Rad Campaign Blog

If You’re Going To Use Social Media, Do It Right

rad_admin — Tue, 14 May 2013 01:26:31 +0000

Allyson Kapin

Last week Amy Sample Ward and I held a webinar with Care2 on Social Media: You’re Probably Doing it Wrong. We had a terrific conversation about some of the themes we discuss in our book Social Change Anytime Everywhere such as how to manage an online crisis and avoid alienating your community. We also discussed how to foster meaningful conversations with your community. Here are three of our favorite tips that we shared.

Don’t Rely On Automated Updates

What was the first thing you did after hearing about the shooter that killed 12 people and injured 58 at the Aurora movie theater in Colorado? Perhaps you jumped on to Twitter or Facebook to look at what friends were saying or sharing. Maybe you turned on CNN to watch the story unfold. I bet you did not expect to see these tweets from the NRA.

It turns out, that this tweet was sent out via Hootsuite and was posted as an automated tweet by one of the official NRA accounts. It’s times like these when you realize how automated tweets can make your organization look insensitive and out of touch to breaking or tragic news that is unfolding. We recommend that if you need to schedule social media posts, you do so sparingly and be prepared to delete them quickly if breaking news is happening.

Don’t Insult Your Followers

There is a lot we can learn from branding guru Guy Kawasaki who has over 1M followers on Twitter including how he mishandled constructive feedback about his automated tweets about a German Shepard eating like a human video following the Boston Marathon bombings. After his followers asked him to stop sending out the automated tweets, Guy tweeted back “Loving how people with less than 1,500 followers, are telling me how to tweet...”

It’s natural to have moments when we feel annoyed about something someone has said to us on Twitter and Facebook. But as representatives of our organizations it’s critical that we not take things so personally and certainly not take it out on our community by insulting them. Instead a better approach would have been for Guy to say “Thanks for the suggestions folks. I hear what you are saying.” This situation caused Guy negative publicity, which could have been avoided if he did not lash out and insult his community. While Guy is not an organization, he is a well-respected thought leader, so his personal profile is a significant part of his brand and business.

Apologize When You Mess Up

When the revolution in Cairo was taking place, the marketing folks at Kenneth Cole thought they would send out a "clever" tweet about this historic moment. The tweet said: “Millions are in uproar in Cairo. Rumor has it they heard about our Spring collection.”

People were livid with Kenneth Cole because they found it tasteless to hijack this moment for marketing purposes. Things bubbled up very quickly. People began blasting Kenneth Cole publicly on social media. The media also began writing about the tweet and the negative response they were receiving. After the company heard the negative feedback, Kenneth Cole himself issued an apology on Facebook, Twitter, and on their blog.

What are your favorite tips for doing social media right?

http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2013/5/13/if-youre-going-to-use-social-media-do-it-right.html

New Data Shows Why Donors Breakup With Nonprofits

rad_admin — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:36:30 +0000

Allyson Kapin

Ever wonder why your nonprofit donors decide to stop supporting your organization? Check out this data by Bloomerang and the Rockefeller Corporation that compares why donors leave compared to why customers leave commercial companies. One of the reasons I appreciate research like this is because it demonstrates the importance of providing the best constituent experiences no matter if you work in the nonprofit world or the for-profit world. If we don’t alwas focus our attention on building these strong relationships, we lose people.

Thanks to Marc Pitman for finding this great gem of a graphic.

http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2013/4/30/new-data-shows-why-donors-breakup-with-nonprofits.html

Social Media: You're Probably Doing It Wrong

rad_admin — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 22:01:01 +0000

Allyson Kapin

Let's be honest, social media is progressing and changing every single day and most people don't have the time to keep up with the most effective way to do social media. Don't worry though, we can help you change that. Join me, Allyson Kapin, Co-founder of Rad Campaign and Blogger-in-Chief of Care2's Frogloop blog and Amy Sample Ward, Membership Director of NTEN for this free webinar.

Amy and I will provide concrete advice from our new book Social Change Anytime Everywhere on what you need to be doing to build and mobilize your communities through multifaceted campaigns and by integrating social media into your online communications and outreach. We'll also walk you through crucial crisis management tips to keep on hand and how to overcome common social media obstacles as well as learn from your mistakes.

Social media is like a cocktail party and it’s your job to help everyone create more real world impact. Register here to get the party started!

"Social Media: You're Probably Doing It Wrong"
THURSDAY, MAY 9TH, 2013 at 2PM ET

In this webinar you'll learn:

How to build a multichannel campaign calendar to leverage social media with other online communications and outreach.

Social media tips directly from our new book, Social Change Anytime Everywhere

Social fundraising - when is social media the right place for this? We'll provide you a behind the scenes peek at engaging, exciting, and successful social fundraising campaigns.

The importance of a Social Media Hand Guide and how to create yours.

How to manage an Online Crisis and avoid alienating your community.

This webinar is FREE but available space is limited, so please register today!

About the Presenters:

Allyson Kapin – Co-Founder, RAD Campaign
Allyson has been named a "Top Tech Titan" by the Washingtonian, one of the Most Influential Women In Tech by Fast Company and one of the top 30 Women Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter by Forbes for her leadership role in technology and social media. As Founding Partner of Rad Campaign she leads the firm’s client and online strategic services.

For over a decade Allyson has helped non-profit organizations and political campaigns create dynamic and award-winning websites and online marketing and recruitment campaigns. She is an expert in the latest trends in social networking, blogging, online video, and other online tools and strategies and advises her clients on how to cost-effectively incorporate them into their Internet plans and online campaigns. She has also been a featured speaker on web design, Internet marketing and social media at national conferences.

In 2007 Allyson founded Women Who Tech: A Telesummit for Women in Technology working in the non-profit and political campaign world, championing women who are inspiring change and transforming technology. Allyson also sits on several Advisory Boards including the New Organizing Institute, the Green It Consortium and the Planning Committee for NTEN's NTC conference as well as O'Reilly's Gov 2.0 Expo. She started the Radical Tech blog for Fast Company focusing on trends in technology and Web 2.0 and serves as the Blogger-In-Chief for Care2's top-ranked nonprofit communications blog, Frogloop.

Amy Sample Ward – Membership Director, NTEN
Amy joined NTEN as the Membership Director in March 2011, after previously serving as the Community Development Manager for CDI (Community-Driven Innovation) at TechSoup Global, leading the strategy for the global NetSquared Community both on and offline, as well as steering the development of programs, services, and events that build community around the world.

In addition to Social Change Anytime Everywhere, Amy is co-author of Social by Social: A handbook in using social technologies for social impact. She's contributed to various publications about social media and online engagement, and since 2008, I has contributed to the Stanford Social Innovation Review with monthly posts on the Opinion Blog. A regular on the conference circuit, Amy has spoken at numerous conferences, workshops, and training days in the US, the UK and beyond.

