Nonprofit Tech 2.0 Blog :: A Social Media Guide for Nonprofits

50 Fun, Useful, and Totally Random Resources for Nonprofits

nonprofitorgs — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:30:16 +0000

The number of low-cost or free, web-based resources and tools available to nonprofits today is astounding. Many nonprofit professionals are overwhelmed by the all choices – and as the Mobile Web and related start-ups continue to grow, prepare to be mind-boggled by all the new technology options available to your nonprofit in coming years.

That said, to be alerted of new resources for nonprofits, please subscribe to the Nonprofit Tech 2.0 e-Newsletter. A section of the e-newsletter entitled “Resource Spotlight” features a new tool in each edition.

1. 2dCode :: 2d-code.co.uk

A comprehensive blog about all things related to Quick Response (QR) Codes, Augmented Reality (AR), and Near Field Communication (NFC). Based in the U.K., 2d Code is a must read for the early adopters.

2. 360 Panorama :: occipital.com/360/app

Ideal for mobile social networkers, this $.99 app allows you to easily create panoramic photos on your smartphone. Simply tap the screen and pan your device in any direction. You’ll see your panorama being built in realtime as every incoming frame is processed. This is a must-buy app if your nonprofit regularly tells your story through mobile photo-sharing.

3. 4096 Color Wheel :: ficml.org/jemimap/style/color/wheel.html

A handy little tool when designing a YouTube channel, Twitter profile, MySpace page, blog, etc.

4. Addictomatic :: addictomatic.com

A social search tool that allows you to easily track mentions of your nonprofit on social networking sites, blogs, and websites. Simply enter your nonprofit’s name and Addictomatic then creates a page of all your search results for easy future reference.

5. Alexa Top Sites :: alexa.com/topsites

This website tracks what sites are the most popular in the world today. In addition to the list of global top sites, you can also view top sites by country.

6. BrainyQuote :: brainyquote.com

A directory of quotes by famous people, this websites list thousands of inspirational quotes useful for Tweeting and Facebook Status Updates. A good quote is certain to garner your nonprofit Retweets and thumbs up on Facebook any day of the week.

7. CheckFacebook :: checkfacebook.com

This site provides an incredibly useful breakdown of Facebook users by age, gender, and location. It also pulls in a feed of most recent Facebook news and illuminates in real-time the fastest growing countries using Facebook.

8. Cinchcast :: cinchcast.com

This tool turns your smartphone or desktop computer into an audio recorder that allows you to easily share audio messages and podasts with your supporters. You can either broadcast live (think of it as your own radio station) or host the messages on the Cinchcast server for later listening. Cinchcast is ideal for nonprofits that are advancing their communications into real-time reporting while on location from fundraisers, conferences, protests, etc.

9. Cause Layouts :: causelayouts.com

This service allows Facebook users to download custom Facebook Profile backgrounds designed with the branding of partner nonprofits. The company also donates $1 to the partner nonprofit for each download. There’s no other service like it and they are currently accepting new nonprofit partners. In fact, they even design the background for you.

10. Creative Commons on Flickr :: flickr.com/creativecommons

A great source for images for your nonprofit’s website, blog, e-newsletter, and social networking profiles.

11. CrowdVoice :: crowdvoice.org

Ideal for activist organizations, CrowdVoice allows organizers to create “Voices” of protest where users can monitor and contribute links, photos, and videos of protests worldwide. It’s a creative, visual way to tell your organization’s stories of protest to your online communities.

12. DailyFeats :: dailyfeats.com

A website (mobile app coming soon) that allows users to check-in while doing good deeds. From eating healthy to volunteering at local nonprofits, users earns points that can then be redeemed for rewards or special discounts offered by partner businesses.

13. Dipity :: dipity.com

This website allows users to build visually appealing interactive timelines using video, audio, images, location, social media, and timestamps. Nonprofits can use Dipity to create timelines that highlight their organizational history, current events, and special campaigns.

14. Flipboard :: flipboard.com

A must-download for nonprofit Twitterers! This iPhone/iPad app that allows you to easily flip through your favorite news sources and magazines. What’s unique and useful about it is that it can be configured to integrate with your Twitter and Facebook accounts. It also has a “Charities and NGOs” section. A winner of numerous “Best App” awards, this app will likely become your favorite new social newsreading app.

15. FrontlineSMS :: frontlinesms.com

A free, open-source software program that enables users to send group text messages from computers or mobile phones. It must be downloaded and is available only to nonprofit organizations. Used widely throughout the globe, FrontlineSMS has empowered a texting revolutionat the grassroots by nonprofits in developing nations and has become a beacon for social good in mobile technology.

16. Global Tweets :: globaltweets.com

GlobalTweets is a website which plots recent tweets from all over the world on a map by using their geographical information. Nonprofits can easily participate by configuring their Twitter accounts to share location and then using the #GT hashtag.

17. Google Chrome :: google.com/chrome

Google Chrome is a free web browser for Windows XP, Vista, and 7. It’s super fast, takes much less memory than Firefox, and makes social networking in particular much easier. Even if you are set in your browsing ways with IE or Firefox, Google Chrome only takes of few minutes of your time to download and experience.

18. JustCoz.org :: justcoz.org

JustCoz.org is a platform that enables charities, nonprofits, and NGOs to increase their social media reach by way of tweet and status update donations. In just a few clicks your supporters can donate a tweet or status update to benefit your cause (see The Global Fund). To begin, your first step is to login to JustCoz.org with your Twitter account to create a Cause page for your nonprofit.

19. Google Internet Stats :: google.co.uk/intl/en/landing/internetstats

A collection of economic and media trends and stats. Very useful to social media practitioners and bloggers.

20. Google Mobile :: google.com/mobile

A mobile app that allows you easily conduct mobile searches by simply speaking into your phone using their new “Speak Now” technology. Additionally, the app serves as hub to all other Google Apps, such as Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Reader, Voice, Maps, etc. It is a must download!

21. GreatNonprofits :: greatnonprofits.org

A user-generated charity review site that’s ideal for nonprofits that are too small to get officially reviewed by Charity Navigator or the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, your supporters can write reviews for your nonprofit that you can then link to on your “Donate Now” landing page. That said, you should also monitor this site (and others like it) for the rare rogue review.

22. GroupMe :: groupme.com

Part-website, part-smartphone app, this tool enables free group texting between small groups of people. You can either manage your group online or on your mobile phone. Groups currently are maxed at 25 members, but in time will likely grow and perhaps even enable one-to-many group texting for free or at a very low-cost. GroupMe is useful for managing small teams of volunteers or for real-time communications between staff and volunteers during events.

23. HelpAttack! :: helpattack.com

This website allows your supporters to pledge to donate with each Facebook Status Update or Tweet they post on Facebook or Twitter. Donors can pledge as little as $.01 per Status Update or Tweet, and set monthly maximums for total donations. Partnered with Network for Good, if your nonprofit is already in the NFG database, then you have a profile on HelpAttack! that you can sign up to claim and and update.

24. IconsPedia :: iconspedia.com/pack/social-me-1467

A great source for free icons to use on your website, blog, Facebook Page, in your e-mail newsletter, etc. In fact, I used them for this blog (see upper-right), but please ignore the silly photo in the Fotolia ad. It’s a throwback from social networking circa 2006.

