Measuring Your Impact &
Creating Policies for Social Media
AVI CHAI Tech Academy
March 30, 2011
Elizabeth Ricca (@elizabethricca)
Farra Trompeter (@farra)

What are your goals
for social media?

Reasons Nonprofits
Communicate

What’s the value/purpose of each
goal?
• When we engage parents, _____ will
happen
• When we grow our email list of alumni, we
can do _______ better
• ????

Measuring ROI
• How much money are you spending?
• How much staff time are you spending?
• Is the return (meeting your goals)
proportional to the investment (time and
money)?
Remember: Return ≠ $ alone

Source: Internet Management for Nonprofits, pg 22

Image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/aussiegall

Types of Metrics
1. Views
2. Followers
3. Engagement
4. Conversion
5. Feedback (bonus)
Nonprofit Social Media Decision Guide, pg 13

Source: http://rhappe.typepad.com/thesocialorganization/social-media-metrics.html

What does success
look like?

Set/Track Benchmarks
• Compare to your own performance
• Compare with peers
• Compare with general nonprofit industry

Source: 2011 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study, http://e-benchmarksstudy.com/,

Use Tools to Measure Progress
• Google Analytics
• Facebook Insights
• TweetStats
• Feedburner
• PostRank
• Analysis Exchange

Dashboard Example: Facebook
Activity April 2011
Number of likes (at the end of the month)
Number of likes in the past month
Number of unlikes in the past month
Total post views
Total post feedback
Total number of posts
Average views per post
Average feedback per post

Dashboard Example: Facebook
Activity April 2011
Top referrer
Wall views
Info views
Welcome views
Photos views
Get Involved views
Events views

Source: Internet Management for Nonprofits, pg 48

Review Performance Monthly
• Website: referrals from social media sites
• Facebook: likers, views, comments, etc.
• Email: list size, open and clickthrough rates
• Twitter: Followers, retweets, lists, etc.
• Bit.ly: track clicks for the links you share

Assess Impact Quarterly
• What’s working? What’s not?
• What kind of links get likes and comments?
• Which tweets are most retweeted?
• Are you achieving your goals?
• If yes: How can you build on your momentum?
• If no: Why not?
Most common reason = not enough time

Review Strategy Bi-Annually
• Examine goals—still relevant?
• Consider staff/time—is it enough?
• New tools we should explore?
• Revisit online engagement priorities
• Reprioritize as needed

Creating a social
media policy

Why create a social media policy
for your school?

So what goes into a
social media policy?

1. Overview of your social media
presence
Example: AVI CHAI Foundation

http://bit.ly/VbiltSocialMedia
Example: Vanderbilt University

2. High-level guidance
http://bit.ly/UMichSocialMedia (PDF)
Example: University of Michigan

AVI CHAI Foundation
Social Media Guidelines
• Be smart
• Write what you know
• Be respectful
• Work matters
• Respect privacy of others
• Don’t tell secrets
• Be responsible
http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/developing-a-social-media-policy/

Think before you post: WWGT?
Nana Jewel

3. Specific guidelines
• Who’s in charge of social media for your
school
• Who’s allowed to post
• Rules & expectations for specific tools
• Acceptable topics for online discussion
• Guidelines for using the school’s brand
• When to ask for help

http://www.hamilton.edu/social
Example: Hamilton College

Example: HJUHSD | http://bit.ly/HJUHSDSocialMedia

Things to Consider When Beginning to Use
Social Media
Applications that allow you to interact with others online
(e.g. Facebook, MySpace, etc.) require careful
consideration to assess the implications of “friending,”
“linking,” “following” or accepting such a request from
another person.
For example, there is the potential for misinterpretation
of the relationship or the potential of sharing protected
information. Relationships such as faculty-student,
doctor-patient, supervisor-subordinate and staff-student
merit close consideration of the implications and the
nature of the social interaction.
Example: University of Michigan

http://www.facebook.com/unwomen
Example: UN Women

4. Conversation guidelines
• When to respond to a comment or
question
• Who should respond
• How to respond
• Managing negative comments/difficult
interactions

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremiah_owyang/3154057414/

Steve Heye, YMCA of Metro Chicago
http://www.johnhaydon.com/2010/08/org-facebook-page-decision-flowchart/

5. Personal/professional boundaries
Example: Miles at National Wildlife Federation

Guidelines for individuals
• Be authentic
• Use a disclaimer
• Don’t use the U-M logo or make endorsements
• Take the high ground
• Don’t use pseudonyms
• Protect your identity
• Does it pass the publicity test?
• Respect your audience
• Monitor comments
Example: University of Michigan

6. Tips and how-tos
http://bit.ly/VbiltSocialMedia
Example: Vanderbilt University

Example: Vanderbilt University

Example: University of Michigan

What’s in a social media policy?
1. Overview of your social media presence
2. High-level guidance
3. Specific guidelines
4. Conversation guidelines
5. Personal/professional boundaries
6. Tips and how-tos

How do I get started?

Review examples
• Social media policy generator:
http://socialmedia.policytool.net
• University of Michigan:
http://bit.ly/UMichSocialMedia
• Vanderbilt University:
http://bit.ly/VbiltSocialMedia
• Hamilton College:
http://www.hamilton.edu/social/
How do I get started?

Review examples (continued)
• University of Oregon:
http://bit.ly/fSE4LN
• Hanford Joint Union High School District:
http://bit.ly/HJUHSDSocialMedia
• Bishop Lynch High School:
http://bit.ly/fjqddU
• Social Media Governance Policy Database:
http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php
How do I get started?

Involve your staff
• Identify a go-to person for questions
• Conduct surveys/interviews to get
feedback, assess interest, etc.
• Share draft policy in a staff meeting and
invite feedback/questions
• Provide informal trainings on privacy
settings, tools, etc.
• Include in trainings for new staff
How do I get started?

Sample questions for staff
• What social media are you familiar with?
• Are you comfortable combining personal
and professional use of social media?
• How involved should our school be in
social media?
• Would you be willing to contribute to a
blog, Facebook Page, Twitter feed, etc.?
How do I get started?

Tips for a successful policy
• Strike a friendly tone in your policy
• Encourage experimentation & questions
• Try to keep guidelines open-ended where
possible, rather than restrictive
• Appoint one or two people to manage
• Keep your audiences in mind—what do
they expect from you?
How do I get started?

Resources
• The Nonprofit Social Media Decision Guide
www.idealware.org/reports/nonprofit-social-media-
decision-guide
• Internet Management for Nonprofits
www.amzn.com/0470539569
• The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting with Social
Media to Drive Change
www.amzn.com/0470547979
• “10 tips to manage your professional and personal
brand in social media”
www.bigducknyc.com/blog/?p=3704

Let’s discuss
© Jeremy Crow

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