I’ve said this before. It bears repeating. You are stuck. Yes, you. You may have been the best major gift officer on the planet five years ago. But that was then. This is now. The buying/giving market has fundamentally changed. Why it’s the end of business as usual: Donors have unlimited access to information. Yup. That’s what the digital revolution hath wrought. You can’t hide anything from folks. And they don’t need you to spoon feed it to them. So, what do they want from you? Transparency and successful outcomes from your organization. Connection and authenticity from you. Your success …
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Years ago, while working for a human services agency, I stumbled upon the fact that the most clicked-on item in our e-newsletter was the ‘Recipe of the Month.’ It really had very little to do with our mission, but we wanted to offer something ‘tasty’ that would assure folks opened our emails. The recipes were from clients, staff and volunteers; we then included a sentence or two about the relevant program. We hoped folks would come for the recipe, learn something about our mission that might intrigue them, and then stay for the meal. It worked! It’s a way we …
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Nonprofits wanting gifts should give them. Relationships work that way. And relationships count for everything. Getting and retaining donors (and, really, any type of constituent) is all about building and stewarding relationships. Satisfying, long-term relationships; not quick transactions. And lasting relationships are measured by the mutually sustaining benefits experienced by all parties over time. Give and get. TOP 10 TRUTHS (We’ll explore what to do about these truths below). The principle of reciprocity applies in spades to social media. If you use it simply to broadcast stuff about you, you’re not going to get much in return. No clicks. No …
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We’re really hung up on technology these days. And jargon. We use terms like “social media” to describe a range of practices – from digital communications to any form of customer-centered marketing that embraces the ways in which people interact, inform themselves, form communities and co-create within the current zeitgeist. Then we mix it up with terms like “social business,” tending to again describe a range of meanings – from…. social enterprise to digital business to social ecosystem to social sales. We’re confusing the heck out of ourselves, and it’s contributing to fuzzy thinking. It doesn’t so much matter what …
read moreIt’s the Engagement, Stupid: 6 Keys to Building a Blog to Strengthen Your Nonprofit’s Supporter Base
“Newspapers are just blogs that get ink on your fingers.” Stephen Colbert Blogs are media. They’re also social. They aren’t rocket science. You can build a great blog. But why would you want to? Aha! That’s the question too many nonprofits fail to ask. So ask. Seriously. Take a moment. I’ll wait. “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Lewis Carroll Nonprofit blogs may not be rocket science, but they should be rockets. Where do you want to go? If you’re being honest, my hunch is you’ll want your blog to strengthen your …
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Nonprofit marketing got a lot more complicated over the past decade as we evolved from Web 1.0 (internet) to 2.0 (social media) to 3.0 (mobile). Too many nonprofits still view the technology as largely disruptive, and potentially unnecessary [is someone in your organization still calling this a ‘fad’?]. This mindset allows folks to bury their heads in the sand, rationalizing that it’s best to ignore the digital revolution in favor of focusing on core programs and tried-and-true strategies. And this is understandable. Because despite what’s going on outside our doors, inside things haven’t changed that much. Most nonprofits continue to …
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“I just don’t think social media is worth the investment. I need to know the ROI.” If this is you, or your boss, you’re not alone. A recent study revealed that 450+ marketers across a wide variety of industries and levels of social marketing experience identified the struggle to address the question of ROI in social marketing as their number one challenge. Lack of clarity around ROI is not the only area where folks feel clueless. While we’ve pretty much managed in the past year to move beyond the sense that social media is just about letting the world know …
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On a wing and a prayer is not a strategy. It means barely managing to get the job done. Yet that’s how many nonprofits run their social media. They simply wing it. Cool? Not cool. Your constituents deserve more. You need to take control of your social media marketing with a strategic plan. Salesforce knows a thing or two about social business and put together a little infographic to show us what’s what. Here, in a nutshell, is what you must do: 1. Listen Have you assigned someone to pay attention to what folks are saying? Is someone charged with …
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STORY + CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE + VOICE = COMMUNITY Here’s a charming tale about customers becoming part of the story for the San Francisco Giants. Since I’m a huge Giants fan, I couldn’t help but be intrigued by this video interview conducted by one of the top thought leaders in social media, Brian Solis. It’s with Bryan Srabian, first social media director for the Giants, who’s been on the job just two years. From the Giants’ foray into social media come three take-aways that should inform all businesses, for profit or non profit, who wish to (1) contribute to the evolution …
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Presence is not a social media strategy. Your nonprofit social media strategy mantra should be as follows: Just as… I shouldn’t buy a drill unless I need a hole. I shouldn’t hire a cab unless I need a ride. I shouldn’t put in a new stove unless I intend to cook. I SHOULDN’T: 1. start a blog… 2. put up a FB page… 3. build Pinterest boards… 4. open a Twitter account… 5. create a LinkedIn business profile… …UNLESS I INTEND TO ENGAGE. If you’re just tinkering around the …
