Today I had the esteemed honor and profound pleasure of presenting a session on social media for non-profits at the Triangle Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ October breakfast meeting in Research Triangle Park. The audience posed excellent questions and had a genuine interest in the topic matter… which makes the task of leading a session so much easier!
There was, of course, a twitter hashtag: #SocialWithJen. I was tickled to see this post by Step Up Ministry:
@AFPtri thank you for the opportunity to learn about social media with Coffee, Cats, and Limes! #SocialWithJen pic.twitter.com/nvNZjDCJfD
— StepUp Ministry (@StepUpMinistry) October 17, 2013
And many attendees were really paying attention!
Is your #nonprofit testing your #facebook posts to learn the most engaging content you’re posting? Pictures are #1! #socialwithjen @afptri — Christine Grant MBA (@NonprofitCoach1) October 17, 2013
@CharityJen Social media is about friend-raising #SocialWithJen @AFPtri — Molly Rivera (@MsMollyRivera) October 17, 2013
I met so many folks from incredible organizations doing fantastic work in our communities. These types of networking meetings offer a wonderful platform for sharing similar successes and learning from each other’s… well, not so successful endeavors. It allows like-minded individuals to learn and implement new ideas to help make their jobs easier.
In my last post, I shared some of the funny infographics I found to explain social media. I thought I’d post some of the other goodies that were a part of the presentation…
What platforms are used most by nonprofits? What is the value of a campaign when using Twitter? What types of social endorsement come from a donation backed by social promotion? The Nonprofit Social Media Presence & 2012 Infographic by MDG Advertising answers these questions and more:
(Click image to view full graphic)
How to handle negative comments on social networks? Take some advice from the U.S. Air Force Web Posting Response Assessment!
Make your social media pages look pretty! Check out “The Ridiculously Exhaustive Social Media Dimensions Blueprint” by TentSocial for precise measurements of graphics for the most popular social media platforms (and for more creative ideas, check out http://www.awwwards.com):
How do you make your twitter content stand out from the crowd? Retweets are key! Check out The Art of Getting Retweets by QuickSprout:
(Click image to view full graphic)
And finally, how do you measure up to other tweeps… your friends, your competitors, your fellow nonprofit organizations? Check out this Twitter Character Infographic Generator “You Are What You Tweet”:
As I mentioned in my presentation, the key to growing your social media platform and direct revenue from it is to engage with your audience, make them feel special and thank them repeatedly! Use the same cultivation perspective you would use for any other donor or advocate. Social media attracts a completely new and different audience to the mission of a nonprofit and, if done right, can really grow a new arm of your overall fundraising strategy.
Huge thanks, again, to the fine folks at AFP Triangle for allowing me a soapbox moment! I am grateful to have had the opportunity.
Check out more wonderful AFP Triangle events at http://www.afptriangle.org/