Come On In - The Water's GREAT!

I recently attended a seminar in which one of the sessions was about Social Media.  I have been dabbling (for work) in the social media pool since about 2008-ish.  I love social media and more times than not, if there is a discussion group on social media, that is where you will find me.  Even though I have been doing this a while, something new is always coming down the pike and if I walk away with one new nugget of information, it is a seminar worth attending.

Having a presence in social media is a hot topic for nonprofits.  They know they need to be out there, but don't know 1.  how they should enter the pool, 2.  what pool should they be swimming in, 3.  who should be responsible and 4.  where will they find the time. 

Here are some of my not so secret thoughts/suggestions.

1.  Should you be swimming in the pool?  A resounding YES!  There has long been the attitude in academia that you must "publish or perish".  Well folks, in this linked in world in which we live, the same can hold true for nonprofits.  Not that many of us ever could afford to purchase newspaper ads or billboards to publicize our nonprofits, but in this down economy, advertising will be cut before programming.  We have to find new and creative ways to publicize our missions.  Notice I didn't use the words FREE.  Yes, social media doesn't require you to cut a check to a business, but it does take staff time.  For everything you say yes to, you have to say no to something else.  If you aren't out there, unless you are paying for Google Ads (remember - advertising budgets are pretty much nil at most nonprofits), you are not going to appear in the top ten searches that Google, or any other search engine does. 

Facebook is a good place to start and I recommend a blog.  People LOVE to read about other people.  Share the stories about how you have been serving the community, making sure NOT to say "we have done this" but rather "our supporters have made XYZ possible" (that is a whole 'nother blog topic).  Ooo ADD setting in - let's get back on topic. 

If you are going to blog you need to be regular.  Set up a schedule.  Last year I blogged on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays for my nonprofit.  No, they weren't all essays.  Tuesday I posted pictures from our historical archives, because we have 94 years of darling baby pictures.  Wednesday was an article and Thursday I shared the best from Twitter.  I also didn't sit down and blog every day.  I would set aside usually a couple of hours at the end of the week (Fridays are good for me) and set up my entries for the upcoming week.  Hit the schedule button and the blogs would automatically post.  How cool is THAT!  Now I am back to blogging once a week.  I have an editorial calendar - learn more about that in an upcoming blog article I am doing with the Center for Nonprofit Management.,  You KNOW I will post that here!

2.  Who should be responsible for your agency's social media?  First and foremost it needs to be someone who enjoys it.  Just my opinion, but for social media to work, you have to be engaged.  Not someone who grudgingly is checking a task off their list.  It doesn't have to be your development person.  Maybe another staff member.  You might be tempted to turn it over to your intern - might not be the best idea, HOWEVER, if you have your marketing/PR/development staff or ED supervising them, an intern (college or high school level) is sure going to know their way around social media.  That is where they live.  Just make sure the intern is sending out the message you want. 

3.  Where do you find the time?  If it is important to you, you will find the time.  With all things, the more you do, the more efficient you become.  There are articles out there that say you can do social media for your nonprofit in as little as 20 minutes a week.  I laugh!  Social media is all about engaging with your followers, your supporters.  You need to check in more frequently than 20 minutes a week.    I check my personal facebook usually in the morning, around lunchtime and in the evening.  While I am there, I swing by the office Fanpage.  Whenever I am "electronic hoarding", oh excuse me - I meant pinning on Pinterest, I actually have a board that is specifically pins for the office Pinterest boards.  Makes it very easy then to repin those items.

Take a deep breath, hold your nose and JUMP!  The water is fine.