Should your nonprofit dive into foursquare? Nonprofit Tech 2.0 has compiled a list of the types of organizations that might benefit the most from exploring the location-based service.
A weekly roundup of interesting reads from the online world of nonprofit communications. Follow me on Twitter @elizabethriccaor check out my Delicious bookmarks for more noteworthy links.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, and a Flip video cam takes 30 frames per second, and you shoot a one-minute video…well, I’m no math whiz, but that’s a lot of words. Margaret Bernstein describes how Cleveland nonprofits are using the power of video to make their stories come alive and inspire supporters.
Feel like the world of nonprofit communications is changing too quickly to keep up? A great presentation from DVQ Studio identifies the five biggest trends and offers tips for getting ahead of the curve.
Foursquare: badges, mayorships…and donations? Allyson Kapin shares some interesting examples and ideas on Frogloop for how nonprofits can use foursquare to drive fundraising and advocacy efforts.
On NTEN’s blog, Marissa Goldsmith urges nonprofits to drill down beyond top-level website analytics and shake up the standard-issue dashboard report by telling stories with your numbers. Once upon a time, there was a beautiful data set…
Does your nonprofit have a LinkedIn group? If so, it’s probably looking a touch spiffier this week: LinkedIn has rolled out some new features that encourage interaction and make groups more social (and, dare I say, a bit more Facebook-ish).
If three games a day just isn’t enough, YouTube has provided a way to bring the World Cup experience to all of your online video viewing: a vuvuzela button. Angry kazoos for everyone!
A weekly roundup of interesting reads from the online world of nonprofit communications. Follow me on Twitter @elizabethriccaor check out my Delicious bookmarks for more noteworthy links.
Storytelling is the key to the kingdom when it comes to inspiring supporters and donors to connect with your organization’s mission. On Socialbrite, Kim Bale shares some examples of how nonprofits are using inexpensive and easy-to-use online tools to build powerful visual presentations, as well as suggestions for how you can follow their lead.
What’s a pretty new website without shiny new content to match? If you’re redesigning your site, don’t forget to spruce up and reorganize the words as well. Morgan Schneeberger makes the case for preparing a detailed content inventory on NetWits Think Tank.
John Haydon demystifies the universe of Facebook Pages with a handy video explaining a number of useful and underutilized Facebook features. Yes, it is possible to edit that thumbnail.
Building community online is no easy task, but this post full of advice and tips from Nicole Harrison at The Ritter Group makes it seem almost manageable. Online community? Check.
A weekly roundup of interesting reads from the online world of nonprofit communications. Follow me on Twitter @elizabethriccaor check out my Delicious bookmarks for more noteworthy links.
As search gets smarter, more and more of your site visitors are able to get what they need from your website without ever making a pit stop on the homepage. Make sure they don’t miss anything important (like your enewsletter signup) with these tips from Nancy Schwartz.
Building a new website, creating a campaign, or working on a new logo? Do your homework with some good old-fashioned user testing. It doesn’t have to be as scary as it sounds—Kira Marchenese shares an example of just how simple (and effective) a little user feedback can be.
RSS (really simple syndication) is super useful and too often overlooked. Joanne Fritz tells her how-we-met story of RSS adoption and provides some helpful resources for getting started (or starting over, if your relationships with RSS haven’t worked out in the past).
A great nonprofit video starts with a great plan. Debra Askanase offers some suggestions on Idealware for ensuring your film debut is strategically on point and destined for greatness.
My new favorite website: www.onemilliongiraffes.com. I strongly recommend submitting a giraffe of your own. Here’s mine—some of my fellow Ducks have been making free with the dry erase markers, so he now has a pumpkin for a head. Such is the nature of community-sourced art.
A weekly roundup of interesting reads from the online world of nonprofit communications. Follow me on Twitter @elizabethriccaor check out my Delicious bookmarks for more noteworthy links.
I had the honor of serving as one of 23 judges who helped narrow the submissions down to 16 finalists. And now it’s your turn to pick which videos are the best of the best. The winners will be announced at the Nonprofit Technology Conference in Atlanta on April 10th.
As you watch the videos, consider the criteria we had in mind in making our selections:
Message: Is the message clear? Does the message take an original angle on the topic? Do you know what the video seeks to communicate and what it wants you to do?
Use of Video: Did the organization take advantage of the video medium? Could the message have been more effectively communicated using any other medium?
Quality of Video: Was the video made well? Did they use good video technique including framing, sound, visual interest, etc?
Creativity: Did the style of the video catch your attention? Did you see something original and exciting?
Emotional Appeal: Did you feel connected to the characters and content? Did you identify with the organization and its cause? Would you be compelled to act on behalf of the organization?
There’s a lot to learn from these finalists. If you are new to video storytelling, you should watch these videos and start thinking about how to do more in this powerful communications channel. And if your organization already produces videos, how do you think yours would measure up?
Good luck to all of the finalists and may the best videos win!
