I was at a speaking gig a few months ago and a participant asked, “How do I reach out to seniors? Most of them aren’t on the Internet.” Although, I don’t necessarily agree that seniors aren’t online (my 85-year-old father-in-law is online more than me), I thought that it was a fair question. Then I discovered Eons.com.
Eons is an online community for baby boomers and it is hoppin’ (and pretty well done.) Users can share photos, blog, keep in touch with family and friends and much more. And even though the most discussed topic is “death”, the community revolves around the celebration of life and fun for seniors.
There are advertising opportunities for businesses and organizations and they serve a large, dynamic community.
If your organization targets seniors, it might be worth it to give Eons.com a look!
Today I participated in a great discussion on NTEN.org with Sue Cline about non-profit communications and whether its better to look like you need the money or have a more professional image. This is a question that I get asked a lot and is often the topic of much discussion among our board. There are two viewpoints that I see.
1) If you look too professional, potential donors may not want to donate because you don’t look like you need the money or worse - they wonder where the money is going.
2) If you look too “mom & pop”, donors may not take your organization seriously or worse - they wonder where the money is going (or in this case - how is it being managed).
I went to a Best Friends conference several years ago where this topic was discussed as it pertained to animal welfare organizations. Best Friends has a full-color, VERY slick magazine, a professional website, multiple print fundraising drives - you get the picture. As an organization, they made the decision to spend the money to give their org a professional, clean image. Ironically, there was very little fallout and they are one of the most well-funded animal welfare organizations in the country.
GoodDogz.org has been a grassroots organization for five years, yet we’ve always been able to convey a professional image while not spending loads of money. Here are a few tips that may help your organization make the most of your resources:
- Recruit volunteers that have the skills you need. If you need a new website, find a web designer that is interested in your cause. If you need print materials, find a graphic designer that can help you create a template for your print collateral.
- Work with the business community. Seek out members of the local community that can donate or cut you a deal on printing, legal services, accounting, PR help, etc. If they like your message, its likely they will help. It never hurts to ask and I’ve been told NO many times. But that should never stop you from asking.
- Look for cheap online resources. We paid an arm and a leg for our first business cards by using a local business that didn’t want to help us out. By searching online, we’ve been able to find great deals on printing, promotional materials, etc. Also check out Craigslist for high ticket items like trade show booths, computers, etc.
- Find sponsors. If you need a new website or printed materials, look for a sponsor that will pay for the service in return for promotional considerations. I built GoodDogz.org on sponsorships. Not only do you get what you need, but you also make valuable relationships with business owners.
- Most important - execution is key. It doesn’t matter how nice your newsletter looks - if your organization doesn’t present itself in a professional manner, you will not be taken seriously. It seems so simple, but I see so many non-profits fall apart on execution. Return phone calls and emails promptly. Take the time to ensure that your message is clear and is part of everything you distribute. If you host events, be sure that volunteers, participants, sponsors and exhibitors are well taken care of. Go that extra mile. In the long run, people (and potential donors) remember how they were treated by your organization before they recall the color of your website.
I am in the process of writing a social marketing plan for GoodDogz.org. We launched our new website about 2 weeks ago and, without any type of promotion, started immediately receiving blog comments, new NING community members, new LinkedIn group members, etc. It was truly amazing to see how quickly the new social aspects of the site snowballed. Adding these tools to a non-profit site was easy, cheap and effective. Here’s what we added:
That’s it. By adding those 4 tools, we were able to quickly gain more interaction with our audience, more interest and ultimately better resources for our users.
The next step is to create a strategy for promoting and using these tools. Although we were lucky enough to have “built it and they came”, a strategic plan is important to not only establish engagement but maintain an audience of loyal users who will come back often and participate in the conversation. More to come on that and I would love to hear the ideas of others on getting the word out.
Chris Brogan is a visionary in the social media space and has compiled this comprehensive list of tool and sites that are great for the beginner (with a few gems for everyone else). Be sure to check out the comments for more great finds. I would add the following sites to his list:
- Eons.com - social community for baby boomers (I’ve found that the question “How do we reach out to 60+ crowd?” comes up a lot.)
