From Nonprofit Social Media Strategist to Social Media Change Agent and Beyond

NWF Staff: Intro to Social Media

View more presentations from Danielle Brigida.

This is a wonderful slideshow from Danielle Brigida from NWF who is responsible social media strategy implementation. She's the person behind the NWF Twitter presence.  I caught her newest slideshow and it is an introduction to social media for NWF staff.  

(Discovered another link about the aging of social networks too!)

It made me wonder about the new (informal?) role that social media strategy implementers are playing within nonprofits.  They're either under the radar or more formal in their evangelist, training, and change agent role.

If you are responsible for social media in your nonprofit organization, how do you educate other people in your organization?  Is it under the radar or are there formal opportunities?  It is an official part of your job description?

Comments

[Alex Steed]

Hi Beth -

I'm glad you posted this question. I don't work within a nonprofit, but I work with a lot of nonprofits. Like you I'm sure, I run into a lot of folks at NPOs who understand that social media is likely going to be helpful in their overall outreach strategy, but don't quite know how to get there. A big part of this conversation should pull back and look at the organization's overall strategy. A lot of folks get in touch, excited because they've read about Goodwill of Greater Washington in DC and they think that a blog is going to be what will bring a lot of attention their way? Or they've read all of these articles on Facebook and Twitter and are confident that opening accounts to these sites are sure-fire next steps. What this really entails is stepping back, looking at overall strategy, identifying primary and secondary audiences, seeing how said audiences are being reached, and thinking about strategy, like e-mail marketing, as a new approach to better-solidify or to augment pre-existing plans.

Once we figure THAT out, then it's time, if appropriate, to get creative.

Thanks for posting the slide show. I'm sure I'll be sharing it around.

Alex

[mikeysames]

We serve nonprofits, we're not a nonprofit ourselves.

Change has happened by communicors who are using soicla media technology and can trace back a lead or a sale originating from a contact made through a SM space. It just happened this morning and floated around the office as approval for us using the channel.

I think Non Profit offices and agents will work the same way. Excitement will be justified only when they can tie a big donation back to a contact originating in an online space.

Because most NPOs are busy cultivating their existing lists for large donations, the pipeline might not exist yet for the way many organizations are setup.

Do you think, Beth, that social media is largely recognized by the NPWorld as a cultivation channel?

[Danielle]

Beth, I'm truly honored you liked this presentation!

One thing I will say about social media implementation is that I think it's key to pinpoint the people within the organization excited and willing to listen and learn. If I had forced any kind of strategy on them-- then the interaction they would have with the communities they join would seem forced. Part of what I do when I see potential for social media is I introduce the concept to the program staff and then see if they are interested. Only if they are interested will I go any further. I would never encourage a staff member who doesn't feel comfortable or feels like it's a "waste of time" to do social media because being authentic is so important. I find the people who truly enjoy doing it are the ones who benefit the most. I'm all about organic growth!

[Beth Kanter]

Thanks for your insight

[MBB]

Danielle, Beth. Thanks for posting this deck. I found it really insightful and clear. Its been a massive use to me as I approach social cause clients with social media strategies. I think the "company wide buy-in" is important because otherwise it does just sound so false. People should only be encouraged top get involved if they want to.