TL;DRSocial Media for CBOs

Let’s try an activity!

TL;DR Too long; didn’t read Attention span isn’t just about length

It’s about how you present yourselfIt’s about whether you’re engagingIt’s about whether you’re authentic

What platforms does your organization use? Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? Other?

Pinterest Snapchat Periscope Vine Tinder

How do you handle social media at your organization? Does it fall under the purview of one specific

person?

Is it the communications person? Intern? Other staff person?

“How do I social media?” Anyone who claims they can answerthis question with one solution is lying.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution:

Only you know your org’s culture, audience, and the best ways to reach them

Obstacle 1: social media is expensive (but not in the way you might think) In order to have an effective social media presence,

you need to: Put in TIME Put in ENERGY Put in CREATIVITY Put in MONEY (sometimes) Put in STAFF (which = time + money + energy +

creativity + lunch hopefully)

Obstacle 2: Social Media is Crowded

Facebook just passed 1.7 billion active monthly users

Obstacle 2: Social Media is Crowded

How do you stand out when everyone just wants to see:

Obstacle 3: Social Media is Algorithmically Curated Your organic audience is getting more and more

segmented (intentionally) This can be a good thing

It can create strong active users This can be a bad thing

It makes it hard to reach more people

All is not lost! With some pre-planning, cool (read: free)

resources, and commitment, you can tackle these obstacles

But make no mistake: There is no way around the time-suck It just doesn’t have to all be on you!

Step 1: Make Your Plan Ask yourself: who is your audience? Use that to:

Decide what platforms work best for your organization and its audience:

Facebook: general interest (basically mandatory) Twitter: news-heavy, quick and digestible, conversational, hashtag

searchable Instagram: image/video heavy, skews younger, hashtag searchableSnapchat: image/video exclusive, skews younger, “wild west”Pinterest: image heavy, products/idea focusedLinkedin: no.

It’s pretty difficult to effectively moderate/maintain more than 3 pages GO TO YOUR AUDIENCE, don’t expect them to go to you

Step 1: Make Your Plan Find your organization’s purpose and voice on these channels

Social media is a tool, why will/should people use it to connect with your organization?

Decide why you’re here. Are you:A news or information resource?A way to raise awareness for an issue?A nonprofit with a revenue stream that wants to sell products?

How is that goal communicated?Is your voice intellectual?Is your voice dry?Is your voice self-deprecating?

Step 1: Make Your Plan Determine the best ways to keep your content

flowing, and codify it in your organization

Create opportunities for information sharing Establish regular meetings and brainstorming

sessions Make sure everyone is aware of the

organization’s social media pages and is following along

They can be a great advocate for gaining followers!

Schedule weekly posts if you know they’ll be relevant

Step 2: Keep your content flowing & engaging “Content is king” is misleading

People are smarter, more selective, and more skeptical than ever

Social media is a telephone not a megaphone

The content you post should be relevant to your mission, your voice, and your purpose But it should be about trying to bring people along

in a conversation, not (just) an advertisement

Step 2: Keep your content flowing & engaging How do you start that conversation?

Never miss an opportunity for people to participate!Ask for their thoughts, ideas, etc.Run contestsThe more people engage with content, the

more invested they will feel in your organization

Your content will also be visible to more people

Step 2: Keep your content flowing & engaging How do you start that conversation?

You’re not alone in this: give credit where it’s due!Tag people, businesses, and orgs in posts whenever

possible It can be tedious, but put in the time to find the

pages! By the other token: make sure YOU’RE easily

searchable as well! Invite people to tag themselves if you have group photos All this increases visibility and drives even more

engagement

Step 2: Keep your content flowing & engaging How do you start that conversation?

“Talk” to people!Find like-minded people and pages who might

support your cause and interactComment or give (positive) feedback on things

people postDon’t be afraid to engage your competitors

Besides, you can mine them for followers/supporters

Step 2: Keep your content flowing & engaging Where do you get content?

Remember those information sharing opportunities you created?

Capture stories, vignettes, images, etc. from whole staff

Never miss an opportunity to take a picture for social!

Social media is not just a one-person job, it should be woven into culture of your org Decreases time-suck Keeps your content fresh and relevant

Step 2: Keep your content flowing & engaging What kind of content is “engaging”

Pictures and video (ESSENTIAL)Motion is far more eye-catching than stills, but

ANY image is more eye-catching than text

<<

Step 2: Keep your content flowing & relevant Photography doesn’t have to be expensive

It’s better to have less than professional photos than no photos at all (But professional photos are great.)

Don’t forget the snipping tool if you’re in dire need.Mac: command + shift + 4

Step 2: Keep your content flowing & relevant Stories are engaging…

But don’t stray into TL;DR territory Hook ‘em, then link ‘em

Step 2: Keep your content flowing & relevant

So let’s catch our breath: Your organization has taken a good, hard, look at your

goals for social media presence You’ve used those goals to pick two or three platforms to

provide content on You’re creating a storytelling/social media culture in your

organization, sharing ideas, content, and stories from your work to post on channels

Once you have these ideas and content, you’re consistently sharing out these things (preferably pictures or video) on your platforms, but inviting people to engage with you by commenting, sharing, providing feedback, etc. and also doing some commenting and feedback-ing of your own

Wow! You’re crushing it!

Except…

Step 3: Engage, Drive, Repeat “Engagement” is the driver, not the destination Make sure your most relevant content has a call to

action Not only does it need to create an emotional

connection, but it needs to drive people to act

Step 3: Engage, Drive, Repeat Let’s compare:

Step 3: Engage, Drive, Repeat What did you notice about these two videos? How did they differ? Which was more compelling? What was missing?

Step 3: Engage, Drive, Repeat Honesty and authenticity are priceless

Being too slick can be a detriment You don’t have to re-invent the wheel to break

through noise Capitalize on trends, pre-existing hashtags, and

movements to spin it in fun directions Live tweet/update events that are going on that you

have a presence at Use Facebook live streaming or Periscope (tastefully

and within reason) You’re (probably) not going to go viral—that’s okay!

Shameless plug:

#IGiveExtra

Step 4: Analyze and Adjust But if it’s really not working, then look at the

numbers

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have great analytics to help you get the most out of your posts

Even if you think your presence is healthy, you should still be checking analytics and adjusting as necessary

Step 4: Analyze and Adjust You can also opt for paid placement

And—unfortunately—it works. Social networks are a business—it’s designed to

take your money and deliver a product But never buy likes, followers, etc.

There are entire businesses devoted to creating fake accounts for this—they’re not real followers and won’t translate into supporters!

Now the fun (FREE) stuff There are some great tools that can help

alleviate social media related stress

Now to tie a nice bow on this: Social media is an abbreviated form of storytelling–

Your Facebook post/tweet/Instagram is like the back cover of your novel, you’ve got to hook them to tell your story (thanks John!)

Social media is not a solitary task Your whole organization should be helping, including

the board (thanks Rachel!) Social media is how you represent your organization

…and how your employees represent it. Make sure your voice is consistent (thanks Patrick!)

There is no one-size-fits-all answer But you have the answers already!