25. Instagram :: instagr.am

A free, fun mobile photo-sharing iPhone App that turns your mobile photos instantly in art. Users simply take a photo with their iPhone and add special editing and art effects with one tap. The app then allows you to share your photos on a photo-by-photo basis on Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter. Additionally, if your specify a location with your photos, you can opt to also share your photos on Foursquare.

26. Internet Archive Wayback Machine :: web.archive.org

This resources is always good for a laugh. Simply plug in your nonprofits’s website URL and you can seen cached versions of your site going back to 1996. Love it!

27. Meetup :: meetup.com

Ideal for organizing regional chapters, activists, or special events, Meetup makes it easy for nonprofits to organize supporters online to then meet up face-to-face offline. For a great example of a nonprofit using Meetup, see the the Nature Conservancy’s Picnic for the Planet.

28. MoFuse :: mofuse.com

MoFuse is a mobile content management system that allows you to easily create mobile websites using basic HTML and the RSS feed of your blog. Starting at $8 per month, Nonprofit Tech 2.0′s mobile website is powered using MoFuse at nonprofitorgs.mobi.

29. Museum of Me :: intel.com/museumofme

A Facebook app that creatively displays you and your Facebook friends in a virtual museum. While at first it may feel a little narcissistic, it is a clever and moving exhibition of your Facebook life – and one of the few Facebook apps I have recommended that anyone add on Facebook.

30. Qwiki :: qwiki.com

A search engine that “knows millions of things” about people, places, and history, Qwiki takes the information from your Wikipedia Page and converts it into a more visual format complete with audio, video, digital photography, and the ability to “Improve This Qwiki.” If you haven’t done so already, it would be wise to search for your nonprofit on Wikipedia to see if anyone has created a page for your nonprofit, because that now means you also have a page on Qwiki.

31. Screenr :: screenr.com

Screenr is a free, web-based screen recorder that makes it easy for nonprofits to record and share screencasts. Nonprofits could use Screenr to train staff, mobilize donors and activists, or tell their stories in a new way online.

32. Sparked.com :: sparked.com

Sparked.com is an online portal of volunteers that have signed up to offer small amounts of time to complete Web-based projects requested by nonprofits. Known as micro-volunteers, these individuals offer one or two hours a week to complete “Challenges” in the areas of technology, design, research, etc. Free for nonprofits, it’s an easy way to tap into a skilled volunteer network without committing a lot time to volunteer management.

33. Square :: squareup.com

Part-smartphone app, part-hardware device, Square enables the processing of credit card payments on your smartphone. Great for farmers’ market vendors, silent auctions, and fundraisers on the go!

34. Storify :: storify.com

Storify is a new tool that allows you easily search multiple social networks by subject or theme and then through drag and drop functionality, you can organize the results (tweets, status updates, videos, photos, etc.) into “Stories” that can then be easily shared on social media and embeded on websites and blogs. Currently in beta, the Storify homepage features numerous timely stories.

35. SupporterWall :: supporterwall.com

A website that allows nonprofits to set up web-based SupporterWalls of which spots of varying sizes and donation amounts can be purchased by your supporters.

36. SwipeGood :: swipegood.com

A fundraising tool that allows donors to automatically round up their debit or credit card purchases to the nearest dollar and donate the difference to the nonprofit of their choice. It’s built on the simple concept of donating your loose change to charity and thus far almost 400 nonprofits have signed up and been approved.

37. TechSoup.org :: techsoup.org

TechSoup is a nonprofit with a clear focus: providing other nonprofits and libraries with technology that empowers them to fulfill their missions and serve their communities. As part of that goal, TechSoup provides heavily discounted technology products and information geared specifically to the unique challenges faced by nonprofits and libraries. Founded in 1987, if you hadn’t heard of TechSoup until now, then you now know about one of the best resources for nonprofits on the Web today.

38. Timekiwi :: timekiwi.com

Timikiwi allows you to create a chronological display of your social media accounts with just a few clicks. Ideal for telling your nonprofit’s history on the Social Web, you can add Twitter, Tumblr, Posterous, WordPress, and Instagram. Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and others are coming soon!

39. Tripline :: tripline.net

Tripline is a clever way to visually plot check-ins on a map that can be shared with others. If your nonprofit does awareness tours, hosts events in multiple cities, or is active around your hometown, Tripline can help staff share their location-based activism and advocacy online.

40. TweepsMap ::tweepsmap.com

TweepsMap is a free tool that provides a visual, interactive map of your Twitter followers by country, state or city by simply logging in with your Twitter ID. For example, see the followers of @NonprofitOrgs by country at tweepsmap.com/!nonprofitorgs.

41. TwitSprout :: twitsprout.com

A fun, colorful way to track your nonprofit’s growth and activity on Twitter. Currently in beta, TwitSprout also allows you to easily convert your Twitter data into a PDF-format for easy sharing with others.

42. Twitter Mosaic :: sxoop.com/twitter

A website that allows you to create an image with a mosaic of your Twitter Followers’ avatars. Useful for web campaigns, Twitter Mosaic also provides the ability to create t-shirts that include your nonprofit’s Twitter name and your mosaic of Followers.

43. USTREAM :: ustream.tv

This tool allows nonprofits to easily create Web-based Internet “TV” stations. Even more amazing, their smartphone and tablet apps allow you to broadcast live from anywhere, anytime… for free. Live-streaming is ideal for reporting live from conferences, fundraisers, and protests. Definitely a trend to keep your eyes on as Internet TV begins to penetrate our living rooms in coming years.

44. Viddy :: viddy.com

A smartphone app that allows users to easily record, edit, and share videos in just a few taps. The design is slick, the functionality is cutting-edge, and the reviewers are raving. For mobile social networkers, Viddy is a must-download.

45. WeePlaces :: weeplaces.com

A tool that allows you to creatively showcase your Foursquare, Gowalla, and Facebook Places check-ins. If your nonprofit organizes speaking tours, hosts many events, or uses location-based communities for activism campaigns, WeePlaces is a unique way to visualize and share your check-ins on a web-based map with your Fans, Followers, and Friends.

46. What The Trend :: whatthetrend.com

An online database of what is #trending on Twitter with user-generated definitions of related hashtags.

47. Wibbitz :: wibbitz.com

Branding themselves as the “Play” button for the Web, Wibbitz automatically converts text-based posts and articles into engaging, interactive videos so your supporters “never have to read again.” The Wibbitz Play Button or Player can be easily added to entire websites, single articles, or just on a home page. To see a live example, view the Wibbitz Demo.

48. Windows Live Writer :: explore.live.com/livewriter

Windows Live Writer is primarily known as tool to help you better format and publish blog posts to the Web, but it’s also a very useful, simple, and free tool that can be used to easily generate HTML code. Knowing basic HTML or using a tool like Live Writer to generate HtML can transform a nonprofit’s ROI (Return on Investment) from using social media.

49. Worldle :: wordle.net

Wordle is an online tool that allows you to easily create word clouds. You can customize the color scheme, font, and layout with just a few clicks. Using Wordle, nonprofits could generate word clouds that add some color and creativity to their online fundraising and outreach campaigns.

