Nonprofits’ Tools, Tactics and Strategies for Web, Search and Social

Designated Editor teaches nonprofits new media time-savers

Nobody knows the bottom line better than those in the fundraising and development industry. To remain connected to donors, sponsors, and other key publics, nonprofits must use weigh resources wisely and efficiently.

The Rhode Island chapter of the Association for Fundraising Professionals centered its March education session around these challenges.

Content and Social Media Strategist Suzanne McDonald shared her insights on how to make the most of limited resources within an organization through social media.

The first step is to be able to identify the best ways to use these tools.  Designated Editor has worked with many clients to help make sure strong, concise message reach the intended audience.

You may be asking: “How do I not just reach, but ENGAGE my current donors and constituents?” There are many tools to engage current donors, but also ways to use social media to reach new ones.  Some free tools (based on your needs) include:

 

                                         
 Saves you time             Great for analytics                 easy website updating
                                                                                     SEO, Google rankings
           

 

                                                

                 Professional, easy to use              Easy to share

                                     

         Sponsor-partner research         Representing your brand visually
                                             
               Engage with media             Engage with advocates and supporters
                & major influencers                  make it interactive, use photos & video.
               on a public platform

 

How can you equip your advocates with the tools to create income for your organization?

  • Try creating video contests and sharing Facebook invites with friends
  • Email tools like MailChimp can bring the relationship closer (email converts better and people are more likely to see it than social media or on the web)
  • Make the time to access these easy – and often FREE – tools to gain efficiencies that will save your organization time and effort.

Which time-savers do you use and recommend?

E-Marketing for Artists panel features Designated Editor, Newport CVB

E-Marketing and new media tools and tips for artists

 

 

E-Marketing for Artists infographic by Designated Editor for the Newport Arts and Cultural Alliance

E-Marketing for Artists infographic by Designated Editor for the Newport Arts and Cultural Alliance

E-Marketing best practices

Claim & maintain your profiles on the major platforms

Fish where the fish are

Form relationships with individuals

Don’t forget customer service

Know you are not in control

80/20 rule: Only talk about yourself 20% of the time

Be useful and helpful to your fans/followers on social media

Offer incentives to visit to your gallery/business, consider other deal types

Use tools and services available beyond simply sharing, such as Facebook ads

Make it easy to share: Include, at minimum, the Like button on your site/blog

Track progress via Facebook Insights, Google Analytics and Email open rates

Monitor activity constantly: Hootsuite/Tweetdeck and smartphones are helpful

Embed and cross-pollinate: Embed YouTube videos in your blog, share your blog posts

Buckle up: The rules and platforms will continue to change and evolve, creates opportunities

E-Marketing: How to get started & make progress

Get your house in order: Focus on your website to ensure social users will not find it confusing/messy

Add a blog: Great for Google rankings and a spot for you to compile all your great content

Learn a little about SEO & develop an editorial calendar to keep your blog on track

Build an email list & establish an e-newsletter schedule; go for big photos & deals

Claim your brand on various social media platforms (see infographic above for current top picks)

Determine which social media platforms your target audiences are using

Start with the platforms that your best customers are using, most likely Facebook

Cross-pollinate: Your blog will help feed your social media and email newsletters

Thanks so much to the Newport County Arts & Cultural Alliance for hosting a fun panel on E-Marketing for Artists.

And thanks to fellow panelists @Annie Collela  & @Andrea McHugh of the Newport and Bristol County Convention and Visitors Bureau for sharing your insights and contributing to this post.

And, last but not least, thanks to the Preservation Society of Newport County for hosting.

 

Social Media resources from Designated Editor

Prior presentations, Powerpoint slides & posts by Suzanne McDonald of Designated Editor

Leveraging LinkedIn: Free tips to prospect and engage

Facebook for Business 101: Branding to Engagement to Ads to ROI

New Media Tips to Land Your First Customer

Facebook for Business 101 by Designated Editor: Branding to Engagement to Ads to ROI

 

 

Suzanne McDonald, Designated Editor’s Social & Content Strategist, gave the sold-out room a bevy of strategic tools and ready-to-implement tactics at a 2-hour Newport County Chamber of Commerce seminar on Facebook.

