alyssagardina.com - non-profits

Social Media: I'm giving you one (or several!) good reasons

agardina — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:36:20 +0000

Growing up, my dad and I would always read Prince Valiant in the Sunday Comics. I never got that into it, but I vividly remember one comic, where Prince Valiant has to ask a difficult, almost unanswerable, question. He asks, simply, "Why?" The villian, unable to answer, gave up. The answer?

Because.

Why should you give social media a shot? Because! Okay, there are more detailed answers than that, but, when it comes down to it, social media is a great thing to try - it requires minimal financial investment and there are tons of resources online (like this site!) to help you along the way! More specifically:

Why blog?
Blogging is a great way to tell a story. It's easy to incorporate photos, videos and links, so you can connect it to other sites. Many organizations integrate their blog with their website. You can add several authors to a blog, so each person in the organization has a chance to contribute.

Why Twitter?
Reason #1 is because you can't afford not to. In the past year, Twitter's unique visitor count has grown 1,192.13%. Granted, user accounts are being opened and abandoned at high rate as well, but it's still growing - and is now the #3 social media network. Plus, Twitter's benefits, from conversations to a wide range of user search and metrics functions, make it a great place to start a social media campaign.

Why Facebook?
If you're going to start anywhere and you want something quick and easy, try Facebook's Pages. Facebook's system allows you to add information easily and select applications that are right for your page. The pages system was recently reworked, making it very similar to Twitter.

Why Flickr/YouTube/Vimeo/Blip.TV/etc.?
Odds are, your organization has a camera (whether it's 5 years old or older remains to be seen) or maybe even a camcorder. Start taking it with you to events and uploading what you capture. Your videos may be dark, your images blurry, but having a multimedia presence is more important than your photography skills. Plus, if your photos and videos are a hit, all the more reason to put in a reqeust for some new equipment!

Why social bookmarking?
Social bookmarking is just like regular bookmarking. If you're already using the tools your Internet browser provides, it's just one small step from there to sharing what you're saving. Start an account on Delicious or StumbleUpon and install the right Firefox add-on. (You are using Firefox, right?) Now you're bookmarking and sharing.

So go give it a try! Really! Got questions? Leave a comment or contact me!

Technology Terms Translated: Social Media in Plain English

agardina — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:17:50 +0000

I'll never forget the day I told my boss that we should probably be on Twitter. Actually, I may have said, "We should be Twittering!" - this always results in a raised eyebrow and a question as to whether the word "Twittering" is work-appropriate. If you've ever had a conversation like this, you know that social media technologies aren't easy to define. Thus, I present to you a Social Media to English dictionary, so the next time someone tells you that your organization should "do a blog", you can send them here!

Blogging
A blog is anything from an online journal to a series of articles ordered in a chronological fashion. Blog entries or posts are invidiual articles that often include photos, video and links. Popular blog platforms include Blogger and Wordpress.These are free tools, but can be improved for a very low cost. Blog readers will often subscribe to your blog and read it on another website, such as Google Reader.

RSS Feeds
On a related note, a quick definition of RSS Feeds. They're lifesavers. RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication" and is a way for your readers to add your blog or podcasts to a website that automatically updates when you post.

Twitter
Twitter is completely its own entity. Some describe it as "micro-blogging" (as in, blogging in 140 characters or less), but it's much more collaborative than that. It's a cross between a blog, an away message and a conversation with a random person on the street. You can request a good Twitter how-to guide (free!) here. I'll go into more depth about Twitter in the future, but, in the meantime, try it out! Make a bio with a personal twist and use Twitter search to find people who are talking about your organization or your topic (i.e. Washington D.C. food banks).

Other basic Twitter terms:

Tweet: a message published on Twitter
DM: Direct message, or message that's sent to the user and not visible on Twitter
"@" or "at": A reply that's visible to others on Twitter but specially notifies the user whose name comes after @ (for example: @agardina would be a message that I would see!)
RT: Retweet. Sharing a link or a message that someone has already "tweeted" (see definition 1!)

Facebook
It's way more than college kids. Facebook's average users now include high schoolers, Baby Boomers, and everyone in between. It's a social network where people connect by "friending", or requesting a friendship with someone. Facebook also offers applications, pages and groups - all of which can be used for your organization! Pages share information, photos and events about your organization and allow Facebook members to become Fans and receive updates.

