Philanthropy; Not Fundraising
This month’s SMIT (Single Most Important Thing I have to tell you) is to never lose sight of the “Why.” And total props to Hugh MacLeod (whose brilliant cartoon is shared here) for the reminder. It’s a simple concept; not so simple to comply.
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Philanthropy; Not Fundraising
I’ve often wondered why we’re the only sector that defines ourselves by what we’re NOT. Nonprofit. Why not what we ARE? Social benefit. Rather than focusing so much on how to scrimp and save and be as cost-efficient as possible, shouldn’t we be focusing on how to spend and grow and be as big and effective as possible?
Nonprofits are stuck in a vicious cycle that jeopardizes their ability to raise the resources they need to succeed. Three “town criers” have recently shed light on the growing problem. Though they come at the problem from different perspectives, it is arguable that they’re headed in the same direction. Let’s take a look at the underlying reasons for the sector’s inability to build sustainable capacity.
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In my last post I channeled Bob Dylan, calling for a change in the way we do fundraising. Because the times truly are a changin’…
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command, your old road is rapidly agin’…
When I grew up in fundraising I had a shoe box as my database. I wrote grant proposals on yellow legal pads. When we got our first FAX machine I complained that now folks expected us to mail and FAX them (so double the work). When email came on the scene I complained that now folks wanted us to mail and FAX and email (so triple the work). But it was still the same old road of outbound marketing. At least I understood what it was all about.
Now we’re on a new road entirely. Because folks are coming to us. They’re telling us what they want. They’re defining our brand. And they’re doing so in real time via a multitude of online channels and using a multitude of Web-connected devices. Opportunity is knocking.
DetailsOnce upon a time I knew what I was doing. I attended The Fundraising School, discovered a host of tried-and-true techniques, mastered the art and science of fundraising transactions and went forth to apply the tools at my disposal. Money was raised.
Fast forward several decades, to sometime about five years ago. I had a dawning realization. I no longer knew what I was doing. I had somehow entered “wing and a prayer” territory. The culprit? Revolutionary and disruptive technology that, simply put, has ended “business as usual.”
What can you think of that has been done the same way for 50 years? For too many nonprofits the answer is fundraising and marketing (aka “development”). And it’s beyond time for a change. In fact, a sea change. It turns out Bob Dylan got it right.
DetailsJust building it isn’t enough. Whatever it may be. A blog. A Facebook page. A Twitter profile. You name it.
Sorry.
They won’t call. They won’t write. They won’t wax on rhapsodically about your finer qualities. The most they might do is notice you out of the corner of their eye; then move on.
It’s on you.
To get real value from social media you must build it, get folks to come, get folks to talk and get folks to recommend you to others.
Here’s the kicker: You’re not 100% in control. Yeah, I know it kind of sucks. Us control freaks just have to get over it. Folks are going to be learning about you through others, and you won’t know about it. They’ll talk about you, and you won’t know what they’re saying.
Let me tell you a tale of two siblings, Outbound and Inbound.
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In Part I: Share, Part II: Shareable and Part III: Talk of this S.S.S.T. Series we covered the importance of sharing your blog, making it shareable by others and getting folks to talk about you with their online networks. But there’s one important component of your super-sonic blog promotion strategy that we’ve missed. Here it is:
SEARCH
Let’s begin with why it’s important to talk about search. Because you want more readers for your blog, right? Well, the people who are your friends, plus the people who are their friends, are not all the people in the world. They’re not even all the people who may be interested in what you do! Search is how most people find you. Search is the most common online activity after email, and that fact cuts across generations.
DetailsTalking is what builds your reputation and develops relationships with those who share the values your organization enacts. Talking is central to your blog – and entire social media – strategy. So… let’s talk!
In the first part of this two-part post about how to get others to promote your blog we discussed how to find your natural “sharers” – those folks willing to be spokespersons on your behalf, whether they be influencers or advocates. Today we’re going to talk about how to get these boosters to spread your good word through digital word-of-mouth.
6 TIPS FOR GETTING YOUR TALKERS TALKING:
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To make your blog worth the effort, it’s got to be shared. And that’s what we discussed in Part I: Share and Part II: Shareable of this S.S.T.S. Series. Great! But how do you get folks to really TALK about you, rather than just shooting out one-shot shares?
You begin with content, of course. No one is going to share crap, no matter how easy you make it for them to do so. In the C.P.A. Series we talked about getting folks to open and read your post. Done! In the R.C.A. Series we discussed giving folks something engaging to talk about – relevant, constituent-centered and actionable content. Done and done.
Now that you’ve got the good stuff, you need to get folks walking your talk!
You want more than short-term share transactions. You want shares that drive desired action responses; you want transformation!
DetailsWe’re really hung up on technology these days. And jargon. We use terms like “social media” to describe a range of practices – from digital communications to any form of customer-centered marketing that embraces the ways in which people interact, inform themselves, form communities and co-create within the current zeitgeist. Then we mix it up…
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S.S.T.S. Share. Shareable. Talk. Search. Those are the elements required for promoting your blog. In Part I we talked about how to create a super sonic transport system to make your blog work for you. We began with how you share. Now we’re going to talk about how to get other folks to share on your behalf. You want to make your posts Shareable. This is what gives ‘wings’ to your super-sonic promotion strategy.
Share and share alike. We all know this old adage. But if you’re given an apple and no knife to cut it into pieces, it’s difficult to share. Similarly, if you share a blog post but offer no sharing tools, it’s not likely to be shared. People who read your posts have networks. You want to tap into them!
It’s your job to make it easy for folks to spread the good word.
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