1. #WordPower for Social Media
Funding Information Center
Richie Escovedo, Director of Media and Communications, Mansfield ISD
2. social media accentuates our
ability to engage in dialogues with
people, educate others about a
cause, and tell the success
stories of people who have
benefited from our work
6. How do we grow our [fill in the blank] community?
Answer: Post engaging stuff.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chavals/2655131515/
7. Be compelling
Social media allows you to, in many ways,
become your own news outlet.
Provide honest, credible, and valuable
feature content around your nonprofit.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeygottawa/274223086/
8. Think value
and intrigue
with headlines
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26322849@N03/3298441111
9. Have a personality
Guiding principles of social
media:
Be human and be honest
You are writing for people.
Think about your voice.
It’s ok to be appropriately informal.
11. To start, answer some questions
● Who will post?
● Who is your audience?
● What do you hope to accomplish?
● What kinds of content will be created/shared?
● When will content be shared (schedule)?
● What's your available budget/time?
● How will you evaluate your social media use?
● Can social media improve/supplement programs or
services?
● Can anything be re-purposed for social media?
12. “There is nothing so useless as doing
efficiently that which should not be
done at all.” - Peter Drucker
13. ● See what other nonprofits
are doing (well) and follow
their lead.
● Start with your goals and
objectives NOT the tools.
● Choosing the right tools is
not an easy task.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mommypants/319568014/
14. Have an authentic voice
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mingaling/457921798/
To have an authentic voice on your
social media platform you must
develop a voice that connects with
your community.
Do this by
● telling stories;
● being encouraging; and
● appreciating and championing
the followers in your online, and
offline, community.
15. Listen to your stakeholders
Those who use social media
to only push out their
organization's messages
miss the opportunity to
have an engaging
conversation with their online
community.
16. Listen to the Conversation
Monitor what is being said about
your organization.
Don't know what social media your
stakeholders are using?
Check it out by searching for your
nonprofit's name, topic of interest, etc.
on Google, Google BlogSearch,
Technorati, Search.Twitter, Facebook
Search and many others.
http://www.flickr.
com/photos/herculie/2370039001/
18. Nonprofit blogging
● Explore topics relevant to mission
● Encourage community
● Tell your good stories
● Explain challenges
● Introduce ideas and plans
● Invite writers from other areas
● Feature writing
● Official statements
● Feedback through comments
● Moderate comments
● Be interesting
● Use text, photos, and video
19. ● Director/CEO blog about how your organization is
striving to reach mission
● Volunteers/interns blog about experiences working
with organization
● Fundraising staff blog on current activities
● Events staff blog on how events are coming together
● Staff writing about what it’s like to work/progress at
your organization
● Write a blog to keep your supporters updated on
where their gifts are being put to use
● Blog about how the organization impacts life/lives
● Create a news blog to keep supporters up-to-date
with the happenings of your organization
Adapted from "10 Ideas to Get Your Blog Started"
http://www.netwitsthinktank.com/internet/10-ideas-to-get-your-blog-
started.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/avrdreamer/3658790582/
20.
21. ● Make sure Facebook link is easy to find on website
● Post links plus photos/videos
● Have rules for moderation
● "Tag" supporters and other Pages (including media)
● Use Facebook events; free and easy to encourage
community to "Share"
● Ask/answer questions
● Reply to feedback as appropriate
● You don't have to respond to everything
● The magic is in the feedback and post 'Likes'
22. ● Frequent updates, users expect consistent interaction
● Ask questions, solicit their input
● Encourage fans to speak on your behalf
● Ask them to like and share things
● If someone criticizes the organization, and fans defend
you, let them
● Community may be interested in different facets of your
organization
● Tailor your posts to those niches
23. ● Have a purpose
● Avoid being too promotional
● Know what you’re trying to accomplish
● Are you recruiting volunteers?
● Cultivating activists?
● Stewarding your donors?
● Fans do want updates and information about your
success and new campaigns
24.
25. For nonprofits, Twitter can be...
● a cost-effective (free) option to accentuate existing
messages;
● a broadcasting tool to announce relevant information to
specific audiences; and
● a (brief) conversational tool to appropriately respond to
relevant inquiries and follow-up questions or comments.