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The business of social business is getting big; and that’s great news for nonprofit organizations (NPOs). Sites that allow you to set up a web page and raise money online are popping up all over the internet. Sites like www.razoo.com and www.firstgiving.com are great examples of this. As I started to research this idea a little more, however, I discovered a different approach to social business and crowdsourcing with a new company called CharitySub (short for Charity Subscription). CharitySub is a self-described social business that operates on a different model than Razoo or First Giving. The company enlists members who commit …
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When nonprofit organizations (NPOs) approach fundraising there are four basic steps or stages that need to be addressed – discovery, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship. While face to face connections and personal relationships play vital roles in each stage, social media can lend a helping hand. Using social media to complement each stage can free up time for development staff and help cast a larger net for donor prospecting. Discovery Finding donors is the first step in fundraising. You can’t solicit a gift if there’s nobody around to ask. Some NPOs, like universities, have a built-in feeder system – alumni are …
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Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) around the world strive to tell their story to potential donors and volunteers every day. We strive to come up with that powerful message that will move people to action. Video is one of the most vibrant ways to paint that picture and create a lasting impact. In the past, NPOs avoided using video because it was expensive to create and challenging to broadcast. New technology and the onset of social media have changed all that. Creating video has never been easier. Just about every cell phone comes equipped with a video camera these days and free …
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Social media is a must for nonprofit organizations (NPOs). I say it every single month on this blog – NPOs have to get in the social media game if they want to stay relevant and grow their donor base with the up and coming (of age) donors. What I haven’t addressed is why NPOs shouldn’t use ALL social media networks unless they have a very large staff to manage them. So today we take a look at which social media networks are best for NPOs and why the answer isn’t all of them. The needs and target audience of a …
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Social media is everywhere these days. You can’t escape it. You really shouldn’t want to escape it. When used properly, social media can be a nonprofit’s best friend. It offers free advertising, easy promotion, and once you’ve given it a little TLC, it gives you a built in audience. The problems arise when Nonprofitss get serious enough to establish a presence online and then neglect it. Just because you forget about your online world doesn’t mean everyone else will. The good, the bad, the ugly – it all ends up online. And if your NPO isn’t hitting the airwaves quickly …
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Back to basics is a theme I’ve seen with many nonprofit organizations over the past couple of years. With the economy slow to rebound, many NPOs have found that investing money in new ideas and new platforms isn’t really the right move for right now. This also means that many NPOs have avoided jumping into social media or expanding on their use of it. The basics are good – it’s what put most large NPOs on the map. The problem is that in the ever changing landscape of business and technology, even the basics have to change a little. NPOs …
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The holiday decorations are put away and the New Year’s Eve ball has dropped. January is here and it’s traditionally a rough month for non-profit organizations. With the holidays just wrapping up, volunteers have started to down-shift and take a little time off to relax. The annual appeal gifts have tapered off and donations are trickling in at best this month. Staff may have started preparing for spring events, but corporations and personal donors won’t start thinking about contributions for another 30 days. These things make January the perfect month to get your social media plan in place for 2012. …
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Annual appeals are a staple for nonprofit organizations. We count on them to beef up our bottom line come December and use them as an avenue to stay in touch with the donors we know we can count on year after year. Unfortunately, many NPOs have become too reliant on the low lying fruit of donors and are no longer producing an annual campaign that is appealing to anyone. NPOs need an annual appeal makeover and taking your campaign online is a great place to start. Social media is one way to breathe some new life into annual campaigns. I’m …
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I recently wrote a blog for Idea Girl Media about building a strong board and what areas nonprofits should address when structuring their board. While “Non-Profit Essentials: Blocks For Building Strong Boards” addresses the “what” when building Boards, one reader commented that it’s finding the “who” that can be troublesome for small nonprofit organizations. NPOs should be striving to recruit C-level Boards (CEOs, COOs and other high ranking executives from local companies), but how do you break into that elite circle? “Recruiting high end board members is no different than cultivating potential major donors. The key is building relationships, and …
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Video may have killed the radio star, but technology hasn’t killed customer service. As non-profit organizations (NPOs) slowly begin to embrace social networking, there are still those who feel that using technology to interact with customers is impersonal and diminishes the level of service offered. Strictly relying on auto-generated responses when dealing with customers online is a bad idea, but used properly, social media can actually improve your interaction with clients. Social media opens a new door for contact with donors and volunteers. While more traditional methods of direct mail, email marketing campaigns and face to face meetings aren’t going …
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