Social Media

Amplify Your Nonprofit’s Online Donations

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Christine Herlin, Manager of Nonprofit & Customer Relations at I Live Here I Give Here

It seems every internet advancement produces a new way for nonprofits to spread the word about their work. Amplify Austin Day is one such way for nonprofits to describe their mission and reach potential supporters.

On January 4th, 2019 the Texas Grants Resource Center Nonprofit Networking and Learning Program presented “Amplify Austin – Your Questions Answered.” The speaker was Christine Herlin, Manager of Nonprofit & Customer Relations at I Live Here I Give Here which is a nonprofit that helps promote philanthropy in Central Texas and whose signature program is Amplify Austin Day.

Christine shared some great information about online giving, such as:

  • 61% of donors worldwide prefer to give online;
  • 75% of donors use social media as a primary news source;
  • 90% of Amplify Austin’s donations from social media come through Facebook;
  • 62% of millennials give online & are inspired by social.

Some additional tips as your nonprofit enters a giving campaign include: set your goals as a team, set measurable goals, and set goals that are bold, meaningful and attainable. In 2019, Amplify Austin Day will be from February 28th to March 1st.

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Data Source: I Live Here I Give Here, “Who Is I Live Here I Give Here”;

Image: Erler

How Can Nonprofits Best Use Facebook?

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Facebook at TGRC Sept 2018

On September 25th Veronica Peñaloza Wolfermann, Facebook Account Manager for nonprofits spoke to a group of nonprofit professionals from Texas Grants Resource Center

Social Media is a great way to get the word out about the work of your nonprofit organization. Facebook offers so many options for nonprofits: from outreach to fundraising. On September 25th, 2018 Veronica Peñaloza Wolfermann, Facebook Account Manager for nonprofits spoke to a group of nonprofit professionals from Texas Grants Resource Center about how best to use Facebook for the good of the community.

Here is a selection of some of the info, tips and hacks that Veronica described:

  • There are currently 2 million nonprofit pages on Facebook
  • 150 million people are connected to a nonprofit page on Facebook
  • If a nonprofit wants to get verified with Facebook this is the link to start: facebook.com/donate/signup
  • Also it would be wise for a nonprofit to be registered and up to date with GuideStar
  • Facebook will be participating in a coordinated effort for #GivingTuesday (this year it is November 27th)
  • 100% of donations made through Facebook payments to nonprofits now go directly to those organizations
  • Suggestion: if you have an influencer who supports your nonprofit, ask that influencer to add a ‘donate’ button to a Facebook live video
  • Some nonprofits that use Facebook well (to look at for examples): St. Jude Children’s Research Hosptial, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Save the Children.
  • If a nonprofit has a donate button on a Facebook live feed, there is 10 times more engagement than other “non video” donation posts.
  • Nonprofits can set up mentorships if their page has a group
  • When deciding what to post on your nonprofit’s page, always ask: “will this translate into donations, volunteers or other support?” If the subject is not aligned with the nonprofit’s mission, the post probably won’t help much (even if it gets a lot of likes).

Here is a link to some of the Facebook offerings that Veronica described. Here is a link to info about future Texas Grants Resource Center presentations.

 

 

 

Image: Erler

 

The Benefits of Conversations

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ManyChat 2018

Most of you know me as The Nonprofit Geek. But in order to spread the word about the importance of nonprofits – one needs to be up-to-date on social media uses.

So, I attended the Conversations 2018 Messenger Marketing & Chatbot Conference powered by ManyChat.

There is a recently-introduced marketing channel called Messenger Marketing. This channel developed when Facebook opened the opportunity (in 2016) for companies (such as ManyChat) to develop tools to interface with Facebook Messenger.

It was great to learn about a cutting-edge trend. And even if you don’t use the Messenger Marketing channel (yet) – there were lots of great marketing tips shared at #Conversations2018.

Here are my notes from Day One of #Conversations2018 (including the names of the experts credited with sharing these nuggets of super wisdom). Enjoy!

  • The average open rate for email is 20%; for messenger is 70-90%;
  • The average click through rate for email is 2.4%; for messenger is 20-30%;
  • A person checks smart phone 110x a day on average;
  • People naturally want a feeling of progress – so remove obstacles for them;
  • Listen to your audience: what are they asking; what progress do they want to make; where are they hanging out?
  • People like learning about themselves. Create some quizzes to help them (and learn about them at the same time);
  • Success requires measurement;
  • Create irresistible content and promote it;
  • Include an incentive to engage;
  • Create custom audiences of engagement;
  • Learn about and use Facebook custom audiences;
  • Craft your narrative first;
  • Questions can be boiled down to just 8: who, what, when, where, why, how, which and I (will I?/ should I? / can I?);
  • Instead of asking “Do you have any questions?” or “How can I help?” try asking a ‘binary’ question (i.e. yes or no answer or just two answer options).
  • If you are starting out – start with just one business objective to solve (don’t get too complicated).

