101 Social Media Tactics for Nonprofits

A Field Guide

Melanie Mathos, Chad Norman

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781118106242
• eBook ISBN: 9781118218891
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Nonprofit Organizations & Charities
• Index: Business

The ultimate social media field guide for nonprofits—with 101 ways to engage supporters, share your mission, and inspire action using the social web

101 Social Media Tactics for Nonprofits features 101 actionable tactics that nonprofits can start using today, and most of the featured resources are free. Broken down into five key areas, this unique guide explains the steps and tools needed to implement each tactic, and provides many real-life examples of how nonprofits are using the tactics.

With this book as your guide, you'll learn how leading nonprofit professionals around the world are leveraging social media to engage constituents, communicate their cause, and deliver on their mission.

• Presents immediately useful ideas for relevant impact on your organization's social presence so you can engage with supporters in new and inventive ways
• Features 101 beginner to intermediate-level tactics with real-life examples
• Offers a workable format to help nonprofits discover new ways of deploying their strategy
• Includes nonprofit social media influencers from leading nonprofits around the world including National Wildlife Federation, March of Dimes, and The Humane Society

Nonprofits know they need to start engaging with supporters through social media channels. This field guide to social media tactics for nonprofits will feature 101 beginner to intermediate-level tactics with real-life examples to help nonprofits discover new ways of deploying their strategy and meeting their social media objectives.

CHAPTER 1

Setup

The beginning of every social media journey is an exciting time, whether you’ve been tasked with creating a program from scratch or adding a new twist to an existing one. The low barrier to entry of social platforms means nonprofits can begin engaging their supporters right away, so making sure things are in order from the start can make a big difference.

Before you take your organization and supporters on this journey, it’s important to get things set up properly. In a perfect world, you’ll already have a strategy in place, a social media policy rolled out to your staff, and all of your accounts created and beautifully branded. Since that isn’t always the case, it’s always a good idea to look at how other nonprofits have setup their programs.

Tactics like branding your Twitter page, setting up your Facebook uniform resource locator (URL), integrating social media into your web site, and other topics covered in this chapter will ensure a better social experience for your supporters and make life easier for your organization. Think of these setup tasks as the first few steps on the journey—steps you need to take in order to reach your final destination.

Even if you’ve already started the journey, it’s always a good idea to look back, review, and refine the social experience you’re providing. Sometimes a nonprofit will start a social program simply because someone told them they needed to, and this can lead to wrong turns. This chapter will help you stay on track and get the most out of your social media efforts.

Are you ready to begin? Let’s go. . .

Claim Your User Name on Facebook

Creating a unique user name allows you to promote your Facebook presence via a short URL. Instead of saying “find us on Facebook,” you can provide potential supporters with a link that leads them directly to your page. This comes in especially handy in conversations and print marketing materials. With the ever-expanding world of Facebook, be sure to grab your unique URL as soon as possible, before someone else does!

What You Need

A Facebook page with at least 25 likes

How to Do It

1. Visit facebook.com/username.

2. From the interface, choose which page you would like to select a user name for.

3. If your desired name is not available, try and try again—maybe an acronym will work instead!

A Closer Look

Things you should know about Facebook user names:

• Make it easy to remember. Think clear, descriptive, and simple when selecting your user name. If you have a Twitter account, you should consider using the same handle. If your organization’s name is long, you may want to use an acronym (if it is easily recognizable.) Generic words like “flowers” or “pizza” are not available for use at this time.
• Make sure you are 100 percent positive that the name you choose is the name you want forever before you click “Confirm.” Changing your Facebook user name once submitted is not an option, even if you misspelled it.
• Usernames are not transferable. This is a good thing! It protects Facebook from the creation of fake accounts and protects users from “squatters” who are merely setting up an account to claim a name and retain it for future use or sale.
• Facebook has a process for protecting intellectual property rights. If you go to select your user name and it is already taken, the only protection you have is if you are the legal trademark owner for the term. Facebook offers a user-name intellectual property-infringement form that you must fill out to reclaim your name.

Brand Your YouTube Channel

If your nonprofit is using YouTube to host videos and engage supporters, taking the time to brand your organization’s channel should be part of the plan. You may be posting your videos on Facebook or your blog, but people will still be visiting your YouTube channel. That’s why it’s so important to have your organization’s brand well represented. YouTube offers additional branding options through its Nonprofit Program that can turn your channel into a great destination.

What You Need

A YouTube account, a YouTube Nonprofit Program membership, and someone to design your graphics

How to Do It

1. Create a YouTube account for your organization if you haven’t already done so.

2. Apply for YouTube’s Nonprofit Program by visiting www.youtube.com/nonprofits, and pressing the “Apply” button.

3. Determine the overall look and feel of your YouTube channel, including incorporating your organization’s branding, colors, and so on.

4. Design the header, avatar, and background.

5. Go to “Channel Design” and change the colors and modules you want to use on your channel.

6. Access the “Branding Options” section of your channel and upload your icons and banners.

A Closer Look

A well-branded YouTube channel can be an important social media outpost for your organization, so take the opportunity to make it look as professional as possible. The YouTube Nonprofit Program provides many benefits, several of which involve branding and design.

Once your YouTube channel has been accepted into the Nonprofit Program, you can begin customizing your channel. YouTube’s Channel Design section will help you set the colors and styles of your channel, which should match your organization’s web site and branding standards as closely as possible. You can then upload custom icons, backgrounds, and banners to complete the design.

Because there are so many ways you can customize your YouTube channel, be sure to look around at what other nonprofits have done. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? Here are four nonprofits that have well-branded YouTube channels that you should check out:

• United Way Worldwide has a really solid, great-looking channel. It features a header linking to its web site, perfectly matched styles, and a great youth-focused background image. www.youtube.com/unitedwaypsas
• Boys and Girls Clubs of America takes a simple approach with its channel, featuring a design that matches its web site. A current campaign is featured in the header, which is a great way to encourage supporters to take action. www.youtube.com/bgcastaff
• The Nature Conservancy has a well-branded header on its channel, which also contains two HTML buttons called “How You Can Help” and “About Us.” A Google Checkout donation option is also included near the bottom of the channel, which is another great benefit of YouTube’s Nonprofit Program. www.youtube.com/natureconservancy
• America Jewish World Service has done a great job combining a custom header with the background graphic to create a seamless design. The organization also uses a second banner in the left column to drive traffic back to its web site. www.youtube.com/ajwstv

In the end, you just need to strike a balance between being creative and professional. And while creating a great-looking channel is important, don’t overlook producing compelling videos that people actually want to watch (see Tactic 41).

Claim Your Venue on foursquare

Claiming your venue on foursquare is easy to do, and the reason for doing it is just as simple—to become the “manager” of the venue. Once you claim your venue, fou...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Setup
• Chapter 2: Communicate
• Chapter 3: Engage
• Chapter 4: Fundraise
• Chapter 5: Measure
• About the Authors
• Index