Your Junk is Your Responsibility

Communication to your business or nonprofit is like wind is to a kite.  A kite can look great lying in the grass however, when the wind sends it soaring in the sky, it dances effortlessly with such delight.  Communications is what connects your business to the outside world and can send it soaring into the sky or falling to the ground.  You are the one holding the kite string so lets, briefly in this first of the “Communications Series,” cover some basics and in the next few articles we will cover all aspects of what you should have in place to communicate effectively with everyone.  Make sure you grab the RSS or email feed above to receive all the articles.

Many Flavors

It is important that people can communicate with your nonprofit in the flavor that is comfortable with them.  You may prefer old fashioned methods like email or postal mail, but the world is changing and you need to change with it. Yes, email and postal mail are old fashioned.  I remember the days when people would give you a blank stare when you asked them for their email address or web site address, and have no idea what I was talking about. Well it’s time to update to the year 2009.  Read on and I will explain how you can move your nonprofit into the current year and help people connect to you better and more efficiently.

Your Junk is Your Responsibility

First lets talk about your current means of communication paths.  I will assume you have a postal address and an email address.  If you are attempting to run a successful nonprofit, then a blog or at least a website is also necessary.  My choice of words in the last sentence is important, you should have a blog and at the very least a website.  This day and age, the blog is the most important means to communicate rather than a website or newsletter.  The blog affords you everything the other two do plus the ability for everyone to read the latest news about your nonprofit, not just those that subscribe to your newsletter.  To keep this post shorter, if you want to know more about blogs and why your nonprofit should have one, read the post Top 10 Reasons Nonprofits Should Blog oceangrand.org/top-10-reasons-nonprofits-should-blog/.

Your Junk

Now about your email.  The most common thing I hear from others regarding the message I sent them on email is “I did not receive your email, could you resend it?”  To which I reply “could you check your junk mail?”  Many times the person has no idea how to locate or check their junk mailbox.  99.9% of the time if they did not receive my email it is sitting in their junk mailbox along with other important mail.  I mention this because if I resent the email it would also end up in their junk mail.  My email ending up in their junk mail is not my problem and there is little I can do to prevent it. I realize that a junk mailbox is there to catch spam and mail you do not want so you do not have to look at it.  Instead, once and for all locate where your email program sends junk mail.  Every couple of days check your junk box like it is your second inbox and skim the senders names and subject lines to make sure there are no messages there that you should have received. I check mine several times a day because as much as I wish that it only collected junk, many times important messages were moved there automatically by my email program.  Take responsibility for the mail you receive and get on top of your junk mailbox.

Welcome to 2009

It is the year 2009 and communication is not as simple as it was last year. Or is it easier?  Social Media has transformed the world and as a nonprofit your responsibility is to give people the ability to communicate with you like they want in all the flavors of the rainbow.  Especially with the ease of communication on mobile devices, many find it easier to Tweet than to email you.  At the very least your nonprofit should have communications set up on FaceBook and Twitter.  Last month we did a whole series of articles on Social Media for the NonProfit and you can find all the articles below.  The first and most important one to read is Tweet or Not to Tweet oceangrand.org/tweet-or-not-to-tweet/ which gives you a brief overview and then the steps to set up a FaceBook and Twitter Account.
Other articles you will want to read are:

• Tweet or Not to Tweet
• Building NonProfit Relationships Equals Success
• Tweet Tweet Nonprofit
• Top 10 Reasons Nonprofits Should Blog
• 14 Advanced Twitter Tips

Take some time this week and make sure your online communications are up-to-date.  This allows people to stay in contact with you how they feel comfortable.  To some it is easier to drop you a note on Twitter and others will prefer email.  Whatever their preference, it is easy enough to accommodate them.  Finally, check your email, Twitter, and FaceBook accounts on a regular basis it shows you care and want to be connected.  Nothing is worse than unanswered communications with someone who wants to be connected to you and your business.

In the next articles in this “Communications Series” we will discuss all the aspects of keeping those that want to be connected to your business informed, connected and happy.  Don’t forget to subscribe to the RSS or email feed above so you don’t miss our step-by-step guide to making the most of your communications.