- Gather.com - social community for the intellectual set.
- Changents.com - connecting agents of change with backers.
- Change.org - social community for non-profits.
- Idealist.org - community and resources for non-profits.
I will add Chris’s list to my social media tools page. Please feel free to comment and help us add to the list.
I’m on several Listservs on a variety of topics. Lately, there has been a lot of discussion about managing your online persona. How much personal information is too much? How do you control what other folks are posting about you? Should you avoid social media altogether or lock down your profiles so tightly that no one can get information about you?
My take is (and always has been) - if you are going to participate in the social media space, you need to manage your brand (in this case - you name). Social media is just what the name implies - having social interaction within a media (in this case - an online platform). In order to keep your reputation in check, manage your message. Be a real person with real stories, ideas and opinions. Share the YOU that you want people to see. Sure, someone may post a photo of you at a college frat party on Facebook, but, whether you like it or not - that’s part of your life. We’re all humans behaving humanly (Brilliant!)
Now, I completely understand that privacy is an issue and certainly don’t condone posting your social security number on the side of a cargo truck. But, by putting your name, information and what you’re all about out there, it’s much easier to say “Hey - this is me.” It’s also easier to rebut any negative information about you.
In a nutshell, if you put yourself out there, manage your name and let the world know who you are - you build your personal brand, you make new friends and you grow your standing within your space.
NTEN recently launched the “We Are Media” project. Tagged The Social Media Starter Kit for Nonprofits, We Are Media focuses on strategic uses of social media for nonprofits. The project is supported by a think tank of web 2.0 strategists and consultants and will prove to be a great tool for nonprofits wanting to move into the social media space.
If you are a professional that would like to be involved in the development of the project, you are invited to participate in a number of ways:
Check the We Are Media site often for great new resources that will help your nonprofit gain exposure, grow your community and be seen!
I couldn’t decide whether to blog about this or to download these first…so I downloaded them first.
Mashable.com, my personal fave blog for social media goodies and news published a fantastic list of plug-ins for anyone running a Wordpress blog. I just downloaded the plug-ins that I didn’t have and took a pause so that I could share. Take a look at the list and let me know what you think!
20+ Must-Have Wordpress 2.5 Compatible Plug-Ins
As you may have noticed, I’m going through all my old emails and blog feeds this morning. It’s the holiday - aren’t holidays for playing catch-up?
Here is a little nugget that was sent to me and I think it does a great job of summing up LinkedIn. I have been fortunate enough to truly grow my network through LinkedIn and have not only met some great people but have made some beneficial relationships. This article helps justify why you should be there and even gives a some tips to those who are already using the service. Thanks CreativePro.com!
The Fine Art of Linking In
A Sample Blogging Workflow | chrisbrogan.com
Chris Brogan blogged recently about blogging workflow - which boils down to - you want a company or organizational blog - now what? This is really chocked full of sweet, tasty tips and advice. Thanks, Chris!
We have a Facebook Cause. We set this cause up about 6 or 8 months ago and so far have 34 members and have raised $115. We are getting ready to roll out a comprehensive social media campaign over the summer and are taking a hard look at our Facebook Cause. While large campaigns like Stop Global Warning and Save Darfur have hundreds of thousands of members, their donations seem out of line with the membership. So, what I’m seeing is that even though your cause may have a gazillion members, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are donating.
Philanthropy.com posted Is Facebook’s Fund Raising a Bust? on their blog on June 2. Clearly, there is some skepticism regarding the effectiveness of Causes for fundraising.
Frogloop from Care2 is a fantastic blog as a whole. If you are working through the ins and outs of marketing your non-profit, get a feed. Among the huge repository of information is this little nugget - a total assessment of Facebook Causes written a couple of months after it was launched. It’s very informative and includes some great tips.
We plan to continue to promote our FB Cause to see what we can get from it, but I’d like to know what experiences others are having. Please share.
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Beth consults with businesses and non-profits on social media tool selection and strategy and helps her clients find effective ways to leverage these new mediums to meet business goals.