Melanie Mathos - 101 Social Media Tactics for Nonprofits: A Field Guide

Contents

Copyright 2012 by Melanie Mathos and Chad Norman. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Mathos, Melanie, 1979

101 social media tactics for nonprofits : a field guide / Melanie Mathos, Chad Norman.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-118-10624-2 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-21887-7 (ebk);

ISBN 978-1-118-21888-4 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-21889-1 (ebk);

1. Social media. 2. Nonprofit organizations. I. Norman, Chad, 1973- II. Title. III. Title: One hundred and one social media tactics for nonprofits.

HM742.M37 2012

302.23dc23

2011039739

We dedicate this book to all the do-gooders out therethe nonprofit professionals who are taking risks, following their hearts, and coming up with some of the most unique, inspiring, and authentic social media communications anywhere.

Foreword

I have spent the last 32 years working in, for, and with nonprofit organizations. Most of that time has been spent helping nonprofits think about strategy as well as the mindset changes and skills required to embrace new online technologies to support their mission-driven work. As I witnessed the birth of the World Wide Web in 1992 and later Web 2.0, nonprofits often face challenges adopting new tools because it requires taking the time to acquire and internalize new skills.

When I started blogging in 2003, blogs and nonprofit social media use were only in their infancy and nonprofit leaders typically viewed them with a high degree of skepticism about their value. This was one of the main reasons I wrote the book The Networked Nonprofit with Alison Fine because I wanted to help the millions of staff people and board members of nonprofit organizations, get over the fear of change and make their way into this new, social world.

The Networked Nonprofit was aimed at helping nonprofit leaders take those first steps to be successful managing social change today in an age of connectedness and to pave the way for organizational adoption. It walked nonprofit leaders through the process of transitioning their thinking and orientation from managing organizations to participating in and managing social networks. But that is only halfway down the path to successful outcomes.

In my role as Visiting Scholar at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation where I am studying the interaction of social media, networks, and nonprofits, I have the honor of working with scores of nonprofits who no longer question whether or not to embrace social media and online networks, but how to do it effectively.

My capacity building, coaching, and training work with nonprofits uses a Ready, Set, Go framework. The Ready and Set involves identifying who they want to reach, articulating clear and measurable results, and an integrated communications strategy. The Go is the implementation where I provide coaching and time-saving tipsmuch like the nuggets provided in this book. Putting a new way of working into practice can be difficult, but having practical, time-saving tips can make all the difference in the world.

I know how difficult it is to make the leap into effective practice with a new technology tool. In 1992, the New York Foundation for the Arts hired me to serve as the network weaver for ArtsWire, an online network of arts organizations and artists. ArtsWire was an online community that allowed both artists and arts administrators to use the Internet to connect with one another, but also learn how to use online communications technology to support their missions.

As the Internet became more mainstreamed, my job changed dramaticallyfrom providing ongoing technical support in using the online community platform to providing training in strategic online technology plans. As the World Wide Web opened up the possibility for any nonprofit to have a web presence and use e-mail instead of fax machines, I was also responsible for designing and delivering trainings to nonprofits on these topics. I taught hundreds of workshops to thousands of arts organizations to help them establish their very first web site, use e-mail to connect with supporters, take the first foray into online fundraising, or how to use search to find information online.

When I started the work, I didnt know a modem from a microwave. While I was lucky enough to be given a front row seat in the creation of a new field for nonprofitsusing the Internet to increase the impact of their work, I was not a natural-born techie. I had the passion to learn, but when I taught myself I would often fail and it would result in hours of wasted time. What helped me was working side by side with a small group of Internet geeks who generously and patiently showed me all the shortcuts and shared tips that helped me be more effective helping nonprofits to embrace the Internet.

This book, 101 Social Media Tactics for Nonprofits , is like having two very tolerant and technologically savvy friends sit down with you and share their wisdom and experience about social media tactics. Melanie Mathos and Chad Norman have patiently and generously shared their best time-saving tips to help your nonprofit get to the go of using social media channels quickly and successfully.

Beth Kanter

Author, Beths Blog ( www.bethkanter.org )

Co-Author, The Networked Nonprofit

Acknowledgments

I want to thank my husband, parents, sister, and all of my family for their unwavering support of all that I do. Dating all the way back to third grade when my parents let me take computer programming classes for fun, to my sophomore year in college when my mom subtly suggested that I may want to declare a major at some point (which turned out to be journalism), they helped me become me.