Which Social Media Networks Should Nonprofits Use?

It's been close to three months and this blog has covered a range of topics concerning nonprofits and their social media marketing usage. I have left the hardest topic for last: what social media network should your nonprofit organization be active on? There are hundreds of charts on hundreds of websites that will lead you to hundreds of different names of social media networks. It's overwhelming, I know. As a college student and a young professional in the field, I struggle to keep updated and fluent on all the new social media networks that seem to be released as soon as I master a new one.

So bare with me because there are a multitude of things we are going to cover today in order to get you thinking about which social media network is going to engage you with your followers and hopefully! prospective customers/fans/sponsors etc.

Step 1. First and foremost, the most important question to consider is what is going to benefit your customer base/target audience. This isn't about which social media you would prefer to use or which is going to be easier to update each week. The point in choosing the right social media network is to find which one will give you the most access to your target audience. Complete market research and look at the number of people per social media network and ask:

     1. Do the demographics fit with my targeted audience?
     2. Will this be the best social network to engage and communicate with my targeted audience?
     3. Will this social media account achieve all my goals  I want to with my targeted audience?
     4. Do a large percentage of my target audience spend enough time on this social media network?

Below is an example of data based on Australian social media demographics. Before deciding on which social media your nonprofit will be most successful, organize a similar chart with research for your targeted audience demographics. If your targeted audience does not use Twitter, then it would be a waste of your nonprofit's time to try and reach your audience base on Twitter.

In addition to finding where your users are, it's important you don't solely pick a social media network because it has the highest number of active users in general. You also need to keep in mind what type of content you will be sharing and how you plan to share that content. Just because Facebook has almost 2 billion active users doesn't mean all of those users will see your posts and not all of those users will be your targeted audience or even interested in your brand at all. The social media with a high active user rate means more competition audience's attention from other brands. As a nonprofit or a company in general, you need to be 100% sure that investing your time and marketing into a specific social media will be worth your time and your reader's.

Next you have to line your research up with your target audience's demographics and their usage of social media sites with the type of content and social sharing strategy you plan to implement. As previously stated, this is based on your social media network and how your targeted audience uses social media sites. Let's say your audience is mainly males, ages 25-40, who like to share videos via social media. Your marketing strategy is not going to be created on sites such as LinkedIn, Google+, or Foursquare. You've already narrowed your social media search down by three.

It's important that when choosing which social media network to use, it fits with the type of content or advertising you plan to implement and it fits with your audience (meaning your audience spends a majority of their time on this social media site) in order to reach your targeted audience base and the content you plan to share fits with your brand.

Source: http://www.mdgadvertising.com/blog/2012-it-was-a-very-good-year-for-social-giving/

As shown in the infographic above, Facebook is a popular choice for a majority of nonprofit organizations. However, this needs to be based on your target audience.


More information on social media sites, their target audiences, budgets and estimated time constraints can be found at http://mediacause.org/social-media-networks-nonprofits/
For another great resource on social media sites and what type of content is shared and tips for how to compete for attention on a specific social media site, I found this great article:
http://www.smtusa.com/blog/posts/which-social-media-platform-should-i-use.html#.VGPb3_TF85A


If you have other great resources or tips, as always, please feel free to comment below!

Grants vs. Marketing: Which Bring in the Most Funds for Nonprofits?

The question arises concerning the proportion of time that should be spent on different funding methods on the nonprofit end. Do we have our fundraising team put more effort into our grant writing or our marketing? Which method brings in the most profits in order to do the largest amount of work under our mission? 

Nonprofit organizations use a variety of resources that make up their yearly income, however, research and surveys were reported to show the largest profit is traced back to individual charitable donation. "According to Giving USA, total charitable giving in the U.S. reached more than $298.4 billion in 2011. Of that amount 73% came from individuals." (Joanne Fritz @ http://nonprofit.about.com/od/fundraising/a/fundraising101.htm) 

Individual donations are a direct result of marketing efforts. Every time a nonprofit organization responds to a comment on Facebook, blogs about a class offered at the YMCA, or posts a tweet about an upcoming event- they are engaging audiences and building community support, which turns into individual donations. Below is a graph showing individual contributions for the year ending 2011 that again, reiterates that over 70% of charitable funding is completed through donations. 

