Social media for non-profits

Social media is the shiny new toy that everyone seems to love but few have figured out how to play with safely. Even fewer know whether it’s worth the investment. However, not playing with this toy could have a negative effect on your brand. Getting your non-profit message retweeted or having numerous Facebook “likes” is one aspect of social media – but how can it be effectively used across functional areas within your non-profit? Who are the innovative users of social media? How can non-profits learn from for-profit approaches? In this session, Bhupesh addressed these questions and shared insights on the why’s and how’s of curation, challenges of using social media, and current and future trends

Five Good Ideas

1. Don’t be afraid to open up.
2. Think like a for-profit.
3. Offer value to your stakeholders by curating and sharing relevant information.
4. Look out the window.
5. Develop a social media strategy before dipping your toe in the water.

Five Good Resources

1. Beth’s Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media. http://www.bethkanter.org/. This site has insightful posts and guest posts, particularly on technology as it applies to non-profits.
2. Feedly Content Aggregator. http://www.feedly.com/. Feedly works across all major platforms and even synchronizes so what you’ve changed on your desktop is reflected on your Android smartphone or iPad.
3. Pinterest. http://pinterest.com/. This virtual pin board or visual content curation platform is rapidly rising in popularity. There are a large number of marketing, social media and non-profit boards that you can learn from.
4. Yammer – Enterprise Social Network. https://www.yammer.com.
5. YouTube Charities Program. http://www.youtube.com/nonprofits?info_lang=ca. Apply to have a non-profit channel on YouTube. Site includes tips and tricks on how to run video campaigns.