50. Worldometers :: worldometers.info

A website that provides world statistics updated in real-time in categories ranging from world population to stats about energy and water consumption.

22 Must-Circle Nonprofits on Google+

nonprofitorgs — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:28:19 +0000

As a follow-up to Google+ Best Practices for Nonprofits and 22 Must-Circle Nonprofit Bloggers and Resources on Google+, below are 22 nonprofits that are regularly using Google+ effectively to engage and inspire the Google+ community. As traffic continues to grow, new tools and functionality are added almost daily. Google+ is definitely a work in progress. Most nonprofits are still experimenting to discover their Google+ voice and hone in on a frequency of publishing content to the stream that makes Google+ both viable long-term and worth the time spent exploring Google+.

To me, the Google+ Stream feels like a mixture of Twitter and Facebook. Like Twitter, you have to post or share content frequently to get exposure in the feed since there is no Edgerank-like algorithm to filter out (boring) posts/tweets. However, like Facebook, simply posting a link without a personal statement doesn’t seem to result in much activity on Google+ and to post multiple times per day on Google+ with well-thought out personal statements could become time-consuming. So, if Google+ wants to keep us hooked long-term, I do think Google+ is going to have to come up with a new functionality or tool that is completely unique and very simple and easy-to-use (think Pinterest). That said, as YouTube and other Google Products become more deeply integrated into Google+, the hook could evolve simply out of necessity and ease of using multiple Google Products in one place. More on that in my upcoming Google+ and Google Products for Nonprofits Webinar on February 28.

1. Acción contra el Hambre

2. Amazon CARES

3. American Prairie Foundation

4. Amnesty International Australia

5. Children’s National Medical Center

6. Detroit Symphony Orchestra

7. The Field Museum

8. GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)

9. Greenpeace Brasil

10. Grist

11. Habitat for Humanity Ireland

12. Kiva

13. KQED Science

14. Monterey Bay Aquarium

15. New England Aquarium

16. National Public Radio

17. Plan Asia

18. Rotary International

19. Sisters of Mercy of the Americas

20. Sussex Wildlife Trust

21. Teaching Tolerance

22. United Nations

Nine Nonprofits Offering Timeline Covers for Their Facebook Fans

nonprofitorgs — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:14:20 +0000

The new Facebook Timeline design is now available for upgrade to all Facebook users. The design was meant to be rolled out site wide in December 2011, however a lawsuit with Timelines.com is prolonging the mandatory switch – most likely only temporarily. Whatever your personal feelings are about Facebook Timeline, nonprofits would be wise prepare for it’s launch site wide including a likely timeline design for Facebook Pages. That the timeline design will be applied to Facebook Pages is only a gut feeling of mine (and many others) based on watching Facebook roll out multiple designs over the years. Facebook’s number one design astetic is consistency for simplicity of use and they will not want Facebook Profiles to have a completely different look and functionality than Facebook Pages.

So, nonprofit admins that want to be one step ahead in their Facebook campaigns should upgrade to the new timeline design, experiment with new apps for timeline, and create timeline covers for their Facebook Fans. On that third point, if you are going to create Facebook Timeline Covers for your fans, be sure to upload and feature them on your website or blog so they show up Internet searches and are easy to promote off Facebook. That said, here are nine nonprofits leading the way:

1. Best Friends Animal Society

View All Best Friends Animal Society Timeline Covers

2. Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano

View All Food Bank Contra Costs & Solano Timeline Covers

3. Natural Resouces Defense Council

View All Natural Resources Defense Council Timeline Covers

4. Ocean Conservancy

View All Ocean Conservancy Timeline Covers

5. ONE Campaign

Download ONE Campaign Cover

6. Sea Turtle Conservancy

View All Sea Turtle Conservancy Timeline Covers

7. Surfrider Foundation

View All Surfrider Foundation Timeline Covers

8. Tearfund

View All Tearfund Timeline Covers

9. World Wildlife Fund

View All World Wildlife Fund Timeline Covers

HOW TO: Get Your Nonprofit Started on Pinterest

nonprofitorgs — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:58:01 +0000

When Mashable first started buzzing about Pinterest in December 2011, I took a quick look at the site and thought to myself, “Shopping, crafters, and foodies. Not relevant to the vast majority of nonprofits and (whew!) not another site I need to pay attention to.” Now, just two weeks into January, I am completely addicted to pinning boards for social good on Pinterest. I haven’t been this hooked on a new social networking site since I first got on Twitter in June 2008, and based on recent data released by comScore and Hitwise, Pinterest traffic is soaring. Consequently, some of the nonprofits best known to be early adopters are pinning away too: National Wildlife Federation, Amnesty International, SFMOMA, Water.org, and the AARP. That said, my Pinterest Profile for “Nonprofit Organizations” (pinterest.com/nonprofitorgs) will only follow nonprofits. If your nonprofit starts pinning, be sure to follow me and I’ll follow you back. That said, here are eight steps to get your nonprofit started on Pinterest:

1. Request an invite to join Pinterest.

Pinterest is currently invitation only. It took two days for the email allowing me to join to arrive. Request an invite and let the anticipation begin!

2. Sign up for a Pinterest Account and set up your Pinterest Profile.

Once you receive the invitation to join Pinterest, simply follow the instructions to create an account. If you have a Twitter account, sign up with your Twitter username and password. It will automatically pull in your avatar, apply your Twitter username to your Pinterest account (such as pinterest.com/nonprofitorgs), and sync your account with Twitter in case you occasionally want to share Pinterest Pins with your Twitter community. Also, it’s worth pointing out and as I explain more below, that Pinterest allows users to create accounts using their Twitter accounts by default gives the green light that Pinterest Profiles can be brands, not just individuals:

Next, you’ll be presented with a screen of that interests you can follow. Each interest has a selection of Pinterest members that you begin to follow if you select an interest. Like most new social networking sites and tech start-ups, there is no Charity, Nonprofits, or Causes category – those will likely be added later when they see the rush of nonprofits signing up and using their site. Business always underestimate the fact the nonprofits are some of the most active early adopters on the Web. In the meantime, you can browse nonprofits and causes on Pinterest at pinterest.com/nonprofitorgs. That said, only select a few interests to begin with so you can get a sense of how Pinterest works, however once you become a regular pinner you’ll like re-organize who you follow:

Next, you’ll be asked to create your first Pinboards. Don’t worry too much about what you name them at this point. The names can be edited later, but to begin pinning create and name a couple Pinboards based on the causes that your nonprofit works for. For examples of Pinboards curated by nonprofits, again, see the National Wildlife Federation, Amnesty International, SFMOMA, Water.org, and the AARP. From browsing their boards you’ll see that Pinterest is a site where you can express your creativity and personality a little more than most other social networking sites. In fact, pinning traditional marketing materials will likely be a complete flop. As you begin to pin, operate from the assumption that this community is distinct from Twitter and Facebook and has it’s own etiquette and unique content interests:

Next, from your Pinterest Home view (which you get to by clicking/tapping the red Pinterest logo at the top of the site) select Settings to add your first and last name (First Name: Amnesty, Last Name: International) to your Pinterest Profile. In most cases I do not recommend that nonprofits convert personal profiles into brands profiles, however, I did review Pinterest’s Terms of Service to see what their policy is on “Members” being brands and there’s no mention that members must be individuals (First Name: Heather, Last Name: Mansfield). Also, that they let members create their accounts using their Twitter account (many of which, if not most, are brands) also signals that Pinterest allows members to brands. Surely Pinterest learned from the mistakes of Google+ and Foursquare which launched without brand profiles/pages. As a result they then had to go through the awkward stage of deleting profiles converted into brands in masse. The early adopters of new social networking sites are always brands and marketers and Pinterest had the opportunity to learn from the Google+ and Foursquare fiascos, so we have to assume that Pinterest made a conscious decision to allow members to be brands.

