Does social media engagement translate to greater success for nonprofit organizations? Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist and craigconnects.org, recently profiled the highest grossing nonprofits and their use of social media. Newmark found that of the top 50 nonprofits, 92 percent link to at least one social media presence from their homepage (Facebook). Additionally, 90 percent link to their Twitter account, and 70 percent connect to YouTube.

Do the most successful organizations have the most engagement on social media?  Not necessarily. Within in the top ten earners, the American Red Cross, number five on the list, is hands down the top contender in terms of Facebook fans and Twitter followers. However, some successful nonprofits, such as Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Medical Mission Board, and Mental Health America barely have a social media presence to speak of.

More nonprofits today are getting on the social media bandwagon to advance their mission and connect to stakeholders. It can be useful (and doable) if you have a strategy. Here are some quick tips if your organization needs a nudge to start using social media, or just wants to take it to the next level.

• Have clear goals for your social media campaigns. What do you want to accomplish? Create SMART objectives (specific, measureable, attainable, relevant, and timely), and track the payoff from your efforts by using this return on investment calculator.
• Make sure you have staff and/or volunteers familiar with social media available to help your organization provide a steady stream of on-topic, engaging messaging. If you’re concerned about giving up control, consider creating a social media policy to provide training and support, such as the one Mayo Clinic provides to its employees.
• Identify the social media platforms that are the best fit for your organization. What are you already doing? What are similar nonprofits to yours doing? Ask your existing supporters and volunteers which social media platforms they use.  What do they think would be most effective?
• Invest in your profile. A profile that is professional and engaging will pay off. For tips and tricks, visit nonprofit social media guru Beth Kanter’s blog.
• Have a conversation with your fans and followers. Keep your questions and content varied to keep things interesting and get more feedback. Post dynamic content that your followers will want to repost. Comment on their responses. Retweet content from those you follow as well as from your followers.
• Provide opportunities for your network to get involved offline. Post events and donation requests. Follow up and let the community know the results.

Newmark and his team offered this advice: “It’s about fostering conversations and interactions, not money. These are the keys to keeping up in the fast-paced arena of social networks.”

Amy Sample Ward, community development manager at Tech Soup Global, notes that “most research shows that if you have two hours total in a week, you can be successful in social media…Ask your constituents what they want, create a strategy and spend a half-hour, four days a week making sure the content is there for them. It’s not that much to commit to and it doesn’t have to drive you crazy.”

In today’s society, organizations are sized up by their social media presence. With a defined strategy and targeted resources, nonprofits can make social media work for them. I hope these pointers provide some useful tools for your organization to expand its network and deepen engagement with stakeholders through social media. If you have questions or need more information, contact your trusted social media guru, or me.

***

Miranda Leonard is an MBA candidate in Sustainable Management at Presidio Graduate School. She has years of experience producing marketing campaigns for nonprofits that endeavor to make the most of limited resources.

via  Social Media Tools for Nonprofits.

Don’t Insist on a DecisionConventional wisdom holds that a flawed decision is better than no decision. After all, you can always change direction. But, in an attempt to appear decisive, leaders may prematurely push for an answer. And if there isn’t a clear conclusion, they’ll provide one. This undermines a team’s ability to make a collective decision. Pretty soon people stop participating because they assume you’ve made up your mind in advance. If you can’t agree, don’t impose an answer. Instead, end the discussion by putting a process in place that yields decisions — even slowly-made ones — that everyone can accept. That way you won’t lose your people’s goodwill next time around.

via Don’t Insist on a Decision – Management Tip of the Day – November 03, 2011 – Harvard Business Review.

Most entrepreneurs know networking is important, but they may not realize just how crucial it is to the success of their new venture.

“Building a network helps entrepreneurs get their product to market and get the right people in place,” says Alice Heiman, networking and sales expert and author of e-book Connecting Your Way to New Business. Heiman suggests five basic rules for building a trusted network that will help your startup succeed.

1. Start early.

“Start building your network when you start building your product,” Heiman says. Developing, creating, improving and finally perfecting your product or service is important, but entrepreneurs can become so focused on making something people want that they forget to make personal connections. “If you focus in on just that product, you’re missing the opportunity to start building your network,” she says.

2. Make a list.

So you know when to start building a network. The next question is, how? “The first thing I recommend is you make a list,” Heiman says, noting that entrepreneurs are going to need help with their business, whether in manufacturing, financing, marketing or some other vital step. “Start thinking about what kind of people you will need in order to get your product to market,” she says. Write that information down–then the search begins.

“I want my network to be one of people who know me, like me and trust me, because that is the only usable network.”

