An intro to Facebook and Twitter for nonprofits

An intro to Facebook and Twitter for nonprofits - Presentation Transcript

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: