how to be a nonprofit social media rockstar*

HEATHER ACTONheatheracton.com@heatheracton78

*FIND THE SOCIAL MEDIA ROCKSTAR AT http://socialmediarockstar.com/

Intro

Social media that you can rock and how

Secrets of the rockstars

Discussion

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT ME

At-home mom of 2 little peanuts

Freelance web presence consultant

Milwaukee Artbeat board member

SUCCESS

YOU FEEL THE SOCIAL MEDIA ROCKSTAR INSIDE OF YOU AND YEARN TO LET IT OUT

WHAT ARE SOCIAL MEDIA?

“Social media are media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques.”

- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HOW DO NONPROFITS BENEFIT FROM SOCIAL

MEDIA?Social media campaigns, if executed like a rockstar, will build your community of quality supporters.

This, in turn, will lead to:

More volunteers

More donations

More help in spreading the word about your cause

WHY NONPROFITS AND SOCIAL MEDIA ARE A MATCH

MADE IN HEAVENSocial media is a game in which the good guy usually wins

“Causes” are extremely popular in social media

Social media is about listening and providing value.

(Oh wait, this is what nonprofits are about...)

WHERE TO BE SOCIAL(for now)

1. Your Blog

2. Facebook Page

3. Twitter

4. Flickr

5. YouTube

6. LinkedIn

7. Blogs & Forums

GET YOUR BLOG ON

Attend my other session “Get Your Blog On” for all of the details

Your blog is your home on the web and your social media hub

Create helpful, informative, interesting, and relevant content

Make it easy for visitors to do what you most want them to do (share, donate, volunteer)

Publicize your content via social networks, other blogs, and forums

FACEBOOK ITWHY?

150 million active users

Give a human side to your organization

Create personal connections with your supporters

Be in touch with what the community has to say about your cause

FACEBOOK IT(mechanics)

Create your Facebook Page and completely fill out the profile information

Gain 25 “likers” to get your custom URL (http://facebook.com/username)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/House-Hunters/109905279035009

becomeshttp://www.facebook.com/House-Hunters

Share your own and others’ relevant content

Create conversation

LISTEN to what your community says to and about you

Ask for action

Thank and respond to participants

FACEBOOK IT(finesse)

BE TWITTERIFICWHY?

Twitter is the #2 search engine with about 24 billion queries/mo

Incredible scalability due to the power of the RT

Post a tweet to your 100 followers (REACH = 100)

10 of them RT it to their 100 followers (REACH = 1100)

and so on... REACH = 11100+

This happens within minutes...

Create your Twitter account and completely fill out the profile information

Take some time to learn how Twitter works

@, D or DM, RT, #

Etiquette: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/a-brief-and-informal-twitter-etiquette-guide/

BE TWITTERIFIC(mechanics)

BE TWITTERIFIC(finesse)

Post ~20 quality tweets before beginning to follow others

Reach out to potential supporters often

Promote your community & similar organizations

Concentrate on quality community vs. number of followers

Resist automation

FLICKR FOR PICS

Why?

Inexpensive hosting of all of your image media

It’s a space to corral your community’s media for a cause!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/domore/

Photo sharing & hosting social network

Share pics from your latest event and of people your org has helped

Connect to your WordPress blog via plugin

http://www.brewfanatics.com/

YOUTUBE FOR VIDSWhy?

Simple power of web video to drive results

YouTubers are active (~24 billion queries/mo) - get stumbled upon!

Video sharing social network

Share informational or promotional pieces

Share footage of your volunteers happily helping

Hosts your videos & generates embed code so you can easily post your videos to your blog and other social networks

Professional social network

Connect with others in related foundations and industry

Connect with potential supporters

Ask for introductions

Provide recommendations

Start a group and conversations within it

Join related groups and contribute to them

LINKEDIN TO ROUND IT OUT

OTHER BLOGS & FORUMS

Other great places to LISTEN and ADD VALUE via engagement

Show support of others fighting the same battle

Each comment or tip is a link back to your site, which drives web traffic back to you

Learn about and take advantage of RSS to make this process efficient

Aim to leave 10 QUALITY comments or forum posts per day

ROCKSTARS:

set aside time for social media

create social media action plans

measure their results

do not expect immediate results

rely on quality, not quantity, of their community to deliver results

are consistent, human, authentic, and transparent

avoid “robot-like” automation

Don’t post where you don’t interact

Measure your results

ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?