Growth of social media offers new connections to explore
Guest post by Deanne Bullen
Connecting Up Australia
Are you thinking about entering the world of social media but not sure where to start? Do you wonder how it can make a difference to your organization? Or have you started out in the world of blogs, Twitter and Facebook but you’re not sure which tools and approaches are right for you?
When it comes to communication strategies, many nonprofits have tended to stay with the familiar one-way message through direct mail, print newsletters, a fundraising event, email and telephone. However, the growth of social media offers a two way communication medium with opportunities for nonprofit organizations to build community, collective action, productivity, social and cultural capital and capacity.
Many find the social media space a little overwhelming as it’s clear the landscape changes on a daily basis and is filled with strange terms. For example, what is astroturfing and what exactly is a mashup – does it have anything to do with mash potatoes? And what does crowdsourcing, digital inclusion or geotagging have to do with your organization?
However, there is assistance available to help you understand the terms, make choices about the tools you need to get started and learn how to listen, engage and connect with your community online.
The Socialbrite team at socialbrite.org aims to assist people in any sector get up to speed on the social Web and find the right strategy and tactics to help your organization or cause. Their social media glossary is a good place to start – it’ll help the uninitiated understand the terms you will encounter.
Socialbrite is an affiliation of passionate social media consultants and strategists who believe in collaborating to produce positive change. Their mission is to highlight social tools and strategies that can be used to advance the social good. You can access a fantastic Sharing Center, reports, a list of cause organizations, tutorials, a calendar of events and consulting services.
Another great resource is Social by Social, which provides access to a practical guide to using new technologies to deliver social impact. The book, which can be accessed online or in print, explains how to get involved in social media and what might happen if you do. It’s not just about technology and the “trendy tools” but what you can do with them to make a difference.
Beth’s Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media is a rich source of information about the adoption challenges, strategy and return on investment of nonprofits and social media. In particular, if you are looking to create a social media strategy for your organization, there is a great article that Beth wrote that is worth a read: Creating Your Organization’s Social Media Strategy Map. The article provides a roadmap and worksheet to guide your organization to think strategically about social media.
Another good place to stop at on the social media discovery journey is Laurel Papworth’s blog: the business of being social. Laurel is gradually migrating her courseware across to a new format. She offers it for free download under Creative Commons for download. You can now access PR and Crisis Communication: This course combines an introduction to social media tools with strategies and exercises for public relations practitioners who are interested in both monitoring and participating in online engagement.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported.
Laurel Papworth says
Thankyou for the mention and compliment :)
Laurel @SilkCharm
@NVanReece says
All great resources. You should also take a look at http://blog.coolpeoplecare.org. It's a nonprofit resource blog out of Nashville, TN