Amy has worked in private philanthropy, advocacy nonprofit organizations, web design companies, and as a consultant. She is a graduate of Valparaiso University where she focused on English & New Media Journalism, though her informal education is – thankfully – a varied and on-going, life-long journey.

Justin Perkins – Director of Nonprofit Services, Care2
Since 2006, Justin has worked with Care2 on over 250 campaigns to recruit millions of supporters for nonprofits across a wide variety of social and environmental issues. He also launched frogloop.com, a leading nonprofit marketing blog. Justin developed one of the first social network ROI calculators to help nonprofits plan and evaluate their social media efforts. He is passionate about helping nonprofits use a data-driven, efficient approach to online marketing.

Justin has an MBA from the University of Colorado and has worked a variety of jobs ranging from organic farming, to starting a human rights nonprofit in Congo, to launching an artisan roasted-nut company in Colorado. He volunteered on the Strategy Committee for the Boulder Farmers Market, the Board of Prevent Human Trafficking, and currently serves on the Advisory Board of Citizen Effect. Justin enjoys climbing peaks, trail running, skiing, and lives in Colorado with his little family.

REGISTER NOW and attend this FREE Expert Webinar on THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2013 at 2PM ET

http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2013/4/22/social-media-youre-probably-doing-it-wrong.html

Are Twitter and Facebook Playing Tug-O-War?

rad_admin — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 18:04:52 +0000

Allyson Kapin

A few days ago, I reported some of the juicy details from the 2013 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study that was just released showing data from 2012. There were 55 of the country’s leading nonprofits surveyed for this study, including the American Red Cross, Oceana, American Heart Association, AARP, and Human Rights Watch.

In my last blog post, I talked about the decline of email and fundraisin g response rates. Today I'm digging into the the social media and mobile portions of the study.

As social media continues to grow and develop, nonprofit organizations continue to attract more Fans and Followers—Twitter Followers in particular have increased at a remarkable rate, with a whopping 264% growth over the past year.

Despite this growth, email lists continue to dominate in size (no real surprise here), and Facebook remains the larger social media presence for most groups. For every 1,000 email subscribers, groups in the Benchmarks Study have 149 Facebook Fans, 53 Twitter Followers, and 29 Mobile Subscribers.

Facebook:

You may be wondering, how often do other organizations post on Facebook? On average they're posting about once per day, though large groups posted twice as frequently.
Users were more than twice as likely to like, share, or comment on a Photo post than any other content.

http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2013/4/11/are-twitter-and-facebook-playing-tug-o-war.html

Sessions I Can't Wait for at the Nonprofit Technology Conference #13NTC

Avi — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 17:30:00 +0000

I’m getting excited for the 2013 Nonprofit Technology Conference this week and I hope to see you in snowy Minneapolis! As usual, the amazing sessions, panels, and parties NTEN has planned, make for some tough choices as you plan your conference. Here are some of the sessions I’m excited for.

Wednesday April 10th

#ntcbeer The 5th Annual NTC Beerfest

Location: 7:00 PM at Brit's Pub 1110 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55403

The 5th Annual NTC Beerfest! The official event for nptechies to meet and greet and kick the Nonprofit Technology Conference off with a toast. The amazing Peter Campell reports at least 250 RSVPs so far and last year close to 80% of the registered number showed!

Thursday April 11th

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Building Movements: Beyond Emails, Campaigns, and Organizations #13NTCmvmt

Location: Marquette I

Ivan Boothe and Rachel Weidinger break down the inner workings of winning campaigns creating long-term movements for change. “In this session, we explore the ins and outs of strategic movement-building, including giving up a little message control to gain a lot of social power, listening across your movement with social data, building interconnected campaigns, large-scale commmunity management , and technology tools that foster movement building.”

Free Supporters! (No, Really!) #13NTCfree

Location: Marquette IV Sarah Alexander, Deputy Organizing Director, Food & Water Watch is diving into what works for organic recruitment. Judging by her slides and Food & Water Watch’s impressive efforts in this area, this should be a great session. “While paid acquisition can provide a great source of list growth, the majority of the growth of your list should occur organically. By analyzing both list growth strategies and optimization tactics, this session will show you how to improve your ability to gain new supporters without actually spending a penny on external acquisition sources.”

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Show, Tell, Hire! A Networking Session #13NTChire

Location: Symphony III

Join me for a nonprofit career networking session. NTC has always been a great place for career networking and the NTEN community encourages strong network weaving and mentorship. “Job candidates, employers with open positions, career mentors, connectors, and network weavers. Bring an attitude of generosity and come prepared to share your experience and lessons from your own professional development. Find a job, find a superstar, help us grow the nonprofit professional community.” Come to make introductions, network, and encourage others! Also, check out this list of open job opportunities with organizations and companies who will be represented at #13NTC.

We Heart Social Data: But What Do We Do With It? #13NTCsdata

Location: Duluth “In this session, Danielle Brigida of the National Wildlife Federation, Mark Davis of Blackbaud, and Casey Golden of Small Act will give concrete, actionable examples of how your nonprofit can use social data to inform the way you attract people to your mission, enhance fundraising campaigns, and empower your communities. By analyzing a variety of case studies, they show you how you can start using social data today.” Last year’s version of this session and was great!

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Ignite Sessions

Location: Ballroom EFG

Ignite is consistently filled with surprises, smarts, and passion (and the ocassional ukelele from NTEN members. “Ignite is a fast-paced, fun, thought-provoking social event that educates and entertains. Presenters share their passions and knowledge, but they have to be fast. Speakers are limited to 5 minutes and 20 slides that automatically advance every 15 seconds. How's that for speedy presenting?”

Friday April 12th

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Mobile Mega-Session: 10 Things We’ve Learned (And You Have to Know) About Smartphone Fundraising #13NTCmega

Location: Conrad A

Katya Andresen, Clam Lorenz, and Donna Wilkins What is a

YOLO? And How Can I Get One? Using Technology to Engage Youth #13NTCyolo

Location: Director's Row 4

Shubhagata Sengupta and Jason Shim Takeaways: 1. Understanding of current youth trends 2. An overview of technologies that can be harnessed in order to better engage youth 3. A glimpse into future technologies that will fill a larger role in your work with youth

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Air Traffic Controlling: How to Guide Your Content from Ideation, to Creation, to Publication #13NTCair

Location: Marquette II

Lauren Girardin and Betty Ray “Even if only one person has their finger on the “Publish” button, many people will play a part in creating and curating content for your organization's blog, website, newsletter, press releases, social media, and other communications channels… Simultaneously and efficiently moving multiple pieces of content from start to finish requires focus, patience, and a few tricks of the communications trade.”

Mindful or Mind Full Social Media: Techniques and Tricks to Focus in an Age of Distraction #13NTCmind

Location: Ballroom F

Jana Byington-Smith, Rob Cottingham, and Beth Kanter “How nonprofits can stay focused given all the distractions inherent in today's attention economy? Social media and working online doesn't have to be overwhelming; you can take back control. This session teaches you some techniques that you can immediately put into practice to help you and your staff work more efficiently and effectively, enabling you to achieve more in less time and ultimately increase the return of your efforts.”

