Network Communications: Using Social Media to Enhance Network Effectiveness Beth Kanter, Beth’s Blog Packard Foundation Visiting Scholar Flickr Photo by OceanFlynn

What is Social Media? Using the Internet to instantly collaborate, share information, and have a conversation about ideas and causes we care about.* Definition from Katya Andresen, Network for Good

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The Web has become more social…. Publisher Media Social Media

Social Media took the lion’s share of the 2.1 trillion page views made at the top 1k media sites last year, nearly doubling 2007 PV volume Page View Share Share of all page views at the Top 1,000 Media sites, December 2007 – 2008 Publisher Media Social Media 2008

Social Media took the lion’s share of the 2.1 trillion page views made at the top 1k media sites last year, nearly doubling 2007 PV volume

Social Graphs: Individuals as networks

How do we convert our online activists to on the ground activists?

Not everyone is a social media user (or has Internet access or a fast connection)

Social Media Is Not A Life Raft

How can we use social media to enhance network effectiveness?

Begin with context …

swim with the school …

surf the network

Bounded Group: We Unbounded: Many What structure? How much control of your boundaries do you need?

Inward Outward Communications Coordination Collaboration Publishing Shared Resources Learning Networking Engage Fundraising Action Outreach Bounded Group: We Unbounded: Many What direction? Purpose, Audience, and Existing Use of Technology before tool selection.

Inward-Facing * Outward-Facing Objective and Audience Internet Integration Culture/Capacity Tactic/Tool Experiment, Measure, Adapt Online collaboration Tools Enterprise 2.0 Social Media Tools * Source: Digital Habitats: Stewarding technology for communities © 2009 Wenger, White, and Smith Tools overlap Different Paths 1: Members skills, capacity, and comfort 2: Group orientation 3: Technology Plan 4: Stewardship 5: Evaluation

Objective and Audience

Internet Integration

Culture/Capacity

Tactic/Tool

Experiment, Measure, Adapt

Inward-Facing * 1: Members skills, capacity, and comfort 2: Group orientation 3: Technology Plan 4: Stewardship 5: Evaluation Online collaboration IT Tools Enterprise 2.0 Private Social Networks * Source: Digital Habitats: Stewarding technology for communities © 2009 Wenger, White, and Smith Tools overlap

Characteristics Life Cycle Constitution Technographics Just Forming Self-Designing Growing & Restless Stable and Adapting Diversity Openness Boundaries Time zones, languages, participation Interest and Skills Tolerance Factors Orientation Patience Bandwidth 1 2 Know Your Network Technology Inventory 3 Existing platforms and tools and understand their features and usage 4 How well does current technology inventory support ? Based on Action Notebook from Digital Habitats: http://technologyforcommunities.com Meetings Open-Ended Conversation Projects Content Publishing Access to Expertise Relationships Individual Participation Community Cultivation

Meetings – in person or online gatherings with an agenda (i.e. monthly topic calls) Projects – interrelated tasks with specific outcomes or products (i.e. Identifying a new practice and refining it.) Access to expertise – learning from experienced practitioners (i.e. access to subject matter experts) Relationship – getting to know each other (i.e. the annual potluck dinner!) Community cultivation – Recruiting, orienting and supporting members, growing the community (i.e. who made sure the new person was invited in and met others?) Individual participation – enabling members to craft their own experience of the community (i.e. access material when and how you want it.) Content – a focus on capturing and publishing what the networks learns and knows (i.e. a newsletter, publishing an article, etc.) Open ended conversation – conversations that continue to rise and fall over time without a specific goal (i.e. listserv or web forum, Twitter, etc.) What is the orientation? Source: Digital Habitats: Stewarding technology for communities © 2009 Wenger, White, and Smith

Meetings – in person or online gatherings with an agenda (i.e. monthly topic calls)

Projects – interrelated tasks with specific outcomes or products (i.e. Identifying a new practice and refining it.)

Access to expertise – learning from experienced practitioners (i.e. access to subject matter experts)

Relationship – getting to know each other (i.e. the annual potluck dinner!)

Community cultivation – Recruiting, orienting and supporting members, growing the community (i.e. who made sure the new person was invited in and met others?)