Most Popular Posts of February

February has been a big month for great posts that help nonprofits learn to fundraise, brand their image, and use social media to get their messages out. We thought a nice post to round out February would be a link to many of these articles on the same page for easy reference.  Maybe you dream to start a Nonprofit but don’t know how.  There are even links to great articles on how to start a nonprofit.  Whatever your depth of knowledge in the nonprofit arena, there are quick and timely articles for everyone below that are sure to help you increase the success of your nonprofit.  Read on and enjoy the free information, all we ask is that you pass the web site address on to at least one other nonprofit that could benefit from the information also.

Fund Raising

Every Nonprofit wants to know more about how to fund raise successfully.  The 4 articles below will guide you with step-by-step instructions on how to build stable and dependable financial support even in a challenging economic economy.  Great articles for the beginner to the expert.

• Simple and Effective NonProfit Fundraising
• A Simple Fundraising Formula
• Fundraising Ideas
• $2K in 2 Hours

NonProfit Branding and Design

Nothing increases your success in running a successful nonprofit more than its image.  A great looking image and professionally designed marketing materials helps retell a nonprofits story with class.  A professional image is one of the keys to running a successful nonprofit and the articles below can help you step through that process with ease.  Whether you are a church or other type of nonprofit, these articles can help you.

* Is Your Image the Problem?
* The Secret to NonProfit Success

Philanthropy

These are great articles to get to your donors and those interested in your nonprofit, as well as great encouragement to you if you’re involved in a nonprofit. These articles will help your donors and supporters understand the importance and best way to get involved with your nonprofit.  Hopefully we have made your job a little easier just by having your supporters read these articles.  Feel free to direct those involved in your nonprofit back to these articles.

• What Have You Done Lately That You’re Proud Of?
• 6 Steps to Making a Bigger Splash
• The Wonder of a Star
• 401K Alternative

Social Media

Never before has it been so easy to connect with ongoing relationships and build new ones with a couple clicks of the mouse.  The 5 articles below give you step-by-step instructions on how to use the internet and social media to connect better to your supporters and donors while

easily finding 1000’s more who would enjoy being involved in your nonprofit.  Read the 5 articles below and apply them, and you will be on your way to connecting your nonprofit to others in a highly visible way.

• Tweet or Not to Tweet
• Building NonProfit Relationships Equals Success
• Tweet Tweet Nonprofit
• Top 10 Reasons Nonprofits Should Blog
• 14 Advanced Twitter Tips

Start a NonProfit

Have you dreamed of starting a nonprofit but don’t know how to get started?  You might already have a nonprofit but are not seeing the success you had hoped for.  Either way, the articles below will guide you step-by-step through the process of easily starting, funding and running a successful nonprofit. Starting a nonprofit does not have to be expensive, and funding and running it does not have to be hard.  The articles below take the guess work and difficulty out of starting and running a successful nonprofit.

• Rebranding the NonProfit
• The Secret to NonProfit Success
• 3 Most Common NonProfit Hurdles
• 6 Steps to NonProfit Freedom
• NonProfit One Stop Shop
• NonProfit Job Listing
• Start a NonProfit | Medical

Types of NonProfits

There are hundreds of charitable causes that nonprofits address.  In the articles below, we explore 5 charitable causes that you may not have thought of as being a cause to start a nonprofit around.  While reading the articles you may think of friends, family or acquaintances that could enjoy the benefits of having a nonprofit directed toward one of these causes.  We would be glad to help them start, learn to fund and run a successful nonprofit directed toward one of these charitable causes.

• Actors Are People Too!
• Medical Foundation Success
• Start a NonProfit | Medical
• Family Foundations
• NonProfit Adoption
• NonProfit Memorials and Tributes

We Are Committed to NonProfits

As always, Ocean Grand is committed to helping those around the world who dream of starting a nonprofit do so with ease and efficiency.  Likewise, we are committed to those that run nonprofits to better fund and run successful nonprofits. For the last 12 years, we have helped thousands of nonprofits make their dreams a reality and in the next years we will help thousands more.  Join the Ocean Grand Network and let us help your nonprofit connect better, be better funded and see the success you have always hoped for.

