Social Media in the Nonprofit World

Questions You Always Wanted to Ask

by Elena Golovchanskaya egolovch@uoregon.edu

@egolovch

Elena Golovchanskaya, Social Media and Nonprofits

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1. What is social media and what does it have to do with nonprofits?2. Isn’t it only for those targeting Generation Y?3. What goals should I be pursuing with social media?4. How do I decide what tools to use?5. How do I most effectively utilize social media tools? - Case 1. Brooklyn Museum - Case 2. Homeless Nation - Case 3. Austin Tweet-Up Blood Drive 6. Who will be doing this in my organization? 5. How can I control what’s being said about my organization and cause? 6. What is the best way to address the Social Media Policy? 7. What metrics should I use to measure the outcome? 8. “Tweetup”…What?! Glossary of social media terms.

Social media for nonprofits: one question at a time

You keep hearing about this social media thing. You heard some nonprofits are already using it. God, even your mother is on Facebook. You have a suspicion that donors are online too. You feel like your organization is about to miss the train. You want to do something, but you want to do it right. Where do you start? This guide will help you find answers to the questions you always wanted to ask about social media use within the nonprofit sector

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What is social media and what does it have to do with nonprofits?

Elena Golovchanskaya, Social Media and Nonprofits

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At its most basic sense, social media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. ²

Examples of social media tools are blogs, social networking sites (Facebook, Myspace, Ning), video sharing websites (YouTube), podcasts, bookmarking sites (de.licio.us), etc.  Your funders, your donors, your members and even some of your employees are already using these tools and they expect that you will be using them, too.

The good thing is that most of these tools are free, and you don’t have to be a programmer to use them.

The model for 100 years has been pretty simple: Target wealthy people or foundations or corporations, interrupt them with unanticipated, impersonal, irrelevant messages they don't want to get, delivered over and over and over again until they give you money or help...That model worked really well for a long time...It's important to understand there's nothing wrong with this, because the ends do justify the means. The problem is that that's not working so well any more.¹

- Seth Godin

Isn’t it only for those targeting Generation Y?

Elena Golovchanskaya, Social Media and Nonprofits

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Don’t think that social media will come in handy for dealing only with Generation Y and younger-minded supporters. Remember, even your mom has a Facebook profile! Some of your major donors are there too.

Have you ever heard of the “Wired Wealthy”? This is a new classification of donors that emerged after a study of online habits of the high dollar donors done by Convio.

The “Wired Wealthy”:

• mean age is 51• donate $11,000 a year

• median gift size is $4,500

• 57% make more than $100k,

27% above $200k per year

• 52% use YouTube

• 23% use MySpace/Facebook

• 12% use FlickrConvio, the Wired Wealthy (March 2008)

The survey, conducted by Convio with more than 3,000 donors from 23 major nonprofit organizations, defined that 51% of the donors prefer online giving, but feel nonprofit websites lack inspiration, connection, and opportunity for deeper engagement. ³

ATTENTION!!! While you definitely want to engage with “wired wealthy,” no matter who your nonprofit’s major donors are now, you should start building the relationship with the next generation of donors today. Think beyond donations, though! (see next page)

What goals should I be pursuing with social media?

Elena Golovchanskaya, Social Media and Nonprofits

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That’s a great question! Before blindly jumping in the groundswell of social media, your organization must define the objectives it is going to pursue. Here are some examples:

1. Build awareness: tell people what your organization is about, what it does, and why it is important. 2. Be more accessible: allow your fans to find you where they are.3. Gather information: listen to what people say about your organization. 4. Search for talent: network to bring the best of the best into your organization.5. Collaborate: engage in conversation with other nonprofits, share experiences and give each other valuable advice.6. Raise donations: beware that by merely using the tools you won’t raise lots of money, it’s still about building relationships!

"If the reason why you

want to use social

networks is just to raise

money, then stop now. It

doesn't work that way." -

Steve MacLaughlin

objectives

Before selecting a social media tool to use decide what you want to accomplish and who you are trying to reach. Based on your objectiveyou might want to use a combination of two or more tools.

How do I decide what tools to use?

Elena Golovchanskaya, Social Media and Nonprofits

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If you are doing social media for gathering information, run a search on technorati.com or feedster.com to determine which bloggers are talking about you and your area. For search within Twitter, use search.twitter.com

To set up donation pages and collect donations use ChipIn, Fundable, Squidoo, Firstgiving or Facebook Causes. Remember though – “friendraising” first, fundraising second.

For collaboration try Wiki Pages. Follow experts in your field on Twitter to stay current and share what you know.

For example, if you just want to be accessible and get the word out, you might create profiles on Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn, start a blog or join in the conversation on Twitter and twit about your cause.

Wh a t ’s i n y o u r

s o c i a l me d i a t o o l k i t ?

