conferences, metrics, website innovation
Social Media Convergence
A colleague asked me for my thoughts on trends in social media today. I can sum it up in one word: convergence. From the communications sector, to measurement, policy, social data, and job responsibilities, the sector is converging. In this blog post, I walk through how social media is converging in these areas, and the forces behind convergence.
Continue Readingconferences, Online organizing, social media campaign
Real World Supporter Engagment from MomsRising and the Washington Trails Association
Sarah Francis of MomsRising.org and Loren Drummond of the Washington Trails Association shared their experiences and practices moving fans to real world action at the Nonprofit Technology Conference April 13th. The session was a mesmerizing, fascinating peek into how two brilliant organizers recruit, motivate, inspire, and engage online fans to drive change. This blog post captures their advice on how to offer value to fans, move them up the ladder of engagement, bring them into the organization, and develop a successful real world campaign.
Continue ReadingBook review, engagement, guest posts
Implementing Social Change Anytime Everywhere: Q & A with Amy Sample Ward and Allyson Kapin
Earlier this week, I posted my review of Amy Sample Ward and Allyson Kapin's new book, Social Change Anytime Everywhere. After reading the book, I sent Amy and Allyson six questions about the book, following up on some of the concepts and examples presented in the book. In the following Q&A, Amy and Allyson share their thoughts on what inspired them to write the book, how real-time web and mobile has changed how we do business internally and externally, which nonprofits are successful at building online community, what assets an organization should have in place before launching a multichannel campaign, and the investment needed to raise money online.
Continue ReadingBook review, Getting Started, social media campaign
Social Change Anytime Everywhere Book Review: A Foundation for Social Change Campaigns
If you work for, volunteer your time for, or consult to a mission-based organization, you are already thinking about using social media channels to promote it. Authors Amy Sample Ward and Allyson Kapin bring together how organizations can utilize social media channels cohesively to raise money, promote organizations, and create killer advocacy campaigns.The book is full of digestible information, appropriate for anyone working in communications, fundraising, programming, volunteer management, and leadership at an organization. This post offers an overview of the key points in the book, who should read it, and what you'll get out of it. In the a follow-up blog post, to be published Wednesday, April 10, co-authors Amy Sample Ward and Allyson Kapin answer six follow-up questions about the book, including "what inspired you to write the book," "what assets should an organization have in place before planning a multichannel campaign," and "what does it take to raise money online using social media."
Continue Readingcase studies, collaboration, conferences, presentations
Empowering Everyone To Be A Network Weaver
What if everyone who works at an organization, or cares deeply about a cause or organization, acted as a network weaver? How would that change the way that organizations communicate? How would that change how and the extent to which organizations raise funds online? That was just the conversation that I had in mind when my colleague Scott Remington and I presented a working session at the Jewish Federation Young Leadership Conference. We had one overarching goal: to empower every person in the room to become a network weaver. In this blog post, I overview the presentation and its five primary segments: redefining leadership, developing your own brand, mapping your own network, the network weaver and online fundraising, and two case studies of network weavers succeeding with online fundraising.
Continue ReadingFacebook, social networks, Twitter
Connecting and Finding Fans: The Demographics of Social Media Users
The Pew Internet and American Life Project recently published The Demographics of Social Media Users, detailing the demographics of social media users by age, ethnicity, household income, gender, urbanity, and education and platform. It's no longer enough to broadly assume that "everyone is on Facebook, professionals are on Linkedin, and women are on Pinterest." Our thinking about our online audiences, and potential fans, must be more sophisticated. If an organization works with urban youth, then look to Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter. If you want to engage young adults, think beyond Facebook to Twitter, Pinterest and Instragram. If you want to specifically attract African-American stakeholders, do not leave Twitter and Instagram out of the mix.
Continue ReadingFive Nonprofit Organizations Connecting with Tumblr
Tumblr, the visual blogging platform, is a hidden gem of the blogging world. For organizations with visual content, a younger demographic (though not a requirement), and a commitment to regular blogging, Tumblr may be the perfect blogging channel. One might think of Tumblr as "the Facebook" of blogging: highlighted quotes, idea excerpts, short videos, and photographs are the bread-and-butter staples of a Tumblr blog. This is the same kind of content which can also be used adroitly to share stories, connect with fans and stakeholders alike, and bring those stakeholders inside your organization. In this blog post, I showcase five nonprofit organizations using Tumblr to tell stories, inspire co-created content, and connect with their audiences online.
Continue ReadingGetting Started, nonprofit resources
Social Media Requires Patronage and Community
Behind every successful social media campaign is a community of partners that teach, guide, support financially and contribute to the campaign. Everyone wants to know what will "get them 5,000" likes and "how to grow really big" on social media. Organizations read about and aspire to replicate viral online campaigns such as the Kony 2012 campaign, or Blame Drew's Cancer. In this blog post, I look at the Kony 2012 video campaign, and how it complies with Gladwell's theory that creative genius needs a patron and community. Patrons and community not only support creative geniuses, but they are critical internal elements of an organization's digital communications growth and learning.
Continue Readingcommunity, presentations, social media strategy
Redefining Community Leadership for an Online World
At the North American Jewish Day School Conference, I offered a session entitled "Redefining Community Leadership for an Online World." The session explored how traditional "offline" organizations might open their communities beyond the those tied to the brick-and-mortar building, to include online fans, friends, and followers. In particular, I wanted to grapple with the sticky questions of sharing leadership, merging online community with offline, the value online leaders might bring to a bricks-and-mortar school, and for what purpose. On other words, I wanted to explore the broadest, most generous definition of "community," and the role that community can play in the development and enrichment of a traditional organization tied to a physical and geographic location. In this blog post, I consider who is the "legitimate community," how to identify and vet your online community leaders, and how to support those leaders within your virtual communities. The blog post also includes the embedded slide deck from my conference session.
Continue ReadingOnline Leadership, presentations
Leadership and Your Social Media Voice
On Tuesday, I presented a session entitled "Leadership and Your Social Media Voice" at the North American Jewish Day School Conference. Based on the conference theme of "Leading to Learn, Learning to Lead," I offered the session as a conversation-starter for educators who are thinking about or currently using social media personally on behalf of their organizations. I wanted to answer these questions through the content and conversation: Why should educational staff use social media personally yet professionally, how could translate leadership from offline to online, and could I offer a "playbook" of sorts that to design their professional online presence and voice?
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