Social Media For Non-profits

I’ve been doing some research lately on social media and how it can be used to help non-profits. This is one area in which I have a lot of interest since I’ve recently joined the board of a local group called Life’s Kitchen, which helps at-risk young adults. Unfortunately for my waistline, they make a mean bisque.

Some great links to check out:

• Charities and Non-Profits on Twitter
• Social Media for Social Causes Study: The Results
• 5 Events That Have Used Social Media for a Good Cause
• Digital Charity Toolbox: 50+ Ways to Get Your “Give” On

http://mashable.com/2009/03/19/twitter-nonprofits/

Social Media for Social Causes Study: The Results

http://mashable.com/2009/03/26/social-media-nonprofit-study/

5 Events That Have Used Social Media for a Good Cause

http://mashable.com/2009/04/02/social-media-charity-events/

DIGITAL CHARITY TOOLBOX: 50+ Ways to Get Your “Give” On

http://mashable.com/2008/12/17/digital-charities/

 Do you have any other examples of how non-profits can use social media?

 

Rebranding Me

I have an admission to make. I was wrong. But I’ve learned a valuable lesson from it. Branding me is hard.

For the last two years I’ve been working under the business name of Lion’s Tooth Marketing. I chose the name in a hurry and didn’t expect it to get far, figuring that inspiration would strike and, voila, I’d have a new name. Not so. Over time, I established myself with new clients as a channel and community expert under the Lion’s Tooth brand. It has a good story, which relates to social media, but it isn’t one that doesn’t translate well in an elevator pitch.

I prefer a brand to mean something, to my clients, myself and my colleagues. Like a surgeon attempting to operate on himself, there’s nothing harder than coming up with your own brand identity. 

After brainstorming, bouncing ideas off of respected colleagues and really working on something that was meaningful, I renamed the business Meshwork Marketing. I’m excited to announce that my official identity and site will go live in June 2009. I’ll keep this blog here, but once the new site’s live, I’ll roll the content over and grow it from there. I hope you’ll join me.

PS — the new site will rely on my favorite blogging platform, WordPress.

 

Social Media Vomit

Please stop puking. I need to get these gripes off of my chest and I’m doing this for the good of my fellow Tweeters. I’ll probably lose a bunch of followers, be de-Friended in Facebook and get scathing comments on my blog, but it’s to everyone’s benefit. I’m willing to take the risk.

First, don’t Tweet about how cool your company or brand is. I’m following you because I’m interested in you, think you have something unique to share, have already bought into what/who you are, and may want to RT your Tweet. 

Second, don’t try to sell me on your real estate, insurance, chocolates (yes, chocolate) or some MLM program. I get enough solicitations in the mail and at work after regretfully adding my cell number to the local chamber business list. If you’re an expert in your field and I want your services, I want to know more about what you’re thinking, your industry trends, and how you approach your field. 

Third, think about your audience. Don’t be an amateur by vomiting useless information. Be relevant. Be informative. Share. Be cool.

Comments?

 

Finding Utility in the Jumble of Tweeted Thoughts

I always enjoy getting these questions from the Twittercurious — “What’s Twitter and what does it do? Isn’t it a big waste of time? How do you keep up?” I respond with “What do you have to say and what do you want to know?”

Sure, Twitter cold be a time-wasting utility. But it’s not if you manage your time and efforts well. You have to be focused. Like I tell my clients — stay focused on the message, not the medium. The true value in Twitter is understanding what you want to say that’s relevant to your followers, and knowing what you want to get out of it. 

My social media-focused colleagues and I find Twitter useful for sharing marketing information, new social media tools, giving props to each other for their achievements with clients, and much more. I also like to follow news sources, from global to local. I love the guy who Tweets local speed traps around downtown Boise. And I’m exploring the utility in Twitter for non-profits. It’s a great tool for engaging donors with updates on fundraising, industry statistics that reinforce the need for your organization and achievements. Here are some interesting perspectives on Twitter in The New York Times. And here are 13 Twitter Tips and Tutorials for Beginners.