That said, enter the first half of your nonprofit name under “First Name”and the second half under “Last Name,” tweak your “About” content if necessary (it’s automatically pulled in from Twitter if you created your Pinterest account using your Twitter account), and add your nonprofit’s website. Only add your location if you are a location-based nonprofit, such as a museum, zoo, performing arts venue, etc.:

3. Edit/Set up your Pinboards.

During the process of creating your Pinterest account you created and named your first Pinboards, but before you start pinning you should complete the process of setting up your boards. That said, it’s worth noting that your boards can be be edited or deleted at any time and you’ll likely discover that after pinning for a few weeks you’ll want to edit, rename, rearrange (note the “Rearrange Boards” button), add, or delete your boards multiple times as your understanding of the Pinterest community deepens. To begin, go to Home > Settings > Boards and then “Edit” each board to include a description and a category. You’ll have to select “Other” if none of the current categories are appropriate:

4. Upload your first Pins.

Now the fun begins! Add/upload a selection of your best graphics or images to your boards by selecting the “Add+” button > Upload a Pin. Be sure to add a description with a link to increase your return on investment (ROI)/traffic from using Pinterest. Finally, make note that people can “Like/Repin or Comment” on your Pins. When members do so, you’ll see it on the “Recent Activity” stream on the left side of your Home view:

5. Repin your first Pin.

Your boards shouldn’t contain only your Pins. Be sure to repin and promote others if their content is good and relevant to your nonprofit’s mission. Doing so increases your generosity score in the Pintertest community and makes your boards more interesting which will likely result in more followers for your nonprofit. Your number one objective on Pinterest is to pin/repin visually appealing content that speaks to your mission. You want to be a good pinner first, a social good advocate second, and a marketer third. That said, find a Pin you’d like to repin or visit the Pin of the Greepeace ad we posted above and hit the “Repin” button. The Pin will then be posted in your board (you choose which one) and featured in your Home view:

6. Install the “Pin It” Bookmarklet to your browser.

A “Pin It” button can be added to your browser that makes pinning incredibly easy. If you see an image on the Web that you’d like to pin, simply hit the “Pin It” button on your browser and the image(s) is neatly displayed for quick pinning. You can grab, drag, and drop the button to your browser by visiting Pinterest’s Goodies Page.

7. Go mobile with Pinterest.

If you have an iPhone, download the Pinterest iPhone App so you can pin, repin, like, comment, and upload photos taken with your iPhone from anywhere at anytime:

8. Add the Pinterest icon to your webite, blog, and e-newsletter.

The vast majority of nonprofits do not have Facebook or Twitter icons on their website, blog, and/or in their e-newsletter, let alone a Pinterst icon. It’s a simple oversight that dramatically reduces ROI. That said, there’s no time like the present! Right-click, save, and upload:

That’s it for now. Experiment with Pinterest, have some fun with it, and if you’d like to receive updates from Nonprofit Tech 2.0 about Pinterest in the future, please subscribe to the Nonprofit Tech 2.0 e-Newsletter. Happy pinning!

Google+ Best Practices for Nonprofits

nonprofitorgs — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:46:13 +0000

UPDATED 1/8/12: Thanks to the launch of Google+ Pages for brands, Google+ traffic hit an all time high in December 2011 and it’s likely that the trend will continue in 2012. If your nonprofit has yet to get on Google+, now would be a very good time to start. If your nonprofit is already on Google+, then the best practices below are meant to help you better learn how to tap into and inspire the Google+ community.

Please note that these best practices will be a work in progress and updated regularly. To be alerted of when new best practices are posted, please subscribe to the Nonprofit Tech 2.0 e-Newsletter. Also, since the Google+ Pages launched after the release of Social Media for Social Good: A How-To Guide for Nonprofits, please consider this blog post a supplement to the book. Finally, I will be offering a Google+ and Google Products Webinar for Nonprofits on February 28, 2012.

1. Set up your Google/Gmail Account and personal Google+ Profile.

The process to get your nonprofit started on Google+ depends upon whether you already have a Google/Gmail account for yourself or your nonprofit. If you or your nonprofit has Google/Gmail account, then simply login and click the “+You” link in the upper left and follow the instructions to create your Google+ Profile:

If you or your nonprofit does not yet have a Google/Gmail account, then you’ll need to create a new Google/Gmail account which then also gives your nonprofit immediate access to a suite of Google Products. When signing up for Google/Gmail, be sure to use a real first and last name. Your Google/Gmail Account becomes the basis of your personal Google+ Profile and similar to Facebook, you must have a personal Google+ Profile before you can create a Google+ Page for your nonprofit. For those of you who do not necessarily want to be on Google+ personally (yet), it’s worth noting that your personal profile is not visible to your nonprofit’s Google+ followers and you can have multiple admins for your nonprofit’s Google+ Page.

Finally, once you have either logged in to your Gmail Account or created a new one and selected the “You+” link, do not be tempted to convert your new personal Google+ Profile into brand (for example, first name “Amnesty” and last name “International”) to avoid being on Google+ personally. It is in violation of Google+’s Terms of Service and down the road could result in the deletion of your Google+ Profile and your nonprofit’s Google+ Page. In short, you have to be a real person on Google+ before you can use the community to build a brand for your nonprofit – just like Facebook.

Now, onto setting up your personal profile. You likely entered some basic information when setting up your personal Google+ Profile, but you further edit/enhance your profile by clicking on your first name in the upper-left and then the “Edit Profile” button:

If you currently have no desire to use Google+ personally, then don’t enter any information except your first and last name. If you are ready to jump in and want to maximize your personal profile for the benefit of your nonprofit, then be sure to:

Enter a brief introduction about yourself and your bragging rights.
Add your nonprofit under “Employment.”
Add your nonprofit’s Twibbon/avatar to your Google+ Profile picture.
Upload your nonprofit’s avatar as one (or all five) of your featured profile photos.
Add links to your nonprofit’s website, blog, and social networking communities.

2. Create your nonprofit’s Google+ Page.

Now that you are personally set up on Google+, you are ready to start building a brand for nonprofit inside of the Google+ community by creating a Google+ Page for your nonprofit, such as the Nonprofit Organizations Page:

In November I wrote a step-by-step tutorial entitled: HOW TO: Create a Google Page for Your Nonprofit. It’s worth noting that it was updated in January.