If your dream is to start, fund and run a successful nonprofit and want to do it in the least expensive, most efficient and quickest way, while having the most support, get started today by visiting us on the web http://oceangrand.org/start-501c3/

Don’t Forget

Make sure you take a moment and subscribe to our RSS Feed or by email subscription so that you do not miss another article.  Our subscribers get timely articles delivered to them for free plus other information and tips that help them to implement strategies to make their nonprofit as successful as it can be. Subscribe to our blog and get a free bonus copy of my book – “Simple and Easy Fundraising” once it is published.

The last two articles Tweet or Not to Tweet and Tweet Tweet Nonprofit should have gotten everyone up-to-date on the basics of Twitter.   Now that you have your twitter account set up and hopefully following a few people as well as being followed I wanted to take this space to give you some tips to get you tweeting like a pro as well as being well mannered in the twitter arena (etiquette).  Read on to get some more advanced Twitter tips.

1. Hashtags

Hashtags (#) are a way to create or follow a stream on Twitter.  By typing a word with a hashtag in front of it (#airplane), your twitter message can be followed and added to by anyone who is also interested in that particular subject.  Thousands of hashtags are already established and are easy to join into or add to conversations about a particular topic or industry.  For example, if you’re interested in fundraising, #fundraising is a hashtag you can add into your twitter message and can be followed easily by anyone else interested in fundraising.  The same goes for thousands of topics.  Many times fast breaking news can be followed more closely on Twitter than even news channels.  Because millions use twitter, eyewitnesses can tweet details, pictures or information quicker using Twitter than it takes for a news crew to get to the scene of the story and get information to the TV or internet.  The way you follow hashtags is either by creating a search on tweetdeck with the hashtag you want to follow or following it on http://search.twitter.com ,  http://twemes.com/ or http://hashtags.org/

You can create your own hashtag to tweet about your live fundraiser or event so that others can follow the developing story from anywhere in the world.  You need to make sure the hashtag you create is unique and not already being used or else your tweets will be mixed into another ongoing conversations.  This way everyone can stay up-to-the-second connected to what is happening at your event.

2. Following Keywords

To follow topics you are interested in, it is not necessary to even find a hashtag for the subject. Many times you can go to http://search.twitter.com and type in the subject or word (i.e. giants, newborns, etc.) and instantly see all the tweets that happened around the world that include those words and subjects.

3. Etiquette

This is a huge topic and to my knowledge there is no definitive guide to the etiquette on twitter.  There are some things you should and should not do as a manner of politeness and to make Twitter a better experience for everyone.  I will list a few obvious ones below.

Ongoing Real Conversations- Twitter is meant to be a tool to facilitate real-time ongoing conversations.  Engage in getting to know those you follow and let others that follow you get to know you.  Twitter can be very fun and engaging; however, if you follow too many people there will be no way to keep up with all the conversations.  A good rule is to follow 250 or fewer people and to keep your posts and replies real.  Your posts should be like you’re having a conversation, not like your posting billboards.  The reason you want to keep who you’re following down to a number of people you can actually know is because think if all 250 people all posted one tweet during the day, that’s 250 tweets you have to keep up with.  Follow some people you find interesting and if you find later they are not interesting, unfollow them and follow some that are.  Your tweets do not have to be profound, instead make your conversations and tweets like real conversations.  Imagine you answered the phone and your friend asked you “What are you doing right now?”

No spam- Keep your conversations real and try hard not to always be focused on getting your message in everyone’s face.  Once you build some relationships there will be plenty of time to let them know how they can help.  Sometimes it is unavoidable to send people to your web site or info if they ask for it.  It is important they know what you do and why you do it, just don’t plaster them with that type of information.  Remember, Twitter is supposed to be a social conversation and many are following you because they want to get to know you and even your nonprofit.

Following and Being Followed- Do some searches on http://search.twitter.com for subjects that you are interested in.  Find those that seem interesting and follow them.  As you get involved with conversations others will follow you.  Above all enjoy the conversations.  Make it a habit to tweet several times a day and let people know (what you are comfortable with) what you’re doing, thinking, information you found interesting, etc.   Don’t worry if those following you, unfollow you.  They simply moved on to other conversations.  Another way to find interesting people is by looking at the profiles of the people that follow you to see who they are and might be interesting to follow.

