Category: Internet Geek Tuesday

Happy #InternetGeek Tuesday!

Today’s blog is all about social media and nonprofit digital storytelling.

What is social media?

Social media is a means of communication that builds and enhances relationships online and offline. Social media relies on content. Content includes ideas and information. Social media tools help communicate ideas and share information. Social media allows you to have a conversation with others about ideas and information. The conversations you have through social media create connections. When you cultivate the connections you have established through social media, you build community. The connections you make and communities you build through social media lay the foundation for your audience in digital storytelling.

Did you know there are seven social media secrets of nonprofit digital storytelling?

I recently gave a workshop presentation for my client, Serve DC that introduced the seven social media secrets of nonprofit digital storytelling to AmeriCorps agencies in Washington, DC. See my presentation below or click here to view it on SlideShare.

Just in case you need more information about the seven social media secrets, I have included my talking points, a how to guide on creating a social media strategy plan that I use with my clients, and several nonprofit resources.

If you would like me to facilitate a workshop or give a talk for your agency, business, community, group, or organization, please contact me on 202.607.3509.

7 Social Media Secrets of Nonprofit Digital Storytelling

Secret #1: Define your social media goals (why does your organization want to use social media to tell stories?)

Secret #2: Know your audience (clients, donors, staff, Board members, funders, interns, volunteers, community and corporate partners, local citizens and organizations with shared interests, businesses, and other local stakeholders).

Secret #3: Know where your audience lives online.

Secret #4: Become your audience’s digital neighbor (maintain an active digital presence on the same social media sties that your audience belongs to).

Secret #5: Know what types of digital stories appeal to your audience.

Secret #6: Develop a plan to tell your digital stories (that includes an editorial calendar, time management tools like HootSuite to help you schedule your social media efforts in advance, any special campaigns/events/advocacy efforts, technology tools needed to create digital stories and use social media, budget and funding for technology tools, identifying staff duties for managing social media and digital storytelling efforts, social media/digital storytelling training for staff, and/or recruitment for interns and volunteers with digital communications and public relations experience).

Secret #7: Evaluate your digital storytelling efforts weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually (document lessons learned and best practices and study what other nonprofit organizations are doing and learn from their efforts).

Creating A Social Media Strategy Plan

When I help an organization create a social media strategy plan, I use a series of questions to guide its development and execution. They are organized into six categories: goals, target audience, content, social media budget and team, social media and technology tools, and evaluating social media efforts. See below.

GOALS

• What are your organization’s quarterly and annual goals?
• How will social media support the goals (examples: create/curate/distribute content, engagement, network building, and promotion)?
• What calls to action, campaigns, events, program initiatives, and services will be used to accomplish the goals?
• What is your timeline for accomplishing the goals with social media support?

TARGET AUDIENCE

• Who is your target audience for each call to action, campaign, event, product, program initiative, and/or service?
• Where does your target audience reside online?

CONTENT

• What type of content (articles, blogs, photos, podcasts, social media messaging, surveys, webinars, and videos) appeals to your target audience?
• What are the sources of content?
• Who will develop the content?
• What are the content requirements for your editorial calendar on a daily, weekly, quarterly, and/or annual basis?

SOCIAL MEDIA BUDGET AND TEAM

• What is your social media budget?
• Who will manage, execute, and support your social media efforts (primary lead person, team members, interns, online community members, and brand/blogger ambassadors)?
• What are your social media team’s skills?
• What type of resources and training does your social media team need to stay updated on current and emerging social media best practices, tools, and trends?
• How much time does your social media team have to commit on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and/or annual basis to the management and execution of social media efforts?

SOCIAL MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY TOOLS

• What are the best social media tools to communicate with your target audience?
• What type of technology tools (digital/web cameras, laptops, microphones, printers, smartphones, software, tablets, and time management tools) do you have and/or need to manage and execute your social media efforts?

EVALUATING SOCIAL MEDIA EFFORTS

• Who will review your social media efforts (executive officers, social media staff, communications staff, media/public relations staff, development staff, membership staff, information technology staff, and/or online community members)?
• What tools will you use to analyze your social media efforts?
• How often will you analyze, modify, and review your social media efforts?
• What lessons have you learned?
• What best practices have you developed?

Nonprofit Resources

Blog

• Nonprofit Tech for Good, www.nptechforgood.com

Books

• Measuring the Networked Nonprofit by Beth Kanter and Katie Delahaye Paine
• Social Media Engagement for Dummies by Aliza Sherman and Danielle Elliott Smith
• Social Media for Social Good by Heather Mansfield
• Social Media Tactics for Nonprofits by Melanie Mathos and Chad Norman

Local Conference and Facebook Group

• Nonprofit 2.0 Unconference, June  26, 2014 in DC, http://nonprofit20.org
• DC Social Media Facebook group (great community to seek advice and obtain resources), www.facebook.com/#!/groups/dcsocialmedia

Pinterest Board

• Nonprofit Digital Storytelling Resources Board (created for May 21^st workshop participants), www.pinterest.com/anandaleeke/nonprofit-digital-storytelling-resources/pins/

Audio & Visual Social Media Storytelling Tools

•  Curated Storytelling: Paper.li (electronic paper – http://paper.li) and Storify (http://storify.org – great for documenting live and online events and campaigns that use photos and videos with hashtags)
• Photos: Flickr (www.flickr.com – videos included), Instagram (http://instagram.com),  Pinterest (www.pinterest.com), and Tumblr (http://tumblr.com –  visual blogging)
• Podcasts and Audio Platforms: BlogTalkRadio (www.blogtalkradio.com – Internet radio show), SoundCloud (http://soundcloud.com – audio platform available as  mobile app with limited free space), Talkshoe.com (www.talkshoe.com – Internet radio show), and VoiceBo (http://voicebo.com – free mobile app that allows you to record up to five minutes)
• Videos: Animoto (www.animoto.com), Vimeo (www.vimeo.com), Vine (http://vine.co), and YouTube (www.youtube.com)