Social Networking for
Nonprofits
Funding Information Center - Business & Breakfast
April 29, 2009

\"Social Media is a social trend
in which people use
technologies to get the things
they need from each other,
rather than from traditional
institutions.\"
from Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff

Links from this presentation and
additional resources can be found here:
http://bit.ly/FIC42909

Put simply, social media
is people having online
conversations.

powered by...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/briansolis/2735401175/

It's the People
The new communication
model is a dialogue.
with
We should be talking our
at
people not just our people.

Philanthropy 2.0 research project
Social media power users of both the new 30-49 age
brackets and the over 50 bracket have used social media to
discuss philanthropy.

Philanthropy 2.0 research project
Nonprofits and charities have a strong opportunity to engage
in meaningful conversations (that may lead to contributions)
with the social media savvy (30-49 and >50) – especially
those who are uncultivated.

Why Social Media for Nonprofits?
Can be an efficient way to tell your story
Explain why your org does what it does
People want to be a part of something good
Build and maintain relationships
http://www.flickr.com/photos/craigstephen/2559705249/

\"...businesses across the world
haven't realized that personality
could be their greatest asset.\"
from *Personality not included
by Rohit Bhargava

Facebook
Look at other nonprofits to get a feel for what they are doing
make sure to add organizational information
use personal interactions
share photos, videos, and links
promote the page or group off Facebook
analyze and monitor (easier with pages)

Facebook Page

Creating a Facebook page for your nonprofit
Pros
Can be visible on the
Internet to non-Facebook
members (only FB members
can interact w/ them)
You can add applications
Facebook presents you with
visitor statistics to let you
know how many visitors
your pages are getting.

Creating a Facebook page for your nonprofit
Cons
‘Updates’ sent to those who
decide to be a ‘fan’ of your
page are lower key than
messages to group
‘members’
Facebook users are less
familiar with pages than
they are with groups
Visitors still need to be a
member of Facebook if they
want to join in discussions
on your page message
board
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trayser/26992597/

Facebook Group

Creating a Facebook group for your nonprofit
Pros
Facebook users are more
familiar with groups
Messages to group members
Easier to set up and manage
than pages

Creating a Facebook group for your nonprofit
Cons
Groups are only visible to
Facebook members
Groups cannot have extra
applications added to them
You generally have to visit a
group regularly and to use
the messaging feature to
keep discussions flowing.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/87765855@N00/3105128025/

Facebook
Caution: Successful communities on Facebook offer an
attitude of openness, transparency and enthusiasm - not a
technology platform just for advertising.
As has been reported elsewhere, Facebook’s fastest growth
demographic is older users – the social network tacked on 12.4 million
people between ages 35-49 in 2008 according to Nielsen Online.

Today you need to have a
company of individuals
(instead of people) who are
empowered to share control
with your customers
from *Personality not included
by Rohit Bhargava

LinkedIn the usual stuff
Professional
Networking
Online Resume
Better than a
business card
Opportunity to
share and show
who you are

LinkedIn the useful extras
Professional collaboration & communication
Promote projects and opportunities
Social Applications Integration

YouTube Nonprofit Videos

YouTube (video sharing)
great way to let people see who you are and what you do
explore audience goals and platform options
find and produce your stories that translate well on video
set up your YouTube channel (or videosharing presence)
connect your video efforts to other online initiatives
find ways to cultivate community strategically

YouTube (video sharing)
Audience goals - plan for who you want to reach, how
you will generate and maintain content
Many platform options -
YouTube - largest user base
Blip.TV - for vodcasts and shows
Viddler - for video tagging
Vimeo - clean and simple for embeds
More from Mashable

YouTube (video sharing)
find and produce
your stories that
translate well on
video
set up your
YouTube channel
or videosharing
presence

http://www.youtube.com/nonprofits

Twitter = microblogging
microblogging ~ Think of
each entry as a mini-blog
entry to share information,
informally and as often as
you wish
http://www.flickr.com/photos/handles/2748048479/

Twitter lingo
tweet = microblog posts DM = direct messaging, this
are called “tweets” is only seen by the other
user, will also send copy to
follow = signing up to their email
receive updates makes you
a follower RT or “Retweet” = a way
to share the posts of others,
reply or @reply = to also a good way to be a
respond to others, use good citizen (not good form
@username, a good way to to repost without giving
show community cred)
twitpic = sharing photos
via Twitter, people love
photos (now famous
example)

Twitter & Professional Growth
referrals
community
networking
commerce
knowledge
serendipity

Twitter can be...
a cost-effective (free) option to accentuate existing messages;
a broadcasting tool to announce relevant information to specific
audiences; and
a (brief) conversational tool to appropriately respond to relevant
inquiries and follow-up questions or comments.

Two Types
Broadcaster
useful if audience knows
what they are getting
another way to push
information
works best if you have
good information to give
could fill a need from
specific area or topic
http://www.flickr.com/photos/looking4poetry/253074522/

Two Types
Conversationalist
provides a \"voice\"
seen as an authority and
source
ROE - return on
engagement
a way to interact with
those interested in topic
or org.
all about building
relationships
http://www.flickr.com/photos/herculie/2370039001/

http://search.twitter.com

links & resources
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/grow-bigger-ears-in-10-minutes/
http://www.wearemedia.org/
http://mashable.com/2009/03/26/social-media-nonprofit-study/
http://www.radicaltrust.ca/2008/09/25/best-practices-for-facebook-fan-pages-user-types/
http://www.timdavies.org.uk/2008/02/18/facebook-groups-vs-facebook-pages/
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/make-your-linkedin-profile-work-for-you/
http://blog.linkedin.com/2007/07/25/ten-ways-to-use/
http://www.wearemedia.org/Workshop+Day+2+Sharing+Your+Story
http://blog.collactive.com/2007/11/25/10-youtube-tips/
http://mashable.com/2007/06/27/video-toolbox/
http://www.youtube.com/nonprofits
http://mashable.com/2009/04/17/web-in-numbers-social-media/
http://twitterpacks.pbwiki.com/Non-Profits
http://philanthropy.blogspot.com/2008/11/give-fast.html
http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2009/03/7-more-charities-and-charitable-giving-
foundations-that-tweet-and-where-to-find-more.html
http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2008/11/twitter-as-char.html

Richie Escovedo
richie.escovedo [at] gmail.com
nextcommunications.blogspot.com
Twitter: @vedo
linkedin.com/in/rescovedo
delicious.com/rescovedo