Virtual Water Cooler- Remember that Twitter is like a virtual water cooler.  You don’t have to camp out at it all day spouting off everything that is going on in your life and listening to everyone else.  It is a good way to take breaks throughout the day and talk with a few people.  It is also a great way to ask questions about things you need answers to.  For example, “Where is the best place to eat in Dallas?”  People will let you know what they think.  Throughout the day I tune in for a couple minutes as I am taking coffee or water breaks to see what everyone I follow is up to, then it is back to business.

Here are 101 great dos and don’ts from Lauren Rothwww.laurennroth.com/?q=node/227″ target=”_blank”>

4. Twitter Clients

There are a lot of Twitter apps that can make your Twitter experience a lot more pleasant and you may want to take a look at each of them and decide it they are for you.  I will briefly go down a few and let you make your determination on whether they are helpful to you or not.

Tweet Deck- This is one I highly recommend.  Once you begin using it I believe it will make the whole twitter arena more interesting and manageable.  In a future post I may do a video of how to use TweetDeck.  Tweet deck will even translate tweets in other languages if you have friends in other countries.

Twirl- another desktop app for Twitter.  Very simple but keeps you from needing to go to the web to tweet.

Twitpic- is an app that is quickly accessible in TweetDeck or on its own.  It allows you to share pictures of anything on a tweet.

5. Tweet From Your Mobile Phone:

iphone:

Twitter Mobile- straightforward interface
PocketTweets – robust application
iTweet- good straightforward application
Hahlo 2.0- Great robust application

Blackberry

Twitterberry- Hands down the best on the blackberry (if you can’t afford an iphone)

6. Posts, Replies, and Direct Messages

When you post a tweet, the tweet goes out to everyone that is following you and can also be searched by searching your username on sites like http://search.twitter.com. Likewise when you reply (@scottringo), the message still goes out to the public but the person you replied to will receive it as a reply. If the recipient is using TweetDeck, they will get the reply in a separate window that is easy to identify.

However, there is another way to send and receive messages that are not so public- Direct Messages.  If someone is following you and you want to reply to their tweet only to them and not in a public way you can Direct Message them.  This is accomplished by putting a “D” in front of their user name (D scottringo).  If the recipient is using TweetDeck, the Direct Message (DM) shows up in a separate window from public messages or replies.  Many have their DM messages set to also come into their email or phone.  So a good rule of thumb is only to DM if it is confidential or urgent.  This way your conversations stay more public, but if you need to get a sensitive message to someone, you can.

7. Search

There are a lot of ways to search topics, subjects and messages on Twitter from the web.  If you use TweetDeck, the search can be done right in the application.  By far one of the easiest searches is done on search.twitter.com; others are twitscoop and twemes.com.  Play around with the searches and see what you can find.

Twitter Search – search for topics, subjects and areas of interest
Twitscoop -search for topics, subjects and areas of interest
Twemes -search for topics, subjects and areas of interest

Some other searches to explore:

TwitterFall- TwitterFall is the coolest way to read all or filtered posts on Twitter like a waterfall. BEWARE addictive
Retweetist - the freshest, most often Retweeted items
Twitt(url)y – Twitturly counts links posted on Twitter and then ranks the content.
Tweetmeme – shows Blogs, Images, Video and Audio that are linked to popular tweets
TweetLists - the most popular links over the last 24 hours
Twitter Search – most popular way to search for anything Twitter

8. Twitter in FaceBook

If you are a FaceBook fan, you can automatically update your Facebook account through Twitter which keeps you from going back and forth between accounts.  By updating your Facebook account with Twitter, your friends on FaceBook will know what you are doing throughout the day.

9. Blogging for Nonprofits

If your nonprofit has a blog, which I highly recommend, http://oceangrand.org/top-10-reasons-nonprofits-should-blog/, you can post your blog articles automatically to your twitter account using twit_this and then also updates your FaceBook profile.  That’s three “birds” with one stone.

10. Upload All Your Friends

Twitter is way more fun if all your friends, supporters, donors, board members, etc. are on Twitter so that you can tweet back and forth.  From your Twitter settings, click on “Find Friends”.  Once there, you have the option to find friends who are already on twitter by typing in their name.  With the next tab “Find on Other Networks” you can upload you address book by first importing your address book to gmail if it is not already there and then Twitter will check that against all the people in your address book.  Once found, you can add who you like or everyone.  With the third tab, “Invite By Email”, you have the option to invite all those you know who are not already on Twitter by entering their email addresses.  Adding your friends to Twitter will make Twitter a blast and easy for you to keep everyone you know and those interested in your nonprofit up-to-date.

11. Pace Yourself on Your Posts

Too many posts promoting yourself, your organization, or your nonprofit and people will get turned off.  Also, spending too much time on Twitter can wreck havoc on your work ethic.  Take it easy and find your groove on Twitter.  Beware- it is addictive.

12. Retweet

Retweet (RT) is a way to tweet again a post that someone tweeted that you think is interesting.  By putting a RT in front of the tweet either by copy and paste, or if you’re using TweetDeck, there is a button that automatically fills it all in, you can retweet others’ posts.  People love it when you retweet their posts.  It is a way to gain people’s affection and loyalty.

13. Spend Time on Your Profile

Spend some time on your profile and make it interesting so people will want to follow you.  You might also want to get a customized Twitter background on your profile which will give you more room to give people information, plus it just makes you look cool.

14. Have a Blast!

So now you have some advanced techniques and how to get the most out of Twitter.  This is certainly not an exhaustive list of ways  you can use Twitter, but it is a good start.  Above all, have a blast and don’t get overwhelmed.  Twitter is a powerful application that when used consistently  and with moderation can get you well connected to those you love and those you may not yet know you love.  Once you get connected, follow us at @scottringo and let the games begin.

Subscribe to our RSS feed or email subscription to learn more about how to start, fund, and run a nonprofit successfully.  We will be giving you some tips in the coming weeks about how you can do a “Tweet Up” as a fundraiser for your nonprofit.

Other Articles on “How to Be a Social Media Pro:”
Tweet or Not to Tweet
Tweet Tweet NonProfit
10 Reasons a NonProfit Should Blog

Part of the Series “Be a Social Media Expert Series” here.

When you start and run a nonprofit, you’ve just signed up to become the best storyteller in history. If there is anything you need to do well, it is to develop your story and then tell it over and over and over again. See http://oceangrand.org/a-simple-fundraising-formula/ for a step-by-step on how to develop and tell your story. Telling your story needs to happen in all kinds of ways, shapes and forms and in this article I am going to explain why your nonprofit should have a blog and be telling your story on it. Read on and I will break this complicated subject down into 10 bite-sized pieces.

Blogs and Web Sites

Blogs are not much different than web sites anymore except for a couple of critical differences. Web sites contain mostly “static” information which is information that you or a webmaster puts on the site, but once there, rarely changes. It resembles a brochure on the web more than anything. On the other hand, a blog has pages also, but the “blog page” (like what you are reading here) has ongoing posts or stories that are easily changed and updated. The blog gives you the ability to quickly post new information without needing the help of a webmaster. The other pages on a blog can also easily be changed. So in essence a blog is a web site with multiple pages that are easily changed with the addition of an area that has ongoing new information posted to it. It much better resembles an effort to tell an ongoing story. There are a lot of added benefits to having a blog rather than a static web site, that I will outline 10 reasons below, and then take you through the 10 reasons to set up a blog for your own nonprofit.

Blogging Benefits

I get asked a lot if every nonprofit should have a blog and I personally believe they should. Every nonprofit understands the benefits of having a newsletter whether it is one you design, print and mail or one that you put together on the web and send out in an HTML email. A blog, if done well, can serve as the newsletter for your nonprofit with constant updates, success stories, pictures, and needs that are accessible by more people in more ways. When I say accessible in more ways, I am referring to RSS and email subscriptions which we will cover below.