How do you make Twitter useful in your personal and professional lives?

 

Making Your Own Podcast

Producing podcasts are fun, position you as a subject-matter expert, and are helpful in driving traffic to your site. Before recording one, consider a few things:

• Listen First — Download podcasts and listen to what others in your field are talking about. Like blogging, is there important information you can share with others? Where to search? Start with iTunes. 
• Frequency — Will your podcast be a one-off or part of a series?
• Length — Keep your podcasts short — 1 to 3 minutes in length is about right. Some podcasts are longer, such as radio programming and recorded webinars.
• Quality — The quality of your podcast should match your brand. If you’re about quality, do it right. I’ve listened to some great informational podcasts, but have been turned off to some that are not focused in content and feature terrible sound quality.
• Timing — Expect to spend about 20 minutes per published minute when producing your podcast. Apple has some great podcast tools onboard.
• Talent — If you’re considering a series of podcasts, create, or pay a service, to develop custom bumpers (the front- and back-end of a podcast). They create a sense of consistency and a unique format that’s all yours. I like to use this talented Boise-based artist, Jim Poston.
• Music —  Unless you created the music yourself, seek out royalty-free or podsafe music. You can find lots of resources online. 

Here are two podcasts I produced for a local synagogue, which have sealed the deal for a lot of people looking to move to Boise, ID. If you need more information, comment on this post and I’ll get right back to you.

 

Your Web Site Isn’t Enough

Your web site is your calling card on the internet. It’s out there among millions of other sites. Today, a web site isn’t enough. How do you draw more customers, make it stand out among the rest and increase its rank in search engine results? Part of the answer lies in using social media. Before diving into social media, develop a strategy. 

Ask Yourself

• What problem(s) am I trying to solve?
• Do I want to increase my sales?
• To how many audiences am I communicating (e.g. B2B, B2C, product segments, etc.)?
• Do I possess specialized knowledge that I can share, without giving away the farm, that positions me as a knowledge expert in my field/region/business?
• What do I want to achieve through social media? 
• Can I afford 1-2 hours a week focused on my social media efforts?
• What tools will I use to measure the success of my social media efforts?

Together, these questions should lead up to a strategy, regardless of whether social media is part of your efforts or not.

 Social Media Strategy

Your social media strategy should revolve around your web site. Your strategy could include the following tools to direct traffic back to your site:

• LinkedIn (a tool for business contacts or B2B prospecting)
• Facebook, MySpace, Ning, Tumblr (tools for building a community around your product or brand)
• Twitter (a microblogging tool limited to 140 characters)
• Blogs (used for knowledge sharing, announcements, podcasting and more)

Read more about some of the tools we recommend to Meshwork Marketing customers. Remember, social media is no silver bullet, but it will engage you in the conversation around your product/brand/specialty. And social media will position you as the subject-matter expert in your field; generate fresh content for your site; and play a strong role in boosting your site’s page rank in search engines.

 

What’s RSS?

This is a quick technical RSS overview so you understand the technology behind social media. This blog is RSS-enabled. RSS is an acronym for Real Simple Syndication — a standardized XML file format that allows information to be published once and viewed by many different programs. You ask, “So what?” 

Hot Off The Press

Say you like to read the latest on gardening. An RSS feed is like a publisher sending you a customized magazine every day, with the latest blog posts, podcasts, videos, opinions and news about gardening.

How do you know if a site is RSS-enabled? Take a look at the address bar in your browser. Look to the right side of the bar. See the blue RSS or orange box ?

Subscribe To A Feed

Click on the blue RSS or orange box to see the RSS feed link. Copy that link and paste it into your RSS reader or aggregator. The RSS reader checks the user’s subscribed feeds regularly for new work, downloads any updates that it finds, and provides a user interface to monitor and read the feeds. 

If your web site is RSS-enabled, readers eager for the latest updates on your web site can program their RSS reader or aggregator (e.g., your browser, Yahoo, iGoogle, Google Reader, etc.) to pick up the latest posts or feeds from your web site, blog, podcast, Tweet, etc.