3. Create a Google+ banner that makes a strong, positive first impression.

You can simply upload five square photos that speak to your organizations’s mission, such as Plan Asia’s page:

Or with some basic photo editing skills, you can creatively select and crop five photos to create a Google+ banner… or you can use GPlusBanner.com provided you have a banner image to start with that is 685 pixels in width by 125 pixels in height. Either way, Save the Children UK’s page is a great example of a custom Google+ banner:

4. Post quality content to the Google+ Stream.

Over time and through implementing the best practices listed below and those yet to come, you will find your Google+ voice. However, in the beginning I want you to ask yourself before each and every post to the stream: Will this content be interesting to our followers? Does it tell our nonprofit’s story? Does it inspire? If your first instinct says no, then don’t post it. There’s way too much marketing happening on social networking sites and not enough storytelling. Those nonprofits that focus on storytelling for their cause rather than mostly fundraising, event, and volunteer pitches do much better on social networking sites – and consequently and ironically tend to raise more money online, secure more event attendees, and recruit more volunteers. To earn return on investment (ROI) from using social networking sites is a skill that requires an instinct for subtlety.

That said, most posts to the Google+ Stream should include a personal message and thumbnail. In terms of content that inspires and results in higher rates of “+1′s” and “Shares”, a mixture of the following is best:

Success stories
Photos and slideshows
Videos
Powerful stats
Inspirational quotes
Calls to action: sign a petition, call Congress, event announcements, volunteer requests, urgent donation appeals, etc.
A unique, authentic Google+ voice

5. Learn to toggle between your Personal Google+ Profile and being an admin for your nonprofit’s Google+ Page.

This is as easily done as said once it is illuminated, however, many new Google+ users have had a hard time understanding how to post to the Google+ Stream from their personal profile and then as an admin from their nonprofit’s page. The default setting is that when you login to Google+ you will be logged in as an individual. To toggle over to being an admin for your nonprofit’s page, simply click the page link under your name from the stream and select your page:

Then, if and/or when you would like to toggle back to being an individual on Google+, again simply click link under your nonprofit’s name from the stream and select “You”:

6. Create a “Nonprofit Resources” Google+ Circle.

“Circling” on Google+ is equivlent to following on Twitter or liking on Facebook. Once you circle an individual or page, you will then see their posts in your stream. You can circle using your personal profile or you can circle as an admin for your nonprofit, or both. In the case of both, you’ll thus have two different unique streams. Circles also help you organize your stream(s). To begin with creating circles as an admin for your nonprofit, click the circles icon while logged in as an admin for your nonprofit’s page:

Next, create an empty circle and name it “Nonprofit Resources”:

Then, add individuals or pages to your new circle. I have created a list of 22 Must-Circle Nonprofit Bloggers and Resources to help get you started, however and unfortunately, when you click on the links of 22 resources listed (or any link to a Google+ Page outside of Google+) Google+ automatically toggles you back to being an individual, so to add the 22 resources listed to your circles created from your nonprofit page as a page admin, you will have manually search for the 22 resources by name.

Finally, notice that you can now click on the “Nonprofit Resources” circle from the left side of your stream and adjust how often you’d like to see the posts from the “Nonprofit Resources” circle in your main stream. It may seem at little confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll see that circles give you complete control over the posts you want to see in your streams(s):

7. “+1″ other’s posts as your nonprofit to increase exposure of your avatar and to foster good will.

There’s a phenomenon I have noticed unique to the nonprofit sector on social networking sites – the more you promote and support others, the more promotion and support you will receive from others. It’s particularly pronounced on Twitter and I’ve noticed the same good karma-like phenomenon on Google+. The more you +1 others, the more you’ll get +1′d… and due to increased exposure of your avatar through +1ing, your nonprofit will likely get more new followers as well:

8. Add the Google+ icon to your website, blog, and e-newsletter!

The vast majority of nonprofits do not have Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr icons on their website, blog, and/or in their e-newsletter. That’s a simple oversight that is dramatically hindering these nonprofit’s social media return on investment (ROI). That said, get those icons uploaded and add Google+ to the mix! You can right-click on the icons below to download them to your desktop:

9. Add the Google +1 button to your desktop website, mobile website, and blog.

Google dominates search on the desktop Web and now they are pioneering search on the mobile Web (see also m.google.com). You’d be wise to incorporate their +1 button into both your desktop and mobile websites and blog so Google+ users can +1 your content which can help increase your traffic and significantly improve your SEO. Simply copy and paste the code into your website(s) or blog. For WordPress users, there are also Google +1 plugins for WordPress.org and built-in Google +1 sharing functionality for WordPress.com blogs under Settings > Sharing. Services like AddThis and ShareThis have also added Google +1 functionality. See the Nature Conservancy’s Blog as an example:

10. Download the Google+ App.

The sooner you become accustomed to mobile social networking, the better social media manager you’ll be for your nonprofit. Unfortunately, the Google+ App does not yet allow page admins to publish to the stream, but it’s just a matter of time. You can learn more about the suite of Google+ Apps by visiting m.google.com/plus or download the app directly from your App Store:

11 New Year’s Resolutions for Nonprofit Social Media Managers

nonprofitorgs — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:12:21 +0000

There’s no shortage of year-end-and-beginning blog posts about social media, but I thought I’d throw mine into the mix as well. I took some much-needed time off in December and was able to spend some down time reflecting on the future of social media and mobile technology for the nonprofit sector. The truth is I think it has only just begun and that we’re on the cusp of a radical transformation in how we use the Internet in our personal and work lives as well as how we use it to foster social good. But first steps first… 11 New Year’s resolutions for nonprofit social media managers:

1) Create a “Thank You” video(s) for your 2012 fundraising campaigns.

Many of your supporters are becoming overwhelmed with tweets, status updates, emails, texts, and print and broadcast media and because of that it’s getting more difficult for your “Thank You” message to stand out from all the noise. Most nonprofit Thank You’s are still long, text-intensive messages which more often than not these days feel cumbersome and overwhelming to supporters. In contrast, a short Thank You video can often feel like a mental vacation to your supporters when all they need to do is listen and watch, and if done well, they’ll become more inspired and committed to your nonprofit. Your supporters also want to see what your staff and working space look like – the human beings behind the avatar, if you will. The video(s) does not need to be highly-produced or expensive, but it should be positive, on the short side, and integrated into all your nonprofit’s communications:

VIDEO: Thank You from Operation Smile

2. Learn basic HTML.

One of the simplest ways to significantly increase your nonprofit’s return on investment (ROI) from using social media is to learn basic HTML. To add social networking icons, a Donate Now button, or an e-newsletter subscribe link to your blog, default landing page on Facebook, or to Flickr Sets and Collections you need to know basic HTML. You can either teach yourself through tutorials on YouTube, take a class, or attend my Advanced Facebook Webinar.

VIDEO: HTML All Writers Need to Know

3. Diversify your news sources.

The best social media managers have a voracious appetite for news and current affairs. However, as I learned from spending two weeks in Asia this past December, the news sources you watch and consume can dramatically effect your consciousness and ultimately your social media voice. In 2011 I had gotten in the very bad habit of listening to (mostly) CNN in the background while working… all day long. By early December I was anxious, angry, and hopeless. Those are definitely not the qualities of a good social media manager. However, while in Asia I got to watch CNN Asia and the BBC and read the local press. America didn’t seem like such a mess in the foreign media. In fact, quite the opposite. It made me realize I was being completely manipulated by American media. The coverage of our politics and economy (especially on cable news) is just downright destructive.

