10 twitter tips for non profits

Advanced Twitter Tips- Non-Profits Edition

Mande Whitewww.FreeSocialMediaHelp.com

“Suddenly, it seems as though all the world’s a-Twitter”

• Relative of Instant Message (IM)

• Cousin of blog.• Moment to moment

updates of what they're doing or thinking in 140 characters or less.

What are you doing?

Stats

• 8,000,000 visitors to the website in February• 70% are new users• 10,000 new accounts created each day• Net result is 600% growth in 2008

Statistics are courtesy of HubSpot

Basics You Should Not Be Forgetting

• Get Started– Follow Your Donors and Members– Retweet (put (RT) in front of the tweet

• People love it, builds affection and loyalty– Tweet at least 2-3x per week (build to 2-5 per day)

• Be Real• Practice manners

– Follow those who follow you– Thank People

• Provide Value…Don’t just create noise– New information– Blog posts (Twitterfeed)– Call out Press Releases

Advanced Twitter Tips

1. Use Speed to Your Advantage• Capitalize on News/Holidays/Community Events• Mobilization

– Internal/external– Notify activists about latest developments

• News is spread via mobile phone• Internal Communications

– Have ongoing conversation with members in a decentralized way.

– Use it to bring expertise from members or sympathizers– Use to test out ideas, ask questions or brainstorm about next

steps with constituency.• Extra Organizational Activism

– Use it to partner with other organizations to spread news

2. Magic #

5 a day? What do I Tweet About?

Several tweets a day from you can:• Update those following you on projects status• Tweet your fundraising and program events for

those that cannot be there (play by play)• Let others know of fundraising needs• Keep grant makers updated with progress• Quickly find volunteers• Find others who would like to involved with your

nonprofit

“I went in thinking Twitter was a free way to push our message out. Big mistake. We learned to listen. We started winning once we let people decide on their own about our services.”

Amy Worley, Manager [H&R] Block’s Twitter program,

3. Fundraising1. You get to meet people allover the world that

might be interested in your cause2. You get to hear what people are really thinking

about a wide variety of issues.3. You can follow other fundraisers and get great

real-time advice4. You can even promote traffic to your website or

those of your friends.5. If you can figure out how to communicate in 140

characters or less…think how your fundraising writing will improve!

Tweetsgiving

4. Google Alerts

• Setup Google Alerts for your twitter name– Ex @mandewhite

5. Hashtags

• Way to create or follow a stream on Twitter• Ex: #fundraising• Create Your Own– Needs to be unique

• Follow hashtags– Create a search on tweetdeck– http://search.twitter.com– http://twemes.com– http://hashtags.org

#fundraising

6. Twitter Clients

• TweetDeck• Twirl• Twitpic• PingFM

7. Tweet from Mobile Phone

• Twitter Mobile• PocketTweets• iTweet• Hahlo 2.0• Twitterberry

8. Integrate

• Feed your blog posts into Facebook and Twitter

Direct Message

Parting Thoughts…

Web 2.0 Donors are Different• Vast majority are in 20’s & 30’s and very comfortable

with Web 2.0 giving (widgets & apps) and quite often do not go back to Web 1.0 giving (your website)

• Interested in saving trees. Don’t send them print materials.

• 75% give email and appreciate email newsletter• They give in smaller amounts, more often and to many

non-profits they find on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter• They want Public Thanks– Thank You Wall comments and compliments.

Time + Energy = Results

• Give it 15 minutes a day. – 5 morning– 5 lunch– 5 evening

• Gradually increase time as you get more comfortable

• Follow thought leaders-try replicate what they do

About Mande

• Follow me on Twitter @MandeWhite• www.FreeSocialMediaHelp.com• www.FreeSocialMediaHelp.com/blog/

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