Of Crowdsourcing, Knowledge Workers, and Crowd Accelerated Innovation Part 1
October 8, 2010
An Introduction to Crowd Accelerated Innovation
Seth Godin a well respected thought-leader and Chris Anderson, another well respected thought-leader that represents many of you as the face of TED, recently discussed “one of those big ideas, a simple one that will stick with you for a long time” (Godin, 2010). Seth presents this idea as “Online Video” (2010). Now, to many of you online video is nothing new. In fact, a plethora of non-profit organizations use video nearly everyday to tell their stories. The power and influence of video, especially delivered via the online medium, is hard to argue against. It is due to this non-argument that online video as a communication vehicle is not the topic of this discussion as it was for Seth Godin. Rather, let us discuss briefly the requirements of Crowd Accelerated Innovation, how a knowledge worker might fit into crowdsourcing, and how a nonprofit organization can leverage both.
Chris explains Crowd Accelerated Innovation as, creators and their resultant innovations that deliver to everyone else the message “step your game up” (Anderson, 2010)! While this may not be a physical conscious act, it is nonetheless compounding result of cycles of improvement and leaps in the evolution of an idea that raise the standard of excellence.
According to Anderson (2010) there are three elements that are needed in order to start turning the innovation wheel.
- A Crowd – a group of people whom share a common interest
Chris highlights that the bigger the crowd the more potential innovators, commentators, trend-spotters, cheerleaders, skeptics, super-spreaders, and mavericks that will exist. This group of people will form the fabric, the ecosystem from which innovation emerges.
- Light – clear, open visibility, of what the best people in that crowd are capable of
Chris believes that possessing the knowledge of how others are functioning will allow you to learn how you will be empowered to participate.
- Desire – absent of desire, innovation quite simply will not happen
Innovation is hard work. In most cases it is based upon hundreds of hours of research and practice. This is why it is critical that all members of the crowd be actively engaged within their role.
I encourage you to spend 18 minutes of your life and watch Chris’ presentation to get a better understanding of this form of innovation before reading Part 2 which will be posted in the coming week.
References
Anderson, C. (Presenter). (2010). Chris anderson: how web video powers global innovation. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/chris_anderson_how_web_video_powers_global_innovation.html
Godin, S. (2010, September 16). Beyond crowdsourcing. Retrieved from http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/09/beyond-crowdsourcing.html
How to Filter Twitter Followers
August 9, 2010
Does the shear number of twitter followers have you confused? Not sure whom to follow in return? Are they worth it? What if you do not follow someone back; will they unfollow you? How do you sift through the people that are just noise versus those whom are saying things that are relevant to YOU??? 
NPOdev has been using a three step approach to help filter out the people that follow, in order to just receive a reciprocation follow, versus those that are actually worth following. A stance must be clearly made here! Just because Tweeple follow you does NOT mean you have to follow them in return.
Why is this an important distinction and how can it be a positive decision for you and your organization?
Consider this: You exist on Twitter because you have something to say. More importantly, you exist on Twitter because you want to hear what other people have to say. Following this logic it then makes sense to follow anyone in return that follows you. Right? Well, maybe not! In this tweetable world of nearly 8 million Twitter accounts (2010, Hubspot twitter.grader results) it cannot not make perfect sense to automatically follow anyone who follows you. While the vast majority of people that follow you may have similar interests and it may make sense to follow them in return, this should not be an automatic decision. This decision should be based upon metrics, filtered by the follower’s reputation, and further filtered by the relevance of their tweets to that which you are listening to, participating in conversations about, and engaging your audience AND the audience of your follower’s with. This last part is really the crux of the decision. You should be able to answer the following question. If I follow this person or organization, will I be able to engage not only them, but their listeners as well??
Finding the answer to this question is what has led NPOdev to create a three step process to determine whom and whom not to follow on Twitter.
