#FUNDRAISING: Causevox Improves Online Outreach & Fundraising To 2.0
Easy-to-customize donation pages
We have often sung the praises of the online charity-site platform Causevox. And we do so again as the good folks at Causevox have released a significant series of upgrades and integrations in version 2.0. It moved out of beta last week, allowing any charity or nonprofit to take advantage of the expanding toolbox. This is how the programmers put it last week on the company blog:
We found out that the key to success for online fundraising this decade is easy customization, community engagement, and content marketing. Our existing platform couldn’t accommodate that vision, so we scrapped it and developed, from the ground up, a new and improved CauseVox.
CauseVox 2.0 is our first step to revolutionize online fundraising.
| Category Advice, Advocacy, Blogs, Campaigns, Case Study, Cause Marketing, Communications, Design, Development, Donor Acquisition, Events, Facebook, Facebook, Fundraising, Marketing, Measurement, Nonprofit, Press Release, Public Media, Public Relations, Site Administration, Social Marketing, Social Media, Technology for Nonprofits, Twitter, Web and Print, Web Design | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#SOCIALNETWORKS: Pew Research Keeps Us Up With Changing Faces of Internet
The latest surveys carried out by the Pew Internet and American Life Project are tracking both the most popular online social-networking platforms and the kinds of people who are using them. We enjoy sharing such findings with our readers because the information the folks at the Pew Internet group can help nonprofits refine their online efforts for the many constituencies that these nonprofits want to reach. The latest study, The Demographics of Social Media Users — 2012, points to a few new developments we’d like to highlight this week.
| Category Advice, Campaigns, Cause Marketing, Civics, Communications, Community, Cross-Post, Education: General, Facebook, Facebook, Facebook, Fundraising, Marketing, Measurement, Nonprofit, Research, Resource, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Networks, Study, Technology for Nonprofits, Twitter, Twitter | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#HOWTO: Have A Film Screening As A Fundraising Opportunity
We at MKCREATIVEmedia wish you a joyous, healthy, and prosperous New Year!
As the year’s projects and fundraisers and festivals start rolling onto your computer’s calendar, you might be looking for an opportunity to host a one-off event that can bring much-wanted PR, good karma, and even some financial support. How about sponsoring a film screening? The chance for your nonprofit or charity to be a movie mogul, at least for a day, has been made possible by the social/cinema site Tugg. Though currently considered ‘beta,’ Tugg could make hosting a screening of a big-name movie, documentary, or short film so easy that you could host a few each season.
| Category Advice, Advocacy, Communications, Community, Cross-Post, Crowdfunding, Development, Education: General, Event, Events, Facebook, Film Festival, How-to, Marketing, Nonprofit, Project Management Tools, Public Relations, Site Administration, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Networks, Technology for Nonprofits, Twitter | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#SOCIALNETWORKS: Can Niche Online Networks Outperform Your Nonprofit’s Facebook Page?
Have you defined your organization’s niche?
Our participation in online social networks seems well beyond the status of a ‘fad.’ In some parts of the world, people risk censure − if not their lives − to post important information on such platforms as Facebook and Twitter. These social networks are the current heavy hitters, of course. But what about developing people’s interests in your nonprofit’s causes? Or engaging a peer group already predisposed to support your charity’s fund drive? The hard fact is, the best-known social platforms might just be too big for that kind of conversation. And we might just be witnessing the start of a tidal shift away from the bigger-is-better mantra of social outreach toward niche conversations among like minds. Could these more concentrated communities really be worth the effort of building a presence on yet another social network?
| Category Advice, Blogs, Cause Marketing, Communications, Community, Facebook, Facebook, Fundraising, LinkedIn, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Measurement, Media Review, Nonprofit, Public Media, Public Relations, Site Administration, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Networks, Strategic Marketing, Technology for Nonprofits, Twitter, Twitter, Web and Print | | 1 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#DESIGN: How To Follow The Branding Guidelines Of Twitter
No. No. And no.