Benefits of a Blog For Your NonProfit

1. Easy to Update

   Blogs are much easier and quicker to update for the average person. A new article or change can be updated and be live on the web as fast as you can type and push the publish button. This gets your most relevant information to the web and in front of the world quicker than any other method. No more static web pages; instead, every page on your site will be relevant and up-to-date with the latest information about your organization.

2. Blogs Increase the Traffic

   Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an important part of getting your web site or blog ranking better in search engines like Google. Many blogs are automatically better optimized for search engines, which can take a lot of guesswork out of trying to get your web site closer to the top of web search engines. More traffic equals more people who know and are involved in your nonprofit work.

3. 

   RSS and Email Subscriptions

   Getting your message out in multiple formats helps people subscribe to your constant updates easier and in the format they prefer to read them. Blogs can instantly give you multiple ways to deliver your message without you doing any other work. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a way that many prefer to read information from the web because it allows them to subscribe and see the information as soon as it is updated.

4. Email Subscriptions

   A blog makes it easy for people to subscribe by email to your updates and is very easy to set up. By updating a blog you are in essence writing a constantly updating newsletter that is live and accessible to anyone at anytime. Unlike a printed newsletter that only gets published and mailed every couple weeks or once a month, your blog is always up-to-date and gives people the ability to read the stories and info in bite-sized chunks. Images are also easy to share with people. RSS and email subscriptions have definite advantages for getting your supporters information and are easy to set up if you use a blog.

5. Help You Build the Relationships

   There is no substitute for building personal relationships with volunteers, board members, donors, grant makers and anyone that is interested in your nonprofit. Like in a previous article http://oceangrand.org/building-nonprofit-relationships-equals-success/,the ability to build relationships is something that we are born with; however, many times while growing up we forget the fundamentals. Relationships are the life-blood for your nonprofit and to dismiss them as unnecessary is a fatal mistake. A blog is more of a relationship builder and can be an ongoing conversation with those that are involved in your nonprofit. Building relationships is much easier on a blog than a web site and people will feel more connected to you.

6. Gives You Feed Back

   Blogs are more like conversations because they have an area where people can comment on each article or post. This gives followers the ability to be a part of a conversation about your information, projects and fundraising. Blogs give you an automatic feedback mechanism through these comments and anyone can subscribe to the comments to keep up-to-date on the conversations. These comments and conversations can be powerful as it keeps all those involved in your nonprofit interacting with each other in real time.

7. Connects All the Social Media

   In our Social Media articles and How-to’s, we have covered how important it is to have other Social Media avenues open such as Twitter and Facebook. A blog can easily connect all those other avenues of Social Media. Each time you post a blog article, a blog can update your Twitter stream with the article and simultaneously post the article and URL to your FaceBook profile. This way no matter how people follow your organization (Twitter, Digg, FaceBook, RSS, email, etc.), they get your new content and information the way they prefer it, but it all connects back to your blog. Your blog becomes the “hub” of all your nonprofit information and updates and sends it out to multiple publishing avenues.

8. Easily Embed Video

   Video has arrived as an important part of keeping people up-to-date with nonprofit organizations. By taking even the most primitive video of a project, those supporting your organization are instantly “teleported” there. Embedding video on a blog is fairly simple now. By using video services like vimeo, viddler or utube, you can take a video and upload it to the web and have it embedded in your blog in a matter of minutes. Even those with the most basic computer skills can embed a video in a blog post, whereas doing the same in a web site would be challenging.

9. Makes it Easy for Others to Share Your Info

   When you use a traditional web site, you can share the URL, but then people have to actually go there. When you print and mail a newsletter, the people you mail it to get the newsletter but what about all the others they would like to share your information with? However, with a blog, it is not only easy for you to share information with others, it also makes it easy for them to re-share your information. When people want to share your information that is on a blog they have a library of ways in which to do so. At the end of each post, your article can have a “share” button that will transport your article to any number of hundreds of social media sharing sites. In addition, they can forward the emails or RSS feeds, print the articles, or even publish references to it on their own blogs (called trackbacks). This allows you to post information and allow others to share it in the way that best fits their preferences. Every time you make it easier for others to share your information, you win.

