Fundraising used to be about who you knew. How many envelopes you could lick or phone calls you could make. Social Media has changed all that. With an integrated social media strategy non profits are able to leverage not just the value of the people in their network, but all people connected to those in their network.
When a non-profit is able to have a post they make in Facebook for example shared by even a small percentage of their followers their message can quickly gain traction yielding donations, volunteers and a deepened knowledge of the brand. The far-reaching possibilities of social networks makes jumping in appealing. As with anything however without a strategic plan in place and a commitment to keeping content fresh and up to date social media can work against you.
Before you start blogging, pinning, following or tweeting understand who your audience is, what your goal is and what you plan is. That way you will know how deep the water is before you jump in.
Many businesses use Twitter as a tool in
their marketing arsenal. And some use it with great success.
However for a small business just entering the social media landscape it can
feel overwhelming, and if not executed as part of a larger strategy can feel
haphazard to customers. If you think your business should be on
Twitter, then start small. Open a business Twitter account. Chose a
background that works with your company colors and upload your logo as your
image. If you are still feeling motivated do a search to see what other
local companies or people relevant to your business are on Twitter and follow
them.
Now, just sit back for a few days and
read the Twitter stream. See what people are saying, notice what is being
re-tweeted (RT), and decide on your messaging. How are you going to use
Twitter? To promote products or services? To share relevant news? To
announce job openings? To give your company a more personal
feeling?. Once you have a direction and are feeling comfortable with
the language of tweets (@, #, RT) then jump in and start tweeting.
Small businesses face many challenges,
and owners and employees wear many hats. When it comes to
social media the big question businesses face is how to engage with this new
and always changing channel. Here are a few things to keep in mind when
you are thinking about launching, expanding or overhauling your social media
presence:
- Think about your business. What do you
do? A restaurant should have a different social media strategy
then a law firm.
- Think about your goals. Why are you engaging
with social media? Are you trying to build awareness? Increase
sales? Drive traffic to your website?
- Think about your options. Facebook, Twitter,
Flickr, Tumblr, Pinterest-you have options. Which make the most
sense for your business and your goals?
- Remember that social media is a living thing.
It doesn’t help your business to be everywhere if you are not keeping
those sites up to date. Start small and commit to keeping content
fresh and up to date.
If you are anything like me you heard
about Pinterest, probably from a friend raving about how wonderful it was. You
signed up, and found yourself slightly confused…how exactly do I use
this? Why would I use this? But then it starts to make sense and
you start pinning vacation ideas, cloths you like, crafts you will never
complete.
Pinterest has already proven itself a powerful tool. It has grown faster
than any other social media site in such a short period of time and companies
and organizations are trying to find ways to make it work for them. If
you are a small business looking to keep your social media presence fresh you can’t overlook Pinterest. Here are a few ideas on how to proceed:
- Pin things that are relevant to your customers
- Make sure you categorize all your boards, this is
how people who are not directly connected to you will find you
- Take the time to seek out your Facebook “likes” and
follow them if they are on Pinterest…just as people do on Twitter they
will follow you back
- Use the “tweet my pin” button after you post
one…you will never have complete overlap between all your social media
sites…that is why playing in all of them is important
- Like other people’s pins and re-pin…just make
sure you change the comment of the original pinner to something relevant
to you
- Don’t over think this one…if something is relevant
to your business, your customers, your community or is just plain cool…pin
it
