Posts Tagged by communications
Nonprofits Report More Social Media Activity than Small Businesses
| March 22, 2013 | Posted by M. P. under Management, Technology |
VerticalResponse conducted a survey of nonprofits and small businesses on their use of social media as part of their marketing and outreach efforts. The responses indicate that more investment, in both time and resources, is being spent on social media than in prior years, but that there are challenges to keeping pace with the immediacy of mobile communications. Findings include,
- 40 percent of respondents spend 6 or more hours a week on social media tasks, with 61 percent reporting that they are spending more time on it than they did last year
- 80 percent of nonprofits surveyed reported posting on Facebook more than once a week
- 2.5 percent of respondents reported a decrease in their social media budgets, while 10 percent reported an increase
- Content curation was the top challenge for both nonprofits and small businesses
Survey results are displayed and discussed at the VerticalReponse blog.
Still Scared of Social Media?
| February 15, 2013 | Posted by M. P. under Management, Technology |
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From Noise to Signal (embed code wasn’t taking – here is the link to the original)
What is it about transparency that sounds so great in theory and gets all the heads nodding in strategy sessions but can make a nonprofit executive break out into a cold sweat as the launch or go-live date nears? Is your social media presence suffering because of fear – fear of challenge, of embarrassment, of attracting your very own internet troll?
Colleen Dilenschneider at the Know Your Own Bone blog soothes some of the anxiety felt by nonprofits around fully engaging in social media and adopting an open communications style with data and real-life examples in her post Trust your Audience: Data Debunks Nonprofit Social Media Fears. When you hide your organization from online interactions you lose the ability to receive and discuss feedback, build a reputation as an expert in your service area, and connect with those for whom social media is a primary source of information.
How did your organization face its fear of transparency, or has it?
Most Tweets Judged Unreadable. Do You Care?
| February 10, 2012 | Posted by M. P. under Management, News, Research, Technology |
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If you are attune to the social media blogs I am sure you have read the findings from the Carnegie Mellon study that state only about 36 percent of tweets are worthy of being read. According to data gathered via their website, researchers from the aforementioned Pittsburgh university as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Georgia Institute of Technology, suggest that use of this social media outlet for blanket statements, personal details or to reply to another user diminishes the tweet’s (and the tweeter’s?) worth in the eyes of other users. In fact, data show that one quarter of all tweets are outright unreadable.
I don’t mean to sound snarkish but in the end, all of those supposedly unreadable tweets were read, right?
The plainly meant-to-drain-the-blood-from-the-faces-of-communications-professionals-everywhere bottom line of the study is that most tweets are lacking, somehow. Well, I can only speak for my simple Twitter-using self but thank goodness for that! If the majority of tweets were highly rated my stream might read, “refinance Youtube hotel consolidation fares Facebook student loans kittens porn” because apparently that is what a good chunk of internet users are interested in of late (or perhaps for always, SEO is not my forte).
The authors of the report recommend that Tweeters improve their worth by never revisiting old information, keeping “pedestrian details” to themselves, adding facts to tweets and ending the whines while engaging in lots of teasing. I am hardly a social media guru but I find myself sighing heavily when reading this advice. Luckily, there has already been some decent push-back on the study from people who are social media experts, Kelvin (KC) Claveria and Miranda Miller, who state their cases (here and here) rather eloquently. Personally, I am interested in hearing from nonprofit communication and marketing folk — what are your thoughts on this study?
Will you take these suggested improvements to heart? Do you have specific criteria for what makes a tweet worthy or unworthy? What, in your view, makes a (legitimate, not spambot) tweet unreadable?
One Take on the Big Trends for Nonprofit Communications/Marketing in 2012
| January 4, 2012 | Posted by M. P. under Management, Technology |
In the video above, Vinay Bhagat, the founder of and chief strategy officer at Convio, discusses his 2012 predictions for nonprofits, specifically around marketing, communication and technology. He sees an increase in the overall influence of new (online) media and the rise of integrated marketing. In addition, peer to peer information sharing (you made it easy to share your message via various platforms in 2011, right?) will become a primary method of engaging supporters. It isn’t enough to merely have a good ask anymore, you have to affect, inspire and mobilize. Countering donor fatigue in a time of constant media messaging and management of the donor experience are also trends he sees as being key to nonprofits in the upcoming year.
His predictions are also posted at the Convio blog, The Connection Cafe.
What trend do you see playing a substantial role in nonprofit communications and marketing in 2012?
What Should NonprofitsThink About in 2012?
| December 29, 2011 | Posted by M. P. under Budget, Evaluation, Management, Technology |
Although there are glimmers of hope that things will soon “get back to normal,” my thoughts on what nonprofits should watch for in 2012 are based on the premise that no matter how much we wish it to be so, there isn’t any returning to a pre-recession world. The landscape of the sector is changing – has changed already – due to both crisis and innovation. Unfortunately, the bleak funding outlook has muted any excitement over the adoption of technologies that have resulted in more and better data visualization and engagement across sector boundaries.
These times call for nonprofits to stay true to their mission but to let go of the past, and face 2012 eager, nimble and fearless.
Showcasing Your Data
Look for the once cutting-edge trend of infographics to become even more widespread, if not the unofficial standard, in nonprofit marketing and reporting materials, while large, data-rich organizations make use of web-based interactive viewers to share information with stakeholders.