Since I have returned from Asia I have cut my consumption of broadcast news by 95%. Now I primarily only watch the PBS News Hour and listen to NPR and the BBC on the Internet more often, but not all day. I make sure that music on Pandora is on the agenda for at least half the day. Silence is also good. I’m also reading the Guardian more often and occasionally check Asian, African, European, Canadian and Australian newspapers for a more well-rounded perception of the world and the United States. It’s made me a much more hopeful, optimistic, happy, and ironically better-informed individual which ultimately results in more patience and kindness in my social media work.

Being able to laugh at the news is also important to fight the negativity being thrown at us 24/7. Enter The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:

VIDEO: 2011: A Look Back
The Daily Show remembers the important stories of 2011 so you don’t have to.

4. View your nonprofit’s website on a tablet and smartphone browser ASAP!

If you have not yet viewed your nonprofit’s website on a tablet or smartphone browser, it’s going to be a real eye-opener. Experts predict that the Mobile Web will surpass desktop by 2014, but based on how many tablets and smartphones were sold this past holiday season worldwide, my guess is those estimates will be reevaluated to conclude that mobile will surpass desktop sometime late next year. Sadly, the vast majority of nonprofits are dreadfully behind on understanding the importance of creating mobile content and incorrectly conclude that it is expensive to launch mobile campaigns. The most popular desktop content management systems are quickly catching up to now offer easy, inexpensive mobile content options, but the time to learn about the importance of this trend for mobile communications and fundraising is now, or to be more exact March 6, 2012.

WWF Mobile	WWF Desktop

5. Subscribe to receive text alerts from the early adopters in the nonprofit sector.

I have always been an advocate of following, liking, and subscribing to the large organizations who are known for being early adopters. They usually have the staff, passion, resources, and training necessary to make a new tool succeed if it has any possibility of succeeding. You can learn by watching what they do and ultimately mimic them in your own communications and fundraising campaigns to tap into that success. For 2012, watch how the early adopters use text messaging to drive traffic to their mobile content and inspire donors to give through mobile channels. Here are 10 nonprofits currently using text alerts with links to their subscription pages. In the next few weeks I’ll be updating the list to include new nonprofits and their Keyword and Short Code pitches. To be alerted of when the list updated, please subscribe to the Nonprofit Tech 2.0 e-Newsletter. Oh, and if you are in the United States and would like to receive text alerts from Nonprofit Tech 2.0, please text NONPROFITORGS to 27138:

6. Send handwritten notes to donors and supporters.

I know this seems completely contradictory to current communication trends, but that’s exactly the time you want to do something different to get noticed. Buy some nice stationary (preferably on recycled paper) and send handwritten thank you notes to donors, volunteers, and even your most committed online activists. Don’t include a fundraising ask, simply a good old-fashioned thank you. It will make a strong impression. Guaranteed. That said, I often joke to friends that when I retire from online activism/communications I am going to open a print book and stationary store that serves martinis, plays Pandora, and offers free handwriting classes.

VIDEO: How to Write in Cursive

7. Pay attention to Internet TV trend and consider launching your own TV station.

Apple TV, Google TV, Sony TV… no doubt about it. TV is about to change dramatically. Those nonprofits that tweet regularly definitely have an advantage when it comes to Internet TV in terms of live tweeting, but soon the Internet will be easily accessible on TVs in living rooms throughout the world which presents a very unique opportunity to nonprofits… you can launch your own TV station to cover events or to launch awareness campaigns. That said, way back in September 2010 I wrote a blog post on how to launch a TV station for your nonprofit using UStream (alternatively LiveStream has gained considerable market share). Since then very few nonprofits have launched their own stations, so the post may have been a bit before its time. However, 2012 is a different story all together:

TV: Stand Up To Cancer

8. Wrap your head around the Cloud.

Bloggers and #NPTech folks sometimes use language that is a little too technical for nonprofit staff who have no formal training in computer technology. That’s why so many nonprofit staff still do not understand what someone means when they refer to the Cloud. I didn’t even really grasp it and it’s potential until mid-2011. Essentially the Cloud is a server/service where you can store your hard drive/database/documents/apps/software making it accessible any where at any time thus giving it mobility. The Cloud has huge and very exciting implications for the future of the Internet and nonprofit communications and fundraising. TechSoup.org is a pioneer in helping nonprofits understand the Cloud and they have a free on-demand webinar to help you wrap your head around the basics of cloud computing:

WEBINAR: Cloud Computing: Why Should You Care

9. Closely monitor the possibility of mobile wallets being used for fundraising.

In terms of mobile fundraising, my bet is on mobile wallets hosted on the Cloud. So far I do not know of a mobile wallet service or Donate Now vendor that is partnering with nonprofits, but it’s just a matter of time. Watch this technology closely! That said, consider three ways mobile wallets could transform fundraising.

10. Make new friends (Google+) and keep the old (Myspace).

One of the most important lessons I have learned over the last seven years of building social networking communities is that social networking communities are migrant communities. They move with you from one site to the next and maybe in the case of Myspace, back again. Google+ is growing rapidly and traffic is increasing. Create a Google+ Page for your nonprofit and start informing your communities on Facebook and Twitter that your nonprofit is now also on Google+. The early adopters will join you there and as an early adopter yourself, you are best positioned to reap the rewards of being a part of the Next Big Thing. And even if Google+ doesn’t turn out to be the Next Big Thing, referral traffic in the early adoption phase is high enough to make experimenting worth your time. That said, one thing we don’t know yet about social networking communities is if they will also migrate back to a social networking site after it has died. That’s something we will learn by watching Justin Timberlake re-launch Myspace in 2012. We might just discover that sometimes social networking communities simply go dormant and can brought back to life. I got my start on Myspace, so personally I would love to see the community revitalized.

11. Donate at least $10 monthly to your favorite nonprofits.

To be a good fundraiser you have to be a good giver. Donate at least $10 a month to a favorite nonprofit… a different nonprofit each time and study the donation process of that nonprofit. Does their Thank You email and/or Donate Now landing page include links to their social networking communities? Can you opt-out of print materials? Are they asking for mobile numbers for text alerts? Do they have a Thank You video? Do their follow-up e-newsletters simply ask for more money, or do they have nice balance of informational and fundraising content? Finally, ask yourself as a donor if you are further inspired to get involved or give more. If yes, then you know what to do in your own fundraising campaigns. If not, then you know not to make the same mistakes.