Birds of a feather? Not for that poor Twitter bird: perhaps no other icon in modern business is both better known and abused well beyond the company’s style guide. Even more than the Facebook logo that we discussed a couple of weeks ago, the icon for the social-media site Twitter comes in all shapes, sizes, and numbers − almost none of which are official or legal. If you want to have a good relationship between your organization and the folks at Twitter who have done so much to get news of your organization out to their millions of users, you best check out their corporate style guide.
| Category Advice, Branding, Communications, Design, Education: General, Graphic Design, How-to, Marketing, Resource, Site Administration, Social Media, Social Networks, Twitter, Twitter, Web and Print, Web Design | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#HOWTO: Establish Your Tumblr Account Preferences To Stay Organized
33 million blogs in 8 languages − Where's yours?
We have already presented videos on how to sign on to Tumblr and how to tweak the settings of your new blog − including how to ensure your activity on Tumblr is reflected in your Twitter account and on your Facebook page (though recent developments have limited the interaction between Twitter and Tumblr, alas). We want to continue with more how-tos associated with Tumblr both because we think the platform is an easy and flexible way to communicate with the larger world and because many have reached out with questions and ideas about the series. We appreciate your contacts and questions − thank you!
Today we present a video about Tumblr’s account preferences (to be distinguished from the blog’s settings).
| Category Blogs, Communications, Design, Facebook, How-to, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Measurement, Public Relations, Resource, Reviews, Site Administration, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Networks, Software Review, Storytelling, Technology, Technology for Nonprofits, Twitter, Video | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#COMMUNICATION: The Best Ways To Encourage Retweets Include…
What could be easier than writing a message in a mere 140 characters? Something grabs your attention, you copy the link, say something pretty relevant about the story/image/file linked, and hit ‘Tweet’. If you’re an occasional dabbler, such a process can be fine and you might indeed occasionally strike a chord with followers who respond or retweet. But for a nonprofit or small business, the odd hit won’t cut it and you should be having higher expectations. Twitter is about outreach, conversation, and engagement. Your organization should be striving to expand on all three counts. And suddenly, tapping out some 140 characters seems a bit more challenging. What can you do to make a bigger splash in the tweetstream?
| Category Advice, Blogs, Cause Marketing, Communications, How-to, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Nonprofit, Public Media, Public Relations, Site Administration, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Networks, Twitter, Twitter, Writing | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#HOWTO: Set Up Your Tumblr Blog’s Settings & Connect To Twitter/Facebook
We continue our video series on setting up your nonprofit’s Tumblr blog account with a look at the two Dashboards within your account. We also explore the blog’s settings and what distinguishes them from your account’s preferences. Tumblr is a free platform and one that can give you an up-and-running blog in about 10 minutes − as well as powerful customization and design tools that can make your blog uniquely branded and connected. We’ll be introducing those more advanced features in future episodes.
What the Blog Settings offer that is worth emphasizing is the opportunity to connect your organization’s Twitter and Facebook accounts to your Tumblr blog. Once done, you can post something on Tumblr and have it announced on the other social-networking sites: three for the price of almost $0.
| Category Advice, Blogs, Cause Marketing, Communications, Community, Design, Facebook, Facebook, Facebook, How-to, Marketing, Media Review, Nonprofit, Public Media, Public Relations, Resource, Site Administration, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Networks, Technology, Technology for Nonprofits, Twitter, Twitter, Video, Web Design | | 2 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#HOWTO: Customize & Brand Your Twitter Account
Don't simply accept Twitter's defaults
Twitter is perhaps the go-to social-networking site for anyone looking to share interesting information, tawdry gossip, breaking news, or knee-jerk reactions. Nonprofits should not only be using Twitter to broadcast their own pertinent information about their current successes and their upcoming events but also to share similar information about the efforts of their peers. Even more so than Facebook, Twitter can turn a pithy announcement into a viral retweet.
Content is certainly king, so don’t simply slap down the occasional message just to keep your tweet stream trickling. That said, your organization’s tweets are competing against 400 million others every day. How are you going to stand out from the crowd? For one thing, don’t simply accept the generic colors and designs that Twitter offers its members. Let’s see how to brand your Twitter account with your colors and logo.
| Category Branding, Communications, Design, Desktop Apps, How-to, Nonprofit, Public Media, Public Relations, Site Administration, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Networks, Technology for Nonprofits, Twitter, Twitter, Web and Print, Web Design | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#SOCIALMEDIA: How Young Is Too Old To Have Communications Expertise?