1. Sign up for and utilize Hubspot’s alerts.grader http://alerts.grader.com This tool monitors the people that follow you based upon a criteria set by you that takes into consideration their twitter.grader score (also a free Hubspot tool) and their ranking out of the almost 8 million Tweeple in the world.
Another benefit to alerts.grader is that you can connect your Google Alerts account and LinkedIn accounts to help monitor conversations that may be of interest to you (more on that below).
2. Once you receive an alert from Hubspot that someone has followed you that falls within the criteria you set, you will want to further filter them using Klout http://www.klout.com Klout is an awesome tool even apart from alerts.grader but when used to further refine your following base, it becomes even more beneficial. “Klout” is the measure of your overall influence online (2010, Klout Website). Like twitter.grader, it uses an algorithm to calculate a number of factors that lead to a Twerson’s Klout, or Twitter Influence score. The system is easy to understand but harder to fool than alerts.grader and therefore makes itself a valuable tool for further refinement.
Depending on your market, you will probably want to follow only those that have a Klout score of 25+ (you will want to adjust this for your purposes). Klout uses a 0-100 scale for reporting their calculations. It is VERY difficult to obtain a Klout score of 55+ (80th percentile) and therefore by choosing to follow those that have at least a Klout score of 25, you ensure you cut out the lesser quality influencers but do not bypass those that are sound, up-and-coming, and rightfully so an influencer in their field, even if the general Tweeple World does not follow them.
3. Typically the above two steps suffice for determining whom and whom not to follow. However, in case you need further refinement, or you have a follower who is on the edge of your criteria and you need more information about them, or even if you want to search out new “following” tweeples for yourself; you can leverage a variety of twitter search engines. These would include Google Custom Twitter Search, Twitter’s built in Search, or even the majority of Twitter applications that support searching such as Hootsuite (NPOdev’s favorite), Seesmic, and many others. All of the above listed support #hashtag searching, trending, topics, and general word/phrase searching. The benefit to Google and Twitter’s own search is that these methods support advanced searching as well as searches with Boolean operators.
Whether you want to refine whom you follow, search out new Tweeples to follow, or determine if the Twerson that just followed you is worth following in return, these three steps will ensure that the Tweeple you do decide to follow are worth it.
In closing, some Tweeple might argue that if one does not follow another Twerson, then you run the risk of losing them as a follower. Likewise there is the fear of potentially missing the occasional relevant tweet that the unfollowed Twerson posts. To solve the second issue NPOdev suggests using Lists, Hashtags, and the Twitter Search features discussed above in order to locate and join the conversations relevant to you that exists outside of your follower and following base.
To address the first issue of losing followers because you did not follow them back…well…that isn’t so bad. If someone drops you because you did not reciprocate their follow, that means they were in it for themselves and they were not in it for the right reasons. The right reasons for using the online communication vehicle of Twitter is to listen, converse, and engage your audience!
So go ahead, and give it a twirl (bad pun). See whom you can find new to follow, and whom you can categorize as noise and redirect that energy towards your followers that matter.
Successful Sustainability in Nonprofits
July 24, 2010
Sustainability has a lot of definitions these days. Sometimes it refers to ecology and the environment. Other times it refers to economics and fiscal stability. And still at other times it refers to humanity and society itself. As of 2001 an entire field of science originated that has dedicated
itself to the advancement of understanding systems and their dynamics relating to sustainability (2001, Kates, R., Clark, W., Corell, R., et. all; and 2010, Harvard). In fact, there are many non-profit organizations and non-governmental agencies dedicated to the aforementioned definitions of sustainability. However, the most profitable definition would be one that identifies the capacity to endure. A definition that allows for continuation. A plan for an organization to become self-sustainable.
Self-Sustainability is the ability to indefinitely produce more than your organization consumes.
Read that again!
The key word is indefinitely. On a regular basis we want to have more available for use than what we actually can use. Day after day, month after month, year after year, if our organizations produce more than they consume, they will be sustainable. They will continue. They will endure.
