Last year I wrote a post titled “Do Public Leaders need to be great tweeters?” (https://niceworknj.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/do-public-leaders-need-to-be-great-tweeters/) and since that time, I have been researching the role of Non-Profit leaders using this fluid medium. Twitter is an excellent tool to connect, inform, inspire and share conversations with constituents and stakeholders. However Non-Profits often struggle with swimming in this fast moving river of twitter streams.
If you are currently experiencing tweet defeat, relax, this post was written for especially for you! Here are 20 excellent “tweet” idea examples to re-energize your twitter stream:
1. Share a quick 1-minute instructional video.
2. Announce social media participation via blogs and hashtag chats. Invite followers to join the conversation!
3. Tweet “Did you know” type announcements. Consider fun trivia type questions related to your cause, mission and vision. Offer a prize or “bragging rights” to the first person to respond correctly.
4. Retweet a Gentle Giant or Social Media Ambassador aligned with your cause.
5. Welcome new Board Members to your organization with excitement and enthusiasm.
6. Send important reminders or checklists.
7. Post a “Photo of the day” aligned with your mission.
8. Retweet industry related articles, news or blogs associated with organization.
9. Post ideas and creative solutions to everyday challenges.
10. Offer support and share local resources available.
11. Be the voice of authority and try not to take your self too seriously.
12. Outcomes! Outcomes! Outcomes!
13. Mission! Mission! Mission!
14. Introduce a “Patient of the Month”, “Volunteer of the Month”, “Donor of the Month”, “Corporate Partner of the Month”, “Employee of the Month”, “Project of the Month” etc program. Make your mission personal!
15. Use twitter to engage your audience in advocacy campaigns.
16. Share related articles and interesting news from your industry.
17. Create some good twitter karma by tweeting about another non-profit organization.
18. Set up a live video stream and share it with your followers.
19. Be the calm in a storm.
20. Search on your organization name and respond to tweets that are about your organization.
My hope is that you found this blog post useful and inspiring. Please feel free to share some other examples!
I recently received an email blast from a local non-profit which painted a pretty dismal financial picture of their organization. The tone of the email message was doom and gloom. The critical request and call to action was to “send donations now”.
My immediate reaction to the message was “that’s unfortunate” and I swiftly deleted the email message.
Potential Donors support organizations for 3 reasons;
1) Personal Connection – They have a personal connection or have been personally touched by an organization. They may be a survivor themselves or know someone, lost someone or have developed a deep meaningful relationship with an organization.
2) Sphere of Influence – They have been asked to donate by someone important to them. “Friends asking Friends ” campaigns are so effective because the ask is personal and its hard to decline a request from you best friend, sis, bro, neighbor, co-worker, employer, etc.
3) Inspired to give – Donors are educated, inspired and motived to give when organizations provide a clear sense of direction, vision and mission of the organization. Organizations must propose viable solutions, implement community impact strategies, and communicate outcomes frequently with constituents.
Non Profits will never inspire donors to jump start a dying organization by asking for ” life support” funds. Forget “Fear Factor” style fundraising and get your groove back on with some Chaka Khan. Flashback to the lyrics and chorus of Chaka Khans “Tell me something Good” – tell your donors all the great things you are doing in the community, how much you love them, and appreciate their support!
I grew up with the 1970s Coke commercials believing that we could teach the world to sing in “perfect harmony”. I grew up believing that everyone could and should make a difference in their own backyard, neighborhood or local community.
Fast forward 30 years to my crazy, hectic, yet wonderful life. Where my personal and professional life often collide via ipad on the kitchen table on a Sunday morning with warm bluberry pancakes, melted butter and maple syrup.
Time spent with my family is truly a gift and my most precious commodity. How can I carve out more time to serve my local community? Enter skill based volunteering – skill based volunteering is a strategic type of volunteerism that exponentially expands the impact of non profit by incorporating a whole range of skills that strengthen the operations and services of nonprofit organizations. Volunteer projects can be completed on your own time, your own terms and from your own home.
Digital do gooders may find “perfect harmony” with Skill based volunteering!
