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.

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

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.

1. Give power to those who have demonstrated the capacity to handle the responsibility.
2. Create a favorable environment in which people are encouraged to grow their skills.
3. 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.
4. 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.

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.

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.

As Western Christians we often only view missions trips as evangelical in nature. I personally struggled with this as evangelism, in its typically defined role, has never been a passion of mine and I failed to see why I should be the one to evangelize. It was on a trip to South Africa in 2006, and the resulting relationships thereafter, whereby I learned that conversions are not the only thing missionaries and Christians serving elsewhere in the world need help with. They need help with actions surrounding construction, technology, support processes, and even business.

Over the course of the last 18-24 months God has built a relationship between myself and an organization in Portugal called Teófilos. Teófilos is a provider of online learning and a platform and community for students of the Bible for Portuguese speaking people groups. One of the biggest issues Teófilos faces is the transition it is trying to make from being solely the endeavor of one missionary family to that of a sustainable entity functioning as a non-governmental organization (non-profit) in Portugal, Brazil, and beyond. In Portugal specifically there are many other para-church organizations that desire assistance with their organizational advancement. The areas in which they need help are in business methodologies and processes such as marketing, budgeting, constituent relationship management, and even day-to-day operations.

The third week of May 2010, just a few short weeks away, I will travel to Portugal to meet with leadership of such para-church organizations and to work alongside Teófilos for two weeks. As part of this trip God has arranged for me to provide two different seminars. One, at the Portuguese Baptist Theological Seminary (STB) and another all-day three-session seminar to a conglomerate of missionaries, mission organizations, church leaders, and lay-people.

It has been requested that I specifically speak on topics surrounding marketing, re-visioning, and to provide tools to further their ministries from an organizational development and advancement vantage point. In other words, to assist them in transitioning their work to a sustainable endeavor that won’t falter when their personal support dries up.  The title of the seminar is “Community and Relationship Building for Self-Sustainability in NPOs/NGOs”.

I would like to invite you to pray about how you, your families, your church, and your friends can be of assistance in this outreach. Here are some ways in which you can support this missions trip:

1. Prayer- for safety, finances, preparations, and opportunities of service while in Portugal.
2. Give by check- contact me via the contact page or through email to obtain mailing address.
3. Give Online- Click on the ChipIn! above and make a donation with your debit, credit, or bank transfer through PayPal.
4. Follow the trip via Twitter or Facebook.

Note: A giving receipt can be supplied upon request and 100% of your gift will go towards the cost of this trip.

This trip is in partnership with:

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.

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:

1. Each of these Social Networks have their own function and audience.
2. Because the function and audience (and hence the fans/followers) are different between the platforms, the content should be different on each one.
3. Although the content (format, phrasing, possibly the information) itself varies and is modified for each platform, the message should be the same.
4. 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.
5. 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

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.

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.

Paraphrased excerpt from Bruchko, Chapters 4 and 6.

Many times as I studied I felt God nudging me.  “I want you to go.”
“But, Lord, I tried that.  Don’t You remember? I was turned down.”
“Turned down by whom?”
“Why, by the others, of course.”
It was as though God were smiling, amused and tolerant. God said, “I didn’t turn you down.  I want you to go. Follow me!”

“God this is ridiculous.  How can I go without a governing ordinance? You want me to go down there without anyone to take care of me? I mean–protocol and all?”
“I am there.  What more do you need.”

I then began to see what God was trying to teach. He hadn’t called me, really, to follow in the exact footsteps of others.  He had called me to Himself, to be like His Son, Jesus Christ. And He wanted me to follow Him. Now.

[Several weeks passed] At last I could comprehend a little of what God was trying to teach me. So what if everyone else had rejected me! So what if the people I had counted on most didn’t act the way I thought they should. Jesus had not rejected me. He had led me to here. It was His plan I was following, and He would use every [emphasis added] experience for my good.

Jeremiah 29:11 is a verse of the Bible one often hears.  But do we really HEAR it?  Do we really hear Him?  “I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.” (Peterson, 2003)    There are numerous examples within the Bible where God has asked His leaders to do incomprehensible things.  Abraham with his son Isaac, Moses with the people of Israel, David and Goliath, and there are many other instances with His disciples wherein God miraculously, simply provides.

What is God telling you and your organization to do?  Is He telling you to go? Is He telling you to not be afraid of going against the flow, to swim upstream when everyone else is swimming downstream?

What purpose does God have for you and your organization?  Is it changing? Does the mission seem too big, is the vision out of this world?  Then behold, stand-fast, yet go! God has the plan all worked out.  While yes, there is wisdom in adhering to the counsel and authority of others, but as Bruce Olson learned, when God calls, we must simply obey no matter what human elements get in the way.

As you lead the organization God has entrusted to you, as you lead the people He has given to help you, as God navigates you; remember to simply go.  God has not turned you down!  Go forward, go in peace, go in obedience, and go because God is smiling, amused, tolerant, and loving.  “Come and follow Me!”, declares the LORD.

Do this and your organization will succeed because God is in the lead.

References:

Olson, Bruce. (2006). Bruchko: the astonishing true story of a 19-year-old american, his capture by the motilone indians and his adventures in christianizing the stone age tribe. Lake Mary, Florida, USA: Charisma House, A Strang Company.

Peterson, Eugene. (2003). The Message remix. NavPress Publishing Group.