Podcasts
A podcast is an audio or video file that's distributed via the Internet. Similar to blogs, podcasts are shared and people can subscribe online or using a program like iTunes. While the term "podcast" makes it sound like this media is only meant for iPods, don't let that fool you! You can listen to podcasts on your computer, on any MP3 player and on many mobile phones! Podcasts are great for sharing interviews, providing audio tours, or putting together quick video pieces.

Social Bookmarking
I'm sure you've bookmarked something in the past - social bookmarking just shares those links you save with the public. Tools like Delicious, StumbleUpon and Digg help you share your content with a larger audience.

I know I've left something out - leave a comment with what I've missed or fill out the contact form and I'll get back to you with more info!

Trunk and Branches - Social Media Strategy for Rookies

agardina — Mon, 04 May 2009 02:54:31 +0000

Starting a social media campaign is a lot like planting a tree. You have to start somewhere, and it's best to start with your roots. Your mission statement, your current audience, your beliefs - no matter what you do in a non-profit, it should always come back to these fundamentals. Let's take a look at what I call the "trunk and branches" approach to social media:

This is an example of a social media tree that I've been working on for The Women's Museum. When you're just starting off on a social media campaign, it's important to have a hub that you focus on. For us, it's been Twitter, where we've built our audience and found brand evangelists that will share our message as well as our other social media initiatives. From there, we drive traffic to our other initiatives in a useful way. We don't just say "Become a fan on Facebook!" but instead say "We have this program coming up, click here for more information". This also allows us to use Facebook's RSVP tool to keep track of attendees. As another example, the response rate for the message "Check out photos from this recent event" gets a much higher click-through rate than "Here's our Flickr page". When trying to drive traffic to your other sites, always remain conversational and specific.

If you're just starting a social media campaign, take some time to strategize. Think of where your target audience is and what tools you think you can use most effectively. If you have a ton of b-roll footage, maybe your best bet is using YouTube. If you have a more long-form story to tell, try a blog.

Growth & Expansion
With a good strategy, growth via social media is all but guaranteed. After you've dedicated sufficient time to building this tree and its branches, you may be able to create another tree with your strongest components. For example, if you've been using Twitter, but you now have a completely separate audience that's going straight to your blog, that's your second tree. Speak to both of those audiences with your message, but deliver it in a way that's suitable to them. Twitter users may want brief snapshots, but blog readers want more of a story, with photos, videos, quotes, etc.

What do you think of the social media tree? What's your trunk? Have you started "branching out"?

Non-Profits on Twitter - Figuring Out the Basics

siteadmin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:54:29 +0000

My foray into social media (beyond using Facebook to "friend" people I haven't seen since middle school) began very very late. Over the past summer, I tried out Twitter with my own personal account. In June, I began working for The Women's Museum, a national women's history museum in Dallas, Texas. I did some research and, in October, told my boss that I wanted to Twitter. The following conversation ensued.

Me: I'd like to start a Twitter account for the Museum. I think it will help with our awareness.
Boss: You want to WHAT?
Me: ...

Thus, our Twitter account (and the related innuendo comments) was born. It's been a journey of trial and error, and we currently have over 3,000 followers built through a completely grassroots network. I'm not going to tell anyone how to get that many followers overnight or the exact steps to success. Because, to tell the truth, I don't know them. I don't think anyone else does either - social media is still relatively new, and we're all still feeling our way through it and seeing how it goes. I will share where we faltered and where we succeeded, in hopes that I can help other non-profits and museums who want to start building relationships on these networks.

To start, I think that non-profits stand to gain more from social media than just about any other user. In a world of shrinking financial means, non-profits continue to have to find affordable ways to market themselves and communicate with their audiences. Social media, give or take a Flickr membership and some staff time, is essentially free. Add to that the fact that non-profits don't just market and don't just advertise - getting awareness of your organization is all about relationships. Social media has been more effective than our website could ever be. I'm there to answer questions, receive feedback and ask for opinions. It's helped with our exhibits, our programs and even gotten us answers to some of our IT questions.