Starting a Facebook Group Is Not a Social Media Strategy
First, a story :
Almost a year ago, I met with representatives from one of Israel’s leading television and media networks, who had the backing of a prominent philanthropist to implement a social media strategy for Israel’s 60th birthday. Someone had recommended that they meet me, and I prepared a comprehensive presentation about what I called “Israel 2.0,” where we would create and implement a strategy that would celebrating Israel’s accomplishments with a diverse, wide-reaching web presence.
Notice I call it a “web presence”; that is because the web is no longer about just creating a website. It is about using the web and all its potential to promote your business, organization, or ideas with the greatest results possible. It is no longer sufficient to depend on your website alone, particularly since
“a recent Universal McCann report stating that content consumption outside of websites has increased 153% in the last 9 months. Overall, 53% of online users are consuming content outside of a publisher’s site - through the use of widgets, RSS readers, social networks and mobile devices” (from ReadWriteWeb).
Anyway, there was one guy in the room listening to my presentation who actually knew some of the terms I was using, like RSS feeds and the like, and I guess this made him feel like a social media expert. So when I finished my presentation, he said “Why do I need all that? I’ll just create a facebook group.”
I made a facebook group; so why am I all alone here? Read more
Who Needs So Many “Friends”?
Social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook aren’t just for college keg stand contest pictures anymore. Nonprofits are joining social network sites to connect with people, strengthen cause awareness and hopefully cultivate donors.
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) grew from an intern managing the organization’s social networks to its current two full-time employees working on Internet marketing, according to Carie Lewis, Internet marketing manager for HSUS. Lewis gives some tips for expanding your nonprofit’s social networking presence:
- Bring in a veteran. Pokes and mini-feeds might be foreign to you, but find someone in your organization who uses social networking sites during their own time. Young volunteers or interns might have their own accounts on these sites and already know the features by heart. Use their knowledge to your advantage.
- One comes before two. HSUS built a strong MySpace following before they launched a Facebook presence, and Lewis recommends using that model. Figure out what your goals for the sites and work out the kinks on one site before establishing yourself on another. Launching both at once could be stressful and time-consuming.
- Take the good with the bad. Anyone can create Facebook “causes” — a page dedicated to a mission. Lewis said passionate activists dedicated to the organization’s cause created some pages in HSUS’s name. But nonprofits can use a Facebook flagging feature to report pages that use an organization’s name that isn’t aligned with the mission, which is rare according to Lewis. Use comment approval functions to vet out any profanity or unnecessary comments.
- Connect the dots. Try to integrate your social networking pages with your overall campaign. Your message will be more effective if you reference events or news pertinent to your cause.
- Social networking for a reason. One of the reasons why HSUS’s efforts are so successful is that they respond to every message, according to Lewis. “Open that line of communication,” said Lewis. It may be the difference between making a “friend” or a donor.
source: The NonProfit Times
image: Google Friend Connect
Don’t Reinvent The Wheel
Whether it is marketing your nonprofit on line, using social media, or any one of a number of tech-related topics, remember: there is an awful lot of good material out there geared specifically for non-profits.
Check our Resources Section for some recent trade publication articles and don’t forget the various tech blogs listed in our sidebar.
Here are two new additions.
Search Engine Optimization and Paid Search for Nonprofits
Many nonprofits are using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as a free way of driving relevant traffic to their websites from Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft searches. They often find the process to be time consuming, but this doesn’t need to be the case. By integrating best practices into the standard operating procedures for your various teams, you can achieve significant SEO benefits without investing large amounts time.
Web 2.0 and Social Networking Survey
[Earlier this month], Citizen Schools and the Public Learning Media Laboratory launched a survey to gather details about specific Web 2.0 and social networking technologies that nonprofits are using.
This follows a survey the groups published in March, called Web 2.0 & Social Networking Nonprofit Survey (PDF). That survey found:
- Respondents were optimistic about the value of social networking technologies to “organize an event” and “spread news” about the organization.
- Respondents were less optimistic about the prospects of social networking technologies to help raise significant monetary or goods donations for their organization.
- Respondents indicated that “web traffic” was the most prominent value they have gained through use of various technologies. Other specific gains were harder to quantify.
Summer Camp 2.0, Up and Running
Back in January we introduced you to eCamp Israel , the first international technology summer camp located here in Israel. Designed to bring enterprising young people from around the world together for a unique interactive experience, the camp is based in the eVillage of Aloney Yitzhak, 28 miles from Tel Aviv.
Opening the gates to the #1 success story of Israel, Technology Innovation, eCamp Israel introduces campers to an enriching experience that touches their deepest emotions and spurs creative energies in their minds. They provide an original, creative and fascinating program, matching worldwide youth with Israeli peers in a unique way using the universal language of Technology.
“As one of the global centers of technological innovation, it is time Israel gives back some of our know-how and share it with children from around the world,” said Nir Kouris, co-CEO and an Israeli entrepreneur. “Our biggest wish is for campers to experience the magic of Israeli innovation first hand, hear from technologists how they persevered despite the odds, and be empowered to realize their own dreams in a virtual world.”
