I don't usually do bullet points, but made an exception here as we only had 40 minutes or so & I wanted to share so that people could view at their leisure. #BeGoodBeSocial - Edinburgh - 27 October 2010

1. Edinburgh, Weds 27 October 2010
#BeGoodBeSocial
Kicking off a conversation
about fundraising through
networks...
g
c 1
building relationships

2. I help charities trust
more of their own people to
build relationships online
that support collaboration,
transparency, advocacy &
philanthropy
@stevebridger
v
2#BeGoodBeSocial

3. 3
I’ll try to sow some
seeds in this bit... to
start a conversation
19:15
20:00
q
time to natter
and share
stories &
experiences
Sorry... I need to
disappear sharpish
for my flight :(
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Our next 45 mins
What role can social media play in connecting &
creating communities of support for your cause?
Q.
#BeGoodBeSocial

4. The web of ‘flow’ and
‘instant’ campaigns
The web of ‘pages’ and
top-down campaigns
We need to reach out to people in
a way that isn’t just marketing
4#BeGoodBeSocial
Social media is about long term engagement;
you won't win by dipping in and out.

5. “...ordinary conversation became
quite audible to my ears.”
5
Grow bigger ears
a
#BeGoodBeSocial

6. • Align yourself with the conversations your communities are
already having
• Engage first, then fundraise (@SMacLaughlin says “friend
raising not fundraising)
• Empower employees to identify, understand and speak
directly to people in a language they’ll connect with. (Most
relationships start with ‘small talk)
• Use social media to ‘build a bridge’ with the 8/10 first-time
donors who don’t make a second gift
• Twitter & Facebook allow you to build a relationship with
a lot of people quickly; thicken the texture of these
relationships over time
• Embrace ‘free agents’ - some of the magic will rub off on
your brand (check out @uncultured)
• #BeGoodBeSocial
6
Make connections

7. • Social media gives us the potential to turn donors &
beneficiaries back into real people (see “From Joey,
with LOve”)
• Don’t leave fundraising to the fundraisers; fundraising
should be in all of us (e.g. MSF Canada bloggers in
Dafur)
• When you hear or read a good story, share it that
instant (“they will remember how you made them feel”)
• Make the experience better when shared
• Be there before ‘the ask’; earn trust by telling stories
and demonstrating impact
• Turn your work (and your website) into a never-ending
story
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Share stories
#BeGoodBeSocial

8. • Get the tone right - balance ‘blowing your own trumpet’
and amplifying the voices of other people
• Acknowledge, measure, and Value contributions other
than money; develop reciprocity and the positive
feedback loop of social networks
• This may be the future of digital engagement: intimate
and packed with multiple light-touches
• Shower praise on your advocates (and give them the
tools they need to reproduce your message)
• Respond quickly to questions & complaints
8
Show reciprocity
#BeGoodBeSocial

9. “The real value of Twitter is to keep
the invisible lines of connection alive” -
Cory Doctorow
Move from an organisation that uses social
media to being a ‘social organisation’
#BeGoodBeSocial
9

10. charities should
encourage staff to
speak for their
organisation ‘in public’
supporters & ‘free agents’
trust the hiring
decision
the challenge is
to empower staff
without
generating chaos the digital capability that
comes online needs to be
rolled into the brand

11. Grapple difficult issues
• Need to evolve from institutions to networks (speed up
the evolution of orgs so they are fit for the 21st
Century)
• Need to focus on relationships rather than new channels
for transactions - but charities not built for
conversations & participation
• I’ll say that again... it’s STILL about relationships
• Often a backlash as framed in the wrong way: as
delivering donations, rather than as a fundamental shift
in expectations (social media is a marathon, not a sprint,
etc.)
• How is social media integrated with your overall online
footprint? (which is how it will provide the most value)
#BeGoodBeSocial
11

12. • Democratise the ‘brand’; learn to lose some ‘control’
in return for greater reach
• Behaviours > telephone, email > were established
inside the workplace... social networks > outside
workplace
• You open yourself up to public criticism that many
would rather pretend does not exist (address
negative comments)
• Authenticity (don’t outsource your ‘voice’)
• Challenge assumptions about productivity (but how
much do you have to be ‘on’ with social media?)
• Same old jobs - ‘just add social media’ (i.e. orgs want
the return but not the changes)
12
Sorry... more big issues
#BeGoodBeSocial

13. • Don’t hang up your passion with your coat every
morning
• Find time for social media by giving up the things that
don’t add value...
• For example, duck out of one meeting a week and use
the time to ‘be’ a community member
• Leave trails online that others can find & connect
(@kanter)
• If you’re a manager - embrace employees as a
passionate community, trigger their discretionary effort,
and reward them for being ‘social’
• All this is too important to be left to the digital team
13
umm... now YOU
#BeGoodBeSocial

14. • The average number of ‘friends’ someone has on Facebook
is 130-ish
• Visibility of MSF (USA) on Facebook (after Haiti quake)
quickly outstripped visibility of their own website
• 10% of fundraising based around ‘occasions’ (e.g. birthdays,
weddings, the oddball, etc.) - JustGiving
• 95% of donors have a mobile phone. Think about it :)
• Online donations in 2009 up 20% on year before. But still
only represent 6% of total donations (source:
@Blackbaud). In UK, 44% now ask for updates on ‘impact’
• Someone once told me that people spend less than 1% of
their time online ‘transacting’
• Social media ROI: “if a farmer wants to fatten a pig he
feeds it; he doesn’t weigh it” - Jon Weedon
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To ponder...
#BeGoodBeSocial

15. the more we remain in our
silos and feel constrained by
our job descriptions, the
greater the disconnect between
us and our supporters
I believe that...
#BeGoodBeSocial 15
Are you ready to shape the future of your
organisation?

16. • Joey’s Story - Child’s i Foundation -
http://www.childsifoundation.org/blog/2010/08/from-joey-with-love/
• Médecins Sans Frontières Canada has consistently
published compelling blogs from the field - http://msf.ca/blogs/
• One of them, written by Dr. James Maskalyk, was even
turned into a book - http://www.sixmonthsinsudan.com/
• Buy a copy of “The Networked Nonprofit” by Beth
Kanter & Allison Fine. Then pass it on to your CEO
• This post by “free agent” Shawn Ahmed (@uncultured) is
well worth a read:
http://uncultured.com/2010/06/04/how-to-engage-us/
• SocialxSocial is a great primer into using social tech to
deliver social impact - http://www.socialbysocial.com/
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Useful stuff
#BeGoodBeSocial

17. @stevebridger
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Thank you... now let’s
talk about it
steve@visceralbusiness.com
“we build too many walls and not enough bridges”
Isaac Newton
#BeGoodBeSocial
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