Web 2.0 Communications for Nonprofit Organizations

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2009-09-09T08:37:00.001-07:00

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HOW TO: Add Twitter and YouTube Tabs to Your Organization's Facebook Page

2009-08-26T13:31:00.001-07:00

Involver is a new start-up that has some pretty amazing Apps that you can add to your organization's Facebook Page. Your first two Apps are free to install and if you want to later upgrade they do offer nonprofit and multi-account discounts. I recently added the Twitter and YouTube Apps to the Nonprofit Organizations Facebook Page. The Apps allow you to then create Twitter" and "YouTube" Tabs on your Facebook Page that pull in and nicely display all your Tweets and videos from Twitter and YouTube.

HOW TO: Add a Twitter Tab

Make sure you are logged into Facebook and designated as an Admin for your organization's Facebook Page. Go to the App Gallery. Click the Facebook Install button for Twitter. It will ask you to choose which Facebook Page you want to install the App. Select your page and then click the "Add Twitter for Pages" button. You will then be prompted to enter your name, email address, phone number, and Twitter User Name. All four fields are required.

Click "Save & Continue" and then "Continue to Fan Page". The final step is to click "+ Add a new tab" on your Facebook Page, then Select "Twitter". The Twitter Tab will automatically appear. You can then drag and drop your Tabs in the order you think it most important for your Facebook Strategy. Keep in mind that the default settings are that the "Wall" Tab is first, the "Info" Tab is second. [See the Involver Twitter App live]

HOW TO: Add a YouTube Tab

Simply repeat the steps above! You will not be prompted to enter your contact information again, however you will be asked to enter your YouTube User Name (www.youtube.com/username) and whether you want only your uploaded videos or your favorited video displayed, or both. That depends on how you use your YouTube channel. Most organizations would likely only want their uploaded videos displayed. [See the Involver YouTube App live]

Pretty amazing, eh? It takes less than 5 minutes and it's free. If you want to learn more about how to transform your Facebook Page and strategy to the next level, I cover Involver and many other Facebook Apps, tools, and strategies in my Webinar, How Nonprofit Organizations Can Successfully Use Facebook and YouTube.

#FollowFriday, #FanFriday and #FriendFriday Explained

2009-08-26T13:30:00.001-07:00

#FollowFriday, #FanFriday and #FriendFriday are hashtags. #FollowFriday has long been used by the Twitter community to suggest Twitter profiles to one another that are worthy of being followed.

Yesterday, as I was browsing through Tweets by nonprofits, I saw so many "Check us out on Facebook!" and "Become a friend on MySpace!" Tweets that I thought the law of diminishing returns must be kicking in by now. So, today I started experimenting with two new Twitter hashtags:

#FanFriday: A simple way to ask followers to fan a nonprofit on Facebook. Example Tweet:

#FanFriday Please help Gorilla Doctors achieve 100 fans on Facebook! http://bit.ly/fYP8H

#FriendFriday: A hashtag used to ask followers to friend a nonprofit on MySpace, YouTube, FriendFeed, etc. Example Tweet:

#FriendFriday Please help the Wild Dolphin Foundation achieve 46,000 friends on MySpace! http://bit.ly/42YdEm

These hashtags can also be used on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Change.org, etc. For example, on the Nonprofit Organizations Facebook Page and my personal profile, I just posted this Status Update:

#FanFriday Please help Gorilla Doctors reach 100 fans! A great organization that provides medical care to the world's remaining 740 mountain gorillas: http://bit.ly/fYP8H

Some hashtags take off, most don't. We'll see.

Celebs, Rock Stars and Nonprofits Are Not Friends (or Friendly) on Facebook, MySpace or Twitter!

2009-08-26T13:29:00.001-07:00

MySpace is the social networking site to all things pop culture. Launched originally as a social network for bands and musicians, there are now over 8,000,000 Music profiles on MySpace. I use MySpace to check out and find new music, but I mostly use it to promote nonprofit organizations and their causes to the MySpace community. The Nonprofit Organizations MySpace is a great community of mostly friendly people that has grown to over 40,000 friends over the last three years, but had any of the Top Artists on MySpace put the Nonprofit Organizations MySpace in their Top Friends, I have no doubt that the NPO MySpace would be well over 1,000,000 strong. But they didn't... not once.

It's a pet peeve of mine. If I had to guess there are well over 25,000 nonprofits on MySpace, but you'll find less than 10 of them in the Top Friends of Top Artists on MySpace. Beyonce? No. Jack Johnson? No. Katy Perry? No. John Legend? Sadly, again. No. Most of these musicians have over a million friends on MySpace. Something as simple as putting a nonprofit organization - any nonprofit organization - in their Top Friends would transform that nonprofit's brand on MySpace. I have spent hours and hours emailing hundreds of celebrities and rock stars on MySpace asking them to put their favorite nonprofit in their Top Friends. I only got one response ever... from Annie Lennox. She is the one exception in all of MySpace and has only nonprofits in her Top Friends. Thank you very much, Annie. Quite simply, you rock.