And now today, the American Jewish Committee announced it is sponsoring scholarships for 40 children from the embattled cities of Sderot, Ashkleon, and the surrounding area to attend eCamp this summer.
“We could not think of a more meaningful way to touch the lives of these children, especially with the trauma they’ve experienced from rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza. The anguished requests from these children, as well as their parents and teachers, were a chilling reminder of the plight of Israelis living on the front lines under constant threat of violence,” said AJC Executive Director David A. Harris.
Click and Change the World
The notion that media messaging through traditional means is on the wane comes as no surprise. Instead, in this new media era, continuous improvements in technology have permeated our daily lives, sending us messages in multiple formats. Beyond the realms of news and advertising, new media is gaining traction as a tool in the working world — and fundraising and grantmaking is no exception. Web 2.0 presents some unique opportunities for the philanthropic sector.
What can we learn from the development of Web 2.0? How does this all translate into the business of fundraising and philanthropy, and how can we adapt to the trend?
Read more in, Click Through to Change the World.
Shiny Objects vs. Solid Investments
The following is courtesy of Charity Dynamics in Austin, Texas, and is posted with permission.
Web 2.0 - Building, Growing and Sustaining a Vibrant Online Community: Shiny Objects Vs. Solid Investments
by Abby Sandlin
At this year’s NTEN conference in New Orleans, I spoke to a packed room of a hundred or so nonprofit managers eager to harness the power of Web 2.0 for their organization. Web 2.0 refers to a new generation of web-based communities and hosted services such as social networking sites and blogs that facilitate sharing and collaboration between users.
There’s a lot of buzz about Web 2.0 tools and how they are revolutionizing the nonprofit industry, but are they just the latest shiny objects to have caught our attention? Or are they actually worth investing time and money into? The answer is yes, of course—in both cases. Allow me to explain. Read more
Converging Technologies
Check out the special report on technology in July’s Fundraising Success Magazine; you will find stories which examine some of the new and exciting channels — from mobile to MySpace that are available to innovative fundraisers.
When FundRaising Success first came into existence in 2003, the Internet (as a fundraising tool) hung plump and juicy, like a peach at the top of a tree, not quite ripe — and just out of reach…
But at the core of your fundraising, as always, is the trunk of the tree. Stalwart and supporting all your efforts, it’s made up of the less glitzy strategies that have been the backbone of fundraising for decades: direct mail, telefundraising, etc., plus solid campaigns for major gifts and planned giving. And then there are the roots — good communications, flawless accountability, faithful stewardship and old-fashioned relationship building — that ground the whole thing.
To read story sections within this special report, click on the titles below.
Flickr and Getty Images in Partnership
Getty Images, one of the world’s largest media licensing companies, has partnered with Flickr to add a broader selection of pictures to its online catalog. Getty will hand-pick a number of Flickr members to participate in the program, with a goal of acquiring thousands of images in the next few months.
Getty editors will use a set of tools jointly developed by the two companies that will enable them to easily scan through Flickr photos to find the best of the crop. Each selected member will have their images licensed through a special Flickr-branded section of Getty’s site, and will receive portions of the licensing fees collected by Getty (there is no set payout structure - each selected participant in the program will need to negotiate their own deal with Getty).
tip to TechCrunch
more from FoxBusiness
Does The Mail (from Israel) Get Through?
I was at a reception last night where quite a few attendees at the Hartman Institute’s summer program were also in attendance. And I heard something I found hard to believe.
E-mail sent to any Comcast.net address from an Israeli IP address is automatically blocked.
Have any of our readers had personal experiences where they can speak either way to this statement?
Content is Still King
Your organization has decided to launch a blog, and you’re the lucky blogger. You need to learn the available tools, think about how you want to position the blog so it is asthetically pleasing, and so much more.
All to often what gets lost in the shuffle is content. Two links to take a look at.
One of the cornerstones of powerful writing is the use of concrete details that can tell your story for you:
- They have to be vivid.
- They have to be compelling.
- And they have to matter to your reader.
“Show, don’t tell” is one of the most important rules of effective writing. Instead of telling readers “the car chase was exciting,” the writer finds the perfect details to put the reader right into the action, with the gear shift vibrating under her hand and muddy grit splattering the windshield.
Remember, Details about most problems (or organizations) are boring. Details about people and how they’re solving their problems are much more interesting.
Here’s a strange paradox: now that we have infinite shelf space, free or cheap media making capabilities, and free storage and distribution, it’s more important than ever that we adopt a practice of brevity. Why? Because it’s the new black, that’s why. Here’s more.
- Brevity means people can take your ideas with them, chew on them, and do something with them.
- Structuring your information into chunks means that you can reconfigure them in lots of ways. You can mix and match them to people’s needs. People will only chew off what they need.
- Brevity tells people that you’ve distilled the essence of what you’re telling them.
Make sense?