<p>We went to a social media networking workshop today, teaching us about twitter, facebook and all the wonderful opportunities for social networking. I run a non-profit and we do free lung testing clinics around our state, as well as have a monthly support group and an annual education day. We also do a few educational programs for healthcare professionals. Honestly, many of the people we reach have very limited computer access and many are very poor. Also, many of them are technophobic.</p>
<p>At the workshop, they stressed that if we have a facebook page, we should be posting something new at least two or three times/week, preferably M-F, during work hours. THey also suggested that we tweet at least once/day. They said we should NOT be writing only about our orgs, even if it’s a non-profit or business account. We were trying to figure out how these networks apply to non-profits (me specifically my non-profit) and I couldn’t figure it out. When I came home & asked hubby, my S, my D, a board member and a colleague with AmHeartAssn, they all agreed that it doesn’t seem to work for our program and needs at this time.</p>
<p>The non-profits that I participate with use facebook regularly, but they definitely only write about the orgs… some of it is fun stuff, but still very relevant. Wouldn’t posting anything else be unprofessional? o.O</p>
<p>I like that we have a facebook account in general because it helps me spread the word about our events and our cause much easier than before we had one and we reach a lot more people that way, but I don’t understand what else you’re supposed to post besides stuff related to your org.</p>
<p>They gave the example of a realtor who posted about other things but also posted about market conditions and that he was closing a sale at 11:30pm and other things. He was not posting as a real estate company or a non-profit, just as a realtor.</p>
<p>Not sure how a non-profit is supposed to be posting about other things and still stay with their mission and they didn’t provide any good answers when we pressed them on the point. Would appreciate any other thoughts. Also, we have finite/limited resources and am not sure that it makes sense to divert them from the core things we are trying to do by adding more things that I have some doubt about who will use them. At this point, we are having trouble keeping our webpage current and updated.</p>
<p>In addition to your ‘customers’ are you now also doing development/fund raising work? Perhaps messages about how the dollars you raise are being spent in your communities. What about the volunteers? You have “things” to say to them…thank you and all that. Your educational programs…people that paricipate in those also can be “talked” to. Messages about how to get involved. Messages about what you do…you may get followers that simply want to say “I like you because I support what you do.” If you have a robust website, post things that will send people back to your website - a schedule of where you will be doing testing, a report to the community if you devleop one. If the consumers/customers of our non-profit are low income and non technology users then you can speak to everyone else that comes in contact with your network who might support you financially, who might refer people to your clinics, who might know someone who can use the services. Do you have someone who gives time tireless…perhaps feature them (which will link to all their friends). Think “outside” the box about how to build good will and awareness rather than to promote and you might find reasons where social media will help you. Also do some research…look at what other non-profits are posting on Facebook and doing and “follow” other Twitter users doing what you do to get ideas. You don’t have to jump in immediately, but take some time and figure out how it fits into your strategy.</p>
<p>You can also check out the facebooks and twitters of related non-profits. I think that that idea works much better for some organizations than others. For example, if you check out Farm Aid’s twitter, blogs, and facebook, some of it is about local eating, some of it is about legislation relating to farmers, some of it is about rock music, and some of it is about their day-to-day operations.</p>
<p>I also follow the Breast Cancer Site on facebook, which is a bit more focused on fundraising but does also link to articles. </p>
<p>There’s another place that I worked where the focus wasn’t so much on national issues, but day-to-day. I think that your office day-to-day matters more if you’re a public place, like a shelter. If you’re raising money and giving out resources and grants, people care less about the staff in your office.</p>
<p>Agree w/ momof3boys. The networking isn’t just about your clients but about potrential donors, media, etc. Your lung cancer screenings – are they tied to smoking? If so, then post latest studies, helpful advice related to quitting smoking, for instance.</p>
<p>A friend of mine works for a non profit to do with school reform. They put up news articles in regards to government votes, school systems, etc. Plus they put up things occasionally about themselves.</p>
<p>I work at a not-for-profit senior center and this issue has recently come up. I am … skeptical, considering the population we serve. However, our director and the younger members of our board are enthusiastic, so my skepticism won’t count for much. I recognize that we need to keep up with technology in order to appeal to younger seniors, and perhaps their children. My personal opinion is that there’s enough crap online already, and that all social networking content should be directly relevant to the nonprofit organization it. No veering off into fun stuff, related resources, “we like this!” blahblahblah, if the organization wants to retain credibility. </p>
<p>What was it Betty White said on SNL about Facebook? “It seems like a huge waste of time”? That would pretty much cover the attitude of 95 percent of the seniors we serve. I’m not sure half of them have even heard of it. And isn’t twitter supposed to be for breaking news? Is there a lot of that in the not-for-profit world? We do have a website, updated regularly, and most of our members have never even seen that. I am rapidly approaching senior citizenship myself and do not expect to be at work when the Facebook generation starts checking out our Zumba Gold class. When I’m a senior, my information will not come from twitter.</p>
<p>We are understaffed and unlikely to create any new position for several reasons, even if we suddenly doubled our budget through donations via social networking sites. I already have too much to do in the allotted time, so HImom’s comment below really resonates with me:
<p>frazzled, We always ask our customers where they got our telephone number (for marketing purposes) and you would be amazed by how many seniors say “facebook.” My grandmother is on facebook, her friends are on facebook, etc. </p>
<p>People probably won’t seek out your website. They will look at your facebook page. They don’t have to remember your address, take time out of their day to look it up, etc. They are there already and it just takes what two clicks for them to get to your page. And if you post something it automatically will come up on their main news page and get more attention for you. </p>
<p>It takes at the most maybe 5-10 minutes a day to update a page. Put up three sentences or post a link or something. Not exactly the end of the world and you will get more traffic for your cause then you will on a regular website.</p>
<p>I’m not a Twitter fan and am only mildly proficient on Facebook, but I fave friends whoe nonprofits are on FB. I see two main ways it’s used – to invite people to events and to give info about the nonprofit itself. One nonprofit sells things and it posts new items, etc. It’s great for them.</p>
<p>Twitter is kinda shallow IMO- although I am on it, because my oldest uses it & she occasionally sends me things.