But what do we want to produce more of?
As an organization we need to produce more resources, more time, more money, a more positive image, and more tangible results in order to ultimately produce more of our mission!
Why do we want to become self-sustainable?
Recent interviews with major donors conclude that they no longer want to give automatically…unless they see the evidence of how the entity will survive if they stop giving. (2009-2010, Personal Communications)
Additionally, our organization’s resources need to become more residual. If we stay still, if our organization, our mission, our resource engine stays stagnant, if these items do not progress, by default we are going backwards as others surpass us. As other groups develop and move further forward than we do we are losing ground. We are losing the capacity to deliver on our mission.
Finally, self-sustainability is important because without you and your organization, your mission would not get accomplished!
As Simon Sinek proclaims (2010), success is achieved through being inspired by the thing you’re pursuing. When applied to sustainability, success means that entities can achieve self-sustainability through community and relationships. As Harvard’s Sustainability Science Program identifies, by focusing on the dynamics between systems, sustainability can be achieved. In organizations, by focusing on relationships and community building, Self-Sustainability can be achieved.
Stayed tuned for further articles related to Community and Relationship Building for Self-Sustainability. Please also check out the modules of this presentation, originally delivered in Portugal, May 2010, on Slideshare.net.
References
Harvard sustainability science program. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/cid/programs/sustsci
Kates, R., Clark, W., Corell, R., Hall, J., Jaeger, C., Lowe, I., McCarthy, J., Schellnhuber, H-J., Bolin, B., Dickson, N., Faucheux, S., Gallopin, G., Grubler, A., Huntley, B., Jager, J., Jodha, N., Kasperson, R., Mabogunje, A., Matson, P., & Mooney, H. 2001. Sustainability science. Science 292(5517): 641–642.
Sinek, S. (2010, July 20). What will You sacrifice? [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://sinekpartners.typepad.com/refocus/2010/07/sacrifice.html
Nonprofit Employee Empowerment
April 25, 2010
Source: Flickr, Lincolnian (Brian)
In a recent blog post by Marshall Goldsmith on the Harvard Business Review (HBR) website, Goldsmith discussed four steps leaders can take in order to empower their employees. Employee empowerment is nothing new. It is discussed in many circles and more often then not, empowerment is discussed alongside its antitheses, micro-management.
How many times do you as a non-profit leader encourage and allow empowerment? Is it difficult to do so because of employee or volunteer competency levels? Or are you as the leader stifling empowerment through your organization’s culture?
Marshall points out,
there is a critical point that is often missed: It isn’t possible for a leader to “empower” someone to be accountable and make good decisions. People have to empower themselves. Your role is to encourage and support the decision-making environment, and to give employees the tools and knowledge they need to make and act upon their own decisions. By doing this, you help your employees reach an empowered state.
I have learned that the issue with empowerment, micro-management, and employee competency is not with those items at all. It is almost always related to the culture surrounding the leader. The atmosphere the leader exudes. Therefore as leaders and managers, within non-profits or for-profits, we must ensure the organizational and departmental cultures we create are ones that allow employees to breathe. We must ensure our employees are allowed to make decisions on there own. AND…when the result of the decision is not the most favorable, we must stick by our employeesand encourage them, coach them, and mentor them so that the next opportunity they have to build confidence in themselves will be a success. Goldsmith clasifies this as “running interference”.
The greatest empowering force of empowerment is trust. Employees need to know that their leader has their back.
So what are the four steps Goldsmith suggested? Following are a few things leaders can do to build an environment that empowers people.
- Give power to those who have demonstrated the capacity to handle the responsibility.
- Create a favorable environment in which people are encouraged to grow their skills.
- Don’t second-guess others’ decisions and ideas unless it’s absolutely necessary. This only undermines their confidence and keeps them from sharing future ideas with you.
- Give people discretion and autonomy over their tasks and resources.
What then is step five?
Start today!