Thank You Sources: Mikael Yang, CEO ManyChat, Molly Pittman, ManyChat; Dan Gamito, ManyChat, Ryan Deiss, DigitalMarketer, Brian Bagdasarian, HubSpot, Rachel Miller, Moolah Marketing, Stefanos Loukakos, Head of Messenger Business at Facebook

 

PanelPicker Submissions: SXSW and SXSW EDU 2019

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Hello!

Greater Good Strategies has submitted Meet Up applications to SXSW and SXSW EDU 2019 via their PanelPicker® process.

Please check out these proposal videos – and vote! Please tell your friends and make comments in the comment section. Thank you.

Here are the links: Nonprofit and Social Sector Meet Up and Educators Who Tweet Meet Up

Meet Up: Nonprofit and Social Sector

(PanelPicker® application for SXSW 2019)

SXSW is for those who think, dream, move, and create. So are nonprofits! Bring your ideas and questions to this meet-up of nonprofiteers.

The people you meet here will have ideas, answers and most of all empathy and support for the hard work you do. We’ll provide a framework and activities for networking – to ensure you connect with those from around the globe who can help and inspire you as you strive to improve your communities.

Whether you call it working for nonprofits, charities, NGOs, CSOs, or social good – come be uplifted by people like you who are making the world a better place.

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Meet Up: Educators who Tweet

(PanelPicker® application for SXSW EDU 2019)

 

Twitter can help you teach, learn and engage. Educators have used Twitter to connect with other teachers, as a learning network and as part of lesson plans. How have you used twitter? Let’s Meetup and exchange tweeting ideas and best practices. Got a hashtag or chat you love? Let’s share. Come, and you just might see someone in real life who you’ve met on Twitter.

 

Credits Video Images: Phelps, Explee, Rodman, Community Archives, Ioachim, Bibliothèque de Toulouse. Levy.

Twitter for Nonprofits

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Twitter is known for social engagement. Last week it was fun to take the talk of twitter off-line and into the classroom for some educational engagement in real life.

I was excited to share tips in a presentation called Twitter for Nonprofits at Austin Community College’s Center for Nonprofit Studies. Twitter is one social media tool that can be used to Inform, Engage and Move your audience in support of your nonprofit organization.

Here are some of the tips I shared:

  • Know your audience, speak to your audience;
  • Tell your story;
  • Keep posting and interacting;
  • Plan tweets (use a content calendar);
  • Use quality content;
  • Know your goals;
  • Be authentic;
  • Be patient.

Thank you to all who took the class! Thank you to ACC’s Center for Nonprofit Studies. Check out their list of upcoming classes. And happy tweeting!

The Power of Influencers

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For blog GA We work planoly

Some people think a social media influencer has a gazillion followers or a multi-million dollar recording deal.  General Assembly Austin presented a panel on June 12th called “Cashing in on Influence: Tapping into the Power of Influencers to Grow a Brand” that not only busted myths like that but also gave plenty of tips for growing and leveraging a social media following.

The panelists described ways to raise your game on social media (mainly, in this case, Instagram). The main questions of the evening revolved around ‘how do I connect with businesses and brands to create a side hustle, and even a main hustle?’

GA ATX and Planoly definitely picked the right group to answer those questions. The panel, moderated by Priscilla of @Planoly, included: Evelyn – @evelynfromtheinternets;  Jules – @OmAndTheCity; ‏ Ruchi – @theaccidentalchic; and Mairin of @HomeAway.

Here are some of the top take-aways from the presentation:

  • Stay true to your purpose and mission (if your IG is about style, keep it about style);
  • There is no substitute for quality content;
  • Do as much A/B testing as possible;
  • Though the number of followers you have is important, so is engagement rate;
  • Build relationships (with businesses, your followers and other influencers);
  • Engage (have conversations);
  • Have patience (things may not take off right away).

Thank you panelists for the window into a fascinating world. And thank you GA ATX, Planoly and WeWork Austin for offering this great learning opportunity.

 

 

Image: Erler