Individual participation – enabling members to craft their own experience of the community (i.e. access material when and how you want it.)

Content – a focus on capturing and publishing what the networks learns and knows (i.e. a newsletter, publishing an article, etc.)

Open ended conversation – conversations that continue to rise and fall over time without a specific goal (i.e. listserv or web forum, Twitter, etc.)

Inward-Facing * Outward-Facing Objective and Audience Internet Integration Culture/Capacity Tactic/Tool Experiment, Measure, Adapt Social Media Tools How do you think strategically about social media for outward facing work?

Objective and Audience

Internet Integration

Culture/Capacity

Tactic/Tool

Experiment, Measure, Adapt

Brand in control One way / Delivering a message Repeating the message Focused on the brand Educating Organization creates content Audience in control Two way / Being a part of a conversation Adapting the message/ beta Focused on the audience / Adding value Influencing, involving User created content / Co-creation Traditional Media Social Media Source: Slide 10 from " What's Next In Media ?" by Neil Perkin Social Media requires a different mindset…

Source: Inside Obama’s Social Media Tool Kit

Your Supporters Are The Message

Source: David Wilcox, The Social Reporter Email Marketing Social Media Different Ways To Spread Take it from us Get it from our friends

It’s about engaging the right 6 people

Source: Inside Obama’s Social Media Tool Kit

Let’s go step-by-step Objectives Target Audience Integration Culture Change Capacity Tools and Tactics Measurement Experiment

Objectives

Target Audience

Integration

Culture Change

Capacity

Tools and Tactics

Measurement

Experiment

Objective What do you want to accomplish with social media? Describe how your social media objective supports or links to a goal your network’s communications plan?

What do you want to accomplish with social media?

Describe how your social media objective supports or links to a goal your network’s communications plan?

Audience Who must you reach with your social media efforts to meet your objective? Why this target group? Is this a target group identified in your organization’s communications plan? What do they know or believe about your organization or issue? What will resonate with them? What key points do you want to make with your audience? What do they do on the social web?

Who must you reach with your social media efforts to meet your objective? Why this target group?

Is this a target group identified in your organization’s communications plan?

What do they know or believe about your organization or issue? What will resonate with them?

What key points do you want to make with your audience?

What do they do on the social web?

What research do you need?

What are they doing online?

Audience Objective Integration with Internet Strategy One Way email search engine ads Social Listening Conversation Connecting Homebase Web Site

1/3 Web Presence 1/3 One Way 1/3 Social

Culture Change

Loss of control over your organization's branding and marketing messages Dealing with negative comments Personality versus organizational voice Fear of failure Perception of wasted of time and resources Suffering from information overload already, this will cause more How do we get Common Concerns About Social Media

Loss of control over your organization's branding and marketing messages

Dealing with negative comments

Personality versus organizational voice

Fear of failure

Perception of wasted of time and resources

Suffering from information overload already, this will cause more

Negative Comments?

Social Networking Policy

“ We let people sculpt our brand to support our mission.”

Capacity: Staff, Time, Expertise

Comfortable with socialnetworks Expanded job for Web/IT staff

Tactics Amount of Time Increases …. Generate Buzz Share Content Listen Participate Community Building & Social Networking

Tactical Approaches Listen Participate Community Building & Social Networking Generate Buzz Less Time More time 10hr 15hr 20hr Tactical Approaches and Tools Share Story

http://neilperkin.typepad.com/only_dead_fish/2008/04/blended-measure.html Measurement Broader use of hard web metrics – users, time spent, comments, bookmark, outbound links, engagement … combined with digital ethnographic insights

Design Around Problems, Not Tools Start small, reiterate over and over

Pick a social media project that won’t take much time Write down successes Write down challenges Ask or listen to the people you connect with about what worked and what didn't Watch other nonprofits and copy and remix for your next project. Rinse, repeat.

The Steps Objectives Target Audience Integration Culture Change Capacity Tools and Tactics Measurement Experiment

Objectives

Target Audience

Integration

Culture Change

Capacity

Tools and Tactics

Measurement

Experiment

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