Start today by figuring out how you as the leader and you as the manager will set your staff up to succeed. This could be a full time employee, a volunteer, or even an intern. How will you empower them? How will you have their back? Which of Goldsmith’s four steps are you going to employ right now? What are you willing to relinquish control of in order that the other person can grow?
How will you inspire those you lead? Hopefully, it is by giving them the chance to prove they are up to the task.
An EPIC Solution for Economic Hardships in NPOs Part 7 (Conclusion)
April 8, 2010
So… get out there and get people to know, like, and trust you. Ensure that this is done EPIC-ally.
If you already have a reserve – great! Implement this strategy and nurture the relationships you have at this time of hardship.
Just starting, or can’t figure out how the next bill will be paid? Then stop! Take the next few days to figure out what you can do to immediately have people experience, participate, be filled with images of your organization and its cause, and ultimately connect with you, your cause, and with like-minded people that support you. This will build a resource engine that is unstoppable due to vitality. This strategy will accomplish the non-profit’s mission because it is viable; and (rightfully so) will build a foundation of success through sustainability in order to accomplish the future vision…and to make it through those hardships that come our way.
Read: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Get the Full Article
References
Jantsch, John (2008). Duct tape marketing: The world’s most practical small business marketing guide. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
An EPIC Solution for Economic Hardships in NPOs Part 6 (Connective)
April 1, 2010
The key to surviving is to focus on time and brand. Get people to know, like, and trust you. But how? EPIC-ally!
People become supporters of non-profits when the organization approaches them EPIC-ally.
Experiential
Participatory
Image-Rich
Connective
People need connectivity. If this is doubted, then look at Facebook, MySpace, Google’s introduction of Buzz, the explosion of dating sites, Plaxo, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Every major brand has communities surrounding its products and storefronts. Project management systems now integrate social components. Blogs themselves connect speakers and their audiences. Most modern churches use numerous aspects of technology and the web to connect the members of their congregations locally and as they travel on missions trips. There is Kiva.org which allows micro lenders to travel into the field to meet with other like-minded lenders whom have helped fund the same project. Even education’s transition to the online environment for courses as well as simply collaborating and sharing with other students that are on the other side of the globe; proves that people need connectivity.
People want to feel as though they are a part of what the organization is doing, and they want to see the results thereof. Connectivity transitions a person from merely liking the organization and its cause, to actually trusting it. With this new found trust through connectivity comes the inherent results of effective marketing, which have not yet been mentioned. After someone gets to know, like, and trust you; they will contact, repeat buy/support, and refer others. By providing avenues by which people may connect, on all levels and in all possible ways, with the organization; knowledge is gained, favor is given, loyalty is birthed out of trust, and the resource engine will begin to sustain itself as well as gather new fuel. It will even replace broken or missing parts through people who contact, repeat support, and now refer their friends and contacts to support your organization’s cause.
Read: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Get the Full Article
References
Jantsch, John (2008). Duct tape marketing: The world’s most practical small business marketing guide. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
Sweet, L. (2007). The Gospel according to Starbucks: Living with a grande passion. Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBook Press.
The EPIC acrostic is adapted from Leonard Sweet’s “The Gospel According to Starbucks: Living with a Grande Passion”, 2007.
An EPIC Solution for Economic Hardships in NPOs Part 5 (Image-Rich)
March 18, 2010
The key to surviving is to focus on time and brand. Get people to know, like, and trust you. But how? EPIC-ally!
People become supporters of non-profits when the organization approaches them EPIC-ally.
Experiential
Participatory
Image-Rich
Connective
People need image-rich experiences and participation. They want to cultivate their like into trust, and ultimately into loyalty. One obvious aspect of imagery is visual. However, sight is merely one sensory receptor. Constituents need to feel, hear, smell, taste, and emotionally connect to the organization and its cause, and discover the culture surrounding it.