Earlier this week, Google added Facebook Page status updates to its real-time search results, which means that if you post something to your nonprofit’s Page about, say, education reform, that update could show up when someone Googles “education reform”. Time to dust off the old status updater.
Does your nonprofit have a process in place for communicating with donors who give to you through Network for Good? If not, you may be missing important opportunities to connect with your supporters. Kivi Leroux Miller explains the whys and hows.
Social media come and go—case in point, the recent appearance of Google Buzz. John Haydon offers tips and advice for creating a social media plan that can roll with the punches of the ever-changing social media landscape.
Nancy Schwartz shares some interesting lessons learned from a recent foray into video communications and suggests a step-by-step plan for nonprofits ready to roll camera.
If you’re writing copy for your nonprofit’s website, check out these tips from Kevin Cesarz on how to appropriately “layer” your content so that the important stuff is right up front.
If you’re looking for a way to celebrate this lovely snowy Friday, I suggest becoming a fan of the Norwegian Curling Team’s Pants.
A weekly roundup of interesting reads from the online world of nonprofit communications. Check out myDelicious bookmarksfor more noteworthy links.
Bet you thought I couldn’t find a tie between the Olympics and nonprofit communications. Well, stand back: on MediaShift, Craig Silverman talks social media with Graeme Menzies, director of online communications for the Vancouver games, who raises some very interesting points about how critical it is to have a flexible approach online tools. Just think: four years ago, as the Vancouver team was putting together its plans and learning lessons from Turino, Facebook was still just for college students, and Twitter was hardly a twinkle in Jack Dorsey’s eye. The takeaway: make sure your approach to social media includes clear goals and a coherent strategy; tactical plans based on specific tools will have a pretty short shelf-life.
You’ve written your blogs; crafted your tweets; posted your videos to YouTube. On to the next event: live streaming. Joshua Tabb offers some tips for how nonprofits can make use of live video streaming sites like Ustream.tv on Case Foundation’s blog. (Speaking of which, have I mentioned the live-streaming puppy cam? They’ve gotten so big!)
Jaime-Alexis Fowler has some handy suggestions on NTEN’s blog for making the most of online video, even if your budget and technical know-how is limited. Wield your Flip cam with pride!
Today is the first day people can vote in the final round of the Chase Community Giving contest on Facebook. Between now and January 22, people who add the application can vote up to five times for five individual charities.
A friendly reminder to vote at the ATM
Much has been written criticizing the contest and the initial selection of 100 charities who already received $25,000 and are now vying for the grand prize of $1,000,000. But, despite the controversy in the first round of results, I think there are some positive lessons that can be learned for nonprofits of all sizes.
1. What’s your big idea?
The top 100 charities each have a page where you can vote for them. On that page the nonprofit organization is given a forum to first explain their issue and their mission. In just a few sentences, they have to plead their case to millions of people who may not have ever heard of them before.
2. Why should someone support you?
The next section asks the competing charities to rationalize why they should win the big prize. All nonprofits need to ask for financial support. The ones that do it best build a donor’s trust when they can explain how they’d use the funds given to them. I know I’m personally much more likely to give to an organization when I think they not only need my support, but will use it well.
3. What is your ultimate vision for success?
The last part of each organization’s write-up is about the outcome their organization hopes to achieve–the change they want to see in the world. If an organization or donor were about to give you $1 million could you tell them what you’d do with it? If a program participant was questioning whether they should sign up with your org or another, how would you convince them to join you? The more you might hesitate to have an answer, the less you might be to get their support or involvement.
4. What is your story and how do you tell it?
Organizations in the contest are also able to post videos and pictures of their work–and their community–in action. The power of storytelling can help nonprofits not only communicate their mission generally, but it can help raise awareness, engage activists, and generate support. Do you have a short and sweet video or set of pictures that could motivate someone to connect with you?
Here’s the video that one of our client’s Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy produced for the contest. The messaging is strong and the visuals are compelling–all boys and families from their community (no stock photos here!) They use the video to reinforce their mission and the need for support: to end Duchenne, a rare but devastating genetic disorder that robs the lives of at least two boys and young men each day.
Whether you or your favorite organization made it to round two, consider what your page would say if it did. Good luck to all the organizations participating in the contest. Now, go vote!
Last week, I joined a great group of nonprofit and tech-minded people at Mashable’s Summer of Social Good conference. We heard from several nonprofits—including the four beneficiaries of the Summer of Social Good: Oxfam, the Humane Society of the United States, the World Wildlife Fund, and Livestrong—as well as luminaries from the world of nonprofits and social media, like Beth Kanter. The conference hashtag (#socialgood) was a trending topic on Twitter all day, and there was even a surprise marriage proposal onstage! A great, thought-provoking, inspiring time was had by all.
Speaking of quality tweets, Socialbrite highlights the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation’s great use of Twitter as an advocacy tool. Their app lets you enter your zip code and use the resulting hashtags and links to target your representatives in Congress.
