Curious about social media? Undecided about how or why you might best utilize it in the messaging and overall strategy of your nonprofit? In this presentation, nonprofit professionals will learn how to implement a successful social media strategy in 10 steps.

1. 10 Steps to a Successful Social
Media Strategy
September 17, 2013
Essex County Community Foundation
Julia Campbell, J Campbell Social
Marketing
www.jcsocialmarketing.com
julia@jcsocialmarketing.com

2. What do we mean when we say “social media”?
 “Social media refers to the means of
interactions among people in which they
create, share, and exchange information and
ideas in virtual communities and networks.”

3. What’s included?
 Blogging
 WordPress
 Tumblr
 Social networking
 Facebook
 Twitter
 LinkedIn
 Vine
 Instagram
 YouTube
 StumbleUpon
 Reddit

4. A word about email marketing & websites
 They are not included when we talk about “social media.”
 HOWEVER, having a robust website and email marketing
program are even more important than social media!
 Website is your hub
 Email marketing is your
direct communication –
solicitations, advocacy,
calls to action

5. Don’t Put the Cart Before the Horse
 http://seminars.idealware.org/eLearning/techpyramid/technology-
pyramid.html
http://seminars.idealware.org/eLearning/techpyramid/technology-pyramid.html

6. Is it all just a fad?
 The telephone was also thought to
be a fad. As well as the Internet.
 The platforms may change but the
concept is not going to change.
 Social media has revolutionized
the way we communicate with
each other on a personal and
professional level.
 Social media has completely
changed our expectations of
brands, companies and
nonprofits.

7. How much do nonprofits invest in social media?

10. Surprising Statistics
 The fastest growing demographic on Twitter is the 55–64
year age bracket.
 189 million of Facebook’s users are ‘mobile only’.
 YouTube reaches more U.S. adults aged 18–34 than any
cable network.
 Every second 2 new members join LinkedIn
 Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the
web.
 25% of smartphone owners ages 18–44 say they can’t recall
the last time their smartphone wasn’t next to them.
 Source: http://blog.bufferapp.com/10-surprising-social-
media-statistics-that-will-make-you-rethink-your-strategy

11. Why Is It Important for Nonprofits?
 Extension of donor relations – research,
stewardship, cultivation, connection.
 Much richer than just a boring PDF annual report –
and more memorable.
 Public awareness! It’s very shareable.
 Values stories – especially emotional ones.
 Public accountability & transparency.
 Instant feedback – what resonates?

12. Why Is It Important for Nonprofits?
 It makes us dig deep into the
“Why would anyone care?”
question.
 We know why we do it.
 We know why you should
give us money, volunteer,
attend our event, care!
 But can we convey the WHY?
 Can we make people care?
 Can we cut through the
clutter and the noise?

13. Important Notes Before You Begin
Technology is constantly
in flux and you will
need to be adaptable.
The work is never “done”.
There is no customer
service (forums, blogs,
Help centers).
Tools are free (like a
puppy is free).
You will need to invest
time in training and/or
in staff/outside help.
Some tools cost a little.
Adapted from Social Media for Social Good by Heather Mansfield

14. Important Notes Before You Begin
Fear is counterproductive!
Connecting with your
constituents and
supporters is never a
waste of time.
Don’t compare yourself!
There is no silver bullet or
magic shortcut to success.
There are best practices,
tips and tricks and helpful
seminars!
Adapted from Social Media for Social Good by Heather Mansfield

16. 1) Create a Committee.
 You cannot do this in a
silo. Won’t work.
 Think:
 Who in your
organization (staff,
volunteers, clients) likes
social media?
 Who is creative?
 Who has their pulse on
the latest news?
 Who is well-connected?

17. 1) Create a Committee.
The key is to get a group of people thinking through a
social media lens.
What will they do?
 Brainstorm content.
 Research blog posts.
 Take photos.
 Keep an eye out for good
stories.
 Be champions online, sharing,
liking, tweeting.
 Social Media Ambassadors
for the organization.
 Train and motivate others.
 Create Social Media Policies.

