The Best Thing You Can Do TODAY
Who’s got the hot potato?
In the children’s game nobody wants to be left holding the hot potato. Does that sound like the way social media is ‘played’ at your nonprofit? Is anyone in charge? Who sets goals? Who decides what to do/not do? Who evaluates success? Where does the buck stop?
Too many organizations still have not taken charge of their digital strategy. It’s beyond time for this to happen, as I explain in depth on the Maximize Social Business website (see Raise Your Hand to Take Charge of Your Brand: Who Owns Digital in Your Nonprofit? ). I encourage you to read the full article; here are the main take-aways:
Digital today is central to how folks communicate. [See The Top Benefits of Social Media Marketing [Infographic]. Pretending marketing is all about newspapers and press releases and fundraising is all about face-to-face, so you don’t need social media, is a stick-your-head-in-the sand strategy. You’ll fall further and further behind as the 21st century moves forward without you.
Sidelining social media to an intern or the lowest-paid staff demonstrates how unimportant you think constituent communication is. Yet it’s critically important to your fundraising and marketing goals – not to mention your overall business goals. Asking an intern to slap up a bunch of photos on Pinterest so you’ll ‘have a presence’ there is not taking charge. What’s the goal? How do you know it’s being met?
Siloing social media to one person or one department is not constituent-centered. People encounter you as one entity, one organization, one cause. If no one is in charge your constituents will perceive the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.
Not using digital strategically makes it difficult to really serve your constituents effectively. Because in 2013 increasingly that’s where folks find you, learn about you, talk to you and talk about you. And it’s where you listen and learn about what they need and desire from you. In fact, there’s very little you can do at all to move your agenda forward without paying attention to digital (newspapers and books stores learned this the hard way).
Marketing has changed from inside/out to outside/in. You must take charge, because when folks interact with you they’re thinking: WIIFM? Your content answers this question and offers up the good stuff! If you don’t have a great content strategy these days, you’ve pretty much got nothing.
Digital is so integral to your brand; everyone must own it. It’s also, by the way, the future of fundraising – see Nine reasons why social and mobile are the future of fundraising. And others insist — and I agree — that content marketing is the new branding. You need to reinvent whatever type of relationship you’ve had with social media and make it everyone’s responsibility.
Who is in charge of social media at your nonprofit?
Speaking of being constituent-centered… what are you doing to make this year’s annual appeal truly appealing?
If no one opens or reads your appeal you’re going to leave a lot of money on the table. So… don’t just go through the motions this year.
Learn how to acquire, retain and upgrade more donors in a spectacular 5-week, self-paced e-course on The Power of Appealing Year-End Appeals being taught by me and the fabulous Mazarine Treyz. From mid-November to December 31st is when many nonprofits raise up to 40% of their annual gifts – so take this course to do all you can to take advantage of this prime time! You get tons of tricks and treats — tips, templates, checklists PLUS bonuses galore – two webinars, a podcast, eBook and script and more! Reserve your spot by October 14th for Early Bird Savings!
Photo: Flickr, Eden pictures