–Alice Heiman

3. Take advantage of available resources.

There are great free resources to help entrepreneurs in the early stages of product and business development, such as SCORE. Heiman recommends visiting your local SCORE branch; it’s an ideal starting point for building your network. With 364 chapters nationwide and more than 13,000 volunteers with experience in 62 industries, chances are there is a SCORE location near you with knowledgeable people who would be happy to join your network.

Most entrepreneurs know networking is important, but they may not realize just how crucial it is to the success of their new venture.

“Building a network helps entrepreneurs get their product to market and get the right people in place,” says Alice Heiman, networking and sales expert and author of e-book Connecting Your Way to New Business. Heiman suggests five basic rules for building a trusted network that will help your startup succeed.

4. Do your homework.

When you’re busy starting a business, time is a commodity of which you will never have enough. Before wasting it on trying to make a connection with someone, do your homework and make sure you can both benefit each other. Heiman gives an example: If you’re in the technology industry, you don’t want to spend time pitching a firm that only invests in fruit companies. Refer to your list and seek individuals who can either fulfill the roles you need or who might be able to introduce you to someone who can. If you catch yourself attempting to connect with the wrong source, you can always ask if he or she can refer you to someone else.

5. Make a real connection.

Clicking “friend” isn’t enough. “My definition of networking is connecting,” Heiman says. “I want my network to be one of people who know me, like me and trust me, because that is the only usable network.” So what is the best way to make that connection? Heiman says introductions are always best. You can use whatever route is easiest for you–online or off. But whatever approach you take, be sure to build a genuine relationship. “Let them know a little bit about you,” she says. “Bring some value into their life.”

This article was originally published in the October 2011 print edition of Entrepreneur’s StartUps with the headline: Circle of Trust.

BY KATIE ROSSOMANO via Five Rules for Building Strong Connections | Entrepreneur.com.

Steve Jobs impact on your life cannot be overestimated.

His innovations have likely touched nearly every aspect — computers, movies, music and mobile. As a communications coach, I learned from Jobs that a presentation can, indeed, inspire.

For entrepreneurs, Jobs greatest legacy is the set of principles that drove his success.Over the years, Ive become a student of sorts of Jobs career and life.

Heres my take on the rules and values underpinning his success. Any of us can adopt them to unleash our “inner Steve Jobs.”

1. Do what you love.

Jobs once said, “People with passion can change the world for the better.” Asked about the advice he would offer would-be entrepreneurs, he said, “Id get a job as a busboy or something until I figured out what I was really passionate about.” Thats how much it meant to him. Passion is everything.

2. Put a dent in the universe.

Jobs believed in the power of vision. He once asked then-Pepsi President, John Sculley, “Do you want to spend your life selling sugar water or do you want to change the world?” Dont lose sight of the big vision.Related: Why Entrepreneurs Love Steve Jobs

3. Make connections.

Jobs once said creativity is connecting things. He meant that people with a broad set of life experiences can often see things that others miss. He took calligraphy classes that didnt have any practical use in his life — until he built the Macintosh. Jobs traveled to India and Asia. He studied design and hospitality. Dont live in a bubble. Connect ideas from different fields.

4. Say no to 1,000 things.

Jobs was as proud of what Apple chose not to do as he was of what Apple did. When he returned in Apple in 1997, he took a company with 350 products and reduced them to 10 products in a two-year period. Why? So he could put the “A-Team” on each product. What are you saying “no” to?

5. Create insanely different experiences.

Jobs also sought innovation in the customer-service experience. When he first came up with the concept for the Apple Stores, he said they would be different because instead of just moving boxes, the stores would enrich lives. Everything about the experience you have when you walk into an Apple store is intended to enrich your life and to create an emotional connection between you and the Apple brand. What are you doing to enrich the lives of your customers?

6. Master the message.

You can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you cant communicate your ideas, it doesnt matter. Jobs was the worlds greatest corporate storyteller. Instead of simply delivering a presentation like most people do, he informed, he educated, he inspired and he entertained, all in one presentation.

7. Sell dreams, not products.

Jobs captured our imagination because he really understood his customer. He knew that tablets would not capture our imaginations if they were too complicated. The result? One button on the front of an iPad. Its so simple, a 2-year-old can use it.

Your customers dont care about your product. They care about themselves, their hopes, their ambitions. Jobs taught us that if you help your customers reach their dreams, youll win them over.

Theres one story that I think sums up Jobs career at Apple. An executive who had the job of reinventing the Disney Store once called up Jobs and asked for advice. His counsel? Dream bigger.

I think thats the best advice he could leave us with. See genius in your craziness, believe in yourself, believe in your vision, and be constantly prepared to defend those ideas.

BY CARMINE GALLO via Steve Jobs and the Seven Rules of Success | Entrepreneur.com.

“Recently there have been some announcements by Facebook that have impacted both the personal and brand pages of Facebook that will need to be considered by Facebook marketers.”