Would you hire any of these people for your social-media outreach?
Why don’t you all fade away, and don’t try to dig what we all say
I’m not trying to cause a big sensation, I’m just talkin’ ’bout my generation
The Who, “My Generation,” My Generation (1965)
Well, I’ve already dated myself. But I’m going to press on with this post anyway. Catherine Sloan, a recent graduate from the University of Iowa who already has byline credit with USAToday, posted an opinion blog at NextGenJournal.com with the title “Why Every Social Media Manager Should Be Under 25“. It has caused something of a ruckus − a sensation, if you will − and commentators and flamers have been debating her post for the last 10 days. Now that some of the heat has dissipated, we wanted to see if she cast any light on the generational and communications experiences of Millennials.
| Category Advice, Advocacy, Aging, Blogs, Civics, Communications, Facebook, Facebook, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Media Review, News and Current Affairs, Nonprofit, Opinion, Public Media, Public Relations, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Media, Social Networks, Storytelling, Technology, Twitter, Twitter | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#SOCIALMEDIA: IOC Struggles To Corral First “Social Olympics” In London
Click on image to visit Infomous.com
The Opening Ceremonies went off without a hitch. Security concerns have been allayed thus far. The weather hasn’t been too bad. For Americans, we’ve had a few sub-par performances in the pool and on the gymnastics apparatuses, but so far, so good.
Unless the issue is how this so-called “First Social Games” is going. The social media events have not gone quite like fans, competitors, or International Olympic Committee members had thought it would − all for different reasons. Indeed, the biggest security dust-up has to do not with fears of terrorists, but fears of unwanted mention of sponsors by athletes and/or their supporters. Is the IOC fairly trying to protect the Olympic ‘brand’ or are its members greedily limiting expression through social media? And does anybody else really care?
| Category Advertising, Blogs, Case Study, Communications, Events, Facebook, Facebook, Geo-Location, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Media Review, Mobile, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Opinion, Politics, Public Media, Public Relations, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Networks, Technology, Twitter, Twitter, Video, YouTube | | 1 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#COMMUNICATIONS: Keep Storytelling In Forefront, Whatever Platforms You Use
Oprah Winfrey likes a book. BOOM! It’s a best-seller and a big movie. Justin Bieber retweets something that catches his eye. POW! It’s trending huge for forty-eight hours! Who wouldn’t want that kind of attention? Well, often nonprofits and charities don’t want that kind of attention. The best/worst case of this kind of virality is the Kony 2012 campaign, which we followed closely earlier this year and don’t have the stomach to repeat.
What nonprofits and charities want is steady growth in awareness, volunteerism, and donations. They don’t need the huge splash (some small splashes don’t hurt!), but they use the same social networks that the Oprahs and the Biebers of the world use. How do they use the same tools to develop dissimilar results.
| Category Advice, Advocacy, Blogs, Cause Marketing, Communications, Facebook, Fundraising, How-to, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Measurement, Newspaper Article, Nonprofit, Permission Marketing, Public Media, Public Relations, Publications, Social Media, Social Networks, Storytelling, Twitter | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#DEVELOPMENT: Social-Networking Is Good, But Conversation-Building Is Better
Difficult to say that social networks have already grown to be mature means of communication. Moreover, some platforms shoot wide and far (vis Facebook for everyone), while others target a specific subset of the social-media community (vis Epernicus for the scientific community). Figuring out how to negotiate those platforms can seem daunting. But we have some advice that might help ease the stress of trying to reach everyone. Don’t try to reach everyone. Well, it’s not quite that simple.
| Category Advice, Advocacy, Blogs, Campaigns, Cause Marketing, Communications, Community, Crowdfunding, Development, Facebook, Facebook, Fundraising, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Measurement, Mobile, Nonprofit, Public Relations, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Networks, Storytelling, Twitter | | 1 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#TECH: Apple Backs Down on EPEAT. Welcome Back To EPEAT!
