Time Management Tips for Nonprofit Techies and Social Media Strategists

Using Social Networking to build your YMCA career

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My colleague, Steve Heye,and fellow chapter author for the NTEN book, Managing Your Mission To Meet Technology, created the above slidedeck for a career training workshop at the YMCA.    It's about using social networking tools to support your career.

Lots of great stuff here!   My takeaways:

Slide 31: Some great points about balancing the line between individual presence and organizational presence on social networking sites:

• Read the policies in your employee manual
• Use of YMCA equipment
• Sharing confidential information
• Extra caution with minors (Child Abuse)
• Avoid posting or acting on behalf of the YMCA
• Speak from your opinion
• Do not use the YMCA logo
• If in doubt, start sentence with, In my opinion…

Slide 44:  Some good time management tips for using the social web purposefully.

Finding Time:

• Start small and find what works for you
• Set priorities on tools
• Spend 15-30 minutes each morning reading or answering requests
• Pick one day a week to spend one hour –
• Writing a blog post
• Expanding your network
• Replying to other people’s questions

Using Time Wisely:

• DON’T READ EVERYTHING
• Take time everyday, don’t let it build up
• Limit where you start
• Learn to use filters
• Take time to alter notification settings
• Don’t join everything or friend everyone, it’s OK to say no
• If you fall behind just do a dump
• DON’T READ EVERYTHING

Steve has some good tips on how to use LinkedIn.  

Here's my advice (and a request) to Steve:

•  If you do this again, I would recommend checking out Dan Schawbel's book "ME 2.0"

I would love it Steve, if you were to write a resource rich post about the art and science of using LinkedIn - not only to build your career, but as a professional networking tool on behalf of your nonprofit organization.

Any takers out there?  Leave me a comment with pointer to your blog post or best resources or del.icio.us links.

Comments

[Yolanda]

These are some really great tips - very helpful! I've also recently come across a really novel idea in terms of creative ideas of using technology effectively in funraising. I found it on: http://micalendar.ca/online-fundraising-calendar-program.html
It seems really awesome - you raise money and raise awareness about your organization, while they do all the work for you. I definitely think it's worth looking into!

[mikeysames]

Love the assignment and hope that someone who knows what they are doing with linkedin will take you up on it.

Would love to see that spelled out with a specific objective in mind.
Here is a good Alumni Association best practice http://www.alumnifutures.com/alumni/2007/05/10_pros_and_4_c.html

And here is a resource rich post, but not much to directly address NPO
http://www.linkedintelligence.com/smart-ways-to-use-linkedin/

[Kevin B. Gilnack]

We're going to be discussing ways that nonprofit executives can advance their organizations through having a LinkedIn presence, beyond the obvious increase in visibility and putting a face to the organization.

Some low-effort suggestions around generating donor and community interest include
- using the Typepad application to import your company's RSS feed so anyone viewing your profile has the chance to see the latest news at your organization
- using the Slideshare application to post interesting slides related to the impact your organization has, or the need your organization is trying to address
- going beyond your job description and emphasizing the mission of the organization
- watching Q&A for opportunities to highlight your (and your organization's) expertise
- using Company buzz to see what people are saying about the organization, cause, community, etc. and familiarize themselves with Twitter, for those that aren't interested or ready in diving into search.twitter, RSS feeds, and more comprehensive listening posts
- learning about the 'competition' and finding potential partners (and then using groups, referrals, or direct contact to create a "IRL" connection)
- recruiting staff
- it's not just a resume for job hunts, it's also an opportunity to make a good impression and even connect with community members and potential donors, sponsors, volunteers, partners, and vendors.

Depending on your audience and resources, there may be opportunities for LinkedIn groups to foster a community of individuals interested in your work, for connecting members, volunteers, or staff. However, I'm still looking for some examples of thriving LinkedIn nonprofit groups - PLEASE SHARE IF YOU KNOW OF GOOD EXAMPLES!

Would love to see more writing on examples of nonprofits that are making the most of LinkedIn.