Posts in category Social Media

The Rise of Social Media Press Releases

May 20, 2013 Leave a Comment Written by admin

The Rise of the Social Media Press Release

Yesterday I visited a Facebook group in which I’m a member. I was somewhat taken aback when I read a post that started –

“Social media has forever changed how nonprofits and journalists distribute and consume news stories, yet the format of press releases has not evolved at all. Almost every communication medium out there has been impacted by the rise of social and mobile media, but not press releases.” (11 Tips for Making Nonprofit Press Releases Social and Shareable)

Well, I know I’ve been creating and posting social media releases (SMR) and releases that are Search Engine Optimized (SEO) since 2009 when I managed The Eizenstat Family Memorial Lecture featuring Al Gore.

And, I’m far from the first!

Then I remembered the post The Definitive Guide to Social Media Releases by Brian Solis, written February 11, 2008.

The blog covers a lot of information about the creation of SMR and the evolution of press release wires and includes a description of what an SMR should include:

  • Headline
  • Intro paragraph, rich with key words, relevance and context (summary)
  • Supporting facts
  • Quote
  • Embeddable Video (The new VNR)
  • Embeddable Audio
  • Embeddable Images
  • RSS for the organization’s news
  • RSS for product/services info
  • Post in “insert social network of choice”
  • Blog this (links to blogging platforms)
  • Share on Twitter, Tumblr, etc.
  • Bookmarks
  • Relevant links
  • Digg, Reddit, and other relevant news aggregators and communities
  • Comments – Maybe also include a link to a hosted network on Ning or even a discussion forum
  • Contact: hcard, vcard, Linked, Facebook

I use a national or local release distribution service, depending on the scope of the release. All have templates in which you input your press release and include ways to ensure that they are SEO and SMR.

I love using the Atlanta Daybook for local news releases. They have direct reach into the newsrooms, corporate headquarters and nonprofits in my target market.

Once the release is posted I encourage members of the organization to share with their organizational partners and personal networks.

I also send my releases pasted to the face of a personalized email. When I do this I:

  • Keep everything flush left, including the header, sub-head, organization’s logo and contact information
  • Follow the classic pyramid with the most relevant information in the 1st paragraph
  • Ensure that the subject line has all the relevant information & piques interest in the release
  • Use keywords in the header and subhead
  • Hyperlink the name of the organization, project and/or event to the organization’s website in the 1st paragraph
  • Use a relevant quote in the third paragraph
  • Link details of relevant information back to the organization’s website
  • Provide a link to usable JPEG files housed in the website press room
  • Add a link to the website in the boilerplate
  • Add contact info to the bottom of the release
  • Post the release in the organization’s press room, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter feed, blog and whatever social media platforms they use.

Is there room for improvement? Absolutely! Read through the suggestions in 11 Tips for Making Nonprofit Press Releases Social and Shareable and see which suggestions will work with your organization. Also checkout Marketwire’s Tips for Entering Your Nonprofit into the Social Media Environment and PRWeb’s Nonprofit News Release Services. You’ll find good information and some excellent examples of nonprofit social media releases.

Remember, no matter how social and shareable your release is, be sure that the information is relevant and worthy of distribution and creating positive conversations between your organization and your target markets. And, don’t forget that to have ‘real’ people follow up and respond to queries from the media and bloggers.

Any other suggestions? We’d love to hear from you!

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4 P’s + 1P = Good path to focus on local community

April 16, 2013 Leave a Comment Written by admin

Separate yourself not from the community – Pirche Avot 2

 

I just love when the universe hears me. I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the significance of local initiatives and how important they are. Maybe I’m a contrarian, but as the world becomes more global I’d like to see people focus on their communities.

So, I was thrilled when I came upon two posts that spoke to local issues. The first, Local Businesses Need to be Findable by Paul and Sarah Edwards had suggestions that in my mind worked as well for nonprofits as businesses.

According a Local Consumer Review Survey, 85% of people use the web to find local businesses. Do you know how many of your clients/donors/event participants use the web to find your nonprofit? If you don’t have a website or are unhappy with what you do have, consider some alternatives:

  • Get a free listing on Google Places.
  • Create a Facebook page for your nonprofit. You can find oodles of posts on how to use Facebook for your nonprofit.
  • Make sure you have a presence on LinkedIn. Invite members of your community to Link to your page. Join relevant groups that touch the issues in which your nonprofit is involved in your community.
  • Start a blog. This will attract the search engines and bring people to your website.
  • Make sure your address is consistent on all your social media sites and your website.