Experiment with tools to find the one that is best for you, your audience and your organization. Once you decide, commit to it!

For example, if you start a blog, commit to maintaining it.

How do I most effectively utilize social media tools?

Elena Golovchanskaya, Social Media and Nonprofits

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The Brooklyn Museum is making good use of a variety of social media channels. They take communicating with their customers and prospective customers seriously. And they devote the time, energy and resources to making this happen.

Case 1. Brooklyn Museum

The Museum has gone far beyond simply managing a Facebook profile, now it boasts of a new kind of paid membership called “1stfans.” 1stfans offers creative perks such as a private Twitter Art Feed maintained by a revolving group of artists and invitations to offbeat 1stfans events, like a talk by conservator Lisa Bruno on animal mummies. Learn more here

There are plenty of free things you can do as well. For example, show the Museum through your eyes by adding your photos to the Brooklyn Museum Group on Flickr. If you want, the Museum will broadcast your video on their website , you might even win a prize. Follow them on Twitter, read their blog.

The Brooklyn Museum isn't only connecting with yet another social channel, it's also connecting the online social experience with the real world. Bring your camera. Take your pictures. Post them along with those of other visitors.⁴

The Museum is everywhere, yet it is always part of the conversation and never an interruption.

How do I most effectively utilize social media tools?

Elena Golovchanskaya, Social Media and Nonprofits

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Montreal-based nonprofit Homeless Nation uses social media to create dialogue between Canada's homeless and mainstream society to counter isolation and marginalization. www.homelessnation.org is an online home for those who have none, here they can share their experiences, learn about others, look for lost friends. The site provides e-mail, blogs, forums and hosting for YouTube-style streaming video and audio.

Through their outreach, Homeless Nation makes digital tools accessible for learning, media and communication.

“Reading the blogs, sharing stories, being kept up to date on what’s going on politically........there are so many wonderful and invaluable things this site provides,” – Stephanie, member.

Case 2. Homeless Nation

“The hallmark of a true web community is when the participants define the culture beyond the organizers. Reading the heartfelt and respectful interaction between participants in the blogs and comments, you can see that this is truly a collaboration between the builders and participants.” ⁵

How do I most effectively utilize social media tools?

Elena Golovchanskaya, Social Media and Nonprofits

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In less than one week and before a major national holiday, members of the Social Media Club, 501 Tech Club, David J. Neff and Michelle Greer called upon the Austin tech community to help save lives by donating blood.

Taking the conversation online, the groups spread the word via blogs and Facebook. In addition, Twitter became the communication tool of choice. Community members "re-tweeted" details of the event mimicking a modern-day phone tree. Conversations were then tracked using the hashtag #atbd.

The efforts resulted in over 45 blood donors; doubling the center's traffic on an average day. Of the 45, several were self-admitted first time donors who felt compelled to participate in the cause after seeing it on Twitter.⁶

Watch a video made by David Neff here

Case 3. Austin TweetUp Blood Drive

“It was really neat to combine two things I really wanted to do – give blood and meet folks that I’m communicating with online,” – Joyce, blood donor.

The key is providing value and being relevant!

Find someone in your office who is already involved with social media and who would love to help out your organization. If you can’t find someone from within, there are a ton of 20 something’s who love your organization and can do it. Remember though, if you choose to use someone outside of your organization, giving them direction will be key in making sure that your social media is successful. ⁸

Operating under budget constraints as most nonprofits do, how can one afford to designate a staff member to handle social media on top of their regular duties? Given this, many nonprofits, by necessity, still have an ad hoc arrangement where a number of staff people or volunteers will tag-team to cover the major listening posts and respond to comments and questions to the best of their ability.⁷

Who will be doing this?

Elena Golovchanskaya, Social Media and Nonprofits

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You don’t need a full-time person! You

don’t need a social media expert! The

main factor in deciding who will be the

social media voice of your organization

is passion for the cause

and willingness to build

relationship with people online.

The key here is to have a strategy. Once you have it, it is much easier to divide the responsibilities.

How can I control what’s being said about my organization and cause?

Elena Golovchanskaya, Social Media and Nonprofits

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“The only remaining control is the illusion of control. You can avoid having a conversation. You can even pretend the conversations aren't happening elsewhere. Good luck with that approach… If you want to succeed using Web 2.0, then you need to give up some control. Control of the message. Control of the messengers. Control of the control. Lose control. Find success.”

- Steve MacLaughlin

Externally: Accept that people are going to talk about what they want in any case, you can’t control it. The best you can do is monitor what is being said and engage in the conversation. • Respond with calm facts to any

misunderstandings and misinformation

• Answer questions• Resolve problems • Thank your advocates

Internally: It is a good practice to get together with people in your organization and discuss some common guidelines.

