Driving Social Media Engagement

Eric Melin@SceneStealrEric@EWBUSASunflowerState@Spiral16 #EWBUSA2013

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What is your goal?

Social media engagement can:

• Increase awareness• Build trust• Increase traffic• Build relationships• Drive donations• Increase membership, volunteers

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Who is your audience?

Your organization – partners, volunteers & donorsYour community – friends of people in your organizationGeneral audience – those with local/personal interest

What is important to them? What makes them act?Where do they go for information?

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Twitter TacticsFollow people and organizations that are interesting to you.

Your Twitter account will become a real-time news feed of the issues and topics you care about.

This is content that you can share. If it’s not directly related to your cause, make sure it’s something your audience cares about.

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Twitter Tactics

60% of content should be from other sources.30% should be conversation.10% should be your own content.

When sharing links, remember to @ people and give them credit.

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Twitter TacticsFollow local and cause-related hashtags and join in on the conversation. Create your own hashtag for your events.

#activism#advocacy#causes#charity#charitytuesday#csr – corporate social responsibility#donate#fundraising#ngo – nongovernmental organization#nonprofit#nonprofits#npcons – nonprofit consultants

#nptech – nonprofit tech#philanthropy #sm4sg – social media for social good#socent – social entrepreneur or social enterprise#socialgood#video4change#volunteer#volunteersCHATS#nptalk – nonprofit talk #ynpchat – young nonprofit professionals #npcons – nonprofit consultants #socentchant – social entrepreneurs #smNPchat – small nonprofits http://www.companykmedia.com/2011/05/18/30-super-useful-nonprofit-hashtags-twitter-chats-too/#sthash.O3ixBOLE.dpuf

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Twitter TacticsLive tweet during events.

Follow others using the hashtag.

Meeting people in the real world and following them on Twitter can cement relationships.

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Twitter TacticsEstablish your “voice.”

Be honest, real, and friendly.

Ask questions.

Answer others.

Retweet and favorite.

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Acknowledge Volunteers

• Adding loyal supporters to an “Our Team” (or a similarly titled) Twitter list.

• Set aside a time after each event to @mention specific volunteers who provided excellent service.

• Post pictures and tag volunteers in action at your events with appreciative captions.

http://mysocialgameplan.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-nonprofits

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Facebook Tactics

http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/science/whydoyouusefacebook.jpg

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Facebook TacticsWhy is engagement so important on Facebook?

Because it gets you a better chance of appearing in users’ news feeds. 3 things Facebook looks at:

1. How often you interact with a friend or page – the last 50 interactions are particularly important

2. The number of likes, shares and comments a post receives total – and from your friends in particular

3. How much you have interacted with this type of post in the past

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Facebook Tactics

Upload a cover photo that tells your story visually.

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Facebook Tactics

You must engage people to like, comment, and share.

Ask questions.

Create a poll!

Respond back.

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Facebook TacticsHave all your members invited people to like your page yet?

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Facebook TacticsImages inspire more likes, comments, and shares than any other content type.

Tag people in the photos so all their friends can see your post.

Try a “Share if you…” post.

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Facebook TacticsCreate a Facebook Event.

Invite people.

Encourage people to share/invite others.

Leading up to the event, discuss it on the event page.

Tag sponsors!

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Facebook TacticsFind other organizations with similar goals/interests and share their content.

Always “like” them first, then tag them in the post.

If you want people to spread your content, spread theirs.

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Humor

Funny posts and pictures of animals are the most popular Facebook posts on the planet.

Just make sure your post fits in somehow with your mission/story.

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StorytellingNonprofit stories have the unique ability to allow people to feel and want to be a part of something bigger.

Think about the stories that surround your mission.

1. Share inspiring stories at meetings.

2. Create an organizational story bank to record them.

3. Be patient. The best stories aren’t always the ones that jump out at you. Sometimes the real stories are the ones you only notice after interacting with people several times. 

http://www.socialbrite.org/11/3/2012

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Join Online Groups

Social Media for Nonprofit Organizations

Group

Thanks!

@SceneStealrEric@EWBUSASunflowerState@Spiral16