At most nonprofits, new campaigns or communications projects usually start with a flurry of activity. And if they're online projects or campaigns, they're often hastily conceived, designed, written, and launched.
To get things moving fast, copy is written and designs are developed on the fly, often with little or no strategy behind them—sometimes using ideas, colors, or even logos that the organization itself doesn’t use. Staff members will spend all their time getting these campaigns up and running and then watering them, like seedlings, as they bloom into full-blown advocacy, outreach, or fundraising projects in a matter of weeks. To work the gardening metaphor even harder, it's almost like the nonprofit is a peach tree bearing fruit that looks more like oranges and lemons: only vaguely related, if at all.
Over time, these special projects can start to wither. Staff time to devote to them gets limited as new initiatives get underway, or the community grows so large it requires more time to manage (who'll be the mayor of the lemons?). It might get difficult to respond in real time to all the conversations that unfold. Because the project started up so fast, it may even lack a clear objective, or ways to measure results. Organizations find themselves understaffed to manage the multiple websites, Twitter streams, Facebook pages, etc., so the relationships these initiatives sparked get neglected.
So how can we launch innovative campaigns that use all of this rocking technology to advance our missions and build relationships without driving ourselves stark, raving mad and confusing the people we connect with?