Consider a cup of Starbucks Coffee. With a cup of * bux, one is immersed in a rich image that involves the aroma, the flavor, the color, the warmth, the “buzz” of audible decadence that surrounds actually getting the liquid in the cup (just the way you ordered it), the connection that is made with the people that are enjoying the cup together or memories of such a time, and of course the culture that is Starbucks when actually placing the order (Sweet, 2007).
A person patronizing Starbucks does not simply “ask” for a small cup of coffee. They have to speak the language. The customer has to culturally understand that “their” cup of coffee is an “iced venti sugar-free vanilla soy decaf latte” (or for something more common, a “double short skinny extra-dry with legs”. Too complicated still? Ok…just a “grande breve”). Addressing the senses, including their emotional ties, solidifies a stakeholder’s notion to like the organization, and further perpetuates the trust factor.
Read: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Get the Full Article
References
Jantsch, John (2008). Duct tape marketing: The world’s most practical small business marketing guide. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
Sweet, L. (2007). The Gospel according to Starbucks: Living with a grande passion. Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBook Press.
The EPIC acrostic is adapted from Leonard Sweet’s “The Gospel According to Starbucks: Living with a Grande Passion”, 2007.
When Should Non Profits Post Social Media to Social Networks?
March 14, 2010
Dan Zarrella, a Social Media Scientist, has been generating some great data and charts which empirically show when an organization should post their social media to the social networks. Don’t think it matters when your non-profit Tweets, shares on Facebook, or which platform to post a video to? Think again! Dan’s information is very helpful and when followed can generate powerful results.
As defined in this week’s earlier post Non Profit Communication Vehicles, Social Networks are comprised of the platforms wherein one can connect with another based upon a relationship. The corresponding chart of communication channels and vehicles, present in that post, indicates a number of these platforms. The following information and recommendations can be gleaned by reviewing the chart:
- Each of these Social Networks have their own function and audience.
- Because the function and audience (and hence the fans/followers) are different between the platforms, the content should be different on each one.
- Although the content (format, phrasing, possibly the information) itself varies and is modified for each platform, the message should be the same.
- Caution must be used when posting via post broadcasters such as Ping.fm, Seesmic, HootSuite, and other platforms that allow you to post to multiple communication channels. These tools ignor the above two points. By ignoring the difference audiences your organization runs the risk of damaging the relationship with the channels’ fans/followers.
- Posting to the organization’s website is not covered in the scientific social media data below and therefore the best day and time to release information for your website’s viewers should be determined by you and your organization’s posting tests. Here are three video resources to get you started, How to Build a High-Traffic Blog (time stamp 6:45-8:15), Getting Readers for Your Blog (time stamp 4:50-5:38 for post length & frequency), and More Blogging Tactics for days of the week and times to post.
Now onto the research. Here are several key points and takeaways from Dan’s study regarding Facebook and Twitter.
1. Saturday is the best day of the week to post articles that you want re-shared.
Dan States,
While I found less articles posted on the weekends (notice the gray bars at the bottom of the graph which indicate volume of URLs analyzed for each day), those stories that were published on the weekends tended to be shared on Facebook more, on average, than stories that were published during the week. The reasons for this probably include the fact that more than half of companies in the US block Facebook, so people can only use the social network at home, on the weekends. Additionally, the mainstream Facebook audience does not use Facebook for work.
2. If posting Video, use Facebook not Twitter.
Dan attributes this difference to the fact that Facebook makes it easier to embed multimedia into updates than Twitter does.
3. Post on Friday at 4PM (EST)
Look at the data…it says it all.
Conclusion
While Dan’s research cannot help determine when to release your content on your website and blog, his data clearly shows that both Facebook and Twitter have different times when it is best broadcast your content to these two Social Media and Social Network platforms.
Should these be the only days and times your organization releases content or updates its statuses? No! But as the above video resources explain, if there is crucial content for your audiences, then you should follow the scientifically identified opportune times.