Here are a few suggestions to support your favorite non profit organizations;
1) Create a Social Media / Digital marketing strategy
2) Tweet about a local charity event or auction
3) Share why you are passionate about a cause/non profit organization via video
4) Assist a non-profit organization with launching a youtube video channel
5) Manage and train non profit employees about the power of SEO
6) Offer to write a blog post or newletter article for your favorite cause
7) Videotape and/or photograph charity events
8) Create a template sponsorship and/ or corporate gift proposal
9) Draft a Social media policy for the organization
10) Introduce one of your peers to an organization you are passionate about
11) Create a QR code to display prominently at local events ( better yet- link to online donations)
12) Redesign their current website
13) Optimize their current website for mobile
14) Organize a ” tweet up” to create awareness and excitement
15) Share when, where and why you are commited to your cause on your facebook page
16) Create a one year content calendar for an organization
17) Create a promotional video highlighting the organizations mission, vision and values
18) Assist the organization with crafting a powerful vision and mission statement
19) Determine donors ROI and assist the organization with cost reduction strategys
20) Join a few non profit linkedin groups to answer Digital/Social Media questions in real time user group forums
Are you a Digital do gooder? Do you have any adventures in skill based volunteering to share?
She had everything… beauty, the voice of an angel, a wonderful circle of friends, and a healthy child. So sad her gifts could not bring her the same joy and happiness they brought us.
Life is such a precious gift and our time on this earth is limited. What are your gifts and how will you bring joy to others?
After several months of paralysis by analysis, I finally decided on the iPhone as my primary mobile device for 2012! I’m amazed by my new BFF “Siri” and my paparazzi powers and ability to capture the next pulitzer prize winning photo anytime and anywhere. I’ve heard people rave about iPhone applications but I never fully understood or appreciated just how many applications are available on this amazing little mobile device!
In addition to starting off the new year with my new phone, I’m also starting off the new year with some personal and professional goals. Like most people I know, my goal is to adopt some healthier eating habits and try new exercise routines in 2012. As I start to map out my plan for success, I may try a few of the innovative “healthy lifestyle” iphone apps to monitor and track my success. The choices are endless! I can count calories, track my exercise routines, monitor my pulse, pump up the volume with my favorite tunes, create exercise challenges with my circle of friends and build a reward program for myself. While most of the the mobile apps are free, they do come with a hidden price tag. The price of doing business with these free apps is sharing some of my very personal information and lifestyle choices with these companies. I may release my age, my weight, my height, my heart rate, my shoe size, my photo, my food choices, my friends, and exactly where I live, walk, run, bike, etc with the marketers behind the sneaker companies, Woman’s Health magazines and power bar manufactures. The digital marketing strategy behind these applications is pure genius to build healthier and more meaningful “relationships” with consumers. Even the non profits have stepped up their game with healthy lifestyle apps available from the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and March of Dimes.
While I dream of an iPhone app that could make me look like Halle Berry in a bikini, the reality is – that will never happen! However, I may develop a few healthier habits like drinking more water, walking more frequently and getting more sleep with my smart phone this year.
How will you develop healthier habits and/or build relationships using Digital Marketing and Mobile marketing applications in 2012?
I grew up as a blue collar kid in a small town in NJ were popularity contests were a very, very real and often painful part of growing up.
Being one of the “cool” or “popular” kids definitely had its playground perks. Having social status and a sphere of influence as a kid often meant being invited to sit with the cool kids at lunch, having your favorite seat reserved for you on the bus to school, and being protected from the blacktop bullies. It also often meant he difference between being picked first to join a team for a game of kickball at recess, or being totally humiliated by being the last one chosen for the game by the team captain (the captain was obviously a kid with high social scores and status!). I have to admit, I am all too familiar with the being humiliated and the picked last scenario as I was kind of a weird kid. I would often find myself doodling with chalk on the blacktop or digging up worms for a helpless baby bird I discovered in the outfield instead of catching the kickball.
As an adult I thought we outgrew popularity contests.
