Date: Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Time: 1pm-2:30 EDT
Cost: $50 or Spring Webinar Special
How to Register: Sign up!
Presented By: Heather Mansfield
View: All Webinars for Nonprofits
This webinar begins with a general introduction to LinkedIn, a social network with more than 200 million professionals worldwide. Nonprofits are increasingly participating in the LinkedIn community through LinkedIn Groups and Company Pages. This webinar will teach you how to successfully create, manage, and promote a LinkedIn Group for your nonprofit and highlight best practices and demonstrate how to manage discussions, subgroups, templates, and announcements.
Also discussed is how to tap into the power of LinkedIn Company Pages already created and managed by others that are related to your mission and programs. The webinar closes with information on how to claim and set-up your organization’s Company Page and an exploration of the ever-expanding Company Page tool set.
Related Links:
Spring Webinar Special for Nonprofits
Social Media for Social Good: A How-To Guide for Nonprofits
July 16 Webinar: Twitter and Twitter Apps for Nonprofits
Date: Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Time: 1pm-2:30 EDT
Cost: $50 or Spring Webinar Special
How to Register: Sign up!
Presented By: Heather Mansfield
View: All Webinars for Nonprofits
This webinar begins with a general introduction to Twitter and then quickly moves on to demonstrate how nonprofits can use the site to increase their supporter base, website traffic, e-newsletter subscribers, online donors, and overall visibility on the Internet. Much more than a site for pushing news, Twitter is very much about participating in online conversation, being authentic, having personality, and knowing what content your followers want from you on Twitter. The webinar demonstrates in real-time the intricacies of successfully Tweeting, Mentioning, Replying, Retweeting, Listing, and using #Hashtags.
In addition, the webinar showcases ten of the best Twitter Apps for nonprofits and how they can be used by your organization to launch innovative Twitter campaigns. The webinar also shows click-by-click how to successfully set-up and custom-design a Twitter profile for your organization, discusses best practices, and features numerous nonprofits that excel in their use of Twitter.
Related Links:
Spring Webinar Special for Nonprofits
Social Media for Social Good: A How-To Guide for Nonprofits
Until recently the nonprofit pioneers of the Social Web had to mostly rely on their intuition that their social media campaigns were resulting in more dollars raised online, an increase in brand and cause awareness, and higher rates of volunteer recruitment and retention. However, as LinkedIn, Blogger and Myspace all celebrate their 10-year anniversary this year, nonprofits have now had a decade to study and experiment with social media and create systems for successfully launching and tracking the value of their social media campaigns. Without a doubt the benefits of using social media successfully are starting to pay off and there are numerous recent reports and studies prove it.
That said, congrats to the early adopters! After spending all these years investing time and resources into building and engaging your online communities before there was proof that your time and resources were well spent, your nonprofit is now in the best position to reap the benefits of a powerful, action-oriented Social Web. Your instincts have served you well.
1. 41% of nonprofits attribute their social media success to having developed a detailed social media strategy.
Source: Avectra
2. 47% of Americans learn about causes via social media and online channels.
Source: Avectra
3. Animals, children, and health & wellness are the most shared and talked about causes on social media.
Source: Waggener Edstrom
4. 56% of those that support nonprofits on the Social Web confirm that compelling storytelling is what motivates them to take action on behalf of nonprofits.
Source: Waggener Edstrom
5. 55% of those who engage with nonprofits via social media have been inspired to
take further action.
Source: Waggener Edstrom
6. 57% of Facebook Fans “Like” a charity on Facebook because they want to publicly display their support of the nonprofit to their friends.
Source: Waggener Edstrom
7. 43% of Facebook Fans “Unlike” a charity on Facebook because
they posted too often.
Source: Waggener Edstrom
8. For every 1,000 e-newsletter subscriber, nonprofits have 149 Facebook Fans.
Source: M+R and NTEN
9. The number of followers nonprofits have on Twitter grew by 264% s in 2012.
Source: M+R and NTEN
10. In an average peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, 15-18% of donations are referred directly from Facebook.