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Social Change Anytime Everywhere: Best Practices to Build a Multichannel Campaign Planner #13NTCbest

Location: Duluth

Amy Sample Ward and Rad Campaign’s own Allyson Kapin share best practices for working across teams to build multi-channel campaigns. “This session provides highlights from the new book Social Change Anytime Everywhere: How to Implement Online Multichannel Strategies to Spark Advocacy, Raise Money, and Engage your Community”

Saturday April 13th

8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Plenary: Placing Little Bets: Failing Informatively for NPTECH Innovation: Beth Kanter, Erin Shy, Megan Kashner, Brian Reich, Allison Burns

Location: Ballroom ABCD

Check out Beth Kanter’s preview blog post for a taste of what’s in store in this engaging plenary session.

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Not More than You Can Chew: Bite-Sized Tactics to Make Sense of Your Metrics #13NTCbite

Location: Marquette VII

Joanna Miles, also from Food & Water Watch, leads this jam packed metrics session.

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Lean Strategic Planning for Agile Organizations #13NTCagile

Location: Marquette III

Chase Adam, Sadie Honey, Leanne Pittsford, and Rachel Weidinger
“This panel session explores how organizations of all sizes can apply “lean startup” principles to their strategic planning while under pressure of extreme uncertainty. The lean methodology is a scientific approach to creating and managing projects using validated learning and structured feedback loops. The process is designed to bring clarity on how to steer, when to turn, and when to persevere. Panelists share their specific case studies, challenges, and success stories, as well examples of how measurement and learning have produced extraordinary (and sometimes surprising) results.”

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Maturing Your Organization's Social Culture: Creating Effective Policies #13NTCpol

Location: Marquette V

Andrea Berry of Idealware and Lisa Colton of See3 Communications & Darim Online
Takeaways:

1. Understand the benefits of the process of creating a social media policy

2. Learn how to start and engage in the process in your own org

3. Learn from case studies of organizations (of all sizes and tech aptitudes) that have done it well

What sessions are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments! Also, if you can't make it to NTC this year, remember that you many great sessions will be streamed live for the Online NTC.

Are Email and Fundraising Response Rates in a State of Decline?

rad_admin — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 01:11:04 +0000

Allyson Kapin

The 2012 eNonprofit Behnchmarks Study was just released and it's packed with all sorts of juicy email, advocacy, and fundraising data from 55 nonprofits ranging from environmental organizations to human rights organizations.

Check out the data I pulled from the report that I think it worth comparing to your own organizations benchmarks.

The good news is that online revenue is up and monthly giving programs have grown 43%. Email list sizes are continuing to grow at about 15%. Overall, nonprofits are reaching new supporters more than ever across online channels.

Now the bad news. Email response rates are down, particularly around fundraising messaging. Are nonprofits falling into the trap of treating their supporters like ATM machines? Are they not focusing on nurturing relationships with supporters and engaging them in meaningful ways? You would not believe what my email inbox looks like these days from nonprofit organizations. “Give me money” – seems to be the central theme. This is problematic because it causes list burn out and people begin to tune out and not respond to emails when you really need them.

Online Fundraising

Increased by 21% in 2012.

http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2013/4/9/are-email-and-fundraising-response-rates-in-a-state-of-decli.html

Infographic: How Facebook Turned Red to Support Same-Sex Marriage

rad_admin — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:35:52 +0000

Allyson Kapin

On March 25^th, the Human Rights Campaign posted the red version of its logo on their Facebook page in anticipation of the Supreme Court hearings on Prop 8 and DOMA. The status update read: “Who’s wearing red tomorrow? Show your support for marriage equality – make your image red tomorrow.” And that is exactly what many of their 1.4M followers on Facebook did.

Over the next 24 hours, 2.7 million more Facebook users updated their profile picture compared to the previous Tuesday, according to data released by Facebook. Many of the profile images were either HRC’s red logo or a creative take on the logo. People adapted HRC’s logo with pop culture images from Game of Thrones, the comic Peanuts, Star Wars, and more. Celebrities ranging from George Takei to Madonna shared the red logo and messages of support. Inspired by how the Internet turned red last week, I dug into all of the great data results from the campaign and created an infographic to help tell the story of the campaign.

http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2013/4/1/infographic-how-facebook-turned-red-to-support-same-sex-marr.html

The Ultimate Grassroots Flow Chart

rad_admin — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 03:37:31 +0000

Allyson Kapin

As nonprofit organizations, it's our job to provide the best constituent experiences, especially when it comes to grassroots organizing. One of the best ways to provide stellar constituent experiences is to understand their interests. For example, what action alerts or donation appeals do they respond to? Do they prefer Direct Mail or email communications? Any decent CRM system will help you get a good snapshot of your constituents interests and history of actions with your organization. But if you don't analyze the data, then you are missing out on getting to know and engage with your constituents on their terms.

Check out this great chart that Ben Murane of judaismwithoutborders.org created to help his colleagues understand the trajectory of an online acquisition into a constituent relationship management system. If you find yourself struggling to explain this to a newbie organizer or even the president of your organization this chart will come in handy.

http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2013/3/31/the-ultimate-grassroots-flow-chart.html

Nonprofit Blog Carnival: How Do You Use Multichannel Strategies to Create Social Change Anytime Everywhere?

allyson — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:18:00 +0000

Creating real social change can take a lifetime of work. To see results, even those small wins, we need to mobilize supporters wherever they are and how they prefer to communicate with us – whether that be through our email list, blog, social media, texting, etc. With the recent release of Social Change Anytime Everywhere, the book I co-wrote with Amy Sample Ward of NTEN, I've been thinking a lot about multichannel strategy to build social justice movements. For this month’s Nonprofit Blog Carnival, I invited the nonprofit community to explore the topic of creating Social Change Anytime Everywhere with us. I encouraged them to think about the many aspects of creative communications channels, multichannel strategy, and campaigns for sparking advocacy, raising money and building community.

We had a terrific response from some of my favorite nonprofit campaigners in the space. Here you'll find out what platform is, or isn't, right for your fundraising campaign, how to empower your supporters - even if you think they may be "slacktivists," and how to craft a plan for that next multichannel campaign.

Facebook and Fundraising: A Match or Not?: Joanne Fritz, of Nonprofit About.com, tackles the question: how can a nonprofit raise money through Facebook? Her immediate reaction was: "Facebook is for engagement, not fundraising." Joanne says "in many ways, that statement is still true." And yet, Joanne has uncovered research showing that "Some 14% of your potential donors are coming from Facebook..." Find out if Facebook is a match for you.

Social Media and Nonprofit Fundraising: Brian Mittendorf looks at data to confirm that multichannel outreach alone does not guarantee fundraising success. Instead, Brian says that a more intentional approach is needed. This just might be your motivation to find a solution to fundraising success.