I am involved with People for Puget Sound & we have a facebook presence & use that to notify ourselves of upcoming events/meetings etc as well as related organizations.
To clarify- we don’t twitter ( to my knowledge) the org does send out updates as the org- & individuals can send out info to a selected list.</p>
<p>I think it is more important to have a strong web presence that is updated with accurate info.
Even if your clients do not use computers much- people who assist them probably do & will count on the web page to obtain services</p>
<p>If you are trying to outreach to more people, probably getting press from local columnists will be more effective than twittering. ( & really if I was getting something everyday- I would unfollow the group- because that would be a lot to keep up with- which is why I unfollowed Apollo Ono - as much as I like his unfailing optimism- he posts every time he has something to eat, or hears music or meets someone)
;)</p>
<ul>
<li>I am heavily involved with Girl Scouts in a council that is as diverse as you can imagine. There was significant concern when we moved quite a bit of event info & training to on-line that we would be cutting off our lower-income demographic, however the feedback we received was that internet access cuts across all socio-economic layers, however the primarily limitation is AGE. People 65+ are being far behind everyone and the least likely to catch up.</li>
<li>I agree that posting relevant press articles to your FB page is a good way to keep in touch with your ‘friends’. </li>
<li>Developing a FB fan base takes time, so don’t get stressed out in the first 6 months that you don’t see many.</li>
<li>Posting stuff 2-3x/week seems about right. I ‘unfriended’ Ann Taylor Loft due to their 3+/day postings.<br></li>
<li>I don’t get Twitter and neither do my teenagers. They say it is for stalkers.</li>
</ul>
<p>OK, will look into FB–do have an account but will try to develop a facebook page and put things there. Maybe it will be easier to keep current than our regular website, that I am already having a hard time keeping current.</p>
<p>I am already wearing nearly “all the hats” for our very small NP. We do have some volunteers and also some on-call very PT staff. I will try to fundraise, but that will be one more hat as well. We to participate in United Way but have not made a push in fundraising, which we will need to do. Maybe one of our volunteers would be willing to help us develop our facebook page & presence.</p>
<p>Think about any piece of advice, support, etc. you would give to anyone who called you on the phone or that you would give at one of your events. It doesn’t have to be major - THAT is what you post. Tidbits to keep people interested, or tidbits that will touch some, if not all people who “follow” you.</p>
<p>I think you should get a HS could looking to beef up his resume who is FB savvy to help you get it started. I’ll PM you an example of what I’m thinking.</p>
<p>BTW, my D who is a senior is a social media/not-profit guru! She has done research, attended workshops, conferences , etc on SM and non-profit - she could probably give you a hundred reasons “why” you should! You might want to contact your local university and their public relations/comm department and talk to someone - often they are looking for community programs like yours to assign students to for experience in getting this exact thing started. They may help convince you!</p>
<p>Yea, we could post tips from our newsletters–a tip a week. We could also keep people informed about the clinics we hold. I guess I just ought to do it. <sigh> One more task! Maybe I can see if the pre-pharmacy students want to help me design the page and keep up the site? They have been great so far!</sigh></p>
<p>Ours is also an understaffed not-for-profit, though recent fundraising efforts have been quite successful - done via an annual giving campaign by mail, creaky old special events like flea markets and pasta dinners, and - yes - passing a can at some of our most popular free programs and asking for a buck or two. The latter has raised more than $3,000 in the past few months - not bad for an organization with 500 members and an annual budget not much over six figures. Now, maybe Facebook and Twitter could leave these more traditional efforts in the dust. But I don’t think so for an organization whose average member’s age is 78. Fewer than 20 percent of our members even have email accounts.</p>
<p>Like HImom, I wonder - how connected is this stuff to our mission? Like most people who work for non-profits, I have a lengthy job description that’s growing all the time. What am I not going to be doing when I’m keeping up on the Facebook page or twittering to our 17 followers, or making sure our outside volunteers are networking with accurate, acceptable content?</p>
<p>The issue, and this thread, remind me of my favorite old saying, which is: “To a hammer, the world looks like a nail.” People who use social networking sites extensively are going to think they’re essential to non-profits. People whose job includes coaching non-profits in using social networking sites are going to think they’re imperative. People who obtain their information elsewhere - and there are still a lot of them - are going to be less sold on the idea.</p>
<p>I’m going to disagree that people don’t seek out websites, because I seek out websites all the time. I can judge the accuracy and reliability of a website with confidence. I don’t feel the same way about Facebook. How much control does the Facebook page owner have over what friends post? How in-depth is the information? The one advantage I can see is the newsfeed thing.</p>
<p>Wow, it’s great that you have a six figure budget–we’re happy that we have five figures (but it all may disappear as its all grant funding and our state has a huge hole in its budget, like most others, and is sucking up whatever funds it can find)! I am concerned about content and monitoring and control. A national org that is like ours but on a MUCH LARGER scale has a HUGE staff and under 2000 “friends” on their facebook page, so I think I need to focus on the website more. Maybe we can have some of the volunteers help with that or maybe I can pay someone to help with it.</p>