What Social Media is All About

Popular social media tools and advantages to using them

Summary

• Value of Social Media– Viral Marketing Challenge

• Common Pitfalls• Description of Popular Tools– Snapshot of Tools– Advantages & Disadvantages

• Techniques to maximize the use of each tool

Some Examples of Value

• Where many future and current donors are• Instant communication with a group of any

size• Viral capacities • Capture Stories

Viral Marketing Challenge

• What does viral look like?– Digg Swarm

• Accidental vs. Intentional– Farmville, Lil’ Green Patch– Mento’s & Diet Pepsi

• The tail wags the dog– Responding when things work– Challenge of traditional “strategies”

Common Pitfalls

• Debunking myths around social media• If you are not there first someone else will be– Bellevue College group

• Rules & Regulations vs Guidelines & Best Practices

Snapshot of Tools

• Usual Suspects• Online Video• Reposting your articles• Shop-to-Give • Communities

Blog… What? Why?

What is a blog?– Blog is short for weblog– Online story telling, event promotion, community

buildingWhy create a blog?– Reach new supporters– Widens your potential audience– Builds a sense of community for your organization– Opens up new avenues of fundraising

Blog… Pros vs. Cons

Pro’s– Number one community development tool– Great hub for social media activity and long-term

conversations (perfect strategic launching point)– Community engagement on their terms

Con’s– Most labor intensive– Needs multiple staff buy-in and commitment to be

successful

Facebook… What? Why?

What is Facebook Pages?– Similar to a personal profile but for business &

nonprofit use

Why use Facebook Pages?– Connect people beyond geographic boundaries– Opportunities for everyday grassroots giving– If you don’t start someone else will– Tap into donor’s personal networks

Facebook… Pros vs. Cons

Pros– Easiest to create and maintain– Lowest user commitment, very widely adopted

Cons– Not as many options for interaction and

personalization– Closed system, not very searchable

Twitter… What? Why?

What is Twitter?– Like a conversation with the world from your back

porch– Micro-blogging

Why Tweet?– Instant mass communication– Easy to promote events, blog posts, new stories

and programs for your organization (RSS)

Twitter… Pros vs. Cons

Pros– Most viral way to promote your message– Can see the most rapid growth– Multiple strategies and techniques– Has groupies

Cons– Least widely adopted– May not be for your organization– Can take significant staff management

Twitter: Follow Everyone

• Follow Game– Bigger list– Need Tweetdeck, etc.

• Can DM Everyone• Examples– @johnhaydon– @givezooks

Twitter: Only RSS

• Replaces RSS Reader Functionality

• Hands-off strategy– No action, minimal

maintenance– Use Twitterfeed

• Examples– @kanter

Twitter: Follow Interests

• Needs no additional applications

• More Reliable Followership

• Organic Growth thru conversation

• Examples– @infosmallchange– @jolkona

Twitter Applications

• Tweetdeck – Seesmic

• CoTweet, Hootsuite• Twitterfeed • Lots of Other

Applications– Caution on Automated

Following

Blogging: Subscription Boxes

• Easy to see– Large, Top of the Page

• Include an email option• Feed Retention– Feedburner.com

• One Click– Make it easy

• Visible on all pages

Blogging

• Reciprocal Linking (or Link Exchange)– Blogroll

• Commenting• Blog Aggregates– Alltop, Daily Reviewer

• Blog Carnivals

Facebook Pages

• Number of Fans to create critical mass

• Events, Photo’s tabs– Causes Application

• Send updates to your fans

• Don’t be afraid of status updates

Causes & Other Applications

• Causes– Thank– Auto Promote– America’s Giving

Challenge

• Other Applications– Custom Programming– Lil’ Green Patch