 

Do You Blog?

As defined in Wikipedia, a blog is a type of web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Be The Blog

If you’re selling a product or passionate about something, you should blog. It’s a way of promoting yourself as a subject-matter expert. As a colleague of mine once said, “Blogging makes people smarter.” Blogging forces you to be clear about what you’re saying. And it forces you to be honest since you may get called on an inaccuracy. But it ultimately stimulates dialogue, engages people and builds community. 

New To Blogging?

Try WordPress.com. You can start a blog, practice with the tools and set up a somewhat custom domain name (like the one up in your address bar — meshworkmarketing.wordpress.com). If you like what you see, buy a custom domain and hosting on which to host your blog.

Short On Ideas?

Sometimes the ideas or latest news don’t come to you through searches or links sent by colleagues. Or you get blogger’s block. No sweat. Like Google keyword searches, sign up for free Google Alerts and get daily news and information by e-mail.

Engage Now

Get out there. Read other blogs. Learn something. Argue. Discuss. Post links. Have fun.

 

Do You Have A Social Media Strategy?

I’m oftentimes asked how businesses can market their products on MyFace or SpaceBook (kidding). They want to use Twitter to announce a new product or tell the world how cool they are. They get obsessed with collecting hundreds, if not thousands, of Twitter followers (this is not necessarily good). Or their competitors are doing it so they must get into it.

Before jumping in, ask yourself “Why do I think social media is my solution?” After digging deeper, you’ll likely find that social media is part of the solution, not the solution.

On the other hand, if you think you have a solid reason for getting into social media, answer these questions:

• Have you defined your target audience?
• Do you have a social media strategy that’s consistent with your brand?
• Do you fully understand how each of the social media tools work (e.g., Twitter, blogs, Facebook, MySpace, Ning, LinkedIn, Orkut, etc.)?
• Do you know which tools will work for your needs?
• Can you consistently dedicate two or more hours a week to your social media effort?
• Do you have metrics in place to measure the success of your efforts?

If you answered no to more than one of these, get some professional social media help. Before getting wowed by a potential social media partnership,  their presentation, charm, shiny offices, etc., ask a few key questions:

• Do they have a measurable approach to establishing your social media strategy?
• Will you receive reporting against your defined metrics?

If you get solid information to those questions, you should be in good hands. Interview more than one agency or social media expert. If you’re not sure what you’re getting into, give Meshwork Marketing a call.

Finally, here’s a quick read from Seth Godin on The Pillars of Social Media Site Success.

 

Getting Sticky – Optimizing For Search Engines

Sticky is about attracting customers and boosting your rankings in search engine results. 

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a principal used to drive more traffic to your site based on keyword searches in search engines (Yahoo, Google, AltaVista). The assumption is that the higher your relevance to the search, the more likely you’ll show up in the first few search results pages. 

Search engine result rankings aren’t solely due to page clicks or the number of keyword searches associated with your product or brand. Optimizing your content for searches is more complex and best left to the experts if you want results. Rather, here are a few tips to increase your site’s stickiness. 

• Keep your content fresh. Publish regularly and often. And repurpose content. Say you have a speaking engagement coming up. Record it (video and audio). Following your presentation, publish your PowerPoint; a PDF version of the PowerPoint; a recording of it (via vidcast or podcast); and a transcript of that vidcast/podcast. 
• Keep your content relevant. Know what keywords are relevant to your audience. When you post new videos, podcasts, blog pages, presentations, white papers, etc., use those keywords regularly in the content and page tags.

You could say that stickiness is a little like honey. If it’s fresh and your customer’s a bear, then it’s relevant. Looking for qualified and in-depth SEO help? Let us know.

 

The Facebook Business Page

Facebook and other social networking sites are great tools for your business. Use them to connect with people who wouldn’t otherwise find your business, build a community and spread the word. 