There is a popular quote that states, "it's better to have a 100 friends then 100 dollars." Friends, or community support in this matter, are the reason philanthropic organizations are able to live out their mission. This blog is not meant to deter any nonprofit from grant writing. The point is that marketing is the drive behind the support and funding for a nonprofit. 

While social media sometimes takes the back-burner of a nonprofit's weekly agenda due to the time and budget constraints, social media is one of the biggest tools that can be used to increase attention to your organization, your mission, your event, and build your community support/network. By using social media to market your nonprofit- you will drive traffic to your website and your events. Studies show that people who attend an event or are emotionally connected are more likely to sponsor it. Using social media or marketing in general brings in more revenue and support than grant writing for a nonprofit. 

Top 5 Social Media Sites for Nonprofits

To many social media users, the type and number of social media sites out there compare to the range of fast food restaurants available. It's impossible to maintain relationships, updates, and engagements on all of them, so what are the best social media sites for nonprofits? Based on my research, I have compiled the top FIVE sites based on how their usage can positively impact nonprofits. 

1. Google +

Once you've taken the time to create your circles, you can easily update your content and it will sync with Google search results; allowing you more search engine optimization. Google + lets you easily share content, pictures, event updates, and personal donor stories about your nonprofit making this an easy social media to engage with your audiences. 

2. Flickr/Instagram

Let's face it- today people are always on the go, which translates into a need for short stories with pictures to get the message across quickly. Social media's theme focuses on visual storytelling and what better way than a picture-sharing social media site. By using Instagram or Flikr, you are able to use hashtags and share your pictures across a range of other social media sites (linkwheel). In addition to pictures, these sites also allow you to create videos, which help to grab people's attention. Post pictures of events, videos of up-coming events to get the word across, pictures to thank special donors, or certain members to engage your audiences and let them know you appreciate them. A picture is worth a thousand words and what better way to connect with your community. 

3. Twitter

Although Twitter only allows 140 characters, this is a great social media platform to tweet your upcoming events, thank donors or event participants, ask for volunteers, spread news and information about your mission, and connect with other influential nonprofits in your communities to team up for a cause. Twitter provides a huge communication platform that allows for maximum participation on social media. Your followers are able to post pictures, videos, posts, or comments on your Twitter page that help keep the conversation alive about your cause/nonprofit. 

4. Blogger/Wordpress

Blogging is an essential form of communication that every nonprofit should be engaging in on a weekly basis. Blogger or Wordpress are a different form of social media that allow you to go into more depth and detail about your nonprofit than a platform such as Twitter would allow. By utilizing Blogger, you are able to blog about news in your industry, donor stories, information regarding your cause/mission, and other things that are relevant to the worldly news. Blogging is a great way to connect with different audiences that may not be following you on Twitter or haven't heard of your organization before. By blogging about a cause, current event, community news etc. you are able to attract interested readers and prospective donors/followers. 

5. YouTube 

The last social media that every nonprofit should be engaged on is a nonprofit YouTube channel. As I mentioned before, videos are a popular form of engagement. Use video-sharing sites to inspire your viewers, measure your reach, and spread your mission to people across the globe instead of limiting your impact to your local community. 

Top 10 Popular/Influential Nonprofit Twitter Accounts

I am a senior studying Public Relations at the University of Northern Iowa. For 3.5 years now, I have been told time and time again, the importance of getting your local community influence leaders on board for every PR campaign your organization develops. Influence leaders hold a special position in communities and thus, a special position in your campaign. Influence leaders have the power to effectively gain support from others on your behalf. These leaders come from all walks of life, with different backgrounds, experiences, and influences in various groups across a community. With the support of an influence leader, you are more likely to gain earned media from a key leader in a group/community which leads to many successful outcomes.