Source: Artez
11. The average social media donation is $59 and growing each year.
Source: MDG Advertising
12. Using Twitter during fundraising events can result in 10X more
money raised online.
Source: MDG Advertising
Related Links:
Must-Read Online Fundraising, Social Media and Mobile Communications Reports for Nonprofits
Social Media and Mobile Communications Webinars for Nonprofits
Now Available On Demand! 11 Steps to Launching a Successful Social Media Strategy for Your Nonprofit
This webinar demonstrates how nonprofits can implement a successful social media strategy in eleven steps. Topics include understanding how much time social media requires, how to track return on investment (ROI), and how to craft a social media policy for your nonprofit. Nonprofits also learn the importance of integrating all their communications channels to maximize awareness of their cause and online donations, as well as gain a realistic understanding of the financial investment required to be successful on the Social Web. The webinar also touches upon mobile communications and fundraising and how it affects nonprofit’s use of social media.
Presented By: Heather Mansfield
[View Webinar On Demand for $20]
Selection of Unsolicited Feedback from Attendees:
I loved the presentation. The information and tips provided were invaluable! Impressive and possibly life-changing : ) – Cheryl via email
Heather – thanks for a great, very informative webinar yesterday. You nailed just about everything there is to know with best practices for nonprofits and social media including a few gems about a look into the future and opportunities for further development in this space. – Charles via LinkedIn
LOVED this webinar, thank you so much! We have taken many of your other webinars, so it was very helpful and interesting to see how they can all be integrated together in one media strategy! This will for sure help our organization! – Girls, Inc. via Facebook
Thank you for an incredibly informative session on social media! – Theresa via LinkedIn
This webinar was fantastic, SO useful to hear your insight on overall strategy. Thanks so much for all you do! – Hannah via Facebook
I was only able to attend a portion of your Webinar yesterday, but I immediately gained some insights that will be very helpful for a shelter group I’m working with. Thank you! – Lynne via LinkedIn
This was a fabulous summary of how to develop a strategy. Thank you – I look forward to your notes and to start working on getting our strategy up to par for what we can do. – Monica via Facebook
Awesome webinar! Very impressed by all the non-profits featured in your presentation who are doing an amazing job on Social Media most of the time with very limited resources. Businesses can definitely learn from non-profits. – Domino via Facebook
This was a fantastic webinar – thank you so much! It was very comprehensive. – Em via Email
One of best webinars on social media strategy – and I watched on a smart phone. – Michaela via Twitter
Thanks for another awesome webinar!! Keep ‘em coming!! – Ashley via Twitter
Thank you Heather @nonprofitorgs for the great webinar on social media. Outstanding source of info! – Hacer via Twitter
Amazing NPO #socialmediastrategy webinar. – Deb via Twitter
The webinar was excellent, and I hope to incorporate many of the ideas into our website redesign and also a mobile platform. Thanks so much…really enjoyed the webinar. – Donna via Email
I’m a longtime follower and was thrilled to have been able to listen to your practical experience from the field. Thanks for the content you’re putting out there in the world to help us all mobilize social media more effectively. – Esther via Email
Related Links:
11 Obvious Signs Your Nonprofit Needs Social Media Training
Social Media for Social Good: Your Nonprofit Tech Checklist
Live Webinar: Online Fundraising and e-Newsletters for Nonprofits
On-Demand Webinar: Online Fundraising and e-Newsletters for Nonprofits
Three Nonprofit e-Newsletters to Subscribe To and Learn From
My e-newsletter is by far the driving force behind Nonprofit Tech 2.0. Those 27,000+ subscribers produce more return on investment (ROI) in terms of bringing in new clients and webinar attendees than my 600,000+ Twitter followers and 40,000+ Facebook fans combined. And even though a recent report pointed out that email open and donor response are dropping in the nonprofit sector, I can’t help but wonder if current (yet old) e-newsletter design trends have a lot to do with the results. Most e-newsletters today seem to be stuck in the design best practices of 2006 and take little account for the rapid rise of social media and the fact that the number one activity on smartphones today is reading email. On average 43% of all emails are opened on mobile devices, thus nonprofits need to be sending out e-newsletters that make it easy to take action and donate on mobile devices i.e, integration of social media, mobile-optimized donate pages, text-to-give donate pages, and the ability to donate via mobile wallets. The problem of lower donor response rates via email could be attributed to that fact that most nonprofits and email service providers are not evolving quickly enough or taking into account that most email will likely be read on smartphones and tablets by the end of the year.