Make A Personal Connection

Remember, Facebook is about making personal connections, so having a face to your business is a sincere and authentic way to promote your business. Facebook works this way — you set up a personal profile (it’s about you). From there, you set up a business page (it’s another Facebook profile about your business). Add some friends (search for friends one person at a time, or upload a .csv file of your e-mail list) and invite them to “friend” you. After that, invite them, or share, your business profile with your friends. Two examples of business pages include Safety For Toddlers and the WaterCooler. 

Business-only

Some companies have bypassed creating a personal Facebook page by registering a personal profile as a business. Nothing’s terribly wrong with the tactic, but Facebook could cancel your account. And until recently, there were great personal profile features that were unavailable to business users. 

Analyze and Advertise

The last benefit to setting up a business page is the ability to review analytics on who’s visiting your page, as well as advertise on a click or impression basis. The analytics are particularly useful for analyzing spikes in visitors and correlating those with your site’s activities.

Keeping It Fresh

Being active is important — it produces fresh content. Post product updates, business updates, news, discussion topics, events and videos to your Facebook business page. Get your customers engaged in the conversation by asking for their opinions.

Spread the Word

And remember, drive your customers to Facebook by letting them know you’re there. Add a Facebook profile badge to your outgoing e-mails, to your home page, and more.

 

Twitter – The Microblog

When I’m asked to talk about social media and get around to talking about Twitter, the first question I get is “Please tell me what Twitter’s all about. I don’t get it.”

Twitter defines itself as the following: “Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages.  People write short updates, often called “tweets”  of 140 characters or fewer.  These messages are posted to your profile or your blog, sent to your followers, and are searchable on Twitter search.”

Why Tweet?

Think of Twitter as a microblog — you can “tweet” on any subject that you think’s appropriate for your followers. What’s on your mind? Did you find a great article on an interesting subject? What are you doing? Start following friends, politicians, celebrities, musicians, news agencies and more. Get a feel for what you think’s relevant and start tweeting. And retweet posts you think your followers will enjoy. 

Download TweetDeck and you’ll quickly improve your Twitter experience with shortened URLs, columns to sort your friends, categories, replies, direct messages and searches.

 

Marketing For Real Estate Agents (and Lawyers, too)

Let me share a real life story with you (the names have been changed to protect the innocent who should be reading this). Two months ago, we were looking for a real estate agent to sell our home. After a nightmare selling our last house, we took the time to interview a bunch of prospective agents to represent out property (contact me if you’d like a copy of our questionnaire).

We whittled our choice down to two agents. Our top choice was solid, but choice No. 2 had a compelling selling story. She was an agent for a local firm, but her business card noted that she was from Sell Your Home For A Lot Properties. We first went to the firm’s site and searched all forms of her name to no avail. We then Googled her name, her company name, etc. and found nothing. Due to the lack of information, we selected our first group.

The lesson here: if you’re working for a big company, and have your own company as an agent for that big company, have your business information together online. That means that if you are marketing yourself as SuperAgent@SellYourPropertiesForALot.com, make sure you have a domain presence that brands yourself correctly. In other words, make sure people can find you quickly. 

My other peeve, is that agents oftentimes don’t want to use their big company domain as their regular e-mail address. Instead, they use their home e-mail address. Who are you marketing — yourself or msn.com, yahoo.com, cableone.com, etc.? Be professional. If you don’t know how, ask me. Again, I can help you look great. 

Bottom line: You look more professional, you brand yourself or your company, and you’re easily searchable by anyone in or outside of your area that’s looking for a home marketing pro in your area.

Have you seen something like this in other professions?

Let me share a real life story with you (the names have been changed to protect the innocent but should be reading this). Two months ago, we were looking for a real estate agent to sell our home. After a nightmare experiencing the sale of our last house, we took the time to interview a bunch of prospective agents to represent out property (e-mail me if you’d like a copy of our questionnaire). We whittled our choice down to two following our meetings with them. Our top choice was solid, but choice No. 2 had a compelling story. She was an agent for a local firm, but her business card noted that she was from Sell Your Home For A Lot Properties. We first went to the firm’s site and searched all forms of her name to no avail. We then went to SellYourPropertiesForALot.com and couldn’t find the site. We then Googled her name, her company name, etc. and found nothing. Due to the lack of information, we selected our first group.