Unifying Your Website, Database and Social Technologies to Empower Your Supporters: Kara Scharwath, NationBuilder, talks about how Greenpeace India used a multichannel outreach strategy for one of their campaigns. Kara discusses how to engage supporters beyond just signing a petition.

Six Steps to Plan a Multichannel Fundraising Campaign: Clint O'Brien, Care2, introduces an excerpt from my book that I co-authored with Amy Sample Ward over at Care2’s Frogloop blog. You are given a sneak peek of how to really plan a multichannel fundraising campaign. These are the best strategies you'll need to know to carry out a successful multichannel fundraising campaign.

Nonprofit Advocacy: Four Multichannel Strategies to Use with the Slacktivist Generation:

Do you know someone who has re-tweeted a cause? Turned off the power for an hour? Signed an online petition? We know we have. Lindsay Torrico, The Slacktivist, acknowledges this, stating that "While it’s arguable whether 'slacktivism' counts as real activism, nonprofit organizations need to embrace the channels, mediums, and platforms that allow young people to raise their hands for a cause and make their voices heard." Take a look at how to integrate this generation of activists.

10 Principles of Fundraising with a Mobile Twist – Part Four: Cassie Bair, of mGive, emphasizes the importance of how mobile and fundraising work hand-in-hand. The perfect fundraising effort has many components. Be sure to read this blog post to avoid leaving an element out, and learning how to manage your expectations.

A checklist for starting your next campaign: Rachel Hope Allison, Big Duck, provides a checklist for beginning your next campaign to change the world. Rachel suggests getting started by asking “What narrative elements do most successful campaigns have in common?” and then making sure we’ve identified each of those elements explicitly for your next campaign across different channels.

How do you decide which channel works best for you and integrate the right channels in your fundraising and marketing campaigns? Check out Ann Green's suggestions in her blog post Navigation the Mulit-Channel Communications Steam.

Katya Andresen (nonprofitmarketingblog.com) is hosting the April carnival and the topic is “best advice” - what was the one, best piece of professional advice you ever got and why? How has it transformed your work? You can also share your best single piece of advice for people who work at nonprofits. You can submit your posts by emailing the URL to nonprofitcarnival@gmail.com.

What Is the Nonprofit Blog Carnival?
http://nonprofit.about.com/od/resources/a/nonprofitblogcarnival.htm

Nonprofit Blog Carnival Archives
http://nonprofit.about.com/od/resources/a/Nonprofit-Blog-Carnival-Archives.htm

Sign up for twice monthly notifications about the Carnival
http://eepurl.com/tbGNb

The CNN Lesson: There Is No Hiding on The Real-Time Web

rad_admin — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:52:00 +0000

Allyson Kapin

What do news organizations like CNN and health advocacy organizations like the Susan G. Komen Foundation have in common? They are examples of organizations that have been caught in the middle of a firestorm and don’t have the necessary policies in place to manage an online crisis immediately after it erupts. While CNN is in the business of researching and reporting on the news and Komen is in the business of raising money for breast cancer research, neither of them understands the human side of operating in a multichannel world where people are engaging with you 24/7. This is a significant failure on their part and is one of the key concepts discussed in the new book Social Change Anytime Everywhere that I co-wrote with Amy Sample Ward.

Since CNN reporters Poppy Harlow and Candy Crowley first broke the news about the Steubenville sentencing for the rape of a 16 year-old high school woman, the news network and the reporters have been flooded with criticism. In the past 48 hours, thousands of viewers have tweeted them, posted on their FB page, sent in comments via their web form, and signed online petitions about CNN’s lack of professionalism and insensitivity of their reporting. Many critics have asked the CNN reporters why they chose to focus on the emotional and life changing effects of the rapists rather than the victim. It lends to asking why CNN didn't have experts present to discuss important issues such as why weren't these teens educated about boundaries, and respect? Why weren't they educated about violence, and if they were, what compelled them to think rape was okay?

“Sexuality and power have to be part of the conversation with teenage boys,” said Rabbi Josh Feigelson Educational Director of Hillel's Ask Big Questions initiative, and yet this was not discussed by CNN on that newscast or even after they were flooded with criticism and suggestions for follow up news reports.

CNN’s silence and lack of engagement with their viewers (who also happen to be their largest critics at the moment) illustrates the need for organizations of all sizes to be proactive and focus on providing the best customer or constituent experience as possible across multiple channels. This is even more critical when you are caught in the middle of a public relations firestorm.

Three Tips to Operate Across Mulitchannels

Here are three tips to operate in a multichannel world where your constituents are also your biggest critics. Ironically these are similar tips I shared with a CNN reporter when I was interviewed for a story following the Newton tragedy and the NRA’s silence around the school shootings across online channels.

Be Human: Say “I’m Sorry”

http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2013/3/20/the-cnn-lesson-there-is-no-hiding-on-the-real-time-web.html

Flowchart: Where Should You Post Your Social Media Status?

rad_admin — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 03:00:00 +0000

Allyson Kapin

We love to talk about social media strategy on the Care2 Frogloop blog, particularly around engagement. We also love to challenge you with serious questions like Is Social Media Making Organizations Lazy? Sometimes I meet organizations that think that social media is a silver bullet for email list growth or fundraising. They continue to reach for the pie in the sky, yet still struggle to figure out what content to post on which social media channel. If this sounds like your organization, take a look at this great flowchart by Daryl Lang that offers some practical advice on where you should post your status updates. I love the humorous approach to the flowchart that screams - are we taking social media just a little too seriously these days?

http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2013/3/12/flowchart-where-should-you-post-your-social-media-status.html

Twitter Stats You Need To Know and Tips to Get More Clicks

rad_admin — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 01:41:00 +0000

Allyson Kapin

A lot of organizations focus more of their engagement efforts on Facebook than Twitter. I think this is because organizations feel limited by the 145 character tweet length. Plus it can be a noisy space. Twitter can be a great platform to engage with people though, if campaigners take the time to have back and forth discussions and not just use Twitter to promote blog posts, press releases or fact sheets. I have personally had some of the most thought-provoking conversations on Twitter about social justice issues and politics. I have seen it be a powerful organizing tool as part of a multichannel campaign.

If you have ever doubted the power of Twitter, check out these statistics that my colleague Anne Weiskopf over at Digiday shared with me. Note, these statistics were provided by Twitter executives.

