3Fold Communications Intro to Social Media Training

Editor's Notes

• #3: I don’t have to tell you how much social media has become an integral part of our society. Facts speak for themselves: 1 of 4 Americans read blogs 25 % of people visit social networking sites 1 in 11 minutes pent online globally is accounted by social networking sites Biggest increase in visitors to social websites globally in 2008 came from the 35-40 age group
• #4: The conversation is happening with or without you, this is your chance to shape the message and tell your side of the story.
• #5:   The answer for any organization—from a corporation to a small business to a nonprofit—is not whether you should participate, but how you will participate.
• #9: SOCIAL MEDIA IN PLAIN ENGLISH  
• #16: Example: March of Dimes: http://www.shareyourstory.org/
• #18: Defined purpose What’s your goal? What’s your topic? If you jump around all the time you won’t get consistent readers. Can you describe your blog in 10 or fewer words? Ex: We use our blog to educate clients on happenings in the world of marketing, share innovations and noteworthy achievements in communications methods and tactics, and share our admittedly quirky collection of personalities in a casual medium. Ex: another nonprofit (good and bad) Credibility Never blog anonymously Always have a bio Include your photo Make posts, and titles, short and to the point Categorize posts, make it clean & clear (also moves people around your blog to stay there longer) Own what you say-back it up with research and others opinions Link to your sources Write for your audience- in a language they understand (also touch on spelling, editing, etc.) Character Successful blogs-no matter an individual, corporate, nonprofit or small business-have a unique voice A blog can really become the heart of the organization- it’s where your share the heart warming stories or cutting edge research that reminds people why they believed in you to begin with. Community Always link Include a blog roll Always let people comment Interact with people who comment Enable RSS Have guest bloggers
• #21: According to a recent social media study conducted by NTEN, Common Knowledge and ThePort, nearly three-quarters of 980 nonprofit professionals surveyed are integrating some social networking into their online marketing and communications, 74% of which have a presence on Twitter
• #22: Growth: from 1 million users in Jan 2008 to 6 million in Jan 2009. Today, it’s at Fastest growing member site- as of March 2009 it had a 1382% growth rate (Facebook is largest)     Nielsen survey last month said 60% of new users aren’t returning Not sure where Twitter’s going, what it’s going to do  
• #25: Find them by using search.twitter.com, twello.com (yellow pages for Twitter)
• #26:   There’s close to 1,000 third party. Most are free, most are in beta: Tweetdeck Tweetberry Tweepular   Check ROI This can be difficult because the system has been compromised recently- there are spammers, etc. which screw up stats. Monitter.com Twinfluence (include our grade) Tweetwaster Tweetvalue   Bottom line, doesn’t matter your number of followers if they aren’t doing anything with the information you present   Attend Tweet Ups   Think BIG and think Creative Twestival
• #36: A GUIDE TO USING “CAUSES” ON FACEBOOK   An app created for nonprofit to raise dollars and awareness. If you are registered with Guidestar, you can use Causes. (Important: make sure your profile with Guidestar is updated) But, does it actually work? (Article in Washington Post late April revealed that in actuality, few people are actually raising money through this app. Only a tiny fraction of the 179,000 nonprofits that have turned to Causes as an inexpensive and green way to seek donations have brought in even $1,000) Causes is first and foremost a tool for brand and reputation Things to consider Give it time (While there are many boomers on Facebook, the majority of savy users like me are young, and not in prime donating years yet.) Give your Fans attention (interact, talk to them, build the relationship—give example of two coffee dates. Who do you think I’m going to give money to eventually-my college or the couple I don’t know?) Thank appropriately-that means publicly   New blog for causes: exchange.causes.com
• #37: WHAT IS IT? Social networking site mainly used for professional networking such as finding a job, or finding a new employee About 40 million people using this site   WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR NONPROFITS? It’s a way to use your personal network to find outstanding employees without having to use Craig’s List. It’s a way to gain exposure/awareness. Organizations are the people behind them, right? There is a portion of the site called Linked In for Good ( http://www.linkedin.com/good ) which allows you to add a badge to your profile for an org you believe in.   HOW WILL I BE SUCCESSFUL? If you set up your Outlook to be synched with Linked In so that when you add a new contact, you can automatically add them on Linked in too. "LinkedIn is about identifying a task or a business objective, and then finding someone who can help." How might I harvest this person for the future?
• #38: WHAT IS IT? MySpace is another social networking site, that tends to reach a younger demographic than Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. This is a site you’ll want to focus on if you have teen clients or volunteers. Unlike Facebook, MySpace has HTMLand CSS capaiblities which means that users can do a lot more customizing (also means more work). Teens love that they can decorate their site in its own colors, background, fonts. I dislike the site for the same reasons. (It’s not clean or organized) MySpace has really good music capabilities, which are not as much of a focus on other sites. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR NONPROFITS? Gain supporters Allow you to get to know your supporters better Encourage supporters to take action (sign petition, donate etc.) Help them spread your message easily (via the use of Badges or Stickers whose code they can ad to their own profile) Keep them apprised of events or “issue alerts” – as bulletins Have another presence on the web/a type of interactive brochure: containing your video, blog posts, pictures etc.   HOW WILL I BE SUCCESSFUL? Human Society: http://www.myspace.com/thehumanesociety OXFAM: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=48681629 Make your page fun, while also being easy to use/find information Set your age range over 17 so that it can be found in searches MySpace Impact