Apple bruised by PR cuts over EPEAT
No, MKCREATIVEmedia doesn’t wield that kind of influence over 1 Infinity Loop. Or any influence, really. But about two hours ago we posted a summation of Apple’s withdrawal from the very EPEAT environmental standards the corporation helped establish over a decade ago. Our little contribution to the issue was not technological or particularly environmental, but political: Apple (and any other corporation, bank, investment firm, media conglomerate…) wants to set the rules, follow the rules, and be umpire of those rules (for itself) all at the same time.
Well, difficult to say that Apple called a foul on itself. But retiring Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, Bob Mansfield, has released a press release at Apple’s website explaining why Apple has decided to return to the EPEAT community!
Here are excerpts of his letter:
We’ve recently heard from many loyal Apple customers who were disappointed to learn that we had removed our products from the EPEAT rating system. I recognize that this was a mistake. Starting today, all eligible Apple products are back on EPEAT.
It’s important to know that our commitment to protecting the environment has never changed, and today it is as strong as ever….
For example, Apple led the industry in removing harmful toxins such as brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). We are the only company to comprehensively report greenhouse gas emissions for every product we make, taking into account the entire product lifecycle. And we’ve removed plastics wherever possible, in favor of materials that are more highly recyclable, more durable, more efficient and longer lasting.
Our relationship with EPEAT has become stronger as a result of this experience, and we look forward to working with EPEAT as their rating system and the underlying IEEE 1680.1 standard evolve. Our team at Apple is dedicated to designing products that everyone can be proud to own and use.
Sure, Apple wants those government contracts back. But what might also be striking about this volte face is Apple is tacitly admitting it didn’t expect much of a public reaction to their leaving the coalition. “I mean, really! Our stuff is greener than most anybody’s anyway. Why all this fuss?” We can see Apple’s decision on its decision as one little victory for the common person and her/his social networking tools.
Of course, we’re complaining about our latest iPads, whereas people are risking their lives on social networks in Syria and Egypt. But let’s take our wins where we can. And no, MKCREATIVEmedia won’t be taking credit for this change of policy.
Related articles
| Category Advertising, Advocacy, Apple, Civics, Communications, Environment, Event, iDevice, Marketing, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Nonprofit, Opinion, Politics, Publications, Social Media, Social Networks, Technology, Twitter | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#SOCIALNETWORKS: NTEN 2012 Report Shows Real ROI Growth Over Past Year
Click to go to the report
Okay, so you have been developing your nonprofit’s presence on the staples of social media new for a couple of years. Facebook page? Check. Twitter account? Sure. But how much time do you want to put into keeping up with those outlets? Has your organization seen any growth in volunteers or donors thanks to the outreach on social media?
The 2012 Nonprofit Social Benchmark Report from NTEN is the fourth in this annual series, which means the surveyors have enough materials to start identifying longer-term trends and to offer meaningful statistics as to how social networks are changing communications and fundraising for nonprofits and charities. Spoiler Alert: Nonprofit use of social networks is growing, and with that use most nonprofits are enjoying significant returns on investment (ROI). Still not sure you want to commit resources to it? Please read on…
| Category Advice, Advocacy, Campaigns, Cause Marketing, Communications, Crowdfunding, Development, Donor Acquisition, Events, Facebook, Facebook, Fundraising, Interview, Marketing, Marketing Budget, Marketing Skills, Measurement, Nonprofit, Pinterest, Public Media, Public Relations, Report, Research, Resource, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Networks, Technology, Technology for Nonprofits, Twitter, Twitter, Video, Video Interview | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#SOCIALMEDIA: Facebook & WordPress Join Forces To Connect Blogging With Timeline
Click to enlarge
For some time one could link one’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, so that if your nonprofit updated its Facebook page, a tweet would automatically be generated − and vice versa. If your organization had a blog running the WordPress platform (as does MKCREATIVEmedia), you could install a plugin that auto-tweets your posts. And if your auto-tweets are connected to your Facebook account, the blog post would be tweeted, the tweet would be linked to your Facebook account, a visitor in Facebook could see the tweet, click the tweet and get to the blog post.