Trust your people! “If you haven’t hired people you can trust to behave like responsible adults, then there is a deeper problem,” - Beth Dunn⁹

If unsure, consider working out a social media policy for your staff and volunteers who blog and comment online(some suggestions on this to follow).

Often having a social media policy has a positive effect on organizations. Introducing such a policy sends a signal that your nonprofit approves the use of social media. Most people will perform with greater confidence and skill when the expectations for their performance are made clear.

There are examples of the social media policies from a variety of organizations to the right, but

don’t just take someone else’s policy, and put it on your website. It won't be effective! It will be best if you develop the guidelines cooperatively with your staff and volunteers.

There needs to be a discussion. Not only about the boundaries of appropriateness, but about the ways your organization can embrace social media.

And remember, the document you come up with is a live document, by no means should it be static.

What is the best way to address the Social Media Policy?

Elena Golovchanskaya, Social Media and Nonprofits

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Samples of social media policies:

BBC Editorial Guidelines — Personal use of Social Networking

Friendly Advice from TechStew — BBYO’s guidelines for staff/volunteer presence on social networking sites.

The Blog Council’s Disclosure Best Practices Toolkit

Intel Social Media GuidelinesIBM Social Computing Guidelines “for blogs, wikis, social networks, virtual worlds and social media.”

Carl Haggerty’s DRAFT V0.1 — social media and online participation policy and guidelines ¹⁰

What metrics should I use to measure the outcome?

Elena Golovchanskaya, Social Media and Nonprofits

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In order to measure the results of your social media involvement use both qualitative and quantitative benchmarks. Again, remember your objectives, they’ll help you determine which metrics are best in each case.

bit.ly: allows to shorten a URL, share it, and then track the resulting usage (used mostly on Twitter).AideRSS: allows you to enter a URL and shows you statistics about its posts, like how many times they are shared on social media sites.Google Analytics: analyzes a company’s blog traffic, subscriber count etc.Xinu: allows you to receive statistics like SEO, bookmarking, page views etc.

Qualitative:If your objective was to raise awareness, ask yourself:- Are we currently part of conversations about the cause?

If your objective was to collaborate with other nonprofits and experts in the field, ask:- Did we learn anything of value?

To measure general success, ask:- Were we able to build better relationships with donors, volunteers, etc.?

Quantitative:Before you start don’t forget to measure where you are at now. Examples of benchmarks are:

Number of Facebook fans, Twitter followers, Digg links, Delicious bookmarks, referrals from social media sites, plus existing website traffic, search engine rankings, how much time and money you spent on traditional marketing.

Compare those metrics after each experiment you with social media (new blog post, new links, etc.)

“Tweetup”… What?! Glossary of social media terms used in this ebook.

Elena Golovchanskaya, Social Media and Nonprofits

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Flickr – photo sharing website Hashtag – words or phrases prefixed with a hash symbol (#) that are used to track conversations in the twitter timeline via search.Podcast – an audio media file distributed by subscription (paid or unpaid) over the Internet for playback on digital music players and computers. Retweet – repeat/quote someone's tweet, typically something interesting you want to share. Twitter – a microblogging site that asks its users to answer the question, "What are you doing?" in 140 characters or less.Tweetup – real world meeting between two or more people who know each other through the online Twitter serviceWeblog – a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.

References: Elena Golovchanskaya, Social Media and Nonprofits

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Sources of information and inspiration:1. http://missionrecognition.blogspot.com/2008

/10/seth-godin-on-nonprofits-social-media.html

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media3. http://www.marketingvox.com/wired-wealthy

-donors-a-missed-opportunity-for-nonprofits-037571/

4. http://www.clickz.com/36282575. http://raincitystudios.com/topics/homelessna

tion6. http://www.wearemedia.org/file/view/Austin

TweetupBloodDrive+.pdf7. http://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsblog/

archive/2009/01/08/creating-a-social-media-policy-for-your-nonprofit.aspx

8. http://socialvillage.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/nonprofits-have-no-excuse-for-not-using-social-media

9. http://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsblog/archive/2009/01/08/creating-a-social-media-policy-for-your-nonprofit.aspx

10. http://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsblog/archive/2009/01/08/creating-a-social-media-policy-for-your-nonprofit.aspx

Photo Credit:p.i,2,4,8,10,11 – thanks to veer.com p.1 http://lirent.net/wp content/uploads/2008/10/doodleicons450.jpgp.5 http://greatdance.com/thekineticinterface/2009/02/social-media-museum/p.7 http://www.wearemedia.org/file/view/AustinTweetupBloodDrive+.pdfp.9 http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_S3XEraQZjGk/SJwasOnHbSI/AAAAAAAABig/bm35nnNC3ps/s400/mouth+shut.jpg

Thanks!Let me know if you found this ebook helpful. Send your questions and comments to me:

Elena Golovchanskaya Email: egolovch@uoregon.eduTwitter: @egolovch