Category Archives: Social Engagement

Your Nonprofit Can Do a Lot More on LinkedIn Than You Think

While most non-profits realize the benefits of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, far fewer organizations fully realize the inherent power of LinkedIn.

As one of the original social networking platforms geared primarily toward professionals and businesspeople, LinkedIn can provide your organization with networking and marketing benefits, no matter the size of your non-profit. Here’s how to effectively use the LinkedIn platform to increase your organization’s reach and profile:

Your Nonprofit is so Vain… Bet you Think Social Media is about You

If you’re like most nonprofits, you’re still trying to figure out how social media can help you sustain and grow your mission.  Most of you are getting it wrong.

Sorry to be so blunt.

Here’s how you’re going astray:  (1) your posts are too promotional; (2) your content isn’t relevant to your readers, and (3) you’re too repetitive and boring, without adding value. If you’re simply counting up your numbers of “likes” and “follows” and patting yourself on the back for how you’re growing your lists, you’re totally missing the point.

Top 5 Reasons Your Nonprofit Will Fail Absent Inbound Marketing

Earlier this year I posted on the ONE big thing nonprofits absolutely must do in 2014: Adopt an integrated (fundraising combined with communications – no more silos, please!) inbound marketing strategy.

Well… it seems like a lot of folks didn’t know what I meant.  Or if they did know, they had a whole bunch of reasons why they thought they couldn’t or shouldn’t do it.

Apparently I have some ‘splainin’ to do!

Which of Top 10 Excuses Keeps Your Nonprofit from Blogging? Hope it’s Not #5

What’s a blog, really? A blog is  just a super-charged, dynamic website that will bring you many more visitors – and a lot more engagement — than your website does now. Doesn’t that sound like a tool that might help your fundraising?

Did you know that 70% of visitors to the average website never visit again? Done well, a blog drives traffic to you naturally… brings folks back for more… and even gets folks to share stuff you post on your blog with their own networks. It’s a hugely powerful tool for finding and engaging with people – your donors and potential supporters – and I’m not the only one who thinks so.

Of all the killer social engagement tools out there, none beats the blog. Still… some of you are dubious.  Or your leaders are dubious.  So if one of these 10 excuses is stopping you, read on to see how to overcome them.

11 Steps to Turn Social Media into Fundraising Gold

Bet you thought social media sucks for fundraising. Au contraire.

It can help you raise money big time – but only if you engage with purpose. Just like anything else, social media won’t help you meet your goals unless you know where you’re going with it. Out of context, social media exchanges are just transactions.

Ask yourself this question: What am I going to do to make this exchange mean something, now and in the future?

When Do Bird Chirps Equal Fundraising?

When they turn into a sweetly warbled tune.

If you want birds to visit your window ledge on a daily basis you must woo them patiently and feed them. Only after you’ve satisfied their needs will they return on a regular basis and, on occasion, reward your persistence by trilling a sweet song.

It’s the same with donors and social media.

Why Your Nonprofit Should Get a Whirlpool

No, not a washer/dryer.  A real, honest-to-goodness vortex.

Last week I wrote about what nonprofits can learn about why we stopped building pyramids. The digital revolution has crumbled that baby – today’s ‘donor pyramid’ is nothing but an empty frame. Our donors no longer fit inside of it. So… what’s a nonprofit to do?

My guest post yesterday on Maximize Social Business detailed precisely How Social Media Toppled the Donor Pyramid – and what that means for nonprofits. Nothing is neat, orderly and linear anymore. Supporters are here, there and everywhere – all at once!

Today, electronic communications – social, mobile, email, crowd funding, online donating — have permanently disrupted the traditional donor-engagement process.

Do You Play ‘Hot Potato’ with Social Media at Your Nonprofit?

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

What Your Donors Won’t Tell You about Social Media

They like it. More than a phone call. More than a visit.

Give your donors what they like. I’m not saying you shouldn’t phone or visit them at some point. But you’re better off connecting digitally than not at all. And many donors these days will never respond to a phone call. No matter how often you keep trying.

Nonprofit Social Media Alert: If You Do This You're Monkeying Around

Monkey see, monkey do is not a social media strategy.

It tends to lead to trying to force a square peg into a round hole. Huh?  Bear with me. We’ll get there. First… before embarking on a social media strategy, do you ask:

• What keeps our constituents up at night? How can we help them sleep better?
• What makes our constituents sad? How can we help them feel better?
• What makes our constituents smile? How can we bring them joy?
• And how can we do all these things without compromising our own well-being and authentic self?