the footprints of social media planning

Fans Follow Function:

The Footprints of Social Media Planning

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“I hear YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are merging to form

a super-social media site: YouTwitFace.”

− Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show

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Question:

What’s the common denominator in steady media coverage, committed donors, loyal volunteers, good board relations and engagement with community partners?

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Answer:

Relationships.

Is social media the right communications tool for every relationship?

For every audience?

For every need?

Is it another tool?

No.

No.

No.

Yes, and it’s an important one.

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What are we talking about today?

• 4 core principles of SM• What goes in your SM plan• Reputation management• Measuring success• A few tips for FB, Twitter, YouTube, blogging.

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What is social media? 4 core principles.

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1. Social media is SOCIAL.

What are the elements of conversation?

What bothers you during bad conversations?

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Listen with enormous ears.

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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?”

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• Primarily male or female?

• Youth? Working? Retired?

• Middle class? Wealthy?

• How do they talk?

• What interests do they have that relate to your mission, values or brand?

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

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If you’re using social media, you have to water it or it will die.

Value = Water

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

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www.refresheverything.com

The Good Side

• The tools are free.• Easy to use.• 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.

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The Evil Side

2. People can say bad stuff about you.

1. Time isn’t free.

3. No plan, no power.

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1. Managing Time• Time Management is nothing new. How do you manage your time with current tasks?

Tips: -20 minutes per day? -Delegate…several accounts? -Establish boundaries/ policies -As you start getting results, consider investing more time.

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2. Managing Reputation • Focus not just on what they’re saying about your org., but what they’re saying about issues related to your mission.

• Remember that your biggest talkers are often your own staff and volunteers.

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Social Media Guidelines

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

You need written social media guidelines

in your employee handbook.

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Dirt Travels Fast. And the delete key doesn’t

work once it’s out there.

“Viral. It’s so…viral.”

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• 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)

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Look at 3 things:1. Tone.

Totally negative, neutral, seem like they could be talked to?

2. Influence. How many followers, friends, subscribers do they have?

3. Frequency. Is this a standalone argument / complaint or does there seem to be a trend brewing?

-Carrie Lewis, Humane Society of United States

So what if people DO say bad thingsabout your business?

At this difficult time, @Shamu will not be active. For Twitter updates follow @SeaWorld_Parks. http://bit.ly/b0oU3l

SeaWorld: What Happened

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3. Managing the Plan • Elements of a good social media plan: -Your goals. -Your content/ frequency of posting. -Your Czar, Your team members. -Your policies? (Yes, this again!) -How you plan to measure outcomes.

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Content is King.• To be interesting, you must be interested. (It’s not all about you.)

• Use a variety of post types: video, links, photos, status updates

• Be diverse in your content, but never go off mission, brand.

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Straight from the horse’s mouth.

“I want something that touches me in some way. …Then,

after I click - don't inundate me with crap.”

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Straight from the horse’s mouth.

“ Some organizations are SO serious all the time

Facebook is a de-stressor, social activity.”

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Straight from the horse’s mouth.

“It bothers me when an excellent nonprofit asks for feedback and

does not respond. Makes me nuts, and it tells me that at the end of the

day they are really just trying to fill the page."

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“Value Added” Posts

• Quotes, Tips, & Did You Know’s

• Questions (Informal polling)

• Fun links to videos & multi-media (yours or not)

Even if it’s not directly about your nonprofit, keep it relevantto your mission/brand.

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Tone, frequency & oversight.

• Don’t talk like a text book. Formal = lame= people don’t care.

• Overkill is easy to achieve possible. Don’t over-post.

• Don’t disappear off the radar with fleeting appearances.

• One person should oversee SM plan, encouraging others to participate.

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Example

Goals.• Branding us as a friend of nonprofits, causes. Caring. Compassionate. Responsive.• Driving traffic to our website for events, scholarships, grants, etc.• Providing a national awareness for our Nonprofit Resource Center

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Example

Content.• Links to advocacy info for the arts & health.• Tips for nonprofits. • Spotlights of nonprofits in our area & their work.• Research/ questions • Inspirational quotes about community, giving.

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Nonprofit social media isn’t one size fits all.

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• Establish your brand with your nonprofit’s own Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr accounts/ pages.

• Talk about your nonprofit on your own individual profile.

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By the Numbers

• More than 103 million US-based

• Average user spends nearly 1 hour on FB daily

• More than 700,000 local businesses/orgs w/ active pages.

• Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans

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Terminology

• Fan = Someone who elects to receive updates from your organization’s Facebook page

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

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Tips

• You want a Page, not a Profile (for individuals).

• Make multiple (trusted) staff or volunteers administrators.

• Use the “Suggest to Friends” when appropriate.

• Do not blast invites to events. Use updates sparingly.

• Use “Facebook Insights” to monitor.

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Suggest to Friends

Facebook Insights

Facebook Insights

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Tips

• Create an account name that makes sense & brand your page.

• Re-tweet valuable content from others.

• Use HootSuite or another tool to automate & track clicks.

• Think research, trends.

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Who should you follow?

• News media

• National orgs with your mission focus.

• Local orgs with similar mission focuses: think partners/ potential partners.

• Your competitors.

• Funders, nonprofit think tanks.

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Tips• Apply for a free nonprofit account & take advantage of its features.

• Post short videos—no more than a few minutes.

• Invest in a FLIP camera. Inexpensive & effective.

• Use your Facebook page, website, Twitter pages to make your videos more viral.

• Make sure there’s an emotional component.

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Is it actually interesting to people outside of your organization?

Interview with your CEO?

Or interview with a client who has been helped by your agency?

Clip of a speech given at a special event?

Or several donors saying why they care?

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Tips

• Quick answers & updates about your cause that don’t “fit” on your website.

• Provides content for e-news, print news, etc.

• Increase search ranking of your website.

• Facilitate conversations & showcase your expertise.

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What About Fundraising Using Social Media?

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Cause Announcement from ASPCA - the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

“Hooray! Thanks to everyone who recruited and to all those who donated! Every $ and bit of awareness helps!!! We finally broke our $3,000 donations goal! Let's see how long it takes us to reach $4,000!”

Over 35,000 members in this cause.

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Promoting Your Social Media Presence

• 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

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Measuring Effectiveness

• Track referrals to your website Google analytics is free.

• Observe activity Comments, Likes, Re-tweets, (+)(-) in Followers, Fans

• Survey your clients, members, customers “How did you hear about us?” or Special discounts for Facebook fans

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“What Specifically Has SM Done for Us?”

• Driving traffic to our website/ blog. More traffic to our blog & events. +200/month.

• Building our brand. We care about people. We care about nonprofits.

• Providing a new way to connect. Old & new constituents are contacting us w/ questions.

• Excellent, free peer to peer research. Nonprofit, foundation trends.

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Take a Plunge: Next Steps

• Try just one social media tool.

• Do you have 20 minutes a day?

• Follow others.

“Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.” − Seth Godin

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We connect people who care with causes that

matter.

Let’s ConnectSusie Bowie, Communications Manager

susie@CFSarasota.org941.556.7104

On Twitter: @NonprofitSRQOn Facebook: Community Foundation of Sarasota County

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