The lesson here: if you’re working for a big company, and have your own company as an agent for that first company, have your business information together online. That means that if you are marketing yourself as SuperAgent@SellYourPropertiesForALot.com, make sure you have a domain presence that brands yourself correctly. In other words, make sure people can find you quickly. I can help you, affordably.

My other peeve, is that agents oftentimes don’t want to use their big company domain as their regular e-mail address. Instead, they use their home e-mail address. Who are you marketing — yourself, msn.com, yahoo.com, cableone.com, etc.? Be professional. If you don’t know how, ask me. Again, I can help you look great. 

You look more professional, you brand yourself or your company, and you’re easily searchable by anyone in or outside of your area that’s looking for a home marketing pro in your area.

 

Blogging and Your Business

I’m a huge fan of blogging. In fact, I manage four blogs. That might be a little excessive for most, but I enjoy getting readers involved. Most people thing about MySpace when they think about blogging. Blogs are great for social networking and they can be a very productive tool that complements your marketing efforts, as well as enhances the “stickiness” of your web site in relation to search engines. Now, before you head off and create a blog filled with ads and copies of your press releases with the expectation that you’ll get to the first page of a Google search, you have to consider a few things.

Blogs generate interest if you’re sincere about your industry or market. Readers are turned off to viewing blogs full of PR spin. It’s a total buzz kill. Think about your customers — would they spend more time reading a collection of your ads or press releases, or reading about how your expertise can help them succeed in their efforts? I’m not talking about giving away the farm in terms of your knowledge, expertise or services. I’m talking about giving your customers a sense of community in which they can interact and comment on your productive opinions in your industry.

For example, one client of mine is a wine and cigar bar. We’re integrating a blog into their web site. A great use of their blog is to use it as a forum for reporting on wines and cigars that they’ve recently tasted or smoked. If I were a customer, or prospective customer, I’d enjoy reading about the latest tastings and arming myself with the knowledge to make a good buy — hopefully in the blogger’s establishment. The blog would build credibility and authenticity with the wine and cigar bar’s patrons. And they can be active participants in the bar’s “community” by discussing the bloggers experiences — fostering evangelists for their business.

In my following posts, I’ll write about content as it relates to optimizing your site for search engines. Later, I’ll share more about making your blog your primary customer communication vehicle, as well as some quick (and free) ways to get the word out about your blog.

In the meantime, let me know your thoughts about blogging and customer communications tools.I’m a huge fan of blogging. In fact, I manage four blogs. That might be a little excessive for most, but I enjoy getting readers involved. Most people thing about MySpace when they think about blogging. Blogs are great for social networking and they can be a very productive tool that complements your marketing efforts, as well as enhances the “stickiness” of your web site in relation to search engines. Now, before you head off and create a blog filled with ads and copies of your press releases with the expectation that you’ll get to the first page of a Google search, you have to consider a few things.

Blogs generate interest if you’re sincere about your industry or market. Readers are turned off to viewing blogs full of PR spin. It’s a total buzz kill. Think about your customers — would they spend more time reading a collection of your ads or press releases, or reading about how your expertise can help them succeed in their efforts? I’m not talking about giving away the farm in terms of your knowledge, expertise or services. I’m talking about giving your customers a sense of community in which they can interact and comment on your productive opinions in your industry.

For example, one client of mine is a wine and cigar bar. We’re integrating a blog into their web site. A great use of their blog is to use it as a forum for reporting on wines and cigars that they’ve recently tasted or smoked. If I were a customer, or prospective customer, I’d enjoy reading about the latest tastings and arming myself with the knowledge to make a good buy — hopefully in the blogger’s establishment. The blog would build credibility and authenticity with the wine and cigar bar’s patrons. And they can be active participants in the bar’s “community” by discussing the bloggers experiences — fostering evangelists for their business.

