July 8, 2009
Do you receive a monthly power bill. In addition to the bill, most utility companies will also send a small newsletter that about recent improvements, ways to save money, and other programs you can sign up for. For those customers who have switched their bill paying online, this information is emailed to the consumer.
How many times do you reach out to your donors? Many nonprofits only put out two or three newsletters a year. Other than that, they are silent. Is it a good thing that utility company may have a more consistent and possibly stronger relationship with your donors? Sure you may not read the little update from the power company but at least you’re given the chance to find out more. That’s how relationships are formed and strengthened.
As the power company has to send you a bill, it’s easy to add a newsletter to the mailing. For your group, such a mailing involves an extra cost. Why not use social media to maintain that dialogue without having to pay more in postage. It only costs you a few minutes to put out information about your organization with blogs, Facebook, and YouTube. You can use Twitter to alert people of your latest updates.
Share pictures, videos, stories, and your goals with your supporters. It doesn’t have to be a long update. But give your supporters something to think about or enjoy. The effort will reinforce the fact that your nonprofit is doing good work in your community and that the donor is smart to be supporting you.
Additional Resources:
Fun With Facebook
Ideas for Your Nonprofit Blog
Twitter & Nonprofits
Rally Your Troops
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Posted by Ken Okel
July 6, 2009
It can be frustrating to want to use Twitter to update your fans on your nonprofit but you can’t seem to get any followers. Here are three tips to capture them so you can let them know the latest on your organization, your Facebook page, and your YouTube videos.
- Let people know you are out there. It sounds simple but very often nonprofits think that by simply creating a Twitter page, they’ll gain lots of followers. You have to tell people to look for you. In printed material, on your website, and at your office, let people know that you’re on Twitter and your Twitter name.
- Follow similar organizations. Are there groups that have missions which are closely aligned to yours? Follow them as you’ll likely have many of the same supporters.
- Follow local business groups. From the chamber of commerce to your local government, there are likely lots of groups that make strategic sense for you to follow. They represent people you may want to know better.
With Twitter there’s a good amount of reciprocity. So if someone follows you, then you should follow them as well. It’s a great way to build your network.
Most of all, don’t panic if you don’t have a lot of followers overnight. It’s better to have a smaller group of people, as part of your social media strategy, who follow you, rather than a mob that’s not interested in your mission.
Additional Resources:
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Posted by Ken Okel
July 1, 2009
Numerous studies have found that it takes 30 days to form a new habit. Keep that in mind as your nonprofit develops its social media strategy.
After your organization has mapped out its social marketing goals, the tools you plan to use to achieve them, and how you’ll gauge their effectiveness, you’ll need to get started. That’s often the biggest hurdle for nonprofits and their communication goals: The need to have everything perfect before you get started. While I appreciate perfection as much as anyone, you won’t connect to your donors if you’re not willing to take some baby steps online. Sure, you’ll make some goofs but the ability to build stronger relationships with your supporters will outweigh then.
Above all, you must follow your plan for those first thirty days. If you plan to blog three times a week, then do it. The key to social media tools like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook is consistency. In order to build up an audience, you must stick to your plan. If, for instance, your Facebook page starts to collect online cobwebs, then who’s going to check it out? In this scenario, you’ll become frustrated with the lack of results and you’ll soon abandon social media entirely. That could be an extremely costly mistake, especially in today’s economy, where traditional marketing costs a lot.
Make sure your plan is ambitious but also achievable. After your first thirty days, evaluate how things are going and adjust as needed. I’m guessing that by then you’ll also be building up your social media muscles and doing things like uploading pictures, thinking of blog ideas, and catchy Twitter posts will be must easier.
Additional Resources:
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Posted by Ken Okel
