – social media, traditional marketing communications and development strategies linked together – to energize your brand. Thank you for your time. Thank you to our host. And look for the link to download your “Hop on Board Social Media RESOURCES GUIDE.