10 Most Popular Posts on Nonprofit Tech 2.0 in 2011

nonprofitorgs — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:24:05 +0000

Monitoring the 10 most popular posts on Nonprofit Tech 2.o from year-to-year helps me, and hopefully you as well, get a better sense of what tools and resources nonprofits are most interested in. My hope for the 2012 list is to see more posts related to mobile technology! Sadly, those posts didn’t get much traction in 2011. That said, for 2011 the 10 most popular posts were:

1. Social Media for Social Good: A How-To Guide for Nonprofits (20,608 Views)

2. 33 Fun, Useful, and Totally Random Resources for Nonprofits (18,194)

3. 10 Common Mistakes Made by Nonprofits on Social Media (14,242)

4. HOW TO: Create Custom iFrame Tabs on Your Nonprofit’s Facebook Page (13,630)

5. 10 Recent Upgrades to Facebook Your Nonprofit Needs to Know About (12,482)

6. 22 Ways Nonprofits Can Use QR Codes forFundraising and Awareness Campaigns (12,271)

7. 11 Nonprofit Websites Designed for the Social Web (11,531)

8. Google+ Best Practices for Nonprofits (10,425)

9. Social Media for Social Good: A How-To Webinar for Nonprofits (10,304)

10. 11 Qualities of an Effective Social Media Manager (9,452)

Announcing… 29 New Favorite Nonprofits for 2012!

nonprofitorgs — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:49:26 +0000

Every January Nonprofit Tech 2.0 selects a new set of nonprofit avatars to be featured in the Nonprofit Tech 2.0 banner. The selection process is a personal one. I choose nonprofits that in my mind have excelled at social media throughout the previous year and represent causes that I feel are timely for the coming year. This year’s “Favorite Nonprofits” encompass a wide range of issues and organizations that are working to:

Protect endangered wildlife and animals worldwide: @WildAid, @RhinosIRF, @ALDFAnimalLaw, @AnimalsAsia, @SealRescue, @ApeActionAfrica
Prevent children from dying from lack of access to clean water or medical care: @Water, @AlexsLemonade
Empower entrepreneurs at the grassroots to start micro-enterprises: @Kiva, @DarfurStoves
Hold corporate-owned media accountable to its democratic purpose to educate (not manipulate) the masses: @AccuracyInMedia, @NPR
Educate about the reality of rampant childhood sexual abuse in America: @Darkness2Light
Protect the world’s remaining indigenous people: @Survival
Create an ethical and sustainable food production and distribution system: @SlowFoodUSA, @FarmSanctuary
Respond rapidly and efficiently to natural and humanitarian crises: @TheIRC, @ShelterBox
Educate about the realities of climate change in the 21st Century: @TckTckTck
Prevent students from dropping out of high school and increase literacy: @CISNational, @FirstBook
Empower girls to empower themselves worldwide: @GirlEffect, @PlanGlobal
Protect the world’s remaining wild habitats: @Nature_org, @RnfrstAlliance
Expose racism and teach tolerance in America: @Tolerance_org
Advocate for the civil rights of the LGBT community: @GLAAD
Prevent further nuclear proliferation: @Plough_Shares
Organize workers in America to fight for a living wage: @SEIU
Safeguard human rights in a politically volatile world: @Amnesty
Teach human history, art, and culture: @Smithsonian

In addition to increased exposure and promotion, the 2012 Nonprofits will also receive 10% of the proceeds from DIOSA Communications Webinars. That said, cheers to the nonprofits that made the 2012 list and to all nonprofits and nonprofit staff who use the Internet to foster social good.

Winter Webinar Special: Buy 3, Get 1 Free… or Buy 4, Get 2 Free… or Buy 5, Get 3 Free!

nonprofitorgs — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 13:48:19 +0000

Through March 20, 2012, DIOSA Communications is offering all social media and mobile technology webinars at discounted rates (view current webinar schedule). You can purchase a combination of registrations for webinars already scheduled and/or credits for webinars that are not yet scheduled. Please note that all eight webinars rotate on a regular basis, so if current dates do not fit your schedule you can still take advantage of this special by purchasing webinar credits for future dates. Also, registrations/credits can be shared among multiple attendees from the same organization.

Additionally, for Winter 2011/12 only, the group rate of $119 per webinar has been expanded to allow up to eight individual registrants. The group rate usually only allows five registrants.

Each webinar has an individual cost of $50, but through this special can be purchased as follows:

Three or four webinar registrations/credits for $150.

Five or six webinar registrations/credits for $200.

Seven or eight webinar registrations/credits for $250.

To register, please see the current webinar schedule and then email the name, organization name, and email address of each attendee to heather@diosacommunications.com. Be sure to mention what scheduled webinars you’d like to register for as well how many credits you’d like to purchase, if applicable.

Social Media: Before You Get Started, Get Organized!

nonprofitorgs — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 11:43:44 +0000

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 2 of the newly released book Social Media for Social Good: A How-To Guide for Nonprofits. Though most nonprofits in the United States, Canada and the U.K. are already using social media, many have not yet taken all of the steps below to ensure that their social media campaigns are built on a solid foundation meant to produce ROI (Return on Investment).

That said, I am currently in Southeast Asia presenting social media trainings to nonprofits in Malaysia, Singapore and Manila – most of which are just getting started with using social media.

Social Media: Before You Get Started, Get Organized!

The successful implementation of social media for your nonprofit requires forethought and planning. Some of the decisions you make early on will affect your social media campaigns for years. Make sure they are the right ones. Too many nonprofits have rushed in without proper training or know-how, and unfortunately have learned later on that they’ve made many mistakes—some of which cannot be rectified. Whether you’ve been using social media for years, months, or days or you have yet to get started, the information and strategies in this chapter can save you a lot of time and frustration.

1. Define Your Goals and Objectives

To lay a strong foundation for the successful long-term branding of your nonprofit on the Social Web, you need to define your primary goals and objectives. Are you using social media primarily to raise money? To secure new volunteers? To increase your website traffic? To build your online brand? To foster social good and create social change? Take an hour or two and write down five to ten goals and objectives. This will help you stay focused and give you a baseline against which you can monitor your progress.

2. Define Your Metrics and Create a Social Media ROI Spreadsheet

Once you have defined your goals and objectives, create a social media ROI spreadsheet to monitor and report your progress from month to month. In the far left column of the spreadsheet, list the metrics that you want to monitor. Next, create 12 columns for the 12 months. Finally, pick a day of the month to begin and enter the baseline metrics for the first month, then enter your progress for that month on the same day of every month thereafter. Some common metrics to monitor are website traffic, blog traffic, e-newsletter subscribers, Facebook fans, Twitter followers, online dollars raised, volunteers, and event attendees. If your nonprofit is on the right track with social media, then you’ll notice an increase in the metrics from month to month over time. If not, then your social media strategy is missing something.

3. Create a Google Account and Set Up Google Alerts

The need to have a Google account will come up many times in your social media and mobile technology campaigns. Go to google.com/accounts > Create an account. Once you’ve set up your new Google account, sign up to receive Google Alerts via e-mail on a daily basis at google.com/alerts. Fill out a query to search “everything” for your nonprofit’s name and acronym. You do not need a Google account to receive Google Alerts, but you do need one to manage them. Also, as you’ll see in Chapter 5, you will need a Google account to set up a YouTube Channel properly. Google offers an incredible range of products (google.com/options) that you are likely to experiment with in coming years, so a Google account is a must for any nonprofit.