Then I was reading another excellent post by Clair Axelrad “Purely Practical SMIT: 4 Keys to Never Lose the Why.” Claire always reminds me why I’m committed to empowering nonprofits to do good.

Claire’s March SMIT (Single Most Important Thing I have to tell you) is to never lose sight of the “Why.” It is virtually impossible to connect with people unless you know your purpose.

“Your vision or, if you will, your dream is your purpose. It’s the “why” of your existence.”

So, instead of bemoaning the fact that you can’t be everywhere at once, bring your passion to your neighborhood or your community.

Okay, but how do the two posts mesh?

To me, the first speaks to the tools you can use to make sure you have a real presence in your community. Remember the 4 P’s of marketing – Product (service), PLACE, Promotion & Price. Well, Local Businesses Need to be Findable speaks to some of the social media tools you can use to make sure you’re found.

Then, add the 5th P – PASSION from Clair’s post and you’re on your way to making a difference in your community. You see, even when your focus is on your community, you must know your purpose and care about it with passion.

In a future post I’ll introduce you to a friend who is working on what he calls a Hyper-local initiative. Sound intriguing? You bet!

Any thoughts on staying focused on your community? I’d love to hear them.

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How Nonprofits Can Embrace Social Media to Attract and Engage the Next Generation

March 6, 2013 Leave a Comment Written by admin

A Guest Post from Richard McMunn, Founder how2become.com

“Although fundraising is the ultimate concern for most nonprofits and charities, the first step to fundraising is awareness and effective communication.”

Social media has pervaded the realm of interaction and communication in such a way, that words like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook have become part of our everyday lives. We now live in a world where social media can enable revolutions, YouTube can turn people into global celebrities overnight, and everyone and their gran has a Facebook account.

Social media has changed the face of networking, communication and advertising and increasingly, non-profits and charities are beginning to use these tools to effectively engage people. Let’s look at some ways in which third sector organizations can use social media tools to appeal to a more media savvy generation that use social media as an intrinsic part of their social lives.

Understanding the Nature of the Beast

Social media can help non-profits on a variety of levels. Firstly, social media tools are communications platforms, and very dynamic and interactive ones at that. The first way in which non-profits can leverage the power of social media is to communicate their cause and their work to a large audience. Although fundraising is the ultimate concern for most non-profits and charities, the first step to fundraising is awareness and effective communication.

Different social media sites have different strengths. To give you an example, YouTube is predominantly an audio visual platform, and could be used to promote such content, and engage people in that way. The content and presentation can be designed to suit a specific audience.

For instance, as a non-profit we can aim to engage with a younger audience by targeted communication through videos, and other media. Facebook can be used to build a campaign, connect to people and connect people with each other, and to spread a message quickly.

Investing in Existing Supporters

Many organizations simply look at social media as a platform for incessant advertising and marketing. But we live in the age of increasing information overload, and it is becoming more and more difficult to get people’s attention. The fact is that impersonal advertising messages are far less effective than endorsement from someone you know and trust.

The beauty of social media lies in the fact that it allows people the power of reach. People who already support a charity or a particular cause and believe in it, have the power to create more awareness and help gain more support. As such, existing supporters of non-profits can play a pivotal role in fundraising and networking in this environment dominated by social media. Social media allows them to share their convictions and views with their own networks and give the cause the kind of impetus that was near impossible before.

In order to leverage the real power of social media, nonprofits must recognize this potential and invest in their existing supporters by providing them with essential tools and material to communicate the right message.

Keeping Up-to-date with Changing Trends

Younger people have grown up with the internet as an integral part of their lives. Statistical research on social media usage in 2012 shows that over 95% of 18 – 24’s in the UK have a Facebook account; over 89% of the same age group actively use YouTube, with other social media sites like Twitter and Foursquare in close tow. It is possible to find detailed statistics of different platforms, users and demographics. To use social media sites successfully, it is important to understand the audience, and to use the right platform for engagement.

Statistics also show that non-profits have increasingly begun to use social media for communication and engagement. In fact, the last year saw many charities and nonprofit organizations, both large and small, use social media for communication and fundraising campaigns. As the volume of advertising and communication on social media sites increases, non-profits will need to stay up-to-date with evolving trends in communication in order to optimize the contemporary media tools at their disposal.