In my following posts, I’ll write about content as it relates to optimizing your site for search engines. Later, I’ll share more about making your blog your primary customer communication vehicle, as well as some quick (and free) ways to get the word out about your blog.

In the meantime, let me know your thoughts about blogging and customer communications tools.

I’m a huge fan of blogging. In fact, I manage four blogs but will reduce that to two. That might be a little excessive for most, but I enjoy getting readers involved. Blogs are great for social networking and they can be a very productive tool that complements your marketing efforts, as well as enhances the “stickiness” of your web site in relation to search engines. Now, before you head off and create a blog filled with ads and copies of your press releases with the expectation that you’ll get to the first page of a Google search, you have to consider a few things.

Blogs generate interest if you’re sincere about your industry or market. Readers are turned off to viewing blogs full of PR spin. It’s a total buzz kill. Think about your customers — would they spend more time reading a collection of your ads or press releases, or reading about how your expertise can help them succeed in their efforts? I’m not talking about giving away the farm in terms of your knowledge, expertise or services. I’m talking about giving your customers a sense of community in which they can interact and comment on your productive opinions in your industry.

For example, one client of mine owns a wine and cigar bar. We’re integrating a blog into their web site. A great use of their blog is to use it as a forum for reporting on wines and cigars that they’ve recently tasted or smoked. If I were a customer, or prospective customer, I’d enjoy reading about the latest tastings and arming myself with the knowledge to make a good buy — hopefully in the blogger’s establishment. The blog would build credibility and authenticity with the wine and cigar bar’s patrons. And they can be active participants in the bar’s “community” by discussing the bloggers experiences — fostering evangelists for their business.

In my following posts, I’ll write about content as it relates to optimizing your site for search engines. Later, I’ll share more about making your blog your primary customer communication vehicle, as well as some quick (and free) ways to get the word out about your blog.

In the meantime, let me know your thoughts about blogging and customer communications tools.

 

Customer Service — Pure Satisfaction

Last year I received a call that still leaves me smiling. It’s a simple story of customer service gone good. 

I’m helping my sister’s business with their marketing plan. They needed a domain name and hosting. I’d researched domain name registrars and settled on GoDaddy. My decision was based on some personal and business recommendations; GoDaddy’s competitive pricing plans; and some added (free) privacy protection with my registration.

I created an account and purchased the domains for Reserve Cigar and Wine Bar. Everything went smoothly, and after purchasing some hosting from Lunarpages, I made the server changes on GoDaddy and we were in business. Bottom line — it was a smooth process. 

The following day I got a call from a GoDaddy customer service rep. I thought “Oh no, I must have clicked the wrong button when I made the server changes, and now they’re going to pitch me on their own hosting services….argh!” Instead, the rep thanked me for choosing them for my business; confirmed that the server changes were correct; asked if I had any questions; and let me know that I could call 24 hours a day. He also asked me what made me choose their service.

This is a great example of customer service, sales and marketing working together. The benefits are a satisfied customer who will return again and again for more business; an open channel of communication and feedback that allows GoDaddy to improve their service offering; and marketing intelligence that helps GoDaddy confirm that they’re on target with their unique selling proposition. 

Do you have any examples of good customer service?

 

My Meshwork Marketing Blog Has Moved

Thanks for reading my blog. I’ve officially moved it to a permanent, hosted home (still WordPress) at MeshworkMarketing.com. Stop by and say hello.

 

6 Reasons NOT to Launch a Corporate Social Network

Oh, how I love this article. Six Reasons NOT to Launch a Corporate Social Network ties strongly to my philosophy about strategy. Sure, you can save money and leverage free sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to help you build a corporate social network — BUT, before doing so, consider the six points in Amber Rae Lambke’s article. 

Also think of your social network as a garden. First, think about what you want to grow with a clear strategy. And second, it takes time to nurture, grow and reap the rewards of a strong social network. Don’t have the strategy, resources or time? I’m glad to show you how I can help. Shoot me a Tweet (@dougmetzgar) using hashtag #socialnetwork.