Refferences
Macsai, D. (2009, September 21). Report: nine scientifically proven ways to get retweeted on twitter. Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/dan-macsai/popwise/report-nine-scientifically-proven-ways-get-re-tweeted-twitter
Zarrella, D. (2009). The Science of retweets [pp. 20-21]. (Research Study), Retrieved from http://danzarrella.com/the-science-of-retweets-report.html
Zarrella, D. (2010, March 3). Data shows that facebook is better for video marketing than twitter. Retrieved from http://danzarrella.com/data-shows-that-facebook-is-better-for-video-marketing-than-twitter.html
Zarrella, D. (2010, March 8). Http://danzarrella.com/data-shows-articles-published-on-the-weekend-are-shared-on-facebook-more.html. Retrieved from http://danzarrella.com/data-shows-articles-published-on-the-weekend-are-shared-on-facebook-more.html
Non Profit Communication Vehicles
March 7, 2010
Social Media seems to have taken the marketing world by storm. Words such as “viral”, “online”, “offline”, “always on”, “champions”, “friends”, “lurkers”, “peer-to-peer”, “network”, “engagement”, and “groundswell” have all emerged from this trend victorious and redefined. 
Social Media is sometimes interpreted as any type of marketing and communication executed on the internet. This however is not true. Social Media is simply one of many online vehicles used for such endeavors. Yet long before there were online methods of delivering your organization’s message there were offline methods of communication.
Most people realize that there are various forms of transportation vehicles. They come in all shapes and sizes. Each type has its own specific use and function. A company or a person must learn which type is the best to move specific items. For example, a train is great for moving large quantities of material at a steady pace over a long distance. However, a train is relegated to land (it won’t go very far on water). A train then would not be the vehicle of choice to cross a large body of water such as an ocean. In this case a jet plane or a ship might be used to accomplish the transportation need.
Crossing land and crossing the ocean are relatively easy examples to follow. But how does one decide between a train and a semi-truck, a van or a car, or a plane or a helicopter? These decisions in transportation can be difficult because the medium is the same. There are only idiosyncrasies that separate the modes, and so it is with delivering your nonprofit’s message.
| Communication Vehicles | Type
|
Function | Audience
|
| Online | |||
| Websites | |||
| Your own | Get people to know, like, and trust you; attract soon-to-be constituents | Potential constituents, 1st Tier of Non-constituents | |
| Partner’s | Get people to know you, provide creditability, attract unexplored constituents | Potential constituents, 3rd Tier of Non-constituents | |
| Search Engine | |||
| Organic | Free, general awareness (non-targeted results) | Passive seekers | |
| Paid Ads | Not free, targeted results, text based | Active seekers | |
| Online public relations | |||
| Syndicated content | Build a fan-base, loyalty | Current list subscribers | |
| Pod-casting | Build trust through demonstrating knowledge | Non-list subscribers | |
| Online magazines | Build credibility/trust, attract refusing constituents | General industry, 2nd Tier of Non-customers | |
| Blog | Get people to know and like you, build credibility, attract soon-to-be constituents | General industry, 1st Tier of Non-constituents | |
| Paid Advertising | |||
| Banner ads | Not free, targeted results, graphic based | Active seekers | |
| other’s e-newsletter | General awareness (non-targeted results), attract unexplored constituents | Passive seekers, 3rd Tier of Non-constituents | |
| Email Marketing | |||
| e-newsletter | General updates | Current constituents | |
| campaign | Specific update | Current constituents & donors | |
| Social Media & Networking | |||
| Relational marketing and community building | Adult and career | ||
| micro-blogging, get people to know and like you | All ages and walks of life | ||
| MySpace | Relational/Trend marketing and community building | Teenagers and young adults | |
| YouTube | Video community, educate | Learners, all ages | |
| Flickr | Image community, general sharing and inspiration | Learners, all ages | |
| Cinchcast | Micro pod-casting, get people to know and like you | Adult and career, learners seeking reputable info | |
| Professional and industry communities, attract refusing and unexplored constituents | Adult and Career, 2nd & 3rd Tier Non-constituents | ||
| Offline | |||
| Traditional Public Relations | |||