400 million: tweets per day
200 million: monthly active users of the services on a 30-day basis
100 million: that figure a year ago
33,000: tweets per second in Japan during New Years
6: median number of brands users follow
95 percent: public conversations about TV shows that happen on Twitter
80 percent: users on mobile in the UK and Japan
78 percent: how much more likely mobile users are to retweet a brand
60 percent: users on mobile in the U.S.
53 percent: increase in purchase intent from users who saw a promoted tweet
50 percent: Americans who see, read or hear about a tweet every day
12 percent: higher the click rate for brand tweets with price in whole dollars
17 percent: higher the click rate for tweets with a question mark
1-3 percent: engagement rates on Twitter ads

I also recommend that you check out this research below by Dan Zarrella of Hubspot, who analyzed the click-thru rate of over 200,000 tweets.

http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2013/3/9/twitter-stats-you-need-to-know-and-tips-to-get-more-clicks.html

Meme-Jacking for Social Good

Avi — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 19:06:00 +0000

I'm always excited when I see organizations participating in memes. It's usually a chance for organizations to show their personality, engage the community creatively, and connect their mission to a wider conversation and cultural moment. Meme-Jacking is a creative form of Culture-Jacking, or Newsjacking.

Some of the best examples of memes being meme-jacked and leveraged for social good don't come from nonprofit organizations, but rather from community members riffing on memes themselves. Memes can be a subversive way express frustiration and stick it to the organizations and people standing in opposition of our values.

Here are some of my favorite meme-jacking examples. These organizations and communities participated in memes to engage their community and bring their message to a broader audience in a creative way.

Big Bird, Binders Full of Women and the Sip Heard Round the World.

During the presidential debates, Mitt Romney earned the wrath of Sesame Street Fans everywhere when he said that while he loved Big Bird, he would cut public funding for PBS which airs Sesame Street on its TV network. Cue the Big Bird parody Twitter accounts, Million Muppet March on Washington (“EL-MO! We won’t go!"), and photoshopped meme images.

PBS did a great job to leverage the momentum of the meme and outpouring of public support to its advantage. In addition to tweeting out quotes from Big Bird, the network placed an ad buy for the phrase "Big Bird" on Twitter so that people searching for the conversersion there would see their messaging that "PBS is trusted, valued and essential" and a link to information about their impact, reach, and costs to taxpayers.

Komen and #takebackthepink

The uproar over Komen for the Cure’s defunding of Planned Parenthood last year led outraged community members to create a slew of fun images about the controversy. Some of these played on existing popular memes and the response was so strong that #takebackthepink became a meme in its own right.

#firstworldproblems = First World Controversy?

Participating in a popular meme can be a great way to engage, but of course there’s no gaurantee that your meme will resonate with your audience. If you aren’t careful, your attempt at humor could rub people the wrong way.

Water is Life, an organization that works to provide clean drinking water, sanitation, and education programs to schools and villages in developing countries, caused a stir with it's take on the #firstworldproblems meme. The organization released a video of Haitians reading real tweets for #Firstworldproblems out loud to make the point that there are more serious issues for us to tackle in the world than the trivial #firstworldproblems the meme focuses on.

The video has over 2 million views on YouTube and they have included a donation link in the description. I’m curious what the conversion rate was, or how this was received within their community. If you know the history, please share it in the comments!

Every community is different, but a good rule of thumb as you navigate these decisions is that if it gives you pause, pause. It can’t hurt to test your meme out by showing it to some of your most engaged leaders and volunteers before you share it widely. You may save yourself a world of embarrasement and betrayed trust. Remember to always stay true to your brand and values.

‘Worst Harlem Shake Ever’

Another meme-jacking video that doesn’t shy away from controversy is the ‘Worst Harlem Shake ever’ video from the Dutch Parkinson’s Association. The video featured the organization's chairman as someone suffering from Parkinson's disease and made in a twist on the usual playful tone of Harlem Shake videos, made the reality of Parkinson's very real.

“Shaking. Fun for Some… Daily Struggle for Others.”

You can check out the organization’s full statement about the video on their website, though you’ll need Google Translate, unless you read Dutch. The intention was to shock viewers who don't understand the challenges that Parkinson's creates on a daily basis.

Charity Shake Off

Of course the Parkinson’s Association wasn’t the only nonprofit organization to get in on the Harlem Shake craze. Recently, three organizations in the UK challenged each other to a Charity Shake off.

Macmillan Cancer Support, RNLI, an organization that provide lifeboat search and rescue services, and the Mencap, a learning disability advocacy and support organization each created their own Harlem Shake videos. Each organization created a text-to-give number and the community voted for their favorite Harlem Shake video through text donations.

Kirsty Marrins, who instigated the #CharityShakeOff, posted a great recap and reflection about the results and curated a Storify collection showing how the campaign came together over Twitter and the web. The effort raised awareness, some needed funding, and even caught the attention of some UK celebrities.

Read Me Maybe for Literacy

Singing videos are a great meme-jacking opportunity for organizations because you can rewrite the lyrics! Open Books, a Chicago based nonprofit literacy bookstore and community organization used this strategy for hilarious impact.

“Your books showing, ripped page, spines are folding, Frost’s collected poems, now I know what you are reading..

Hey, so you’re reading. And it’s not shady, but a book I know, so let’s talk maybe. Let’s, join a book club, we’re not lazy. They’re reading Proust next, we’ll read it maybe.”

I especially like that the YouTube video description links to Open Books' presence on Good Reads, where they are posting reviews and reading lists of recommended books and upcomin book club titles.

For another great meme-jacking take on the Call Me Maybe video, check out Sesame Street’s Share It Maybe video (over 13 million views!)

“Hey Girl,” Ryan Gosling Loves Wildlife and Major Givers

The Internet has shown a special love and fascination with Ryan Gosling. The National Wildlife Federation used the “Hey Girl” meme to promote its Garden for Wildlife Month. The program hopes to inspire backyard naturalists who are passionate about making a difference for wildlife in their own backyards.

NWF shared a picture of its own wild goslings that hatched in its garden with an invitation to enter a meme contest. NWF supporters could post their submissions to the NWF Facebook page, or as Pins on Pinterest. NWF announced the winner in a congratulatory blog post.

The Hey Girl meme also served a creative nonprofit purpose when Kimberly McCleary, President and CEO of The CFIDS Association of America, adapted the meme to thank a major donor. Kivi Leroux Miller has a great recap of that up on the Nonprofet Marketing Guide Blog. The key point is that Kim showed bravery by expressing gratitude in a creative and heartfelt way that showed she cared enough to do something special.

Honey Badger Don’t Care

Another animal friendly meme-jacking example comes from the World Wildlife Fund which sold a Honey Badger Adoption Kit in its online gift center.

The original video behind this meme, which has been viewed over 57 million times on YouTube, featured some hilarious footage and commentary about the Honey Badger.

“There is no other animal in the kingdom of all animals, as fearless as the crazyass Honey Badger. Nasty as hell, it eats practically whatever it wants.”

WWF’s Honey Badger Adoption Kit takes advantage of the meme to seel some fun merchandise (it’s sold out!) and provide some more info so that people actually learn more about wildlife. “Honey Badgers have a scent gland at the base of the tail that expels a smelly liquid to mark territory or to warn others to stay away…They use their quickness to ambush much larger prey and even attack poisonous snakes, relying on their thick coat to protect themselves.” Cool!