10. Easy for the Beginner and Pro Alike

    When I was the VP of Business Development for an internet company, several years ago we used to develop our web based software for a fictional user we lovingly dubbed “The Gray Haired Lady”. The Gray Haired Lady was a typical grandmother who was not terribly internet savvy. She did however want to learn and would stick it out as long as things made sense. We thought if we could get our software simple enough for her to use, practically anyone could use it. Many blog software companies must develop around the same type model because updating a blog is just about as simple as writing an article in word processing software. Yes, you have to learn a little but there are a ton of people willing to help. So whether you are a Gray Haired Lady or a teenager, blogging is very simple.

Whatever you’re doing in the nonprofit world, my stance is you should have a blog. If you have a web site, then you should also have a blog. A blog gives you so many benefits and other than maybe not looking as flashy as a flash site, they look good and work great. You would never want to compromise looks over how well a tool gets your information out there and known. If you need some help figuring out how to get your blog up and running, subscribe to our RSS or email feed by clicking here. In further articles in the next weeks, I am going to take you step by step through the set up and use of a blog for your nonprofit. Stay Tuned and tell others about our Social Media for the nonprofit series.

Catch the rest of our “Be a Social Media Expert Series” here.

Grab our RSS feed so you don’t miss out on any of of the articles

I am writing this after spending the morning on Twitter and FaceBook.  You may not have any idea what I am talking about or know just enough to believe it is a waste of your time.  That is the whole reason we at Ocean Grand have decided to put together a series of ongoing articles around “social media” for non profits.  Read on to learn how social media is here to stay and how you can get on board to help your nonprofit become more successful.

The key to getting, keeping and engaging donors, funders, and corporations is by building a relationship with them.  There is no alternative to building relationships, the relationship comes first and always first.  There is also no alternative, not even through social media, to engage your non profit supporters in the “flesh”.  However, social media is a great platform to tell and retell your story (read more about “your story” here).  The more ways you are able to get the information and successes out to people who are interested in them the farther your reach.  Social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc) is another way to get your story and successes out to those that want to know about them, plus find some others that maybe interested in the mix.

Social media is also a way to keep donors and others up-to-date with your cause and what you’re doing to impact the world in a simple and easy way.  A couple “tweets” (tweets are short messages on twitter) a day will help all those following the progress of your non profit to know what you’re doing today to help the cause.  Likewise, it is a great way to invite people to your fundraisers, events and projects.  By using Twitter, others who get your tweets can pass the message along very easily, possibly generating lots of buzz about your upcoming function.  If those tweets are also posted automatically on your FaceBook “wall”, then you have reached two audiences that otherwise would have had no idea what you were doing.  For example, maybe you are holding a fundraiser or event in Virginia.  Several tweets throughout the day from your mobile phone and everyone around the world knows how it is going.

This morning I wrote an article on “What Have You Done Lately That You Are Proud Of?”  When I posted the article from the Ocean Grand blog http://www.oceangrand.org the post was tweeted and then also sent to our FaceBook wall.  Almost instantaneously several people joined our twitter following who were not following before.  The link to the article in the tweet was also clicked on and read by many from our twitter following.  It was a quick, easy and effective way to let those that were interested know there was a new article.

The Virtual Water Cooler

Social Media is the present day water cooler and unlike the water cooler in your office, it is an ongoing global conversation.  If you want to be more successful in the non profit world, you want your non profit activities to be a part of that conversation.  From Twitter and FaceBook conversations I have connected to other non profit organizations who were ecstatic to find out about all the free information and help we provide to non profits at Ocean Grand.  Through those same social media channels I have also made new friends and reacquainted myself with old friendships halfway around the world.

The Afternoon Coffee Break

As I’m going throughout the day I hit points where I need a pick-me-up and many times caffeine does the trick.  However, while I am getting my afternoon infusion I also check in on my FaceBook and Twitter accounts to see what is happening around the world.  Inevitably I run across a quick conversation or am able to offer some input that renews my inspiration to motivate me on to the end of the day.  It has been well documented that the human brain needs breaks throughout the day and can be much more productive once given one.  You would be surprised at all the little notes of encouragement you can get on Twitter and FaceBook that can get you through the day.