Annual reports will be stripped down and simplified, (hopefully) resulting in lower costs while allowing for a far more striking presentation of data. That said, simplified doesn’t mean simple, as telling a story via numbers, headings and brightly hued graphics may present more of a challenge than the emotive narratives we are so used to cranking out. Save those stories, including videos, to feature on your webpage and YouTube channel, and as content for e-newsletters.
The Social Media Mini-Backlash
I have heard the murmurs among nonprofit professionals that social media isn’t working as promised, or is (still) too nebulous to play a noticeable role in an organization’s strategy. It is a criticism that is due – it is even happening in the for-profit sector. After a few years of listening to experts extol the benefits of social media for nonprofits, executives want to see impact via the bottom line, not the weekly number of followers, likes or re-tweets. So, cue the new meme: perhaps nonprofits shouldn’t put SO many of their eggs in the social media basket and instead concentrate on tried and true traditional methods of communications and fundraising.
Well, before you cancel your Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and Constant Contact accounts and run to the mimeograph machine…
Social media utilization is, no must be, part of the organizational culture, modeled from the top down and integrated across departments/sites/states/etc. Take a pause in early 2012 to revisit your strategy and social media’s place in it. Work in small feedback loops so that you have the ability to experiment with the technology and messaging methods to find what works best for you, but do not, please do not let your accounts go silent.
There is not going to be a hot new trend that people will abandon it for, social media will change and diversify, but it will not go away. Frankly, it should be utilized more and in tandem with email and other communications, marketing and fundraising tools.
Shifting Structures
Fiscal constraints may have finally done what years of cautionary tales of nonprofits inadvertently drifting into the silo mentality could not: the merging of departments, and likewise, goals, strategies and priorities. Since they were already changing the organizational charts, some also tweaked their traditional hierarchies to those with more horizontal communication.
The move toward the non-hierarchical models will continue, particularly in new nonprofits. In preparing this post, I was surprised to find that many service and advocacy organizations highlight their non-traditional organizational structures in copy and hiring pitches. This slow but steady shift is a major managerial trend to watch over the next decade. Will established agencies, leaders and board members accept a team-based linear model featuring open dialogue, collaborative efforts, and transparency?
In 2012 we may also see social media have a larger internal presence in nonprofits (especially large, multi-site organizations) as a way for leadership, staff and volunteers to share information, collaborate on ideas and work as communities or teams connected to the larger hub. The possibilities of such a concept are laid out by Shawn Graham in his piece Using Social Media To Improve Employee Communication, Collaboration, And Even Compensation (at the Fast Company Blog) about Shopify’s UNICORN, their on-site social network.
Everything Evidence-Based
Funder demand for anything deemed evidence-based continues to grow, although the misuse of that term and its direct linkage to program funds have caused it to be viewed with suspicion by some in the sector. With nonprofits already cutting budgets, future government funding in jeopardy, and the need for services on the rise, expect accountability to center on realistic expectations of what can and should be collected, analyzed and reported in a timely manner.
Foundations will continue to the lead the way in improving evaluation capacity in nonprofits, encouraging it to become part of the culture rather than handled by one department or only utilized for grant-funded projects. Luckily, this role also provides them with the opportunity to learn of any misapplication of evidence-based programs – those used in an environment and/or with a target population divergent from that which was intended, or watered down to make service implementation quicker and cheaper. Service agencies and foundations have a responsibility to the community and the sector to guard against this practice.
Sector Overlap and A(nother?) Leadership Gap
Nonprofits will find increased competition for the next generation of passionate, service-focused leaders as the popularity of corporate social responsibility programs and non-government organizations (NGOs), and opportunities for social entrepreneurs continue to grow. We have only scratched the surface in exploring potential collaboration and funding patterns, and future downturns or austerity measures will keep this topic at the forefront of planning discussions. While young talent may have gotten their feet wet in the traditional nonprofit sector through volunteering, internships or entry-level positions, the sectors are blending, and it is no longer the only way to work for social change.
The 2011 Daring to Lead study reported that 58 percent of nonprofit executives felt depleted by interactions with government funders. Would it really be a surprise, then, if up-and-coming nonprofit stars choose against the continuous struggle for government funding and opted for a leadership role at privately backed or hybrid programs?
One last note on what to watch in 2012: keep an eye on the Occupy movement. If their applications for nonprofit status are approved, they become part of the sector, a peer, and potential collaborator or competitor for donor attention and other resources
Social Media Strategies from the Occupy Movement
| December 16, 2011 | Posted by M. P. under Management, News, Technology |
Regardless of your opinion of its purpose or participants, there are some lessons to be taken from the grassroots, decentralized, “leaderless” Occupy moment’s messaging and outreach tactics. Social media played an enormous role not only in connecting the various Occupy camps that popped up in cities across the nation but in bringing them to the attention of the media and eventually the general public.
Below is an interview from October with a social media star (@grimwomyn) in the Occupy movement (from the fundraisinginfo Youtube channel) that is worth a listen, especially if you are with a fledgling nonprofit looking at how to best leverage a small staff and an even smaller budget to engage with your audience. This is a fascinating case study of sorts that nonprofits should be paying attention to.
A point that has stayed with me since I watched the video a week or so ago was one @grimwomyn made about measurement on the fly. While they were not collecting social media metrics at the time, Occupy was paying attention to what was “out there” because, “Ultimately, the way anything online is happening now – you’re only as good as the people who are talking about you and what they are saying.” Which leads me to wonder: how many nonprofits report all sorts of social media metrics to leadership each quarter but couldn’t tell you what was being said about them online just this week?
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