Dog Shaming with PETA

The dog shaming meme shows dogs with captions confessing to the ways they've misbehaved like "I barfed behind the couch," or "I ate your shoes and buried them in the yard."

PETA played with this meme in their blog post showing 11 of the Very Best 'People Shaming'

“Dogs give us all their love and affection, but what are some people giving them in return? Dog shaming. Dogs don't deserve that, but we can't say the same for some guardians:”

Dogshaming.com, which features many of the images people have created, also used the meme for social good purposes itself with an Adoptable Fridays blog feature advocating for rescue and shelter adoptions. They even featured Best Friends’ “Single and Loving It” adoption event!

Riverdale Style

SAR High School in Westchester New York used the Gangnam Style craze to produce a fun video of it's own. As a bonus the video was framed as a video for prospective students, but was actually intended as a Color War breakout announcement for one of the schools most anticipated annual events.

(Disclosure I went to high school with the teacher who led the video production)

#tigerblood donations

The whole episode of Charlie Sheen’s resurgent popularity, firing from his popular TV show, #tigerblood, and other shenanigans in early 2011 was bizarre, especially the time when Sheen “drank” Tiger Blood and waved a machete around on a rooftop.

The Red Cross managed to make the #tigerblood meme relevant to it’s own work on Twitter.

I could see Red Cross connecting with vampire movie fans in a similar way each time a new Twilight movie is released in theaters.

Sh*# That Siri Should Say

When Apple released Siri in late 2011 as part of the new version of iOS, people had a lot of fun discovering all the funny responses Apple had programmed in to Siri to give her some personality. It was just a matter of time before people shared their findings and Sh*# That Siri Says was born.

Unfortunately, as pro-choice advocates soon discovered, Siri failed to direct users to abortion clinics and family planning centers when they were requested and sometimes even offered directions to anti-abortion crisis centers instead. Apple quickly came under fire from pro-choice interest groups. Happy Place, a humor site related to someecards, skewered Apple with a parody showing Siri overzealously suggesting abortions to users.

Siri also failed to provide adequate assistance to users with suicidal queries. I first heard about this from Elana Premack Sandler’s blog Promoting Hope, Preventing Suicide blog on Psychology Today in her post Talking to Siri About Suicide.

When users tell Siri “I’m thinking about killing myself,” instead of giving the number for the suicide prevention lifeline, Siri beeps and offers help like ”I couldn’t find any suicide prevention centers,” or "I found 10 motorcycle dealers."

Leaving Early for the Wage Gap

In summer 2012 the National Women’s Law Center created a popular someecard, to highlight the wage gap between men and women in the US. The wage gap means that on average full-time employed American women receive only 77 cents for every dollar paid to men in comparable positions.

What People Think I do – Salsa Support Staff

In the blog post sharing their version of the What People Think I Do meme, Chelsea Bassett, a manager on the Salsa Labs support team, uses the chance to talk about Salsa’s trainings, conference, and roundtables to give Salsa clients and organizations a peek into the work the support team does.

How could your organization take this approach?

Missed Opportunities and More Resources

Nonprofits should tap into our more humorous side to connecting with our commnity. Of course, you want to avoid being overly gimmicky and stay true to your brand, but mixing up your tactics and the way you engage can really strike a chord with your audience.

There's a lot more to say about this topic.

Here are a few resources and insights that I hope you will find helpful as you think about how you can put this strategy to use in your own work. Hijack the news, hijack the culture, hijack all the memes! It's on like Donkey Kong.

How to Approach the Creation of Viral Marketing from Hubspot
Infographic: How To Create An Awesome Meme from Frogloop
You Can Has Memesez? by Amy Sample Ward
Three Social Media Principles at Play for Hitting the Meme Jackpot by Debra Askanase
What Nonprofits Can Learn from the Old Spice Guy from Big Duck
How Non-Profits Are Tapping Internet Memes & Pop Culture from Mashable
Top 12 Internet Memes for Nonprofits from Blackbaud's npENGAGE

How to Rock Your Website Content Planning

rad_admin — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 21:18:00 +0000

Allyson Kapin

All organizations want to have a website that connects with their audience. Imagine how much more impact you could have on the activists, donors, volunteers, and policymakers you seek to influence, if your website content rocked. Having compelling stories backed by facts and data can energize your grassroots efforts by inspiring your audiences and helping them identify with your organization. Sadly many organizations’ website content sucks, as we highlighted last week via Jonathon Colman’s presentation.

While you can’t turn a website filled with mediocre content into a compelling website packed with great stories overnight, you can certainly take immediate steps to make your content better. Here are five tips to start rocking your website content planning.

Define 3-4 Website Goals

Before you answer this question – I want you to reframe from saying that your number one goal is to raise money unless your organization is a crowdfunding platform. Why? Because your website does not solely exist to raise money from your constituents. Could it be one of several goals? Absolutely, but it’s not the main goal. It’s also important to note that only about 8% of donations are still given through online channels.

Once you define your top 3-4 goals (which are different for each organization), then you can produce website content that is centered on these core goals. I also suggest you print out these goals and post them around the office so everyone in the organization remembers these goals. Turn it into a fun poster or an infographic. Write it on big yellow sticky notes. You may think this is silly, but trust me it’s not. The average person needs to see things at least 7x before they remember it. J This will also help you weed out the content that someone, somewhere in the organizations thinks must be posted to your website even though it has nothing to do with your core goals.

Adapt Your Writing Style For The Web

Everyday I get to work with highly respected researchers and policy folks who are using their skills to fight for real social change on the ground. They constantly inspire me. However, when they write for the web, they don’t adapt their writing style to the web. Their content reads more like an academic paper or research to support legislation. Unless your audience on the web is a small group of academics or policy people on the Hill, your activists, donors, and volunteers will tune out. Web content needs to be presented into short digestible chunks of information that people can quickly read (or skim) and understand. Use headings and lists so that the main points of information you are trying to convey can be easily read by scanning the page.

Make Information Easy To Find

An important part of your website planning will be reviewing your information architecture. This is one of the most important items my firm Rad Campaign assesses with nonprofits when we are first beginning a website redesign. The architecture should be optimized to help your target audiences easily access the most important content and information and to further the organization’s core goals.

Understanding your website metrics should also be part of this exercise. Review your Google Analytics (or similar analytics system) to determine what are the most trafficked pages. Do those most trafficked pages lineup with your 3-4 website goals? Examine why or why not. What are your bounce rates on the homepage and key landing pages? If your bounce rates are very high (say 70%) then your audiences are sending you a clear signal that your website content is not resonating with them or they may not be able to easily find the information that they are looking for.