Editor’s note: Richard McMunn, is the founder and director of the UK’s leading career website how2become.com.

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Insights into Nonprofit Social Media

August 29, 2012 1 Comment Written by admin

“How can you squander even one more day not taking advantage of the greatest shifts of our generation? How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable?”” Seth Godin

I admit I didn’t understand the significance of social media until the 21st Annual Eizenstat Family Memorial Lecture featuring Al Gore in 2009. It was the first time that I incorporated a social media strategy into the marketing communications plan.

The goal was to increase awareness of the lecture series and the host organization. By all measures the lecture was a resounding success! Social media, especially Facebook and Twitter, played a significant role.

The yearly Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report, sponsored by Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN), Common Knowledge and Blackbaud, focuses on social media trends in the nonprofit sector. The 4th annual report provides interesting insights.  More than 3500 nonprofit professionals responded to an online survey about their use of social media.

Two social networks were part of the study:

  • Commercial Social networks, e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+, Myspace, Flickr and Foursquare.
  • House Social networks –networks built & managed by the nonprofit in-house.

Here are a few of the 2012 social media insights:

  1. Only Facebook and Twitter increased from 2011 to 2012. Respondents accumulated an average of 8,317 Facebook members & 3,290 followers on Twitter, an increase of 30% and 81% respectively from 2011.
  2. A consolidated brand strategy, which focuses most or all branding & marketing  on one Facebook page and 1 Twitter account is the norm.
  3. The average value of a supporter acquired via Facebook Like is $214.81 over the 12 months following acquisition. This includes all revenue from individual donations, membership, events, etc.
  4. Facebook advertising is mainly used to raise awareness and build a support base, not for fundraising.
  5. 54% of respondents said they were not fundraising on Facebook. An Ask for an individual gift is the most common fundraising tactic on Facebook. Event fundraising was the 2nd highest category.

What I found to be the most telling were the top 3 factors for success on Social Networks. They speak to the same focus that is necessary for all successful initiatives:

  • #1 – Developed a strategy
  • #2 – Prioritization by executive management
  • #3 – Dedicated social media staff

In other words – Develop a plan, get buy-in and identify a knowledgeable key team member to lead the new initiative.

Is your nonprofit using social media? I would love to hear what is working best for you. Please contact deborah@creative-si.com.

 

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AJFF 2012 soars above the ‘social media noise’

January 17, 2012 Leave a Comment Written by admin

Let’s face it – the more important  social media becomes to marketing special events, the more difficult it is to be heard above the ‘social media noise.’

The AJFF 2012 is scheduled to start for February 8th. Incredible that more than 21,000 tickets sold in the first two weeks of sales!

How is the film festival getting above the noise? A focused year-round marketing plan topped with strong social media is key.

AJFF communication strategies consist of a blend of online buzz with compelling content for social media websites and consistent outreach to secure coverage in the news.

To ensure that the AJFF team reached its communications objectives to cultivate diverse audiences, increase awareness and enhance coverage, the marketing committee held brainstorming sessions and developed a social media content calendar.

AJFF 2012 Facebook page is visually compelling. I’m one of the more than 1500 people who have liked the page. Each day I get engaging posts with tickler descriptions of different films including video-clip trailers and reminders to purchase tickets.

AJFF website is geared to provide information on films, location of theatres and ticket sales. The online media center contains press releases and press kits – everything bloggers, reporters and twitter influentials need. Contact information is visible. Email queries and phone calls are answered promptly.

In an earlier post Promoting a Film Festival in 3 weeks! I describe marketing tools to use to increase the buzz and ticket sales for a film festival.

If you would like a copy of my film festival PR template, please contact me at deborah@creative-si.com.

Special thanks to Brad Pilcher and Shayne Walsey, AJFF communication co-chairs and Kendel White from Weber Shandwick for their hard work to make AJFF 2012 a communications success.

Now, if you will excuse me I need to finish ordering my tickets for the festival before they’re sold out!

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Using Social Media to Enrich Your Cause

September 7, 2011 Leave a Comment Written by admin

“How can you squander even one more day not taking advantage of the greatest shifts of our generation? How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable?” Seth Godwin

Pascha

A few weeks ago, I was having coffee with social media marketing diva Toby Bloomberg. Toby is my friend, mentor and inspiration. Without Toby’s guidance I’m pretty certain that I would not have launched this blog.