| Speaking at Conventions/Conferences | Educate, get people to trust you, build credibility, attract soon-to-be constituents | Industry specific, adults and career, 1st Tier of Non-constituents | |
| Press Release | Announcements, attract unexplored constituents | General and industry specific, 3rd tier of Non-constituents | |
| Hold Press Conference | Announcements, pleas, revelations, attract soon-to-be constituents | Industry specific, 1st Tier of Non-constituents and current constituents | |
| Publish Articles | Educate, get people to know you, build credibility, attract soon-to-be and refusing constituents | General industry, 1st & 2nd Tier of Non-constituents | |
| Paid Advertising | |||
| Commercials | General awareness, semi-targeted | Passive seekers | |
| Print Ads | General awareness, semi-targeted | Passive seekers | |
| Radio Spots | General awareness, semi-targeted | Passive seekers | |
| Direct & Select Mail | |||
| Informational | Educate, get people to know you, attract soon-to-be and refusing constituents | Current constituents and 1st & 2nd Tier Non-constituents | |
| Fundraising | Raise support | Current constituents and donors | |
| Events | |||
| Fundraiser | Raise support | Current constituents | |
| Meet & Greet | Get people to know you, attract soon-to-be constituents | 1st Tier Non-constituents | |
| Community
(Local/National/International) |
General awareness, attract refusing and unexplored constituents | 2nd & 3rd Tier Non-constituents | |
| Broadcast Programming | |||
| Television | Educate, get people to know and trust you, build credibility | Active seekers | |
| Radio | Educate, get people to know and trust you, build credibility | Active seekers |
As one can see Social Media, and Social Networking platforms, are just one presence (aspect) of communicating online with an organization’s constituency. There is a time and place for online marketing, and a time and a place for offline marketing. Using these two broad channels in a directed, purposeful, and message driven way will ensure that your nonprofit maximizes its return on investment for its communications and marketing budget.
Author’s Note: This post discusses Social Media, Social Networks and online marketing. Many times Social Media and Social Networking are considered one in the same, however they completely different. One provides a platform for advertising and delivering one’s message and information; and the other deals with building community. The most popular of these platforms are obviously those which allow for both, such as Facebook.
Social Media is defined as delivering one’s adverts, information and message (the content) via a relational marketing (social network) platform.
Social Network is defined as community building platforms wherein one can connect with another based upon a relationship.
An EPIC Solution for Economic Hardships in NPOs Part 4 (Participatory)
February 22, 2010
The key to surviving is to focus on time and brand. Get people to know, like, and trust you. But how? EPIC-ally!
People become supporters of non-profits when the organization approaches them EPIC-ally.
Experiential
Participatory
Image-Rich
Connective
People need to participate in the organization. They want to like what the entity is doing. What better way to know if you like something than to try it on for size? Invite people to volunteer their time, to take an acquaintance course, to visit the site or field in which the outreach is occurring, to physically see in a hands-on way, what cause is being furthered.
Don’t be afraid of what the prospective supporter may not like or may not want to do. This is the time to be open and honest (which also works towards trust, another aspect of being EPIC and of effective marketing). If the potential supporter does not like what your organization is doing, you don’t want their support! This is the hardest thing for a not-for-profit to do: say “no” to resources that are not aligned with their mission, heritage, and vision of the future. By participating in what the NPO does, a supporter will like the company and, ultimately, their cause, more and more and more which turns into loyalty and – a key aspect of loyalty – trust.
Read: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Get the Full Article
References
Jantsch, John (2008). Duct tape marketing: The world’s most practical small business marketing guide. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
Sweet, L. (2007). The Gospel according to Starbucks: Living with a grande passion. Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBook Press.
The EPIC acrostic is adapted from Leonard Sweet’s “The Gospel According to Starbucks: Living with a Grande Passion”, 2007.