Every organization is different, but here are five components which we have found to be important considerations in developing a successful social media strategy:
- Remember it’s just like any other communications channel – which means that your organization’s branding and messaging needs to be consistent and integrated. In my previous post I pointed out why handing social media off to a junior person on the staff is a mistake – it needs to be managed by the same person who owns the rest of your organization’s integrated marketing and communications.
- Remember that it’s NOT just like any other communications channel. Specifically, remember that the power of social media has to do with the unique 2-way communication aspect. We used to say that “content is king”, but today, “conversation” is the new king of content. So, while email or direct mail messaging tend to be top-down and 1-way, content which you post in social media should be designed to stimulate conversation horizontally. Pose provocative questions, take polls, post images and video designed to encourage people to comment, respond, and – most importantly – share with others.
- Get buy-in from everyone in the organization. All too often social media gets handed-off to one person, and the rest of the organization is cynical about it and not very engaged. If you don’t have your whole organization engaged, there no way that you can get the full value of engagement with donors, members and supporters. Here’s an interesting post on Beth Kanter’s blog about running a workshop for one of Tivix’s customers, the Environmental Defense Fund, to get all 350 staff members engaged in supporting their social media strategy.
- Unlike most other marketing efforts, the budget for social media is not “front loaded”. With many communications channels, the costs are upfront – producing a website, producing a video, etc, and then the ongoing costs are relatively modest. Social Media is the opposite – there are no up-front costs (in the sense that Facebook and Twitter are free to join), but for it to be a success there needs to be substantial ongoing “care and feeding”, in order to keep posting fresh, compelling, engaging content.
- Look for best-practices you can “borrow”. Find other organizations similar to yours who are using social media successfully and figure out which aspects you can emulate. Call them up and talk to them – most organizations are happy to share successes and learnings with you (especially in return for reciprocal privileges!). And even though you may be running a nonprofit, don’t be afraid to borrow ideas from the private sector as well. This post from Jeremiah Owyang at Forrester Research has an up-to-date set of slides with the social media strategies from companies such as Cisco, IBM, and EMC.
Like any other communications initiative, social media should be approached with a well-researched and well-drafted strategy before you begin. The good news is that it lends itself well to an iterative process, so that you can constantly refine it until you are getting the full value of social media for your organization’s efforts around advocacy, fundraising, education, and member recruitment.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
To add just a little more to point #4 – the “care and feeding” is very important and really needs to be fleshed out in the strategy. Having a dedicated person or persons who will manage and maintain social profiles, social media optimization, reputation management, brand and other such important aspects is super important. Just having someone manage this “in addition” to their other responsibilities is not enough. There really needs to be a dedicated staff member or possibly an outside firm who can dedicate the time and effort.
To add just a little more to point #4 – the “care and feeding” is very important and really needs to be fleshed out in the strategy. Having a dedicated person or persons who will manage and maintain social profiles, social media optimization, reputation management, brand and other such important aspects is super important. Just having someone manage this “in addition” to their other responsibilities is not enough. There really needs to be a dedicated staff member or possibly an outside firm who can dedicate the time and effort.
Interesting distillation of the major concepts. I have to agree about #3 (however, I don’t think that it happens often considering how horizontally flat some organizational charts are and spread thin with responsibilities some staff are).
However, I think one important lesson that could be overlooked here, and perhaps an unspoken assumption is the need to go slow using the “listen, learn, adapt” method (http://www.ucpeople.org/2009/09/social-networking-do-you-hear-what-i.html) by getting to know one network at a time. Mastering that network and then moving on to another while still maintaining the original network (again an iterative process).
Further, something we are grappling with at my nonprofit is how to direct the flow of the conversation that does occur. Should social networks exist to funnel users to the organization’s home Web site (something I disagree with but it has come up as a topic of conversation repeatedly) or should conversation remain where the user is where answers to questions can be provided or directed to the appropriate person on staff. Here it is a question of the amount of concerted effort to control the “brand.” I argue that the “brand” must be flexible. For each separate nonprofit it is a valid and serious question to pose and consider with this strategy formulation.
-Will
http://www.willhull.com
One must also consider the amount of trust that the organization places in answering and interacting with supporters. Some feel that answers need to be vetted by several different people. Some others give almost instantaneous feedback through a flexible protocol. The amount of deftness that the employee or volunteer is allowed can make all of the difference.
Interesting distillation of the major concepts. I have to agree about #3 (however, I don't think that it happens often considering how horizontally flat some organizational charts are and spread thin with responsibilities some staff are).However, I think one important lesson that could be overlooked here, and perhaps an unspoken assumption is the need to go slow using the “listen, learn, adapt” method (http://www.ucpeople.org/2009/09/social-networki...) by getting to know one network at a time. Mastering that network and then moving on to another while still maintaining the original network (again an iterative process). Further, something we are grappling with at my nonprofit is how to direct the flow of the conversation that does occur. Should social networks exist to funnel users to the organization's home Web site (something I disagree with but it has come up as a topic of conversation repeatedly) or should conversation remain where the user is where answers to questions can be provided or directed to the appropriate person on staff. Here it is a question of the amount of concerted effort to control the “brand.” I argue that the “brand” must be flexible. For each separate nonprofit it is a valid and serious question to pose and consider with this strategy formulation.-Willhttp://www.willhull.com
One must also consider the amount of trust that the organization places in answering and interacting with supporters. Some feel that answers need to be vetted by several different people. Some others give almost instantaneous feedback through a flexible protocol. The amount of deftness that the employee or volunteer is allowed can make all of the difference.
Will: These are great comments. I think your question of whether social networks should serve as a funnel to the organization’s website, or be a standalone presence, is a really interesting point, and will become an even more strategically important distinction as Facebook pages become more and more like microsites of their own. Excellent point.
Agreed. Managing the “stream” of social media dialog surrounding your organization can easily become a full-time position today, and becomes a strategically important part of brand management.
Will: These are great comments. I think your question of whether social networks should serve as a funnel to the organization's website, or be a standalone presence, is a really interesting point, and will become an even more strategically important distinction as Facebook pages become more and more like microsites of their own. Excellent point.
Agreed. Managing the “stream” of social media dialog surrounding your organization can easily become a full-time position today, and becomes a strategically important part of brand management.
One thing I would add to this list…
Dont force your social media team to produce stuff… you need to provide content Social media isn’t something that can start without anything to communicate. A great product, a story, a theme, a push, teams need something to draw on to have success.
One thing I would add to this list… Dont force your social media team to produce stuff… you need to provide content Social media isn't something that can start without anything to communicate. A great product, a story, a theme, a push, teams need something to draw on to have success.