18. 2) Plan.
Define your goals and objectives.
 How will you know success? What can you measure
that is directly attributable to social media?
 Increased email sign ups
 Increased event participation
 New volunteer sign ups
 Increased website traffic
 Increased fundraising… think of the
Facebook Ladder of Engagement (next slide)

19. “Our Only Goal Is To Raise Money.”
“Facebook is not Amazon and Pinterest is not eBay.” –
John Haydon
Think about how you use social media channels:
 Connect with friends and family
 Discover interesting stuff
 Sharing things that you like
 Organizing with people who have common goals
 People hardly ever “use social media with the goal of
buying something or donating to a nonprofit”.
More info at: http://social.razoo.com/2012/10/the-
facebook-ladder-of-engagement/

20. http://www.johnhaydon.com/2012/11/facebook-ladder-of-engagement/

21. 3) Get Organized.
 Create a Social Media Measurement spreadsheet
 At of the start of your campaign, how many:
 Likes, Followers, Blog readers, Email subscribers
 Sign up for free Google Analytics

22. 3) Get Organized.
 Sign up with Google Grants, the nonprofit edition of
AdWords – Google’s online advertising tool
 $10,000 per month in-kind AdWords advertising
 http://www.google.com/grants/
 Drive traffic to your website, which will in turn help you
build your audiences on social media.
 Get the HubSpot e-book:
http://cdn1.hubspot.com/hub/53/
archive/docs/google_grants_tips_
nonprofit_ebook.pdf

23. 3) Get Organized.
 Sign up and secure all URLs – be consistent.
 facebook.com/nonprofitorgs
 twitter.com/nonprofitorgs
 Save usernames and passwords in a spreadsheet.
 Get a square version of your logo for avatars.

24. 4) Create Policies.
 Social Media Committee and HR can be in charge of these
policies.
 Make a plan for crisis communications.
 External Policy – no spam, obscenity, etc.
 What will get people blocked from the page or the
group? What is encouraged?
 Internal Social Media Policy & Training
 Be smart about training employees on what they should
and should not share online.
 Empower and educate before punish.
 Who are the administrators of the page? Who will take
charge when this person is on vacation/out?

25. Crisis Management!
An actual tweet accidentally sent via @RedCross:

26.  Red Cross response:
 #gettngslizzerd was a Trending Topic (meaning it
was popular on Twitter)

27.  Dogfish Head Brewery response:
 The Red Cross set up a designated page in connection
with Dogfish encouraging people to donate a pint and
use the hashtag to spread the word.

28. 5 Rs of Social Media
 Reason. Simply put: use reasonable etiquette, the same
as you would offline.
 Represent yourself. Anonymous profiles lend
themselves to more negative content.
 Responsibility. Make sure that what you’re saying is
factually correct, and also that it doesn’t violate any legal
guidelines that prohibit revealing information that is
material to a company’s stock price.
 Respect. What you say online is a permanent record, so
don’t say anything online you wouldn’t feel comfortable
saying to the whole office – with a camera rolling.
 Restraint. Before you hit that send button, pause and
reread. If you wouldn’t want that particular thought or
contribution forever associated with your name, don’t
post it.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2013/02/07/to-do-update-companys-social-media-policy-asap/

29. FAQ: Confidentiality Concerns
“Client and staff identities need to be protected or lives are at
risk.”
Clients will be less likely to seek our services if they think there
is a danger of their identity being revealed.”
“We may be the target
of hostile PR
campaigns (women’s
rights and gay rights
organizations).”

30. FAQ: Confidentiality Concerns
“Best way to protect confidentiality is to think about
humans as much, if not more, than the technology.”
Jayne Cravens, TechSoup Community Forum Manager
Ensure that every employee and volunteer knows:
 What info should be confidential and WHY.
 What do breaches look like – online and offline.
 Consequences.
 Must be addressed and discussed frequently – part of the
culture!
 Write this into your policy (Google “Employee Social
Media Policy”)
More info at:
http://forums.techsoup.org/cs/community/f/26/p/33610/115564.aspx#115564

31. 5) Choose Channels.
 Too many organizations do
this first.
 Where are your supporters?
 Where do they congregate?
 Follow/Like other similar
organizations.
 Ask or survey your supporters
and constituency.
 Don’t get caught up in shiny
new object syndrome.

32. Facebook 101
 The place where people go to connect/reconnect with
friends and family.
 People come to Facebook to make personal
connections and to have fun.
 Strategy – Help supporters feel more connected to your
organization; show them who you are as humans; help
them connect to each other; make them trust you.
 Share “behind the scenes” photos and videos, ask
questions, share compelling statistics and success
stories.
 Easy, light, fun. Include media with all posts – links,
photos, videos.

33. Twitter 101
 A space where people share the content that excites
them, in short 140 character bursts.
 The link reigns supreme!
 Strategy – Don’t get too personal; share the best content
you can find; drive traffic to your website; get people to
“ReTweet” your content; follow people who have lots of
followers and ask them to spread your message.
 ReTweet, Thank – create good Twitter karma.
 Statistics, quotes, links. Be creative!

