11 Steps to a Successful Nonprofit Social Media Strategy

11 Steps to a Successful Social
Media Strategy
September 17, 2013
Essex County Community Foundation
Julia Campbell, J Campbell Social Marketing
www.jcsocialmarketing.com
julia@jcsocialmarketing.com

What is “Social Media”?
“Social media refers to the means of interactions
among people in which they create, share, and
exchange information and ideas in virtual
communities and networks.”
~Wikipedia.org
@JuliaCSocial #SM4NP

Don’t Put the Cart Before the Horse
 http://seminars.idealware.org/eLearning/techpyramid/technology-
pyramid.html
http://seminars.idealware.org/eLearning/techpyramid/technology-pyramid.html

1. Create a Committee.
You cannot do this in a
silo. Won’t work.
 Who in your organization
(staff, volunteers, clients)
likes social media?
 Who is creative?
 Who has their pulse on
the latest news?
 Who is well-connected?
 Who is passionate?

The key is to get a group of
people thinking through
a social media lens.
We are all publishers.
We are all storytellers.

What will they do?
 Brainstorm content.
 Research blog posts.
 Take photos.
 Keep an eye out for good
stories and news.
 Be champions online!
 Sharing, liking, tweeting.
 Train and motivate others.
 Create Social Media policies.

2. Start With People.
http://forrester.typepad.com/groundswell/2007/12/the-post-method.html

2. Start With People.
 What is the desired action?
 Who is most likely to take this action?
 What motivates them?
 Where do you come in? What do they already know
about you?
 What may drive them to take the action that you
want?
 Where do they get their information?
 What else is important to them?
 Where do they spend their time online?

3. Define Goals.
How will you know success?
What can you measure?
 Increased email sign ups
 Increased ticket sales
 New volunteer sign-ups
 Increased website traffic
 Increased online donations

http://www.johnhaydon.com/2012/11/facebook-ladder-of-engagement/@JuliaCSocial #SM4NP

4. Identify Strategies.
When you define what you want to do and who you want
to reach, you can then decide what you will do:
 Start a video marketing program
 Sign up for Twitter
 Start a blog
 Revamp the website
 Start email marketing
 Get an online donation page

5. Choose Channels.
Think back to your people and
your goals.
 Sign up and secure URLs.
 facebook.com/nonprofitorgs
 twitter.com/nonprofitorgs
 Save usernames and passwords
in a spreadsheet.
 Get a square version of your logo
for avatars.

5. Choose Channels.

6. Create Policies.
Social Media Committee & HR can be in charge of policies.
 External Policy – No spam, obscenity, etc.
 What will get people blocked from the page or the group?
 What is encouraged?
 Internal Social Media Policy & Training
 Be smart about training employees on what they should
and should not share online.
 Empower and educate before punish.
 Who are the administrators of the page?
 Who will take charge when this person is on vacation/out?

Crisis Management!
An actual tweet accidentally sent via @RedCross:

 Red Cross response:
 #gettngslizzerd was a Trending Topic (meaning it
was popular on Twitter)

 Dogfish Head Brewery response:
 The Red Cross set up a designated page in connection
with Dogfish encouraging people to donate a pint and
use the hashtag to spread the word.

7. Listen.
 Spend some time on each channel.
 Each network has it’s own culture,
etiquette, and language.
 Listen to what people are saying –
what moves them? What are they
sharing and retweeting?
 Listen to what other organizations
are posting – Is it falling flat?
Getting engagement?
 Listen and get ideas.

8. Create & Curate Content.
Start a simple Content Calendar for planning, scheduling
and managing publication of content across channels.
 Blog posts
 Twitter
 Facebook
 YouTube
 Email Newsletters
 Direct mail
 Donor communications
 Press releases
 Events

What will I post/tweet about?
 Industry blogs,
newsletters,
websites
 Google Alerts &
New York Times
alerts
 Competitors
 Success Stories
 Inspirational
quotes
 Reached a goal
 Want input on
an issue
• Events,
anniversaries,
celebrations,
birthdays
• Email newsletter
• Tie current
events to your
cause/issue
• Read industry
news
• Figure out what’s
working for
other nonprofits
and adapt it!

9. Get Visual.
You need a constant stream of compelling visuals,
photos, videos, infographics.
 Canva.com
 PicMonkey.com
 WordSwag app
 Photopin.com
 Morguefile.com

10. Work Smarter.
Check out Social Media Dashboards & Scheduling Tools
 HootSuite, TweetDeck, Buffer, PostPlanner

10. Work Smarter.
 15 minutes in the morning.
 15 minutes at lunch.
 15 minutes in the
evening/afternoon.
Remember, people are used to a
response within hours (if not
minutes).
Facebook now rewards Page
responsiveness!

11. Measure & Improve.
Avoid vanity metrics.
 Facebook – Instant Post Insights
 Twitter – ReTweets, mentions
 Website analytics and traffic
 Blog traffic and comments
 Email newsletter signups
 Go back to the Facebook Ladder.
See what works.
Do more of that.

11a. Celebrate Successes!
 Acknowledge everyone who helped you get there.
 Pat yourself on the back – social media is hard!

Questions?
Twitter: @JuliaCSocial
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/
jcsocialmarketing
Email: julia@
jcsocialmarketing.com

11 Steps to a Successful Nonprofit Social Media Strategy

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