Confusing? Yes. Thankfully, developers at Facebook and at WordPress have developed a plugin to shorten that convoluted trip.
| Category Advice, Blogs, Cause Marketing, Communications, Cross-Post, Desktop Apps, Facebook, Facebook, How-to, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Nonprofit, Public Media, Publications, SEO, Site Administration, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Networks, Strategic Marketing, Technology for Nonprofits, Twitter, Twitter, Web Design | | 2 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#SOCIALNETWORKS: Twitter Continues To Expand Through Mobile Devices
The Pew Internet and American Life Project has brought us valuable statistics and reported notable trends in internet use over the years, and a recent report focused on the growing use of Twitter as a means of social networking. Twitter could be described as a social networking platform that punches above its weight class. Twitter turned six this past March, and by its own accounts has some 140 million users sending some 340 million tweets a day. For the sake of comparison, Facebook has over 900 million.
Yet Twitter’s political and cultural impact is almost equivalent, even if it has only 15.5% as many users. Note the ‘Arab Spring’ as a ‘Twitter Revolution.’ How does Twitter have such an oversized geopolitical impact? The same reason local nonprofits should be developing a presence on the social network.
| Category Advertising, Advice, Advocacy, Campaigns, Cause Marketing, Civics, Communications, Community, Crowdfunding, Development, Fundraising, Geo-Location, iPad Apps, iPad/Tablet, iPhone Apps, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Mobile, Mobile, Newspaper Article, Nonprofit, Public Media, Publications, Report, Resource, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Networks, Technology, Technology for Nonprofits, Twitter, Twitter | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#INTERVIEW: Derrick Feldmann, CEO of Achieve, Discusses The Millennial Impact Report Coming June 11
Derrick Feldmann is CEO of Achieve, a creative fundraising agency that produces The Millennial Impact Report, an annual research study of Millennial Generation donors. (The 2012 report will be released on Monday.) The agency also hosts the only national virtual summit, MCON, on Millennials annually. The interview was conducted by Don Akchin, a principal of Nonprofit Marketing 360 and a frequent contributor to the MKCREATIVE blog.
MKC: You have made Millennial donors a specialty. Isn’t it a little early to be worrying about the Millennial donors?
DERRICK: Absolutely not! If we have an expectation that this generation of 20- to-30-year-olds will be future significant supporters of our causes, we have an expectation now to involve them. If you are an educational institution, if you are a nonprofit, if you are planning a capital campaign in the next ten years, and you want more donor support, you had better start working with them now. There is an imperative to work with this generation.
Organizations might not have them as a focus because they may not have the largest capacity to give right now. It’s been a bit tricky for some organizations to figure out parallel tracks of involvement for constituents who don’t necessarily have large capacity but in volumes could give a lot.
(more…)
| Category Communications, Community, Cross-Post, Development, Donor Acquisition, E-Mail, eNewsletter, Facebook, Facebook, Fundraising, Grants, Interview, Major Gifts, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Nonprofit, Permission Marketing, Report, Resource, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Networks, Special Series, Strategic Marketing, Study, Twitter, Twitter | | 0 Comments
Written by: Don Akchin
#INTERVIEW: Debra Askanase, Socialbrite.org Strategist, Offers Useful Advice To Nonprofits Using Social Media
Debra Askanase, founder of Community Organizer 2.0, is an “engagement strategist” who consults with nonprofit organizations on digital media. She is also a strategist for Socialbrite. Her background includes a decade of community organizing experience, followed by seven years in community economic development. The interview was conducted by Don Akchin, a principal of Nonprofit Marketing 360 and a frequent contributor to the MKCREATIVE blog.
MKC: How did you get into digital media? Did you reinvent yourself?