Each platform of Social Media has its own nuances and particular use, but the lines quickly become blurred once you start integrating them together.  We will show you how to get the best use out of each in further articles.  We are going to focus on FaceBook and Twitter below and give you some quick instructions on getting started.

FaceBook

The simple explanation: FaceBook is a platform where you can add “friends” old and new to your profile.  Then you can message each other back and forth, add video and share pictures.  You are able to keep tabs on your “contacts” and and they can do the same with you.  It’s a quick glance at what everyone you know around the world is doing, interested and involved in.  As a nonprofit, you can also create a “cause” page where people can join to be involved and even donate online to your nonprofit.

FaceBook Steps:

1. Sign up and create an interesting profile. Add a photo and definitely put up a “cause” page so others can join into your non profit work.
2. Use the site’s feature to search your email address book for people you know.
3. Each time a friend adds, look at their friends for others that you may know and add them as a friend.
4. Use your existing friends as a way to find more friends. Try to stay within the boundaries of people you actually know and have some type of relationship with.
5. Create a “home like” feel to the information you put on your site.  You want people to get to know you better or all over again if it has been a while.
6. There are a ton of “applications” you can use that will allow you to share books your reading, videos you like, blogs you read etc.
7. The number of “friends” you have depends upon you but the more friends you can connect to the farther your message will go out to the masses.
8. Keep in mind, as a non profit you want people to both get to know you and your non profit so try to think of ways that you can introduce what your non profit is doing.
9. Make sure you are actively getting your donors and those interested signed up and promote, promote, promote your FaceBook link so people can connect to you.
10. Focus your efforts on building relationships and letting people know what you are doing.  A few “What am I doing” updates a day goes a long way.  Likewise, reply and respond to other people’s updates.

Twitter

Twitter uses quick posts of 140 characters or less to let people know what you are doing throughout the day.  The same goes for your responses to others’ posts.  Unlike FaceBook there are not pages or places to put video and “causes” but instead you do short updates, “tweets”, throughout the day and reply to others’ tweets.  In some aspects “less is more” and keeping track of your and other people’s tweets can be managed easily by using TweetDeck http://www.tweetdeck.com.  Throughout the day  “tweet” several times and let people know what you’re up to; you will be amazed at how interested they are in the little things you do each day.  Respond to a few tweets.  You can find others to “follow” (when you follow someone you are able to see their tweets) that you may have interest in and again you will be amazed at what you learn.

Twitter Steps:

1. Sign up and create an interesting profile. Add a photo.
2. Use the site’s feature to search your email address book for people you know.
3. Find people you maybe interested in following at Twitscoop http://www.twitscoop.com/ by searching topics you’re interested in.
4. You can always find more people to follow by reading the posts of those you are already following that seem like interesting conversations.
5. The number of people you follow or allow to follow you depends upon you but the more people following you the farther your message will go out to the masses.
6. Keep in mind, as a non profit you want people to both get to know you and your non profit so try to think of ways that you can introduce what your non profit is doing without giving a sales pitch.
7. Make sure you are actively getting your donors and those interested signed up and promote, promote, promote your Twitter link so people can connect to you.
8. Focus your efforts on building relationships and letting people know what you are doing.  A few “What am I doing” updates a day goes a long way.  Likewise, reply and respond to other peoples updates.

Remember that all the information, pictures, video and updates are able to be seen by all your friends or followers so keep that in mind when you put information on the internet.

If you contact me I can help you integrate your tweets to automatically be posted to your FaceBook which keeps you from needing to update two different places.

To Tweet or Not to Tweet, That is the Question

Social Media is a great way to get your message out and also connect people across the globe to your non profit cause.  It is time well spent if you keep focused while using these media.  It is easy to get caught up in it; however, now is the time to get involved because Social Media looks like it is here to stay. This is just a brief introduction to the Social Media arena and we will cover each separately and give more detail on how to use these great platforms to your advantage other posts.  Stay tuned.  In the meantime, sign up for an account and begin getting a feel for them.

Don’t forget to add us as a friend on FaceBook and follow us on Twitter.  The links are to the right of this post and also below.

FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=32978279968
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/ScottRingo