34. LinkedIn 101
 A professional network where people go to build
networks and connect to resources.
 Strategy – Unlike Facebook, people actually want to talk
about work and work issues on LinkedIn. Longer,
wordier responses, more professional tone.
 Look for potential employees and volunteers, share
professional networking events, Board opportunities,
join Groups and ask questions and start discussions.
 Very good for donor prospect research, recruiting
volunteers and staff members; also promoting thought
leadership on an issue.

35. Pinterest 101
 “Pinterest is a tool for collecting and organizing things
you love.” – People use it to make wish lists, plan trips,
organize events, start collections, interior decorating,
plan projects
 Pinterest is aspirational, not of-the-moment.
 Pinterest works more like a Vision Board, rather than
an off-the-cuff, in-the-moment statement of what we are
eating or where we are hanging out.
 Strategy – Pin compelling visuals with great captions
that link back to your website or blog; share statistics
and infographics; share your personality and pin things
that are not directly related to your mission.

36. YouTube 101
 YouTube is the #2 search engine in the world.
 More than 1 billion unique visitors visit each month.
 Enroll in the YouTube Nonprofit Program:
http://www.youtube.com/nonprofits
 Strategy – Post videos! Anyone can do it!
 Download The Starter Guide to Nonprofit
Storytelling: http://www.startstorytelling.com/
 Also explore Vine and Instagram

37. 6) Listen.
 Spend some time on each
channel.
 Each network has it’s own
culture, it’s own feel and it’s own
language.
 Listen to what people are saying
– what moves them? What are
they sharing and retweeting?
 Listen to what other
organizations are posting – is it
falling flat? Going viral?
 Listen and get ideas.

38. 7) Work Smarter.
 Check out Social Media Dashboards & Scheduling
Tools
 HootSuite, TweetDeck, Buffer, PostPlanner
 Remember, it is always most effective to login and
monitor each site individually.
 Authenticity vs. Automation – the never-ending battle!

39. 15-15-15 Rule
 15 minutes in the morning
 15 minutes at lunch
 15 minutes in the
evening/afternoon
Remember, people are used to a
response within hours (if not
minutes).

40. 8) Create Great Content.
 Start a simple Editorial Calendar.
 http://www.bethkanter.org/editorial-calendar-2013/
 A tool for planning, scheduling and managing
publication of content across channels
 Blog posts
 Twitter
 Facebook
 YouTube
 Podcasts
 Email Newsletters
 Direct mail campaigns
 Press releases
 Events

41. What will I post/tweet about?
• Industry blogs,
newsletters,
websites
• Google Alerts &
New York
Times alerts
• Competitors
• Success Stories
• Inspirational
quotes
• Reached a goal
• Want input on
an issue
• Events,
anniversaries,
celebrations,
birthdays
• Email newsletter
• Tie current
events to your
cause/issue
• Read everything
and follow
everyone!
• Figure out what’s
working for
other nonprofits
and adapt it!

42. 8a) Get Visual!
 THE REALITY: You need a
constant stream of
compelling visuals, photos,
videos, infographics.
 You cannot stretch your logo
across your Facebook Page
and have that resonate with
potential donors.
 PicMonkey.com
 Quozio.com
 Photopin.com
 Morguefile.com

43. 9) Measure & Improve.
 Measure results slowly.
 Facebook – Instant Post Insights
 Twitter – ReTweets, mentions
 Website analytics
and traffic
 Blog traffic
 Email newsletter
signups
See what works.
Do more of that.

44. 10) Celebrate Successes.
 Post if you reach 100 Facebook fans.
 Acknowledge everyone who helped you get there.
 Pat yourself on the back – social media is hard!
 It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

45. Julia’s Social Media Philosophy
Social media is a TOOL
– it is not a substitute
for a lousy program or
bad programming.
In other words, you still
need a compelling
cause and good
message.
Integrate it with an
overall marketing
campaign, just as you
would other tools
(direct mail, newsletter,
website, ads).

46. Julia’s Social Media Philosophy
Not all social media
channels are right for your
nonprofit.
Pick and choose. Do a few
well than many poorly.
QUALITY over QUANTITY –
one quality Facebook post
per day (or every few days)
is worth more than 100
posts that get you unliked
or unfollowed.

47. To learn more:
 www.johnhaydon.com
 www.bethkanter.org
 www.nonprofitorgsblog.org
 www.hubspot.com
 www.jcsocialmarketing.com

48. Questions, comments, feedback?
 Email: julia@jcsocialmarketing.com
 Website: www.jcsocialmarketing.com
 Cell: 978-578-1328
 Twitter: @JuliaCSocial
 Facebook:
www.facebook.com/
jcsocialmarketing