4. Be Consistent When Reserving Vanity URLs

Consistency in vanity URLs is important for print materials, e-newsletters, and e-signatures (facebook.com/nonprofitorgs, twitter.com/nonprofitorgs, youtube.com/nonprofitorgs, and so on), although if your nonprofit is just getting started with social media, then you may have some trouble reserving your first choice of vanity URLs because there’s a good chance that it has already been taken. Ideally, your social media vanity URLs should match your website URL, but if your website URL is not available on the big three (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube), then you may need to get creative. For example, the Latin America Work Group’s website is www.lawg.org, but when the organization was setting up its profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, “lawg” was not available on all three sites. So, it went with “lawgaction” instead (facebook.com/lawgaction, twitter.com/lawgaction, and youtube.com/lawgaction).

To find out whether the URLs of your choice are available, simply enter your preferred vanity URLs in your Web browser. If you get a message that says, “That page cannot be found,” that means that the URL is available. It’s worth noting that in most cases you will not be able to change social media URLs at a later date, so put some serious thought into these URLs before reserving them. For organizational reasons, you could opt to use the Gmail e-mail account that you created for your nonprofit when setting up your Google account for all social media and mobile technology accounts. It will help you centralize all your efforts and reduce the amount of spam and notification e-mails sent to your work e-mail account. However, if you do opt to use your Gmail e-mail account, protect it fiercely. Go to “Gmail > Settings > Accounts and Import > Grant access to your account” and add an additional staff person (he must have a Gmail e-mail account) to prevent losing access to all your social media and mobile technology profiles and accounts in a worst-case scenario. That said, if you decide to use Gmail e-mail as your login hub, then it is best to not give interns or volunteers access.

5. Save Usernames and Passwords in a Secure Place

Create a master login sheet. Using a Word or Excel document, create a list of all the usernames, passwords, and vanity URLs for your social media and mobile technology accounts. Make sure that key staff members at your nonprofit have access to the document and that it is saved securely.

6. Use a Square Version of Your Organization’s Logo as Your Avatar on Social Media Sites

It’s very important that you invest the time and resources needed to designing a visually distinct, square avatar that matches the overall branding of your nonprofit. Since most nonprofit logos are horizontal, they cannot be used as your avatar on social media sites because they are automatically cropped once they are uploaded. Would you ever put a cropped logo on your website, in your e-mail newsletter, or in print materials? Of course not! Yet every day, nonprofits are sending out hundreds of thousands of tweets and status updates with completely wrecked logos. To begin branding your nonprofit on social media sites properly, start with an avatar that is a square version of your logo. After a year or so of building the brand recognition of your avatar, you can then switch and rotate square photos as avatars to spark curiosity and add variety, as long as they include a smaller version of your logo somewhere in the avatar.

7. Learn Basic HTML

Basic knowledge of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) will make or break your social media campaigns. To add images to your blog, create custom tabs on Facebook, and/or design an e-newsletter template, you need to know basic HTML code. HTML allows you to format text and insert links and images on Web pages. Take a class or sit down for a few hours with a tutorial, just make sure that your learn basic HTML!

8. Experiment with Social Media Dashboards

HootSuite is a Web-based social media dashboard service that allows you to update and monitor Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, LinkedIn, and WordPress from one dashboard. You can schedule tweets and status updates in advance (ideal for nonprofits with international audiences), easily monitor trending topics, and get access to useful statistics about your brand and its buzz on the Social Web in real time. HootSuite also offers numerous apps, making it compatible with most smartphones and tablets.

People who use social media dashboards tend to acclimate and convert for the long term. In fact, more than half of all Twitterers use a third-party dashboard tool to manage their Twitter campaigns. These tools can be incredibly useful and innovative, but make sure that you commit to not wrapping yourself in a HootSuite bubble. These tools are designed for marketers, and sometimes users can lose touch with how their individual supporters experience Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and other sites—which is by logging into each site individually. If you are going to use a tool like HootSuite regularly, take a break every so often. You should also never automate content using these tools, or spam each community with the same message. Every social networking community has its own unique ebb and flow, and your supporters have no interest in liking, following, or friending a robot. While these tools can help you streamline your social media campaigns, they have made poor social media managers of many. That said, other well-known social media dashboard tools include TweetDeck, Threadsy, Seesmic, and CoTweet.

9. Get Buy-in from Executive Staff

For many nonprofits, getting the green light to use social media, and, more important, to invest the time and resources necessary to launch and maintain a successful social media campaign, is unfortunately still much easier said than done. This is where the age divide often becomes blatantly obvious. Many older executive staff members just don’t get social media. They are deeply entrenched and often stuck in the era of Web 1.0—much to the frustration of some of their younger colleagues.

The reality is that social media is no longer new. Many nonprofits are entering their sixth or seventh year of using social media. If your nonprofit is still on the fence about social media, then it is dangerously close to becoming dysfunctional in terms of online communication and fund-raising. Tell your boss that. Show her the stats. Research how other nonprofits with missions and programs similar to yours are using social media, and then let the executive staff clearly know that your nonprofit is falling behind. Be persistent. Social media is not a fad. It is a fundamental shift in how people use the Internet for social good. Failing to participate in the Social Web will be detrimental to your nonprofit in the long term.

10. Create a Simple Media Policy

An organization’s social media policy should provide basic guidelines to staff members and volunteers about what is appropriate to post on social media sites, an overview of privacy and legal issues, and some general rules about using social media during office hours. The overall message should be one of empowerment, not control and restriction. Keep it simple and on the short side. Focus on the big picture and create guidelines that can be applied across many social media tools, such as

Commit to high standards of professionalism when representing the organization online. Our goal is to build online communities in order to share our expertise and better serve our mission and programs.
Be respectful and polite at all times—even during online disagreements.
Delete content that is off-topic or inappropriate in character. When in doubt, get a second opinion.
Link to online references and source material often.
Acknowledge mistakes quickly.
Be honest and authentic.
Engage in conversation.
Think before you post, and make sure that your content is accurate and factual.
Share only content that is meant for public consumption. Don’t discuss programs or campaigns that have not yet been officially launched to the public.
Personal use of social media during breaks is allowed, but use of social media for work purposes must be approved first.
Enjoy yourself! If you are not having fun engaging in online communities on behalf of the organization, then don’t do it. Social media is not for every personality type.

11. Follow Large Organizations with Mission and Programs Similar to Yours

Large nonprofits usually have the resources to experiment, hire consultants, and get extensive training on what works and what doesn’t. Follow those whose mission and programs are similar to yours, and mimic their work. Nonprofits like Amnesty International, PETA, the American Cancer Society, the Sierra Club, and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure excel in online communication. Learn from them. Study their websites and blogs. Experience their online donation process. Subscribe to their e-newsletters. Like them on Facebook. Follow them on Twitter. Almost every action that these nonprofits take online is for a good reason. They know what works and what doesn’t, they are constantly innovating and experimenting, and they are usually one or two steps ahead of most other nonprofits.

That said, have realistic expectations. Don’t expect the same results from social media that the large nonprofits have. Their brands are well known and much loved. They usually have enormous e-newsletter lists and multiple communications staff members. For those reasons, large nonprofits have a huge advantage on the Social Web, but you can duplicate their success on a smaller scale.