Social Media Strengthens Nonprofit PR

Social Media Strengthens Social Media Strengthens Nonprofit Public RelationsNonprofit Public Relations

Heather WhalingCosta DeVault

heatherwhaling@costadevault.comcard.ly/heatherwhaling

twitter.com/prtinilinkedin.com/in/heatherwhaling

Getting Social

• 77% of active Internet users read blogs

• Facebook – 250m users• 10 million Twitter accounts • Social networking is

more popular than e-mail• Information sharing via

Facebook surpasses e-mail

A Perfect Match

Nonprofits are in the relationship business

Conversations drive conversions

Social media strengthens relationships

Don’t Be Fooled

Social media isn’t:– Traditional marketing

“digitized”– Easy donations– Free– Stand alone

Social media is:– Insightful– Conversational– Strategic– Valuable … when done

correctly

“The influx of charities and nonprofits to

platforms like Facebook and Twitter could

result in noise, congestion, and outright

apathy. Spreading awareness of a good

cause grows difficult when that good

cause starts to seem like spam. If one

tweet after another is seeking donations,

people might just get fed up.”-- Caroline McCarthy, CNET

Getting Started:Getting Started:5 Easy Steps5 Easy Steps

Step 1: Measurable Goals

• Why social media?

• Support overall communication goals:– Increase volunteers– Strengthen relationships with donors– Influence the conversation/debate – Education

• Create S.M.A.R.T. objectives

Step 2: Research & Listen

• Who are you trying to reach? How are they using social media?– Surveys, polls, focus groups– What are people saying?– Where are they saying it?

• Listen, listen, listen

“If you’re always talking, you’re not listening.” – Chris Brogan

Step 3: Develop a Network

• Choose the right tools

• Start interacting

• Create interesting content

• Stay focused on overall strategy

• Cultivate influencers

• Promote others

• Share, share, share“It’s not how many, it’s how good.”

– Peter Shankman

Step 4: Integrate Online & Offline

• Cross-promote content

• Balance traditional communication with social media

• Enhance media relations– Talk to reporters on social networks – HARO– Distribute social media releases

• Strengthen volunteer/donor appreciation

Step 5: Measure ROI & ROE

• Return on Insight = The New ROI• Return on Engagement

– Twitter followers, retweets and link open-rates – Blog comments and inbound links – Web site and blog traffic– Facebook fans, wall posts and discussion

comments – YouTube ratings or videos embedded on

other sites

• Measuring influence requires research

Tools

• Real-Time Monitoring– Filtrbox – Scout Labs– SM2

• Link Tracking– Bit.ly– Tr.im– HootSuite

• Trend Monitoring– Google Trends– Google Alerts– Trendrr– Tweetbeep – Twilert

• Survey Tools– PollDaddy– SurveyMonkey

Coming Soon …

• You Go Serve – a volunteer social network

• Activates people, connecting them to organizations based on skills and interests

• Website, Twitter and Facebook

• yougoserveorlando@gmail.com for details and to be included

3 FAQs

• Whose responsibility?

• How much time?

• Will people be negative?

Does it really work?

Does it Does it really work??really work??

Community Crisis Center

• Situation: Raise $150,000 or close• Sarah Evans “donated” her massive

online presence to the cause • Integrated approach:

– E-mail & letter to donors and friends of the Crisis Center

– Online appeal via Twitter, Facebook, Seesmic, PRsarahevans.com, YouTube and CrisisOvernight.org

#CrisisOvernight

• Result: Raised $160,000+ in 3 weeks

Social media matters to the Coalition because when they needed extra help, their online network – people who were strangers just months ago – stepped up to the plate.

Coalition for the Homeless

• Overall Goals:– Increase online brand recognition– Reach a new demographic– Increase communication and create a dialogue

with donors, volunteers, advocates and stakeholders

– Position the Coalition as the authority on homelessness

– Encourage active involvement with the Coalition

Connect with the Coalition

• 5-Step Process:1. Research and listen

2. Lay the groundwork

3. Create sites and add content

4. Maintain ongoing rhythms

5. Evaluate success

Connect with the Coalition

• Troubleshooting issues– Local focus– Employee guidelines– Good, bad and ugly comments

Connect with the Coalition

• Sample objectives:– Increase web traffic by 10%– Be mentioned on outside blog posts as least

12 times/year– Obtain bulk donations of specific in-kind items

at least 3 times/year directly from social media “asks”

– Increase number of Twitter followers by 50 per month

– Garner 1,000 blog views each month

Connect with the Coalition

• Measuring results– Web traffic– Mentions of Coalition on outside blogs– Social media “Challenge” results– Number of friends/followers/views

Questions?Questions?

Heather WhalingCosta DeVault

heatherwhaling@costadevault.comtwitter.com/prtini

linkedin.com/in/heatherwhaling

slideshare.net/heatherwhaling

delicious.com/prtini/nonprofits

Shari Orr Coalition for the Homeless Shari.Orr@cflhomeless.orgtwitter.com/cfl_homelesscentralfloridahomeless.org