DEBRA: Yes, but it also seemed a pretty natural progression. I started off as a relatively traditional community organizer with multi-issue/low-income organizations. I moved into tenant organizing as well, then into economic development. I saw many of the same skills in leadership development that I saw in community and economic development. I worked with low-income immigrant entrepreneurs to start businesses. After doing that for seven years, I became very interested in business, from the perspective of how business can change society. So I went to business school and there seemed to be a confluence at that point. Social media was just gaining traction – this was 2007 and Facebook had just opened up beyond the college crowd – and I made that leap, intuitively, that social media is really community organizing. Here’s an opportunity where I can use my expertise in business strategy that I had been doing for seven years and my understanding of how people come together to change things. And I wanted to bring that interest to nonprofits. My entire experience had been working with nonprofits, so I understood that world from the ground up.
| Category Advice, Blogs, Communications, Community, Cross-Post, Development, Donor Acquisition, Facebook, Facebook, Facebook, Fundraising, Grants, Grants and Funding, Interview, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Measurement, Nonprofit, Social Media, Social Networks, Storytelling, Strategic Marketing, Twitter, Twitter, Writing | | Comments Off
Written by: Don Akchin
#COMMUNICATIONS: Make Your Next Fundraiser An Online Conversation Too
A Twitter Wall adds dynamism to even the smallest event
Though weather in the mid-Atlantic continues to flirt with spring while staying surprisingly loyal to winter, it is the season to be planning summer festivals, fundraisers, and rallies. And if you really want to stay on top of your nonprofit’s schedule, start planning your end-of-year banquet as well (and use Tungle). But in this day and age, a nonprofit’s fundraising festival should be but one component of a multi-media plan to engage constituents, volunteers, and supporters both at the event and in the social networks of those attending.
We have recommended ‘Tweet Tables’ in previous posts, and today we draw on a really useful compendium of ideas from Trevor Jonas at Mashable.com.
| Category Advertising, Blogs, Cause Marketing, Communications, Community, Crowdfunding, Events, Facebook, Facebook, Fundraising, Gala, Geo-Location, How-to, iDevice, iPad/Tablet, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Media Review, Mobile, Newsletter, Nonprofit, Public Media, Public Relations, Reviews, Site Administration, Social Media, Social Networks, Storytelling, Technology, Technology for Nonprofits, Twitter | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#INTERVIEW: Chris Forbes, Co-Author of Guerrilla Marketing for Nonprofits, Offers Great Advice to Groups
Chris Forbes is the co-author of Guerrilla Marketing for Nonprofits and a certified guerrilla-marketing coach. His varied background in marketing includes experience in the faith sector and work on five continents, and he has pioneered several media initiatives in public relations, television, radio and the Internet. The interview was conducted by Don Akchin, a principal of Nonprofit Marketing 360 and a frequent contributor to the MKCREATIVE blog.
MKC: What drew you to the marketing field?
CHRIS: I grew up in a marketing family. My mom had a product-administration service and worked with grocery stores and established networks with, say, free samples of food. When I was 14, she wanted me to dress up as Twinkie the Kid in a big foam-rubber costume to pass out Twinkies. When I was 15, she wanted me to dress up as Freddy the Fresh Guy from Wonder Bread. Then at 16, she asked me to be the Planter’s Peanut guy, but you have to wear leotards for that costume. I drew the line there.
| Category Advertising, Advice, Book, Branding, Campaigns, Case Study, Communications, Community, Cross-Post, Facebook, Facebook, Facebook, Interview, LinkedIn, Marketing, Marketing Budget, Marketing Skills, Measurement, Nonprofit, Permission Marketing, Pinterest, Public Relations, Research, Resource, Social Media, Social Networks, Special Series, Strategic Marketing, Tumblr, Twitter, Twitter, YouTube | | Comments Off
Written by: Don Akchin
#INTERVIEW: Michael Hoffman, CEO of See3 Communications, Discusses Why Nonprofits Need to Embrace Video
Michael Hoffman is co-founder and CEO of See3 Communications and a leading authority on online video for nonprofits and online fundraising and outreach strategies. After turns as a political consultant and developer of Internet startups, he founded See3 to bring together his vision of the web and his passion for nonprofit fundraising. The interview was conducted by Don Akchin, a principal of Nonprofit Marketing 360 and a frequent contributor to the MKCREATIVE blog.
MKC: What was the concept of See3 when you founded it?
