Maximizing Social Media for Nonprofits-

Advanced Community Engagement

Laura Deaton

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Social Media is NOT A Strategy

• Must complement an existing community engagement and outreach strategy.

• It is one tool in your community engagement toolkit.

• It can be used strategically, but it isn’t the end …it’s the means.

What’s the end then?

• Listen and Learn• Build Relationships and Brand Awareness • Grow Reputation • Content Generation and Issues Awareness • Increased Website Traffic and Page Rankings• Resource Development

Potential Outcomes for SM

• KNOWLEDGE: Build awareness of programs/services

• ATTITUDE: Increase first person personal ‐stories, testimonials, and public endorsements

• BEHAVIOR: Increase website click-thrus, event signups, contacts

• CONDITION: Increase service referrals, event participation, donations

Target Your Audience• Who must you reach with SM to meet your objectives?

Why? What do you already know about them?• Already identified in org’s Marcomm plan? How

currently targeted?• What do they already know or believe about your

organization? What resonates? Existing effective collateral?

• Key points?• What do you know about current 1.0 website visitors

and SM traffic? Hours of the day? Research and other data?

Think Beyond the Norm

• Don’t make social media the “job” of the marketing team. Instead incorporate all of your org’s: – Best listeners– Brand builders– Responders– Discussion initiators– Volunteer/staff recruiters

Carve out specific time.

Block your calendar for regular social media time and protect it/guard it with your life.

LISTENING

Listen.

Monitoring what stakeholders are saying about your organization.• Complaints/dissatisfaction• Compliments/testimonials• Questions/FAQ• Inquiries and Opportunities

Start By…

Start By…

Then…

http://www.slideshare.net/kanter/colorado-listening-deck

LEARNING

Then Learn

• Keep up-to-date on related issues, local and national news, legislation, and more.

• Move from brand-centered listening, to competitive listening, to industry-wide listening.

• Bonus: Use the info you follow as content for sharing on social media.

Link to Outsiders and Allies

• Who are the knowledge brokers in this community?

• Who do people already turn to for trusted and valued information?

• Who are the influential people and organizations in your community that can help you spread your message?

• Find them and connect with them on social media.

Use SM Tools to Organize

Tag Cloud

How?

Searching for key words and phrases. Homing in on the data, conversations, dialogue, and other bits of information.Harnessing conversations and extracting the information that helps you decide how, where, and when to engage with your community.

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS AND BRAND

Building Relationships and Brand Awareness

• Interact with key audiences – Other people/orgs in the local community– Service recipients– Partners– Potential referral sources– Donors

• Active real-time engagement

Empower and Involve the Team

• Ask them to tweet regularly about your org. Mobile workers can download Twitter and Facebook Apps for their phones/Blackberrys

• Create a policy that encourages Tweeting and posting to your Facebook pages – Give great examples of the kinds of posts that you’d like to see.

• Day-in-the-life videos.

Not Just for Rank and File…

• Get your CEO and Board to set the example.• Ask your Board members to Tweet or

comment on their own Facebook pages about their activities with your organization and link to your stuff.

• Make it easy by posting Board Member profiles once a month.

Be personal and personable.

• Regurgitating marketing language or press releases doesn’t work.

• Be your authentic self.

Put SM Addresses Everywhere You Put your Website Address.

• Hard copy documents/brochures• Business cards• New staff orientation packets• Email signatures• Your website• Other SM sites

Post on Weekends

Check your stats. Most people get on SM on the weekends when they aren’t at work.

Use a tool like Hootsuite, LaterBro, Co-Tweet, Twaitter.

11 choices here: http://clicky.me/schedule(I like Hootsuite)

1 degreeEncourage board, staff, vols to use invite functions…

Widen the Net…

YouTube

Use URL Shorteners

They allow you to track click-thrus to see what’s working.

Top 5 choices here: http://clicky.me/shorturls

GROWING REPUTATION

Growing Reputation

• Serve as information hub for community. • Make a strong first impression or change the

way people think about your organization. • Position as experts and thought leaders.

Info Hub/Changing Perceptions

Position As Experts

ADVOCACY

Issues Advocacy

Encourage stakeholders to create content– Advocate for your organization’s issues– Spread the word about advocacy-related events– Engagement campaigns

Good Advice + More

• Identify an “Issue du Jour”• Choose Imperfect and Timely Over Perfect and Late• Show Relevance• Don’t Fake It• Thank• Remind them of your organization’s mission. • Integrate a specific fundraising appeal. http://www.blackbaud.com/files/resources/downloads/WhitePaper_ConnectingOnlineAdvocacyAndFundraising.pdf

RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

Resource Development

• Spur supporters to donate• Recruit and retain volunteers or staff

Donate

Fundraising Dashboard

Volunteer Recruiting Dashboard

Staff Strategies

INCREASE RELEVANT VISITOR TRAFFIC AND PAGE RANKINGS

Increased Relevant Visitor Traffic and Page Rankings

Cross-promote and drive traffic to your web site, – improve stickiness of site– search engine results– highlight targeted pages

Publicize on Your Website/Bloghtt

p://ww

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WIIFM

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Social Bookmarks

THE TEAM-DRIVEN CALENDAR

Annual, Quarterly or Seasonal

• Start by thinking of “big picture” umbrella events and messaging:

• What are your goals for the next 6-12 months?

• What events and campaigns do you already have identified.

• What are touchstone issues for your organization that can inform messaging?

Monthly

• Concentrate on you want to achieve each month, including date-specific events that you can use to anchor your messages:

• What are you discussing/sharing/promoting?• What actions do you want your audience to take (particularly

ones that are measurable)?• What’s happening with your org this month?• What’s happening in your industry this month?• What’s a hot, current or trending topic this month you can

comment on?• What holidays can you leverage?

Daily• What are you reading?• What are you thinking about?• What are you doing?• What questions can you ask your audience?• What’s happening with your organization today?• What’s happening in your industry sector today?• What’s a hot, current or trending topic you can comment on?• What are your friends, fans and followers saying that you can repeat?• What are your friends, fans and followers doing that you can

acknowledge publicly?• What calls-to-action can you announce to attract attention and stimulate

conversations and participation?

http://gigaom.com/collaboration/25-ways-to-fill-your-social-media-calendar/

NO FEAR

The Perfect Twitter Faux Pas

Whoops!

Opportunity!

Finally…Cross-Promotion

How to Reach Me• Laura Deaton, Full Glass Consulting• Phone, Fax and Mobile: 888-784-3433• On the Web:

http://www.FullGlassConsulting.com• On LinkedIn:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/lauradeaton• Email: laura.deaton@fullglassconsulting.com

FACEBOOK SPECIFIC CHECKPOINTS

“Engagement-Friendly Settings”

Settings: Default landing tab: Wall Default view for wall: Posts by Page and Fans Auto-Expand Comments: CheckFan Permissions: Fans can write on the wall Allow fans to post photos Allow fans to post videos Allow fans to post links

Decide….discussions or not?

A Few Other Tactics• Configure your Page's "Settings" to allow more participation.• Use your organization's logo as your Page picture.• Use Polls to engage your fans and ask questions to engage your audience.• Incorporate your Facebook Page into your e-newsletter.• Ask your Likers to "Suggest to Friends" on a monthly basis.• Integrate Facebook into your online donation "Thank You" web page and e-

mail.• Ask fellow staff, board members and volunteers to regularly give “Thumbs

Ups” and post Comments.• Claim your organization's Community Page.• Promote your Facebook Page on other Pages via Tagging.• Use new admin tools to reach out and “Like” other pages.

• For more: http://www.diosacommunications.com/facebookbestpractices.htm

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