26. Putting Twitter to work
● Broadcast vs. conversationalist
● Twitter as pages
● Twitter as media pitches
● Tweets for on-the-go posting
● Engaging the media
● #Hashtags
Nonprofits tweeting once per week
or less do not provide enough value
in the medium and can quickly
become obsolete.
30. Putting Twitter to work
● When and how to respond
● Have a personality and be human
● Red Cross and #gettngslizzerd
http://plixi.com/p/77743134
31. Sometimes Twitter can
just be so cool:
@Stefmara captured an
image of Space Shuttle
from her airplane window
May 16, 2011
http://twitpic.com/4yg6hs
33. Use video to tell your story
● Video content could be a key component of your social
strategy.
● Some find communicating through video easier than
feature writing or long blog posts.
● Most would rather watch a video than read.
● Many options, but stick with YouTube or Vimeo.
● Both free with easily embeddable videos for
blogs/websites and can be shared on Facebook.
● If possible, try to keep videos short (3-5 minutes)
● Remember to repurpose, share across multiple channels
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharynmorrow/18753251/
34. Increase engagement with YouTube
● YouTube Nonprofit Program - branding
capabilities, higher uploading capacities,
call-to-action overlays
http://www.youtube.com/nonprofits
Non-profits can use the call-
to-action feature to
drive sign-ups, donations,
website traffic, and any other
response in which users
take action.
35. Remember with videos, you still
need to optimize for search.
Tag videos liberally, title well,
and upload consistently to have
a better chance of turning up in
search results.
36. Photo Galleries
● Organization news/events
● SmugMug, Flickr,
Facebook, etc.
● Community-generated pics
● Embeddable slideshows
● Easily shared/linked
● Useful when there's no time
to fully cover an event with
article
37. Photos - flickr
● Tons of photos from tons of users
● Tagging makes search flexible
● Create Group/member pool of photos
● Creative Commons help extend reach
38. How much time does it really take?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/russmorris/407778776/
39. How much time does it really take?
The short answer is, it depends on the day.
● 30 minutes of monitoring
● 10-15 minutes sharing content (Twitter, Facebook,
Video, Photo galleries)
● 5-10 minutes of promoting
● 1-2 hours of writing or preparing new content (press
releases, blog posts, etc.)
Note: These times are flexible depending on the other
needs of the day.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/russmorris/407778776/
40. Once you start...
● Follow through and use the tools.
● You don’t have to use every tool.
● Avoid the shiny-object syndrome.
● Tailor your social strategy to fit your
objectives.
● You need to have a thick skin.
● Not always going to be nice and
friendly.
● Expect challenges.
● Above all, foster a positive
community experience.
41. Final Thoughts
People want to be a part of
something good. Build on their
desire to belong.
Activate your volunteers/donors with
a sense of urgency and action along
with gratitude.
Ultimate goal is for a positive
community experience.
42. Sources & Additional Resources
http://www.spinsucks.com/social-media/five-tips-to-grow-your-facebook-community/
http://www.conversationagent.com/2010/05/7-compelling-content-ideas.html
http://www.spinsucks.com/social-media/for-nonprofits-social-media-is-the-message/
http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/02/14/how-to-write-posts-that-set-stumbleupon-on-fire/
http://www.arikhanson.com/2011/05/12/4-tips-to-writing-better-headlines/
http://www.slideshare.net/kanter/watech4good-summit
http://www.copyblogger.com/create-content-ideas/
http://www.copyblogger.com/better-email-marketing/
http://www.copyblogger.com/copywriting-a-to-z/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/55625471/The-Fifth-Estate-Applied-Facebook-Strategy
http://www.netwitsthinktank.com/internet/10-ideas-to-get-your-blog-started.htm
http://mashable.com/2011/04/18/non-profit-facebook-guide/
http://www.diosacommunications.com/facebookbestpractices.htm
http://mashable.com/2010/03/26/non-profits-youtube/
http://social.razoo.com/2011/09/how-to-thank-online-donors/
http://bethkanter.wikispaces.com/flickr
Don't worry if you missed anything.
This presentation can be found on slideshare:
http://www.slideshare.net/rescovedo