MICHAEL: See3 was a coming together of my background, which was really on the web side in terms of Internet business and strategy, and that of my partner, Danny Albert, which is video. Danny has been a documentary filmmaker for 20 years. Around 2004-2005, we both saw some trends that we call our ‘your chocolate and my peanut butter moment.’ I was telling Danny about changes on the web and the development of broadband (It’s hard even to remember that only a few years ago, some 90% of people were still using dialup). Broadband was around the corner and Danny asked me, ‘What does that mean? What will broadband do?’ And I immediately answered ‘video.’ When you have broadband web, the web will become a platform for video, just as it is with us talking over Skype now on this interview.
| Category Campaigns, Communications, Community, Cross-Post, Facebook, Fundraising, Interview, LinkedIn, Marketing, Marketing Budget, Measurement, MySpace, Nonprofit, Pinterest, Posterous, Scoopit, Social Media, Social Networks, Special Series, Storytelling, Strategic Marketing, Technology, Tools, Tumblr, Twitter, Twitter, Video, YouTube | | Comments Off
Written by: Don Akchin
#HOWTO: Tumbler Can Be Social Media Hub, But Other Tools Are Available
We have sung the praises of Tumblr for the past few Thursdays, and we will continue to do so. Tumblr offers nonprofits and charities a free platform (with some themes and extensions costing a few bucks) and host to establish a web presence that is just a couple of clicks away from integrating with your Twitter account and an RSS feed. Tumbr offers elegant simplicity to est up a look and post as quick or as richly developed media-laden posts as your organization cares to produce via its Dashboard.
But most use Tumblr to pursue ‘Tumblogging’. The word morphed from ‘tumblelog’, first used in 2005 but briefly eclipsed by the rather dry ‘microblog’ for a while. It refers to a blog that consists of an ongoing series of focused, but brief, posts that include various visual, aural, and textual media. These tend to be short entries that simply state the immediate context of the subject/object of the post with no effort to tie it to a larger story.
Well, why would a nonprofit want to do that?
| Category Advice, Blogs, Campaigns, Cause Marketing, Communications, Fundraising, How-to, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Resource, Reviews, SEO, Site Administration, Social Media, Software Review, Storytelling, Technology for Nonprofits, Twitter, Writing | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#INTERVIEW: Joanne Fritz, The About.com Website Guide on Nonprofit Charitable Organizations
Joanne Fritz is the guide to About.com’s “Nonprofit Charitable Organizations” site. A former high school and university teacher, she has also been a senior manager at two nonprofits and two universities. The interview was conducted by Don Akchin, a principal of Nonprofit Marketing 360 and a frequent contributor to the MKCREATIVE blog.
MKC: Is About.com a blog or something else?
JOANNE: About.com is sort of its own animal. It has close to 1,000 guides. Each guide is an expert in a particular topic area. Each of us has a mini-website that includes a blog. So when you first see, for instance, my landing page, it has the blog, but then over to the side are topics, and those links will generally lead you to articles that are meant to be evergreen information. We typically use the blog to keep up with what’s happening in the here and now. The articles go into more depth and are more like reference materials. We’re constantly creating evergreen content because most of our traffic comes from search, and they turn up on one of our articles. I usually blog at least three times a week. There’s a lot going on about nonprofits these days, so it’s a constant struggle to keep on top of it.
| Category Blogs, Communications, Community, Cross-Post, eNewsletter, Facebook, Fundraising, Interview, Marketing, Newsletter, Nonprofit, Publications, Social Media, Special Series, Technology for Nonprofits, Twitter, Writing | | Comments Off
Written by: Don Akchin
#SM4NP: ROI From Social Media May Be Elusive, But It’s Not Impossible
If you search for information about how to measure returns on investment in social media, you will be quickly reminded about just how new social media is in the business and nonprofit economies. Mathematicians are still searching out formulae and quality-control gurus want to talk about the developments of relationships that will bring customers and donors a bit later down the road. One of the underlying themes, though, is that no one doubts the value of social media writ large, even as we try to quantify that value and/or make it predictive of our outreach.
Perhaps success can be measured in hard, but not precise, numbers. Moreover, we should also consider social media as a ‘value added’ component to the core vocation of our nonprofit or charity, rather than as a fundamental element. How might we do both?
| Category Advice, Blogs, Campaigns, Case Study, Communications, Facebook, Facebook, Fundraising, Marketing, Marketing Budget, Marketing Skills, Measurement, Social Media, Strategic Marketing, Twitter | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD