Focused on Twitter and e-newsletters. Presentation for the Hayward Non-profit Alliance, part of the Hayward Chamber of Commerce. 17 November 2011

1. Social Media
for Non-profits
Twitter & E-newsletters
Heather Mellon
Hayward Area Historical Society

2. What is Twitter?
• From the Twitter website:
o ―Twitter is a real-time information network that
connects you to the latest information that you find
interesting. Simply find the public streams you find
most compelling and follow the conversations.‖
• In summary:
o Live updates about anything and everything, from
where you are to what’s happening on tv. Also a
cool place to connect with celebrities and get
discounts from businesses.

3. How is Twitter used?
• What is a ―Tweet‖?
o "At the heart of Twitter are small bursts of information called Tweets. Each
Tweet is 140 characters in length, but don’t let the small size fool you—you
can share a lot with a little space. You can tell your story within your
Tweet, or you can think of a Tweet as the headline, and use the details
pane to tell the rest with photos, videos and other media content.‖
Twitter.com
o Basically: You can send out 140 characters at a time, use them wisely.
• Who uses Twitter?
o People (celebrities and the average Joe)
o Businesses & brands (including organizations & non-profits)
o Places (museums, etc.)

4. Why Tweet?
• What Twitter offers
o Real-time updates & interaction
o Microblogging – an easy way to share small doses of content
o Ideal for mobile phone use
o 200 million registered users (via Mashable, as of 9/8/11)
• 100 million active at least once a month
• 50 million active once a day
• 230 million tweets per day
o 90% follow at least one brand (via Lab42, as of 8/20/11)
• 66% follow to get discounts
• 48% follow to participate in contests
• 47% follow because they have interesting tweets
• 30% follow for customer service

5. Twitter Terminology, Pt. 1
• Mention
o Mention a Twitter account, preceded by ―@‖, e.g. ―Thanks for
sharing, @HaywardAreaHist!‖ Good way to get the attention of that
user.
• Retweet (RT)
o Forward someone else’s tweet to your followers.
• Message (DM)
o Privately send a message to another account; also known as ―direct
message.‖
• Hashtag
o A hashtag before a word or phrase marks it as a theme or topic, e.g.
―Today I’m learning about #Twitter for non-profits‖

6. Twitter Terminology, Pt. 2
• Follow/Follower
o When you click on the ―follow‖ button, you are subscribing to that
account’s tweets. A ―follower‖ is someone who is subscribed to
your tweets.
• Feed
o Your Twitter feed is what you see when you log in, a chronological
list of the tweets of the users you follow.
• List
o Users can add accounts they are following to lists they have
created. Each list shows the feeds from the accounts on that list.
• Trending
o Topics trending on Twitter are the current most talked about
topics. Sometimes hashtagged words/phrases, or just keywords.

7. Best Practices
• How often should I tweet? (via SimplyZesty)
o No more than 35 times per day
• When should I tweet? (via AllTwitter)
o Weekdays have the highest volume, particularly Wednesdays
• What should I tweet? (via SimplyZesty)
o 80% of those with more than 500 followers prefer to follow a focused
account
o People are most likely to RT interesting or humorous content
o People are most likely to unfollow if you tweet too much or if your
tweets appear automated

8. Getting started

9. Getting started
Business name
Twitter handle

10. Your profile

11. Your profile
Business name
Your stats
Bio

12. Twitter feed

13. Send a tweet

14. Send a tweet
Character counter
Add a photo

15. Tweet a photo

16. Retweet
Retweet

17. Retweet
Retweet

18. Tools & Tips
• URL shortener
o Bit.ly, TinyURL
• Scheduling tweets
o HootSuite, TweetDeck, Social Oomph, Buffer, etc.
• Learning the lingo
o Tagdef – tagdef.com - Definitions for different hashtags
o Twittonary – twittonary.com – Definitions for various Twitter-
related words.
• Analytics
o Tweetreach – shows average number of people reached per
tweet
o Twitter Grader – check how influential you are on Twitter; can
also search by location

19. Building a following
• Cross-promote
o Website, Facebook, e-newsletter, business cards, flyers
• Use RT & hashtags
o Increases visibility
• Find others to follow
o Some will follow back!
o Twellow – search for Twitter users by location
• Always respond
o Engagement builds followers

20. Resources
• Social Media/Twitter:
o @nonprofitorgs – Information about other nonprofits on Twitter
o @SM4Nonprofits – Tips for using social media
o @npquarterly – Tweets from the Nonprofit Quarterly journal
o @Change4aDollar – Tweets about online marketing, targeted for small
businesses and nonprofits
• Local Tweeters:
o @HaywardChamber, @cityofhayward, @FESCOshelter, @EdenMedCen
ter, @HaywardLib, @chabot_college, @CSUEBnews, @HaywardAreaH
ist
• Websites:
o Nonprofit Tech 2.0: nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com
o AllTwitter: www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter

21. E-newsletters
• What is e-news?
o A means of regularly communicating with a large number
of people via email
• What is in an e-newsletter?
o Updates on events, your mission, what you are doing
• Why use an e-newsletter?
o A great tool for fundraising
o Easy way to build your base
o Inexpensive way to instantly communicate with a lot of
people

22. How it works
• Sign up for an email marketing service
o Constant Contact, Vertical Response, Mail Chimp
• Why use a service?
o Helps make it look professional
o Minimizes spam reports
o Easier list maintenance
o Provides email analytics
• Is it expensive?
o Most have non-profit rates

23. What it looks like

24. What it looks like

25. Building your list
• Start with any current contact list
• Collect email addresses at your events
• Post on your website & social media

26. E-news best practices
• Make sure your list is opt-in
• Send once a month or less
o Unless you want to maintain multiple lists by
topic, e.g. Meek Mansion tours
• Link back to your website
o Keep text in the e-news short and simple

27. Thank you!
Heather Mellon
Marketing Coordinator
Hayward Area Historical Society
(510) 581-2428
h.mellon@haywardareahistory.org
@HaywardAreaHist