Thank you to the Fraser Valley Event Planners for inviting us.

-Last week I heard about a fundraiser that was

cancelled due to lack of interest, and that people where notified via email that the fundraiser had been cancelled. -Unfortunately the entertainment found out about the cancellation from someone who's ticket had been cancelled, and were unaware of this change.

What does this tell you about the level of communication happening with this fundraiser? What your first impression of this event, before you know anything else

about the event?

The list before the planning evening begins:

As planners you know having a

basic check list for your team to understand what is going on,

when you are doing a non profit event that doesn't have much of a budget there is always a challenge.

time money for promotion and expenses or an agreement

that you won't be spending money Something to consider as well when looking at time and money is a

location radius of companies that are donating and expecting your volunteers to do pick up. Make sure it is a good fit. Cupcake example.

Using Social Media to Promote Your Non Profit

5

If the event is held annually, it really is of great value to build this plan and will make you very mobile when change happens.

This checklist, mailing lists and recommendations will save you time and money and build trust with volunteers, sponsors and donors.

When building this, track what you are doing, set goals, treat each event like a small business would. Track your revenue, your volunteers, your marketing and sales plans and outcomes.

Compare your goals from year to year.

Using Social Media to Promote Your Non Profit

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1) Press releaseGet your message out – more details to come

2) Photos for promotion and advertising utilized from last eventHead shots of the business contacts, speakers and/or MC. Volunteer

photo shots from last year or any volunteer meeting group shots.

3) All the graphicsPosters, tickets, post cards, tent cards for cafes, thank you cards and

stamps for sponsors and volunteers, web banners and email links to event orders and silent auction site ready to go!

4) A list of online sources that will promote your event at no costThe sooner you get them out there, the longer they have to consider doing

an article on you... Baby Show example..

5) Time-line for implementing the list that leaves you room to breathFor example Star FM and Country 107.1 will list your event on their

website but to get the community event on air.. you need a two month lead time.

Lists – Usually you will have 3 types of (Email)lists you will be dealing with for Email

Your staff and volunteers ( you might want to have entertainment separated)

The media and Sponsor(s)

Guests and Potential donors (some will buy tables, bid on items or make donations but will not be attending)

Having these lists organized ahead of time can make you more mobile, let you be organized if you need to react to any big changes, let you check in on ticket sales, make announcements and motivate the right corp of people with the right message!

4 Social Media Platforms

4 Social Platforms that count: (yes there are many more but these are the one that I have made it a mission to make sure are complete... . . before moving on).

1) LinkedIn2) Facebook3) Twitter4) Youtube

These are the places people will look for you first, and they are the easiest place for you to tie into local people and local events and have live conversations that can turn into full relationships.

What kind of things should you put there and how can you connect them?

LinkedIn Make sure as a planner that your profile is complete and in the “superstar” status!

They no longer offer an event app – but you can use Constant Contact Event Spot, Eventbright and Meetup to manage and as part of your Search Engine Optimization (S.E.O.) Strategy.

Make sure you have it listed as an event, that you connect your volunteers to the project and give credit where it is due.

Post updates to the status bars to keep your event as they happen.

FacebookFacebook: Make sure that you have more than one admin on the page and have a scheduled

set up of dates. It is a place to tell stories and connect potential donors and guests. Great stories and photos create pieces that you don't have to spend money on to go viral. Good writing and amazing visual communication will take you miles!

Make sure you are inviting people to join your mailing list to sign up for updates, enter contests, do pre-bidding on silent auction items and stay in touch until the next event.

You should be posting something new about why you are having your event daily with a call to action.

If you need to know more about mailing lists, come and talk to us ~ Dawn and I are “List Divas”. I teach Lifecycle Marketing which is the foundation for Infusionsoft, and Dawn is a Constant Contact Solutions Provider focusing on small business eMarketing. We can also assist you with other programs but these are the two ends of the scale we focus on.

Twitter

Tell Blackwood Lane Story

Youtube:

Who here has an iPhone or something called Samsung?

It is easier than ever to tell a story, Youtube give you the opportunity to connect with your target market in such a viseral way. From doing quick interviews, to short stories, we have seen you truly connecting the why of your event can start on Youtube and be shared through other social platforms, carry through to emails and then also be shown at the event (if you have screens going as well).

You can take the video and post it straight to your account from your phone now and edit it right in the platform.

We have been setting these up for people and we can help you with finding the email that sends it straight to your account.

Press ReleasesThe importance of having these ready before and after the event is

often overlooked.

Once they are written you can use them to post them or pieces of them depending on where you are posting them.

There are lots of places on line that will promote your event for you for free. Most local tourism associations, city websites, newspapers, radio stations, online papers, and other event sites have ways to list for free.

We have a list depending on the individual type of event your advertising. You want to make sure your submissions are key-worded and linked back with a call to action for their subscribers. Offer your press package to the correct departments and they may also put out an announcement in their newsletter to their subscribers as well. Sometimes it is worth paying for a small add as well if they are your target market. Google News and Yahoo! News, GlobeNewswire.

SEO Tools to help you choose your words: Google News Autocomplete, Yahoo! News Search Assist, Google AdWords Keyword Tool andGoogle Trends.

Keywords

How many words: The answer is “not many.” Three to six long keyword phrases with several keywords embedded in the long phrases is optimal. Says The Nasdaq Press Release Guide!

Headlines need to be under 22 works and under 60 characters for online.

The first paragraph will be most important, don't stuff it and make sure that you at least one relevant link to a site that has your press package and more relevant information about your event.

You can also use some key word anchor to text that is relevant but only one per 100 words max.

Track your results and see what is working, if you are not getting the results you want go back through all these steps, get help and also get on the phone and check that people are actually receiving your emails.

Live Event Networking Plan

There is a fundraiser for pretty much everything these days and building your invite list will mean you need to assist people understand why they should support your cause.

Through the stages up above you need to also be stay in contact with your local business groups, finding out what charities your local dignitaries, school board members, look at other groups that might also have similar values and make sure you stay in touch with the charity management team you are going to be supporting so that you have stayed within their mandate.

Social media can do amazing things and it will take you so much further when you realize the that using it to complement your in person networking is amazing.

If you would like us to come out to your business, volunteer meeting or there event planning meeting we will come in the British Columbia Lower Mainland

or meet you online live as well!

We would love to come out live as assist you with

your nonprofit event! In B.C. Call 778-549-6801