I always seem to find a way to interject Pascha and Black Olive into my conversations and Toby is very understanding.

I’m sure by now that all my readers know I have a passion for horses. What you might not know is that my riding and working with nonprofits intersects. Whenever I have a chance to be involved with an event that revolves around horses and supports a meaningful cause I jump at it – no pun intended!  My most meaningful gigs involved raising money for nonprofits through horse-related events such as grand prix and polo classics.

One area of many where Toby excels is her interviews. When conducting interviews with nonprofits Toby stays true to her commitment to help people understand social media. Each nonprofit shares their social media experiences and lessons learned.

I always look forward to those blog posts. Each nonprofit’s story is different. And each describes ways in which they incorporate social media to increase the good they do in the world.

So, imagine how excited I was when Toby asked me if I had ever heard of a horse named Barbaro* and proceeded to tell me about an upcoming post with Alex Brown, author of Greatness and Goodness: Barbaro and his Legacy.

Well, I wasn’t disappointed. Whether you’re a horse person or not, I hope you read the posts.

Here are some of the lessons I learned about using social media to help support your cause:

  1. Create an on-line community to support your cause.
  2. Develop a marketing plan that includes conventional as well as social media.
  3. Establish analytics so you can gauge the effects of each medium.
  4. Make a commitment to stay abreast of the issues that touch your community and communicate, communicate, communicate.
  5. Be prepared to always learn and expand your reach.
  6. Once you’ve developed your website and your community is comfortable with how it works, stay the course.
  7. Find a way to develop a community of action to raise awareness and funds for your cause.
  8. Engage moderators for the community to help keep the conversation on target.
  9. Make sure to update all your media sources including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and  website
  10. Let your passion show and color all your initiatives to promote social good.

 Please join me and share your social media ideas for supporting your cause!

 *I first met Barbaro’s trainer Michael Matz at the 1996 Olympic Games when Michael was a member of the US Equestrian Team. Then I started following his new career as a thoroughbred trainer when I was involved with thoroughbred yearlings, who were hopefully going to start careers as race horses.

I watched with horror and tears in my eyes when Barbaro had his accident at the Preakness. Toby’s interview with Alex Brown has reignited my commitment to horse welfare, and to making the world a better place.

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Increasing Attendance with Social Media

April 25, 2011 Leave a Comment Written by admin

Your special event is planned. Now, the critical question is – how do you  increase your attendance?

Everyone points to the benefits of social media to drive your attendance. Social media is a vehicleyou use to enact your strategy. You can increase the value of your special event by integrating social media into your marketing strategy.

But, before you develop your strategy, ask yourself these questions developed by Stacey Ruth, a marketing consultant with Atlanta-based Actio Marketing :

  1. Are your attendees active in any of the social media (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube or blogs/forums)?
  2. Do you have an awareness problem, and are you trying to reach large number of attendees quickly (and perhaps inexpensively)?
  3. Do you have someone on your team with enough time on their hands to populate a social media site effectively? (That means building content that can be pushed out every day in most cases.)
  4. Do you have knowledge (or access to someone with knowledge) of best practices for the social media platform you want to apply? Social media is not an “if you build it, they will come” scenario. There is a definite approach to each social network that is uniquely effective — and any number of approaches that are equally ineffective!
  5. Would you like to build an extended life to your event and create a community around it?

If you answered yes to more than one of the above questions, social media including Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter, is worth integrating into your event marketing strategy. However, don’t overlook the value of tried-and-true ‘social media’ platforms including Word Of Mouth marketing or WOMM.

Word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM), is an unpaid form of oral or written promotion—in which satisfied “customers” or your organization’s ambassadors tell other people how much they like your nonprofit and invite them to participate in your event. Word-of-mouth is one of the most credible forms of advertising because people who don’t stand to gain personally by promoting something put their reputations on the line every time they make a recommendation, according to Entrepreneur.

Bottom line – know your audiences before you invest the time and energy as part of your event marketing strategy. Use your social media strategy as a way to involve your board and volunteers.

Any questions about specific social media vehicles to use for your event? Be sure and contact me at deborah@creative-si.com.

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