As always with her talks, questions are encouraged and brought up numerous additional points such as:

Q.  What to do if you’re a nonprofit
A.  Utilize Facebook Causes

Q.  How to share on Facebook if you have sensitive or personal or medical information
A.  Remove identifiable specifics but keep the compelling parts

Q.  How to circumvent sharing your personal information and still have a brand page
A.  Follow the lead of teens & set up an alternate personal profile before launching your brand. This may also play a role of you intend to sell your business and its assets

Q.  How to utilize time-saving tools like Hootsuite
A.  Get alerts when people are interacting with your page, also available on smartphones

Q.  Being aware that hashtags are not appropriate for Facebook
A.  It’s easy to post across all platforms at once; be aware of differing norms and etiquette

Q.  The difference between your wall and your newsfeed
A.  Your wall is your visible billboard; your newsfeed is private & custom to you, based on who you Like

Suzanne demonstrated best practices like posting with images and asking your fans questions to boost Likes and engagement. She showcased local brands like Newport Storm beer, the International Yacht Restoration School, Alex and Ani, Ocean State Fresh, and local wedding stylists, who are all engaging and attracting fans on Facebook.

Please see the Facebook slides, above, for more information on

  • Facebook Insights
  • Facebook advertising
  • ROI on Facebook

Thanks to Tom Schuyler of Match Light Marketing for sharing insights and some slides.

Social Media resources from Designated Editor

Prior presentations, Powerpoint slides & posts by Suzanne McDonald of Designated Editor

Leveraging LinkedIn: Free Tips to Prospect and Engage

New Media Tips to Land Your First Customer

E-Marketing for Artists Panel

Leveraging LinkedIn: Free tips to prospect and engage

 

Leveraging LinkedIn presented to the Newport County Chamber of Commerce

This presentation was coupled with live demos and lots of Q&A from the packed room at the Newport County Chamber of Commerce. LinkedIn demo included:

How to optimize your profile

  • Make sure your photo shows you professionally and recognizably
  • Be sure it’s recent

Use plug-ins to enhance your profile

  • TripIt
  • SlideShare
  • Blog Link
  • Reading List

Engage via Groups

  • Share articles of interest
  • Connect to people in your Groups who you find interesting
  • If you’d like to connect with someone you don’t know, try engaging via Groups

Other LinkedIn tools

  • Posting and encouraging attendance with Events
  • Showcasing your expertise and adding value with LinkedIn Answers
  • Prospecting by looking up and following companies and following individuals

With only a free account, you can leverage LinkedIn to gain clients. This has worked for Designated Editor using Answers and Groups. And we harnessed Events to help promote Newport Interactive Marketers gatherings.

LinkedIn posting tips

Post at least once per week.

One way to stay active on LinkedIn is to post articles you’ve read and commented on to LinkedIn (can also select to share with Twitter) and share with Groups and Individuals. Please note: LinkedIn is not like Twitter, and people are more likely to become over-saturated with your posts if you’re contributing multiple times per day.

Thanks to the Newport County Chamber of Commerce for hosting and don’t miss a Facebook Seminar at the Chamber on Feb. 9, 2012.

New media tips to land your first customer presented by Suzanne McDonald

How to use new media to land your first customer, a Designated Editor presentation at Boston ENET: The IEEE Entrepreneurs’ Network

Landing your  first few customers, as Boston ENET: The IEEE Entrepreneurs’ Network, accurately articulates “is often one of the biggest hurdles startups face.”

Check out the slides for insights on how to “leverage digital media and traditional marketing techniques to land those first customers–without breaking the bank. Suzanne will explore customer acquisition with an emphasis on using the marketing tools of the 21st century.”

Boston ENET events gather many previously successful entrepreneurs who are venturing on new projects, as well as some freshly minted entrepreneurs. A highly engaged crowd with fantastic questions, and a fantastic venue at SwissNex Boston, along with gracious hosts: the SwissNex Boston team and Christina Inge of Boston ENET. Don’t miss future ENET events.

Christina Inge

Christina Inge

Tweet highlight from Christina Inge of Boston ENET

“The hard part when you’re beginning is you’re in an echo chamber-talking, but not yet hearing from customer #enet

Let’s continue the conversation

  • What did I miss?
  • How did you get your first customer?

Social Media resources from Designated Editor

Prior presentations, Powerpoint slides & posts by Suzanne McDonald of Designated Editor

Leveraging LinkedIn: Free Tips to Prospect and Engage

Facebook for Business 101: Branding to Engagement to Ads to ROI

E-Marketing for Artists Panel