There’s a lot more I could say about e-newsletter design best practices for 2013 (and do so in my online fundraising and e-newsletter webinar), but below I wanted to hone in on three examples of successful integration of social media, “Donate Now” technology, and mobile communications into e-newsletters because shockingly most nonprofits do not integrate social media, a “Donate Now” button, or their mobile campaigns into every issue of their e-newsletter – at least that’s the case with the 100+ nonprofit e-newsletters that I am subscribed to. 
1. Human Rights Watch e-Newsletter :: Subscribe
Top of e-Newsletter:
1. Orange “Donate Today” button in every issue.
2. Pitch to “Follow” on social networking sites in every issue.
Middle of e-Newsletter:
News content that can be shared on Facebook and Twitter.
Bottom of e-Newsletter:
1. Link to video on the HRW YouTube Channel.
2. Orange “Donate Today” button in every issue.
3. Pitch to “Follow” on social networking sites in every issue.
2. Mercy Corps e-Newsletter :: Subscribe
Top of e-Newsletter:
1. Capability to share the e-newsletter on social networks in every issue.
2. Green “Donate” button in every issue.
3. Mercy Corp’s website is responsively designed thus every website link posted in their e-newsletter is mobile compatible including the “Donate” link.
Middle of e-Newsletter:
1. Integration of blog content.
2. Link to YouTube video embedded on the Mercy Corps website.
Bottom of e-Newsletter:
1. Integration of Instagram photos.
2. Pitch to “Follow” on social networking sites in every issue.
3. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals :: Subscribe
Top of e-Newsletter:
1. Capability to share the e-newsletter on social networks in every issue.
2. “Donate Now” button in every issue.
Middle of e-Newsletter:
1. Link to an online petition that can be shared on social networks.
2. Link to Vimeo video embedded on the Peta website.
Bottom of e-Newsletter:
1. Integration of Peta products that can be pinned on Pinterest.
2. Pitch to “Follow” on social networking sites in every issue.
3. Pitch to subscribe to mobile alerts in every issue.
Related Links:
Live Webinar: Online Fundraising and e-Newsletters for Nonprofits
On-Demand Webinar: Online Fundraising and e-Newsletters for Nonprofits
At least 15% of all traffic to nonprofit’s websites now occur on mobile devices and across all sectors mobile is set to surpass desktop browsing in 2014. Over the last few years as I have studied the rapid rise of the Mobile Web, I have become more of an advocate of launching a responsively designed website over launching a mobile site separate from a desktop site. Many nonprofits do not currently have the financial means to launch a new website, so a separate mobile website is a good interim solution. However, those nonprofits that are in the process of launching a new website or considering it, ensuring that it is responsively designed would be a wise step forward for your nonprofit’s future.
That said, last week I received an email from large national nonprofit announcing that they had launched a new website. Before even reviewing the site on my laptop, my first instinct was to grab my smartphone and tap the website URL into my mobile browser to see if their new site was responsively designed. Sadly, it was not. How is it that a large national nonprofit and the consultants, the design firm, and the web and graphic designers on the project did not take into serious consideration the rapid growth of browsing on tablets and smartphones?
Even more baffling, this nonprofit hosts multiple fundraising events each year at locations around the United States and has a huge Facebook and Twitter following. The nonprofit won’t be able use their new website to communicate with supporters at these events because their website is essentially unreadable on a smartphone (no back up separate mobile website) and every time they post links to their new website on social networking sites, their smartphone-based fans and followers won’t be able to read their website inside of Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc. With Facebook mobile users now surpassing desktop users… have you ever clicked on a link to your desktop site inside of Facebook, Twitter or Google+ on a smartphone? Doing so will illuminate why responsively designed websites (or adaptively designed websites – here’s the difference) are becoming more essential to be successful online.