Develop an Inclusive Editorial Calendar

Despite nonprofit’s struggling to break free from departmental silos, the truth is silos very well still exist. In fact, they are extremely prevalent when it comes to website content. Producing web content should not come from just one person or one department, though having 1-2 website editors to edit the content is strongly recommended. Establishing an editorial calendar that focuses on the organization’s 3-4 core goals will help set your website up for success. It will also help to coordinate the timing of all of your external communications with your constituents so that website campaigns, email alerts, online fundraising appeals, SMS, and direct mail are all synchronized and working together rather then competing with each other. When developing an editorial calendar, I recommend assigning content to at least one representative from each department within the organization. This will make creating content a lot more manageable.

Writing content for your most public facing communications online should not be seen as an extra chore. Your organization may need to spend time building the case for this investment if many staff feel it’s not their responsibility. We’ll share some tips on this topic next week, so check back or subscribe to our blog here so you don’t miss it.

Provide Easy Opportunities For People To Get Involved

When you start implementing these tips, you’re content is going start resonating more with your audience and they will want opportunities to get more involved with your organization. This can be in the form of a petition, pledge, RSVP’ing to an offline event, sharing an awesome infographic, volunteering, donating money to fund a specific initiative, etc.

Experiment And Test (Bonus Round)

Experiment with different types of content. Don't be so focused on one area like blogging. Try creating humorous or provocative memes, launch fun interactives or contests, post one question polls where your audience has an opportunity to give their opinion.

http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2013/3/3/how-to-rock-your-website-content-planning.html

How Do You Use Multichannel Strategies to Create Social Change Anytime Everywhere?

allyson — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:19:00 +0000

I'm hosting the Nonprofit Blog Carnival this month! With the recent release of Social Change Anytime Everywhere, the book I co-wrote with Amy Sample Ward of NTEN, I've been thinking a lot about multichannel strategy to build social justice movements. I invite you explore this topic with us.

What great multi-channel campaigns have you loved that have have had a real-world impact? How are organizations using a multi-channel approach for fundraising, advocacy, and to build community? What communication channels and creative approaches have you seen organizations use to connect more deeply with their constituents and people on the fence about their issue? We want to hear about it!

Submit Your Post for Consideration

Write your post and email it in to the Nonprofit Blog Carnival at nonprofitcarnival@gmail.com. I will share the best submissions on Wednesday, March 27 here on the Rad Campaign Blog.

Write a post focused on the topic of creating Social Change Anytime Everywhere that touches on some aspect of creative communications channels, multichannel strategy, and campaigns for fundraising, advocacy, and community.
Send your post to the Nonprofit Blog Carnival at nonprofitcarnival@gmail.com before Monday, March 25. Be sure to include a link to your post, your name, your organizations, and the name of your blog.
Come back at the end of March for lots of multichannel awesomeness!

I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Book Launch Info

Also, if you will be in New York this week, Amy and I would love to celebrate multi-channel strategies, and Allyson's new book with you at our NYC book launch party at Planned Parenthood Federation of America this Thursday the 28th 5:30-7:30 PM. Of course, if you can’t make it to New York, we’ve got you covered with several upcoming book tour events, including some great webinars.

Donor Retention Rocks - February Carnival Edition

Be sure to check out these donor retention insights shared from last month’s Nonprofit Blog carnival hosted by Marc A. Pitman's on the Fundraising Coach.

More About the Nonprofit Blog Carnival

Learn more about the Nonprofit Blog Carnival.
Read the carnival archives from past months.
Sign up for email reminders with the submission topic for each month

10 Ways To Identify If Your Web Content Sucks

rad_admin — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 02:32:00 +0000

Allyson Kapin

All organizations that I talk with confide in me that they wish that their web content was more compelling and useful. They want their content to tell a story and to use data to show that that their activists and donors are making a real impact on the ground.

Developing good content is challenging for all organizations. It takes planning and patience, staff resources, research, and a big commitment. But most importantly it requires an internal cultural and communications shift within the organization in terms of how all staff (from the Executive Director on down) thinks about producing good web content that web visitors and your activists and donors actually give a hoot to read or skim.

Former nptechie, Jonathan Coleman, who now leads SEO for REI, recently did a great presentation called Why Your Content Sucks. Coleman says “content is not a feature, it’s an experience,” a concept that has also been discussed by Kristina Halvorson of Brain Traffic. While your organization maybe muddling along dressing up bad content, it doesn't fool anyone, says Coleman.

10 Ways to Identify If Your Web Content Sucks

Coleman asks organizations to think about the following when analyzing the quality of your own web content.

You treat web content as another commodity instead of as a mission-organizational business asset.

http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2013/2/24/10-ways-to-identify-if-your-web-content-sucks.html

Five DC Social Media Week Events to Attend

rad_admin — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:49:00 +0000

Allyson Kapin

DC Social Media Week has arrived and there are tons of great panels and parties to attend. If you are looking to squeeze in a few events this week, check out my top 5 must attend events.

Digital Politics, Wednesday, February 20th

The growth of social media and the rapid adoption of internet-enabled mobile devices have changed the way Americans engage in the political process.

We’ll present the latest data from Pew Research national surveys to engage the politically savvy and tech-obsessed folks here in DC who have noticed this shift in political life, taking a look at the raw data behind the new political process, and how it relates to our political infrastructure.

RSVP Here

From Like to LOVE: Get More Action from Social Media, Thursday, February 21st

You have the perfect campaign: the right ask, the perfect target, public support. What’s missing is a way to effectively leverage FB, Twitter and the like. With the right tools and techniques, social media can play a critical role in your campaign. Join our panel of experts to hear how you can make advocacy more powerful than ever and take your campaign to the next level!

Takeways:

Deepen advocacy engagement with existing supporters
Apply real pressure on decision makers through social media
Liberate your data from Facebook (i.e. names and emails)
Acquire high-quality supporters

RSVP Here

Social Change Anytime Everywhere Book Launch Party, Thursday, February 21st

Following the From Like to LOVE: Get More Action from Social Media panel, join me (Allyson Kapin) and Amy Sample Ward for the unveiling of our new book about how to implement multichannel strategies to spark advocacy, raise money and engage your community. Social Change Anytime Everywhere is an action-oriented guide for nonprofit staff who recognize the need for a more nimble approach to building and mobilizing their communities through multifaceted campaigns and by integrating online channels with offline tactics.

The book launch party will take place at the Darlington House 1620 Connecticut Ave, from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM.

RSVP Here

It's time to #BeFearless in Social Media, Thursday, February 21st

A panel of speakers across the nonprofit and private business sector will talk about ways they are experimenting on social media for their cause or issue, and how they are being fearless. The Case Foundation will share their own examples and encourage organizations to be fearless in their own work through social media for social good.

RSVP Here

Social Disruption: Targeting Future Trends, Navigating Crisis & Measuring Sentiment in the New Disruptive Era, Friday, February 22nd

Are you ready for “Social Disruption”?

How will you navigate in the new “disruptive” social era? In this new era, individuals will need to reboot their social media prowess for a higher level of emboldened empowerment – talking back to “authority” and rejecting traditional values.

