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Social Media for Libraries
How to be strategic with your new media outreach
Atlas Presentation 2/23/12
Eric Horner
EchoFundraising.com
Eric_Horner@yahoo.com
2. Eric’s Background
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Frontline Fundraiser, Interactive Media Specialist
2006 U.Chicago Alumni Reunions & Volunteer Boards
2008 Alumni & Friends Web Community
2009 Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
2010 SkyRise Chicago
2011 Kellogg School of Business
Independent Consultant
Eric_Horner@yahoo.com Library 02/23/12 slide 2
3. What is Social Media?
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Technology is always changing and the lines are blurring between
Website and Email, Bulletin Board and Profile, Personal and
Professional, Office and Mobile…
Community
Connections
Content
Calculating metrics
Social Media is a broad term encompassing the various activities
that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction
of words, pictures, videos and audio.
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4. Not Everyone Uses Social Media the Same
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5. Social Media Facts
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Nielson, Global Faces and Networked Places, 2009
2/3 of the global internet population visit social networks
Visiting social sites is now the fourth most popular online activity,
ahead of personal email
Time spent on social networks is growing at 3x the overall internet
rate, accounting for ~10% of all internet time
“Technology is shifting the power away from the editors, the
publishers, the establishment, the media elite. Now it’s the
people that are in control.”
- Rupert Murdoch, Global Media Entrepreneur
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6. Social Media Facts (cont.)
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Twitter users increased 1,382% from 2009 to 2010
There is an average of 3,000,000 tweets per day on Twitter
People spend 5 Billion minutes on Facebook each day
People share 1 Billion pieces of content each week on Facebook
If Facebook were a country, it would be the 8th most populated in
the world, ahead of Japan
YouTube is now the 2nd most popular online search engine,
behind Google
100 Million YouTube video’s viewed per day
In 2009, 3.6 Billion photos were archived on Flickr.com
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7. Basics of Social Media Strategy
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Ultimately, the goal of social media is to build awareness, increase
exposure, encourage participation and interaction, and become a
resource to your community.
Create a Plan
Monitor & Listen
Measure
Engage
Adapt quickly
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8. Social Media Strategy: Planning
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Every organization is unique, but still needs to ask some common questions:
Who are you trying to reach?
What are we trying to accomplish?
Why are we using social media to do this?
How will we encourage participation?
Who will maintain our social media presence?
Do we have the resources to keep this up?
How does social media integrate into our overall
marketing/communications strategy?
What will we do less of if we are spending resources on
social media?
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9. Social Media Strategy: Monitor & Listen
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Where does your donor audience currently communicate?
– Facebook is the largest network statistically, but you may find your audience is more active on
LinkedIN or Twitter, or YouTube.
– Conduct a basic census of your people in each network
What is my audience discussing?
– You need to join the groups and find out what the topics are.
– If you find that there is a lively discussion going around one subject, encourage it instead of
trying to control it. Participation of any kind is building bonds with your organization.
– Create some Google Alerts about your key words so that you can find out where they are
talking about you.
When do you moderate?
– You need to establish some basic rules of use which can be different depending on the size
and age of the audience. Start with very basic rules – most communities do a good job of self
policing. Profanity is not acceptable, for example, nor is it okay to utilize the group for
solicitations.
– Often times, organizations want to steer the communication, however in social media that
tends to push your audience away. Try not to dictate the discussion. The content you provide
is sufficient to create topics.
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10. Facebook
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What type of content are
you sharing?
– Video
– Photo
– Link to a longer article
– Status update
What actions are being
generated?
– Shares
– Comments
– Likes
– Clicks
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12. More about Facebook
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“EdgeRank” is the algorithm that determines who sees your stuff
Postings are scored: Affinity x Weight x Time Decay
– Users who have interacted with you more recently are more likely to see
your content than lapsed users
– Content is prioritized: first Video, then Photo, then Link, then Updates
– Actions pump up your score: Shares, Comments, Likes, Clicks
• Improves your Weight
• Resets your Time Decay
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13. About Twitter
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Fewer features than Facebook
– Follow
– ReTweet
– Favorite
– #Hashtag
– @Direct Respond
Can also mirror FB
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14. Social Media Strategy: Engaging
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Establish your profiles – Feed new content regularly
“build embassies” – Use syndication tools
– Facebook
– Twitter Special projects?
– LinkedIN – Eagle Scouts
– YouTube – Technology class
– Others - depends on audience
Find volunteers who love it
– Empower them as your agents to
work on your behalf
– Listen to their suggestions
– Be prepared to run with new ideas
as they are developed
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15. Multiply Effort by Syndicating Content
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After producing content,
send it out using all your
channels
RSS feeds
Post links to the story
Gather and respond to
comments
Use Hootsuite, Tweetdec,
Seesmic, and What?
Eric_Horner@yahoo.com Library 02/23/12 slide 15 <- Graphic by B. Liedke
16. What results to expect from your social network
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In any online community, you are always going to have the majority
of people acting passively most of the time. Reasonable success
is getting people to graduate up one rung of the ladder.
▲ .5% = Superstars – you wish you had 100’s of these because they do
things that impress you
▲ 5-10% = Evangelists – these people spread your message and connect
with the community for you
▲ 10-15% = Donors/Online Participants/Volunteers – you count on them
to come through for you when you need them
▲ 10-20% = Responders – sometimes they can be involved, sometimes not
▲ 40-50% = Affiliates – they like what you do, and more importantly like
being connected with you
▲ 20% = Free Loaders – they are always there, but they do nothing
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17. Best Practices
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Tell a story using short blurbs that point to something bigger
Organize your data into segmentation groups
Use the “Spaghetti Factor” (throw everything and see what
sticks), but you must test quickly and adapt
Let the data set your course – it’s not always what you thought
would happen when you planned (donor-centric model)
Take “little people” seriously; listen to all ideas
Be ready to deal with both good and bad luck –you will get both
Communication must be positioned appropriately in your
leadership in order to succeed- less than 3 people’s approval
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18. An Email – Explained
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“Email has rules as a genre that need to be respected.” -T. Gensemer, Blue State Digital
Email is an action-oriented writing style; it’s not a flyer
Emails should be less than 250 words. Can link to larger articles on web
Email is never ANONYMOUS
– must always have a person sign it
– what personality, tone, and style is conveyed?
Schedule your delivery of emails when the timing is right for the recipients (T-Th)
Donors are also Activists – give them something to talk about and they will
Your audience will ask three questions every time they read your email:
– Why am I on this recipient list?
– What does this email want from me?
– What do I do next?
Know the rules – regulations like CAN-SPAM, HIPAA, FERPA as well as the informal
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19. Eric Horner, EchoFundraising.com
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Eric_Horner@yahoo.com
773-329-3609
www.linkedin.com/in/erichorner
Eric Horner is a front-line fundraiser with a decade of experience in traditional development
operations who also believes in the importance of leveraging web technology and social
media to reach an emerging donor audience. He understands how to enhance an
organization’s campaign by adding to the overall online giving plan and email
solicitation practice while staying consistent with a donor relationship model. Through
his career in strategic communications and fundraising, Eric has helped a wide variety
of higher education, health care, and community non-profit organizations build stronger
solicitation programs that both acquire new donors as well as enhance relationships
with existing supporters. Eric has completed several successful online giving
campaigns and provides consulting to organizations considering construction of new
online platforms as well as those who want to get more out of their current programs.
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