The same goes with Twitter. Identify your influence leaders on Twitter and build a relationship with them. Whether they are influence leaders in your community or nonprofit influence leaders in the industry- these connections are important. Below is a list of the top 10 nonprofit twitter accounts. However, some of these aren't necessarily organizations, but instead news and tools for nonprofits in the industry. But it still serves to make my point.

As a nonprofit, or any organization in general, it's important you identify key influence leaders in your community and on your social media accounts in order to connect and build a relationship with them. Influence leaders are one way to gain support for a campaign. Simply, search your geographic location under "popular accounts" under your industry type on Twitter and a list of key influencers/twitter accounts related to your industry will be identified. 

In addition, here are the top 5 nonprofits on Social Media. Connect with these top five nonprofits to learn more about their successful strategies on social media. 

(Source: http://topnonprofits.com/lists/top-nonprofits-on-social-media/)

Rank	Organization	Facebook Likes	Twitter Followers
1	Ted Talks	4609381	2580528
2	National Public Radio - NPR	3606813	2331434
3	United Nations Children«s Fund (UNICEF)	3168263	2645543
4	WikiLeaks	2425191	2217414
5	Public Broadcasting Service	1775342	1876259

How Do You Define: Social Media?

With today's social media-driven society, we find ourselves increasing our multi-tasking skills as we complete the work of the day while in-tune to any and all social media account updates that create a nice "ding" on our cell phones screens. With exception to the older generations, it's complicated to find anyone not engulfed on the cell phone/iPad/computer at all breaks of the day updating social media. It's a world of connections we've created outside of our office cubicle. But when it comes to defining just what exactly social media is- we find ourselves with looking like this.

Let's begin with the most ancient sources of artifacts. According to Wikipedia- social media is the social interaction among people in which they create, share, or exchange information, ideas, and pictures/videos in virtual communities and networks.  But with social media and it's uses continuously growing in our personal lives and in the business world, this definition is the tip of the iceberg. After researching multiple websites and taking perspectives and other's personal definitions into account................................

Social media is web-based, user-driven channels that can be accessed on mobile technologies. Social media is an engaging and interactive form of communication that utilizes a web 2.0 platform that allows for two-way communication between business and its targeted publics. Social media makes the entire world a conversation platform because we, as individuals, are connected globally and defined by our participation on social media channels. Social media cannot be purchased as previous traditional marketing strategies, but instead allow participants to drive the conversation and give their input into a business's product/services. Social media is changing the way we communicate, compete, participate, market and live in our technology-driven society that revolves around the use of social media.

Definitions of social media come in all shapes, sizes,  and perspectives based on one's personal uses or position in business. Do you have a different idea/definition of social media? Please comment below and give your personal definition of social media.

6 Common Pitfalls of a Nonprofit's Social Media Campaign

In this blog my aim will be to focus on multiple common pitfalls that nonprofits forget in everyday social media campaigns and shed light on them. This list is devised of personal experience from my nonprofit clients I have worked with throughout college as well as my research I've conducted from a multitude of articles and nonprofit testimonials. Although there are numerous mistakes that could be pointed, these 6 I felt needed to be brought to the table. 

1. Using only social media account to target your audience 

As nonprofit social media beginners, how do you decide which social media is the best for your audience? How do you decide how many and which ones you should create accounts on? These questions are going to be specific to your brand and the social media behavior of your target audience. However, I think it's important to note that your audience is spread out on more than one social media account and its essential that you connect with them on different platforms. You are going to be able to reach and connect with your audiences in different ways depending on the social media. Facebook and Twitter present a great way to share short updates about your brand. Flickr and Slideshare allow you to connect with pictures and blogs allow you to create meaningful content that adds value to your community. The list is endless. The point is that you  need to understand how your audience behaviors and interacts on social media and then join the conversation.


2. Link Wheel: not linking all your social media accounts to your brand platform

If you take nothing else from this blog, please remember the most important thing in every social media campaign is to link your social media accounts to your website; creating what's called a link wheel. If your audience is directed to one social site, they should be easily connected to every social media platform controlled by your brand. When visiting your blog, Facebook page, or website, a visitor should see links to all your accounts at the top of each account in order to ensure easy access. 