Now enter the Social Media playground where Klout Score Kings, Queens and Hos (Hos engage in “one-night stands” in which they follow lots of folks on Twitter, hoping they’ll follow back, then dump them the next day) rule the digital air we breathe and master our virtual playground. Klout measures your online influence through twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. When you create content or engage, you impact and influence others. Klout claims to be the new standard of influence and influence is the name of this game.
So much for your hard work, talent or investing in your local community. This new social status playground is cultivating cool kids through the world of social media and online influence. I’m not interested in the exclusive discounts or free gifts offered for earning high Klout scores but I’m intrigued by the notion that we may be measured by our Klout scores in the very near future. Our Klout scores may land us that all important meeting with stakeholders and decision makers who have the ability to make a difference in their back pockets.
Do you have your Klout score game face on? Are you ready to play?
We all lost a true visionary yesterday. Rest in peace Steve Jobs, a man who literally shaped and defined our future. In his honor, please take five minutes to read 2005 his Stanford University Commencement address. It’s Beautiful.
Ok Ladies…now that I have your attention, can we talk? Where have all the good men gone?
It seems to me that every time I tune into the major networks, I attempt to tune out the latest shameless behavior associated with the bad boys of Hollywood. And in this age of “equal opportunity” the woman of Hollywood are no slackers either. The bad girls of Hollywood have demonstrated that when it comes to shameless behavior, it’s an equal opportunity playing field!
So my question is…can we clone Paul Newman? Here’s a guy who served his country proudly, worked hard at honing his craft and leveraged his fame to build a small fortune for local and global charities.
Paul Newman (1925- 2008) was a talented actor, director, creative entrepreneur, humanitarian and professional race car driver. Newman co- founded Newman’s Own, a line of food products in 1982 with A.E. Hotchner. The humble brand started in his kitchen with home-made salad dressing and has grown to include pasta sauce, lemonade, popcorn, salsa, wine and other products. Newman established a policy that all proceeds, after taxes, would be donated to charity. As of 2010, the franchise has donated in excess of $300 million! And no thats not a typo, Newmans Own brand has donated over $300 million to charitable organizations! Newman co-wrote a book about the fundraising project with his partner Hotchner titled Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good.
So I have the following message to share with the bad boys and bad girls of Hollywood. If you are going shamelessy exploit yourself, can you do it for a good cause?
Seth Godin had a wonderful blog today titled
“Selling the benefits of Charity” http://bit.ly/qFaQZ9
At the end of his blog post he had a terrific pearl of wisdom that I thought I would share with you. Now I admit, I am a bit of a hoarder when it comes to “pearls of wisdom” and over the years I have collected quite a few inspirational quotes on scraps of paper that I have tacked to my home office bulletin board. In addition to the Seth Godin quote below, I have included a few of my own personal favorites. Please feel free to comment, add your own and share your favorites with me!
“I think marketers of causes that do good have a long way to go in selling the public on the core reason to give… don’t give because you get a tote bag, or a prize at the charity auction or even a plaque. The scalable unique selling proposition is that being part of the community is worth more than it costs” – Seth Godin
“Of those to whom much is given, much is required.” – John F. Kennedy
“You make a living by what you get, you make a life by what you give” – Winston Churchill
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” – Mother Theresa
“Americans, Irish people, are good at charity. We like to give, and we give a lot, even those who can’t afford it. But justice is a higher standard.”- Bono
“Celebrity is currency, so I wanted to use mine effectively.”- Bono
“I prefer to be remembered for what I have done for others, not what others have done for me”- Thomas Jefferson
“Each of us must be the change we want to see in the world” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Management is doing things right, leadership is doing the right things”- Peter F. Drucker
“What we have done for ourselves dies alone with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal” –Albert Pike
“It is only the giving of oneself to others that we truly live” – Ethel Percy Andrus
“The practice of altruism is the authentic way to live as a human being, and it is not just for religious people. As human beings, our purpose is to live meaningful lives, to develop a warm heart. There is meaning in being everyone’s friend. The real source of peace amongst our families, friends and neighbors is love and compassion”. – The Dalai Lama
“A life not lived for others is not a life.”- Mother Theresa
Niceworknj - Social Media for Non Profit Organizations 