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Did Your Nonprofit Just Hang Up on Me?

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I’ve told you before about bad marketing aimed at my dear wife, Rona Fischman.  Let me tell you a story about a telemarketer who called for me.

“Is this Dennis Fischman?” she said.  “I’m calling to help enroll you in some courses for your GED.  Let’s start by…”

“Whoa, hold on there,” I said.  “I have a Ph.D., and I got my high school diploma in the 1970’s.  You are calling the wrong person.”

Click.

That’s right.  Not only did the telemarketing company completely mistake their audience.  They didn’t train their callers well enough to keep them from hanging up.

I would shake my head and leave it at that…except I’m worried that too many nonprofit organizations are doing the same thing.

How good is your database?  Have you taken the time to get to know your donor as a person, or is she just an address on a list and a check in the mail?

How well have you trained your staff and volunteers?  Do they realize that every time they speak to the public, they are putting your nonprofit agency’s reputation on the line?  When they get flustered, will the donor hear, “I’m sorry, let me fix that for you”?

Or will your (former) donor hear, “Click”?

Social Media for Nonprofits: How Do I Keep Up?

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You’re an organization that promotes the social good.  You’re on social media.  Why doesn’t it feel social?

drinking out of a fire hose

This is not what you want to do on social media!

Probably because you’re trying so hard to keep up.  Following other people on social media is proverbially like “drinking out of a fire hose.”  Feeding your followers’ hunger for content is like running a short-order kitchen.

When do you sit down and actually talk?

Automate Tasks, So You Can Be More Personal

You want to use social media to a) get to know your supporters and b) have them get to know and love you better.  That takes a personal touch.

Paradoxically, the way to get personal is to automate more tasks.  Think of it this way: you have only so much time, right?  How would you rather spend that time: scheduling posts (which is something a machine can do), or having a real conversation with someone who’s interested in your group?

Social Media Tasks to Automate

There are certain social media tasks that lend themselves easily to automation.  Adam Stetzer, President & Co-Founder of HubShout, lists a few do’s and don’ts.  DO:

  • Automatically share every blog post to multiple social media platforms.
  • Use software to schedule posts so your feeds look alive when you are asleep.
  • Find strong sources of specific content about your mission that your audience will enjoy, that you won’t have to create.

Don’t Automate These Social Media Tasks

  • Highly-customized content that complements the news about your issues mentioned above, but shows the personality and human-side of the organization.
  • “Thank you’s”: When a human reaches out to you, find a way to build the contact into a relationship with a highly customized (i.e., human) response.
  • Refollows: Don’t follow every follower. Many are machines and bring no value.
  • Retweets: Automation will reduce the quality of social media presence.

Will you put these tips to use in 2015?

5 Things Every Nonprofit Should Know about Social Media

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social media conversation

Join your supporters for a chat!

Would you go to a party to meet people who support your cause? Probably.  You may already have been to a couple this month. Online, Facebook is that party.

Would you attend a conference to meet other people in your field?  Sure!  You may have conferences that you just wouldn’t miss. Online, LinkedIn is that conference.

When you ask yourself, “Why should I spend time on social media?”, think about these points that Stephanie Frasco makes.  She addresses small businesses, but her counsel pertains to small nonprofits too.

  1. You Have To Be Active Online (somewhere). Otherwise, in 2015 people won’t believe you really exist!
  2. Your Customers Are Active Online (somewhere).  Your donors, funders, and clients all spend time online.  You need to find out where they meet and show up there too.
  3. You Must Be Accessible.   Social media work both ways!  Besides sending out messages, listen to what your fans have to tell you.  Be open to both criticism and praise.  Respond promptly.
  4. You Need To Blog.   You have specialized knowledge, inspiring stories, memorable photos, an insider’s perspective on homelessness, or art, or the community where you live.  Share it.  Become your supporters’ go-to source for information–so that they seek out you.
  5. Social Media Should Be Social.  “That means starting conversations, replying, and engaging with your customers online,” Stephanie says.  “Just imagine you’re at a party.”

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