facebook: putting your nonprofit face in front

Putting Your Nonprofit Face in Front

Leveraging Facebook for the Greater Good

What would Greta say about this age of social media?

www.CFSarasota.org

What we’re doing today.

• Social media: what you need to know.

• Who’s your Facebook audience?

• Your Strategy: defining goals, objectives & content on Facebook and who does what.

• Measuring your success.

What’s the big deal with social media?

We’re nonprofits. We like relationships.

…Right?

What we’re NOT saying:Social media is the right communications tool for every…

* relationship

* audience

* need

But, it IS a tool we can’t ignore. It’s part of the plan.

There’s Good News…• The tools are free.• It’s pretty easy.• Provides a way to

meet new audiences.• Provides a new way to

connect with existing fans.• Drives traffic to your

website.• Enhances your brand presence.• Not always new content.

…And Bad News.

• Who has the time?

• You lose control of the message.

• It can get messy.

• You have to have a plan.

What is social media? 4 things to remember.

1. Social media is SOCIAL.

Short term: conversations Long term: relationships

Social media is not a billboard for your nonprofit’s announcements.

We’re officially begging

you to donate & come to our events we invite

you to on Facebook. Now be quiet.

2. Social media—like other forms of communication—insists that you ask:

“Where does my audience live & what do they like?”

3. Like dating, social media involves TIME, TRUST and VALUE.

4. It’s not if you’re going to play but when you’re going to play.

60% of all donors—online and offline—did research online before

giving. (Source: Kintera)

It’s about much more than your website.

Getting Set Up:Terms & Tips

Most Importantly…

You want a Page (for an agency), NOT a Profile (for individuals).

Words We Hate to Like

• Friend = Someone who elects to receive updates from your personal profile

• Like = Electing to receive updates from your organization’s Facebook page

Your Audience:The Beginning of All Good Communications Planning

Who is included in your nonprofit’s audience?

• Donors

• Clients

• Staff/ Board

• Volunteers

• Members

• Media

• Funders

• Community Leaders

• Government

• Disadvantaged? Middle Income? Wealthy?

• Boomers? Gen X? Teens?

• Men? Women?

• Educated?

• Working? Retired?

What about your Facebook audience?

Let’s see who’s there & what they’re doing.

• More than 103 million US-based.

• People spend an average of nearly 1 hr/day.

• Pages have created more than 5.3 billion “likes.”

• Fastest growing population on Facebook = women over 55.

On Facebook, people expect• Engagement: a mix of value, information,

entertainment.

• Integration: with other digital media.

• A variety of update types (status, video, links, photos, interaction, etc.)

• Good stuff. Users don’t like to be overwhelmed with bad news. They get that everywhere else.

Do Facebook Users Give Money?

• Most nonprofits consider Facebook as the best social networking tool for fundraising

• 78% of NPOs that fundraise using Facebook raised $1,000 or less in 2009.

• If people give on Facebook, they tend to give in small amounts & give b/c friends ask

Given this, who (from your overall audience) is your FACEBOOK

audience?

Laying Out Your Facebook Plan:

Goals, Strategies & Content

Don’t get too wrapped up in the details to start.

What is it you want your audience to do when they “like” you on Facebook?

Examples of Goals:• Recruit Generation Xers to our volunteer program.

• Engage our members in our full our scope of services.

• Place our nonprofit at top of mind for women needing career counseling services.

Now, fold in strategies related to achieving each goal.

Examples of Strategies:

• Build our brand on Facebook as a resource for career-related information for women by adding 4 “value added” posts each week.

• Involve 6 current clients as brand ambassadors to refer other women using FB profiles.

Now, determine the type of content that relates to your strategies.

Examples of Content Plan:• Link to career related articles in news and blogs and post tips to add value

• Post photos of networking at our career events & tag people to generate viral excitement

• Share kudos/ congrats to successful women who have found jobs

6 Ways to Annoy Your FB Fans with Bad Content

1. Make it boring or irrelevant to your mission.

2. Talk like a text book & with jargon vs. like a friendly conversation.

3. Make it overly sad, negative or hopeless.

4. Post something that doesn’t add value.

5. Be afraid to show personality.

6. Don’t respond to comments.

What you can listen for on Facebook

• What are people saying about your organization. (Ask!)

• What’s being said about issues related to your mission.

• Who is saying it.

43

Let’s talk strategy, Gretta.

Would Greta LIKE this? SHARE this?

What’s YOUR

Strategy?

Carrying out your Facebook strategy.

• Who’s in charge?

• How often do you post?

• How do you get more action?

55

1 Person in Charge, Many Participating in Content.

Remember PEOPLE make “viral” work!

• Staff

• Board Members

• Clients

• Volunteers

• Funders

• Community Leaders

Consider the power of…

• Individual Profiles

• Comments on related Facebook pages and blogs on behalf of your nonprofit

• Other strategies?

Suggest to Friends

58

Roles of the Overseer:

• Distribute social media policies

• Plan content & strategy

• Oversee responses & “listening”

• Encourage participation

• Metrics/outcomes

59

Nearly 85% of nonprofit survey respondents committed at least ¼ of a full time staff member to maintaining their social networking presence in 2009.

Two thirds committed ¼ to ½ of a full-time resource.

Source: 2010 Nonprofit Social Network Survey

60

Social Media Guidelines

• For you.• For your fans.• For your employees.

You need written social media guidelines

in your employee handbook.

• Be honest and truthful.

• Be respectful of timing. (Does your board know it?)

• Reflect your nonprofit’s values.

• Respect privacy. (Of clients, donors, members, volunteers, staff, confidential “insider” info)

It’s mostly common sense.

(See Kodak, IBM, Intel SM policies)

Promoting Your Facebook Page

Promoting Your Facebook Page

• Link everywhere: website, e-newsletters, all electronic communication.

• Include “become a fan” on all printed material— business cards, newsletters, rack cards, etc.

• Make other (trusted) employees administrators

• Encourage others to visit you with special contests & discounts.

• “Suggest to Friends”

64

Measuring Effectiveness

• Hootsuite Excellent tracking & posting of links

• Track referrals to your website Google analytics is free.

• Observe activity Comments, Likes, Posting on Your Wall

• Survey your clients, members, customers “How did you hear about us?” and Special discounts

65

66 www.CFSarasota.org

67 www.CFSarasota.org

We thank you. Greta thanks you.

Connect With Us.

Susie Bowie/ Susie@CFSarasota.org 941.556.7104 @NonprofitSRQ

On Facebook: Community Foundation of Sarasota County

Suzanne Dameron/ Suzanne@AspirePR.biz941.809.3247