Nonprofits please don’t make the same mistake with your next website launch. Study and learn from the nonprofits listed below who had some foresight, got some good advice, and launched responsively designed websites:
1. African Wildlife Foundation :: awf.org
2. Malaria No More :: malarianomore.org
3. Mercy Corps :: mercycorps.org
4. ONE :: one.org
5. Partners in Health :: pih.org
6. Water.org :: water.org
7. World Wildlife Fund :: worldwildlife.org
Finally, if your nonprofit has recently launched a responsively designed website, please post the link in a comment below. I’m always glad to find nonprofits that are pioneering the Mobile Web,
Related Links:
5 Reasons Why Your Nonprofit Should Prioritize the Mobile Web in 2013
[INFOGRAPHIC] 2013: The Year of Responsive Design
The Difference Between Adaptive and Responsive Web Design
Webinar: Mobile Communications and Mobile Fundraising for Nonprofits (Live)
Webinar: Mobile Communications andMobile Fundraising for Nonprofits (On-Demand)
Hopefully your nonprofit has grown accustomed to the fact that Facebook is a constant work in progress. That said, some recent upgrades to Facebook Pages have a big impact upon your nonprofit’s presence on Facebook and with the site-wide launch of the new News Feed and Social Graph Search coming soon, many more changes are likely to come. Before you fall behind, make sure that your nonprofit is current with these four recent Facebook upgrades:
1) Turn on “Similar Page Suggestions.”
Facebook now recommends similar Pages when Facebook users like Pages. For your nonprofit’s page to be suggested, you need to go to Edit Page > Update Info > Your Settings > Similar Page Suggestions and turn on the Similar Page Suggestion functionality:
You can then view the number of new likes your nonprofit’s Page receives through Similar Page Suggestions by visiting your Insights > Likes > Where Your Likes Came From:
Example of Similar Page Suggestions:
2) Turn on “Replies.”
Last week Facebook starting rolling out the capability for Page Admins to add the Replies functionality to their Pages. By doing so, you and your fans can then reply directly to comments posted on status updates. This enables better discussion and engagement on your Page. It’s also worth noting that the most active conversation threads are moved to the top of the status update. That said, many of you may have already received the following Replies prompt and turned on Replies:
If not, go to Edit Page > Update Info >Manage Permissions > Replies and turn on the Replies functionality:
Example of Replies:
3) New Community Page design.
For three years now I have been watching the evolution of Facebook Community Pages. That was their name when they were first launched though they don’t seem to have an official name any longer. Always a mystery and a frustration to Facebook Admins that could find theirs, my hope was that Community Pages would eventually disappear. That said, a recent redesign of Community Pages indicates that Facebook has future plans for them and my guess is that their existence will soon play a role in Facebook Graph Search. Thus, nonprofits should ensure that the “Category” is correct for their Community Page [under "Edit"] and if able to do so, report their Community Page as a duplicate of their Official Page.
The Field Museum Community Page
facebook.com/pages/Chicago-Field-Museum/112181505473945
The Field Museum Official Page
facebook.com/fieldmuseum
Select a “Category” for Your Community Page:
Report the Community Page as a Duplicate:
Example of a Successfully Merged Page :: SFMOMA
A transitory page:
facebook.com/sfmoma?fref=ts&rf=111798462179497&no_highlight_redirect=1
That links to the Official SFMOMA Page:
facebook.com/sfmoma
4) Facebook Subscribers are now called “Followers.”
If your nonprofit has a dynamic leader that uses their personal Facebook profile for work purposes, they can now add “Follow” functionality to their personal profile – previously called “Subscribe” functionality. It’s worth noting that screenshots provided by Facebook of the soon-to-be-released new News Feed prominently feature Followers:
Related Links:
Live Webinar: Facebook and Facebook Apps for Nonprofits
On-Demand Webinar: Facebook and Facebook Apps for Nonprofits
