These go to eleven! Some tips I put together for Jessica Kirkwood's Social Media Fair at NCVS. http://ncvs.crowdvine.com/talks/12631

1. Tips for Engagement

2. Laura Norvig, The Resource Center, ETR Associatesnationalserviceresources.org

3. 1 Respond Listen daily for @replies / mentions of your org / check Facebook wall / watch blog comments When any one of these comes in, respond ASAP! Respond to everything except trolls (i.e., respond to both negative or positive comments, and answer all questions).

4. 2 Be Consistent You don’t need to be tweeting all day long, but be consistent from week to week – keep your presence up. Tweet once a day / post on Facebook 2-3 x week / blog once a week (not saying you have to do all three of those, but whichever you do, be consistent!)

5. 3 Cultivate Relationships Once someone has responded to something you tweeted, or said anything about your org, follow them. Reach out to them if you happen to notice they are having a bad day. Not every social media exchange you have with them has to be work/cause related. BUT …

6. 4 Keep it Professional Although you want to be authentic and show your human side, don’t overshare or have the majority of your tweets or posts be personal. This partly depends on whether you are assuming an organizational presence or a personal one. If you use your own name, but everyone associates you with your org, mix it up, but still keep 75% - 85% of your stuff in the professional realm.

7. 5 Ask Questions Not getting any conversations going on Twitter or Facebook? Pose questions to start conversations

8. 6 Have Contests People will be more likely to engage if there is something in it for them. This can be something very simple – a t-shirt, a canvas bag, a book, a donation in their name Write a blog post and give something away to the best/first comment Give something to the 100/1000th Twitter follower or Facebook fan (requires monitoring to determine who that is!) More involved contests might be asking people to make a video or write a blog post about a specific topic having to do with your org

9. 7 Combine Questions and Contests Ask a question and give a prize to the person with the most interesting answer Use questions as a tie in to a monthly conversation on a specific topic (see netsquared roundup for a great model).

10. 8 Combine Online and Offline Combine the online and offline so that something your constituents do online ties in to the next time you see them in person at an event or meeting.

11. 9 Be Generous Retweet others generously. But be sure you actually click the link someone is sharing before you pass it along. No matter how interesting it sounds, it’s important that you’ve verified that this is something of interest to your followers, and something that doesn’t conflict with your organization’s message or mission.

12. 10 Be Interesting Pass along links of interest always, but be selective in what you pass along. Try to find things other people haven’t found yet. Contribute deeper thinking on an issue (not always easy to do in 140 characters – easier if you blog it or Facebook it). Muse: “what if ….” Meaningful content earns you trust in others’ eyes

13. 11 Have Fun! If you have fun with social media, that spirit will come through your online presence and touch others.

14. Contact Info / More Info Laura Norvig, the Resource Centerresourcecenter@etr.org @serviceresource @lnorvig http://www.wearemedia.org/Strategy+Module+5