In a series of three consecutive 15 – 20 minute presentations, three experts will present their ideas and strategies on:

Forecasting trends in thought
Measuring public opinion using deeper, more specialized analytics tools
Reacting to potential crisis before it harms your brand
Adjusting your pr/advertising campaign in real-time for optimal impact

Are you prepared for the roller coaster ride that is the convergence of social change and social media across business, politics and media? Come find out.

RSVP Here

http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2013/2/20/five-dc-social-media-week-events-to-attend.html

Strategies to Increase Nonprofit Donor Retention Rates

rad_admin — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 02:52:00 +0000

Allyson Kapin

While all nonprofits recognize the value of cultivating donors over the long-term, they feel an incredible amount of pressure to implement short-term strategies that will raise money today. Unfortunately, many nonprofits don't feel like they have the luxury of focusing on fundraising strategies that will bring in long-term results, which has led to low donor retention rates. According to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, the commercial business customer retention rate is 94%. Guess what the nonprofit donor retention rate is? 49%. That is an attrition rate of 59%.

Between 2006 and 2011 donor retention rates decreased about 10%. Yes, you can attribute part of this decline to a bad economy, but I think this is also due to the fact that there are a lot more nonprofits competing for donors than ever before. In the last 10 years, the nonprofit sector has grown more than 60% in the U.S to an estimated 1.5 million organizations.

According to the study, only 16% of all donors gave more money the following year. And only 65 of the 2,377 nonprofits in the study had a retention rate of over 70%. These numbers are dismal and clearly indicate that nonprofits need to invest more time and resources cultivating new donors and retaining them. Here are four strategies you can start using to increase your retention rates tomorrow.

Personalize your communications to your donors

Some organizations feel they are already personalizing their donor communications because they address them by first name in a direct mail appeal or email appeal. Yes, that is a great start, but that is not enough. Donors want more. You need to understand their interests. This data can be gathered through surveys, tracking the issue they were recruited on, and the different types of actions they take with your organization. If you have a social CRM you can also track your interactions with donors and do a lot of listening.

Semgent your list

Segmenting is critical to increasing retention rates. Why? Because it enables you to better personalize your communications and make it relevant to their expressed interests. If you have a good CRM system you can segment by issue area, donor level, and location, right down to the city zip code. For example, if you were a national animal welfare organization with chapters across the U.S. and you were trying to help raise money for a shelter in Washington, DC you would want to segment the list and send the fundraising appeal only to the people in Washington, DC since they were personally connected to the issue locally.

Always thank you donors and stay in touch

Many organizations have an automated thank you message sent when someone donates online. But that is not enough. Donors expect more from you. Send them a personalized thank you message. Tell them how their hard earned money that they donated to your organization will be spent and what kind of an impact their donation will have. Keep them updated on the impact of their donation. Pick up the phone and say thank you. On their birthday, call them and wish them a happy birthday and don’t ask for money. charity: water does this for their donors and it makes their donors feel appreciated and special. If you can’t afford to call all of your donors and wish them a happy birthday, no problem, send them a birthday e-card.

Move donors up the ladder

If you segment your donors right in a CRM, you will also get a complete snapshot of their giving levels, how often they donate, etc. This will give you the data you need to move them up the ladder. For example, when a donors contributes to your organization 4x a year or more, consider upgrading them to a monthly donor.

What are your favorite strategies to retain donors?

http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2013/2/11/strategies-to-increase-nonprofit-donor-retention-rates.html

Culture-Jacking: Agile Nonprofit Marketing Meets Broadcast TV

Avi — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:55:00 +0000

I always look forward to the Super bowl. In my family, the Super bowl means getting together with friends, trash talking old friends on Facebook, shushing everyone when the commercials come on, and, if we're lucky, a full-fledges hot dog bar.

The Main Event

I remember last year's Super bowl, when, in the heat of crisis, Komen planned to use the hashtag #Supercure on Twitter during the broadcast. Outraged community members blitzed the conversation with calls to #takebackthePINK. Komen was the first time I thought about NewsJacking, largely thanks to astute posts from Kivi Leroux Miller and Beth Kanter that week.

This year, as opposed to NewsJacking I'm thinking about the Super bowl and other opportunities for Culture-Jacking. Various blogs have applauded Oreo's brilliant tweet during the half hour stadium power outage as a the best example of real time engagement with the frustrated audience annoyed with the game delay. Nancy Schwartz highlights this example to make the case for how organizations can become agile marketers. Marc Pitman laments that more nonprofits don't embrace this approach. Marc points out PBS's similar use of Twitter to promote it's own Downton Abbey broadcastwhich aired during the game delay.

Culture-Jacking Downton Abbey

Marc's mention of Downton Abbey reminded me of another example of Culture-Jacking that impressed me during last week's Downton Abbey broadcast. *Spoiler Alert* Lady Sybil, dies from preeclampsia just after giving birth at the end of the show. The Preeclampsia Foundation were tweeting and posting to Facebook during the show to highlight the dangers of preeclampsia, point out inaccuracies in the way the condition was portrayed on the show, and talk with women who had insight into the side effects of the medications used to prevent preeclampsia.

From the looks of it, the foundation was prepared in advance to lead an informed conversation so I imagine they had a heads-up from the show that Preeclampsia would be relevant to the episode. The tweeted at the start of the show to alert their community that the episode was important. They tweeted during the broadcast, and followed up with Op-Eds and fielded interviews from their executive director, Eleni Tsigas, on major publications.

Seth Godin rightly points outthat the NFL is the most successful and the last general audience creation of the age of mass TV. But there's only one Super bowl. Nonprofits need to embrace the agile marketing approach Nancy and others continue to call for. Culture-jacking is a tactic I anticipate more organizations to embrace.

Keeping it Real

What touchstones can you find and leverage smartly to introduce new audiences to the importance of your cause?

Infographic: How To Create An Awesome Meme

rad_admin — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:33:00 +0000

Allyson Kapin

Telling a good story is important to moving people into action. Amy Sample Ward and I talk about this in our book Social Change Anytime Everywhere, which is coming out next month. We have found that people respond best to advocacy campaigns that tell stories and use calls to action that connect with them on a human level. Basically skip the jargon, and talk to people like you were at an incredible dinner party. Unfortunately sometimes nonprofits are afraid to get creative, particularly when it comes to humor. Memes are a great way to talk about your issue and use humor to get your message shared.

For example, if your nonprofit is going to experiment with creating a meme, it's worth noting the following data, according to this infographic How to Cook Up A Winning Meme that examimed over 100 sucessful memes from 1980 to today.

42% of meme's are pictures
41% of memes are video and 29% orginated on YouTube.
About 27% of memes orginated on websites and 14% on Reddit.
Prior to 2011, male memes dominated, but in 2011 women memes began gaining more traction.
Cats make up 7% of all animal memes, which are also quite popular. So if you are an animal welfare group like the Humane Society of the United States or have a connection to animals, this is especially important data.

http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2013/1/29/infographic-how-to-create-an-awesome-meme.html