An intro to Facebook and Twitter for nonprofits

HOW NONPROFITS CAN USE FACEBOOK AND TWITTER Nathan T. Wright / Lava Row

What is social media?
Blogs, social networks, podcasts, message boards, micro-sharing, lifestreams, etc.
People having conversations online
A shift from broadcast to peer-to-peer
Evolution of human communication
Hundreds of new tools & technologies

SOCIAL MEDIA is… “ Using the Internet to instantly collaborate, share information, and have a conversation about ideas and causes we care about.”
Beth Kanter
http://beth.typepad.com
@kanter on twitter

Source: Gapingvoid.com

Facebook: A quick summary 140 million+ active users Half of users are out of college; 25+ is fastest growing demographic. Advocacy and causes are popular on Facebook.

Using Facebook’s Causes Application Anyone with a Facebook account can create a Cause. Donations to Causes can benefit over 1 million 501(c)(3) nonprofits and presidential campaigns. Individuals can leverage their network of friends (social graph) to initiate grassroots change. “ Equal opportunity activism.”

Susan G. Komen for the Cure Facebook Cause 318,336 members and $12,330 donated as of February 2009. Incredible stories being shared on “The Wall.”

Use Facebook to organize and promote your events

Create a branded page for your nonprofit Use as a central hub for all your social media & web efforts. Hook in your blog posts via RSS feed. Build & communicate with your community. Recruit volunteers.

What the heck is Twitter? A microblogging social network with 5 million+ users. Updates (“tweets”) are 140 characters or less. Tweets can be sent and received via text (SMS).

An example of the 140-character limit:

Twitter Explained:
Your consciousness, syndicated.
An online, 24/7 cocktail party.
Powerful in hyperlocal geographic pockets.
Twitter users gather in real life – “ tweetups .”
Great way to connect w/ local & nat’l media.
Best focus group ever.
Efficient communication.

Getting started on Twitter:
Subscribe to relevant tweeps - other nonprofits and like-minded individuals on Twitter. (Yes, it’s acceptable to “follow” someone on Twitter who you haven’t met yet.)
Post often and be responsive . Answer questions. You get out of it what you put into it.
To reference other users in your updates, use the @ symbol in front of their username. (Example: @hillabean)
Mingle, don’t shout. Behave like you would at a networking event or cocktail party. This builds your social capital .

Twitter + Memes = Twemes!

Twitter: Frivolous or Powerful? How frozen peas started a movement Thousands of Twitter users incorporated frozen peas into their avatars to show support for blogger and cancer patient Susan Reynolds. A Frozen Pea Fund was created, inspired by Susan Reynolds.

Global Twestival in 100+ cities for Charity: Water 100% volunteer-driven. Goal: Raise $1 million dollars. Micro-donations taken via TipJoy and then tweeted. Bloggers created their own badges and videos .

Some resources for nonprofits:
http://beth.typepad.com (Beth Kanter’s blog)
About.com: 12 tips for nonprofits on getting started with social media
Chris Brogan’s blog posts about nonprofit use of social media
Facebook Causes
Case Study: Twestival for Charity: Water

twitter: @nathantwright 515-554-0502 [email_address] www.lavarow.com http://www.slideshare.net/nathantwright

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An intro to Facebook and Twitter for nonprofits

by Nathan Wright on Feb 17, 2009

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An intro to Facebook and Twitter for nonprofits — Presentation Transcript