3. Use an appropriate avatar to represent your social identity

A social media avatar (profile picture) is in an important representation of your social identity. It should convey the tone and message of your brand. It's important that the same or similar avatar is used across all social media accounts to convey a consistent identity for your brand. Your audience will associate this profile picture with your brand, therefore, it's important that your avatar is unique and representative. For more tips on creating the perfect avatar for your nonprofit social media platform visit the following link. (9 Tips for Choosing a Social Media Avatar)



4. Posting more than one status update a day on Facebook

I was intrigued with this next tip. The key to social media is having a presence and engaging your audience. However- I have found this pitfall spread across numerous websites/articles. Businesses who post more than one status update on Facebook a day are found to annoy its audiences. Nonprofit Tech for Good recommends that in order to avoid being hidden on your follower's news feeds, post no more than 1-2 statuses on Facebook (www.nptechforgood.com) If your nonprofit brand has any insight into this tip, I would love to hear back from you on how many posts a day on Facebook works for your target audience.

5. Storytelling vs. Content Marketing

Marketing is storytelling. People have been told this time and time again. It's the implementation of this concept we struggle with. Social media marketing is not about marketing your brand. It's about the people. This isn't the case of "build it and they will come." You need to engage in storytelling to inspire, engage and interact with your audience. Meaning no boring, cliche content marketing. "Check out our pictures on Flickr" "Like us on Facebook" posts aren't going to cut it. That doesn't elicit engagement- which doesn't lead to earned media. Sharing meaningful stories that engage your audience with your brand is how people connect. 

6. Blogging

Blogging is a small thing that not very many nonprofits are adding to their social profiles. Yet its one of the essentials. Blogging is a way to build a connection for a brand's audience. Whether it's content concerning the blog or related topics, it's important that your brand establishes a blog to create content and engage their audience. Once you've created a blog, you can then link back to your website to further the relationship and sharing of information.  The blog is not only designed to create meaningful content that adds value to your communities, but it will also build your networking on connected social media accounts. Blogging is the icing on the top of the cake to every social media campaign. 

@Hidden Cash becoming the next Social Media Phenomenon for Nonprofits

How do YOU pay it forward? Have you ever thought of using social media? If not, Twitter has a new handle on giving back at @HiddenCash that allows anyone in any area to connect and give back to their community. 

Paying it forward is one phrase that we are all familiar with, but how often do we see it happen? Every once in a blue moon we hear of a shared story on Facebook or Twitter where an older couple paid for the meal of a young family explaining how they've been in their shoes. It's a wonderful gesture that gives us butterflies. Well according to recent news sources and social media articles, this may be an upcoming phenomenon giving all people the chance to participate and pay it forward on Twitter.

@HiddenCash is twitter page that was started by Jason Buzi in May of 2014 as a way of creating "social experience for good." So how does it work? It's simple and engaging. Using the account to tweet clues, followers are led on a scavenger hunt to various locations in a specific area. The clues lead to money placed in a jar or envelope. The only criteria of the game is that you tweet a picture to the @HiddenCash twitter account and then use the money to pay it forward to other people you come across in your own life. Sounds meaningful, right?

The point is to give back the community and bring people together. Funny. That sounds like the same goal of a nonprofit organization doesn't it? Why not bring the two together? @HiddenCash could be the next solution to an awareness campaign for any nonprofit organization. Either using the @HiddenCash page or creating a similar act on your own twitter account, nonprofits could utilize this tool and have people post their picture on the brand's twitter page to gain awareness as well as spread the community love. Money or giving out specific random acts of kindness to be completed are two ideas that could be used inside this campaign.

Social media brand awareness is important, but it becomes even more of an impact when we involve the awareness of paying it forward and benefiting people in our communities. What a great way to accomplish positive goals. 

To view the @HiddenCash twitter page: 

@HiddenCash Twitter Page

To read more news articles about @HiddenCash:

http://www.wggb.com/2014/05/27/millionaire-giving-away-thousands-through-hidden-cash-game/