This article by David Berkowitz is worth studying. In it he mentions 5 changes to personal Facebook pages and 5 to “company” pages:

10 New Changes To Facebook That Will Impact Your Facebook Marketing | Business 2 Community.

I just received an email from B2C with this interesting heading. Everybody, me included, jumped on the social media bandwagon.

Everybody is on the “Social Networking” or “Social Marketing”.  Mark Schaefer rightly points out that:

“Social interaction offers an inexpensive and broad way to paint a high level view of a market sentiment but only the laziest marketer will think this is enough to really do the job right.  Social media is not the new conversation.  That conversation has been out there as long as there have been people trading goods and more than ever, you need to get out there, see your customers, listen to them intently, and respond quickly, sensitively, and passionately to their wants and needs. Go have a REAL conversation.”

Don’t discard your social networking program, but read Mark’s worthwhile read… Follow the link below.

The Hidden Costs Of Social Media Conversation | Business 2 Community.

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Dumb Little Man is really worthwhile subscribing to. This is another great article by Juntilla Henri.

“It’s not enough to find your passion. You have to follow-through, and take action.

No one else will do it for you. You are in charge, and if you don’t realize that quickly, you will end up looking back in regret when you’re taking the last breath on this earth. If you want to live a life of purpose, fulfillment, and passion, it’s up to you to make it happen.

Is it going to be easy? No, but it’s going to be worth it. And it will help you live an exponentially more interesting and fulfilling life.

• Stop Whining
• Reclaim Your Power
• Suspend Disbelief
• The Turtle
• Here & Now

And please, stop making excuses, and take action now!”

Read the whole article by following the link below.

via 5 Simple Ways to Take Action and Do What You Love – by Dumb Little Man.

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Are you using social media in your business? Those two little words have taken on a greater significance than ever before in recent years. How are you using social media in your small business? You know you’re doing it. There’s a Facebook page, a Twitter account and a business blog. But, wait! There’s more. See what the social media has to offer you!

Getting Established

What are you doing about Google+? How do you get started? Start with your profile. Your successful use of this tool is a direct result of of the information you share on your profile and the manner in which you present it. It must catch people’s attention. Then there are a number of suggestions as to how to maximize your benefits of having this social media tool. Chris Brogan

How should I be using social media marketing? How do successful small businesses effectively use social media marketing to enhance their reputations, find customers, and increase their sales? Starting with creating a quality homepage and selecting a human face that people can tie down to your business, there are seven “need to” steps for you to pursue to make sure that your social media marketing plan is profitable and not a waste of time and money. Copyblogger

Facebook updates help users share better with others. How comfortable are you with privacy when sharing on Facebook? Changes have been made to alleviate this concern. Improvements in tagging and the ability to add one’s location to each post are also included in the changes. Additional revisions are expected in the near future. WSJ

Tools & Trends

Daniel Gross’s Greplin is one smart search engine. Finally, one search engine that will organize your entire online life! Is this for real? Daniel Gross feels his Greplin does just that. Read about this amazing young man and the product he has to offer. How could this tool help your small business? Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Online marketing will account for 70% of small business marketing budgets by 2015. The future of small business marketing will definitely be in digital/online marketing. Very good futures are in store for those companies who can advise and help small businesses with online marketing solutions. Small businesses can ill- afford to miss a step as these changes in marketing strategies occur. Failure to be one step ahead could affect customer satisfaction and customer retention. Management Direct

18 reasons to use social media. If your small business is poorly managed and your product line is not top grade, use of social media will mostly not make your small business successful. What it can do is to make it possible for you to interact with your potential customers and thereby allow you the opportunity to react more quickly and efficiently to the needs of both your current and potential customers. Among the many advantages of properly using social media to build your small business are the 18 reasons listed and explained here. Small Business Trends

Social Media Marketing

Top myths about social media for business #2: “Don’t need it–we have SEO.” Can a successful search engine optimization strategy be a substitute for a strong social media presence? Some SEO proponents say yes and dismiss the need for social media as part of the marketing package. However, they quietly admit that social media does have a positive impact and, in addition, has some benefits in establishing credibility, communication, and connection. Resonance

How to promote: an event thru Twitter. When you promote an event thru Twitter, you have the possibility of attracting a far larger audience that might be interested in your event. Video shows how to promote your information, step by step way to post and promote, and tips and tricks on how to promote through Twitter. Sales Tip a Day

Social media for search. Social media and search are no longer the separate things we have believed them to be in the past. In fact, the worlds of social media and search are quickly merging. Are you using the power of both these worlds to your small business’s advantage? Nick Stamoulis

Another marketing channel? No, social media is much more. Be prepared for many business applications in the coming years for these exciting tools. Where is social media headed and where do its potential applications for your business end? The only limits are the imaginations of social media users just like you. Resonance

via Social Media Tips in Small Business Today.

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