It's not that these musicians don't care. Most of them do quite a bit if charity work. It's more that there is just a huge disconnect between the entertainment industry and the nonprofit sector on MySpace. The example I always use to demonstrate how significant this disconnect actually is: Bono doesn't even have The One Campaign in his own Top Friends... his own nonprofit! What a missed opportunity. It takes less than 10 seconds. It's almost tragic when you consider how much time nonprofits are investing in just getting 1,000 friends on MySpace (or Facebook and Twitter). I wonder sometimes is it just a disconnect or are they afraid of losing fans/sales because they put the Humane Society, Amnesty International, or St. Jude's Children's Hospital in their Top friends? Hmm... does making any kind of statement at all hurt record/CD sales?

It's not just MySpace either. Celebrities and rock stars have hundreds of thousands of fans and followers on Facebook and Twitter, but the super vast majority don't use that power to promote nonprofits or causes one little bit. Despite the tens of thousands on nonprofit pages on Facebook, you'd have to search for hours for a famous celebrity or musician that "favorites" a nonprofit page on their page (I have never actually found one).... much less posts them as a link in Status Update. Can you imagine the power of the Black Eyes Peas posting the Facebook page for Save the Children as a status update to their 400,000 fans?

The same is true of celebrities and rock stars on Twitter. I have browsed around quite a few celebrity Twitter profiles, and the honest truth is most of their Tweets are vain, lack in substance, and just pretty much a complete waste of Twitter. Even Ashton Kutcher who has the most followers of any profile on Twitter - over 3,000,000 - and who rose to fame on Twitter by promoting Malaria No More's Twitter profile, doesn't even follow @malarianomore anymore - or any nonprofit on Twitter! Guess he can't be bothered... too busy being famous on Twitter.

Yes... celebrities and rock stars need to make a living just like the rest of us and use social media sites to sell their CDs and movies to make their millions. But personally, I think asking for 10 seconds of their time for a status update or tweet and one tiny top friend spot for their favorite nonprofit is very little to ask in return for seeing their movies and buying their music. In fact, it would most likely help their brand on social media sites. So nonprofits, if you have any connections with celebrtities and rock stars, make sure you send them a friend request! Then harass them endlessly until they give you 10 seconds of their social media fame.

5 Fun and Fabulous Twitter Tools for Nonprofit Organizations and Activists

2009-08-26T13:26:00.001-07:00

The number of third-party Twitter Apps has exploded over the last year. Twtbase currently lists over 500 of them, and I have highlighted five of my favorites for nonprofit organizations and activists below:

1) Twitter Mosaic: Twitter Mosaic allows you to generate html code of your Twitter Followers or Friends that you can then embed on a blog or Web site. CarbonFund.org used it to celebrate reaching 1,000 Followers. See their Twitter Mosaic.

2) Twibbon: Twibbon allows your followers to embed ribbons, icons, etc. on their Twitter avatars, and then spread them throughout the Twitterverse. It's an easy and effective first step for launching an awareness campaign on Twitter. Love146 is effectively using Twibbon. See their Twibbon campaign.

3) BubbleTweet: BubbleTweet allows to embed a video directly on your Twitter profile. We all know how annoying it is to go to a website and video starts playing right away, so BubbleTweet can be an effective tool, but I would suggest you use it only on special occasions. If you are a global health organization, then add a BubbleTweet to your profile on World Malaria Day. Or if your organization is doing a special campaign to push to get folks to call Congress, then add a BubbleTweet on that day asking them to call and telling them the phone number. I don't know of any nonprofits using BubbleTweet yet, but click here to view an example of an individual using BubbleTweet on Twitter.

4) TipJoy: TipJoy allows nonprofits to accept micropayments from individuals on Twitter. Both the nonprofit and the individual needs to have a PayPal account. See TipJoy's FAQ for more information. Charity:Water's Twestival is probably the best know TipJoy success story.

5) Twititions: Twitition helps you create, sign, and share petitions on Twitter. I like the idea, and the functionality of the Twititions themselves, but I personally don't sign them because it automatically posts to my Twitter profile that I signed the petition. The idea is a good one, but the agressive marketing component could be annoying to your supporters. Hopefully a service like this will come the nonprofit sector soon!

In my Webinar covering Twitter and Flickr, I cover all five of these tools... as well as 15 more that are useful to the nonprofit sector. Tweeting and ReTweeting is powerful in and of itself (that's been my experience), but using some of these third party tools can really transform your Twitter strategy!

10 Insights Gained from Spending 7,280 Hours on Social Media Websites

2009-08-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

This week marks my 3 and half year anniversary of launching the Nonprofit Organizations MySpace. That decision changed the course of my life and my career. Today, I am now the Nonprofit Community Manager at Change.org, run "Nonprofit Organizations" profiles on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn, and have my own business, DIOSA Communications, which specializes in Web 2.0 marketing and social media trainings and webinars for nonprofit organizations, higher education, and small businesses.

I spend an average 40 hours a week utilizing social networking sites (2,080 hours a year!) and during that time have gained numerous insights, but the following 10 are what I consider the most timely for utilizing social media today:

1. Early adopters get the most glory and tend to be the best a social media.

Early adopters like The Humane Society of the United States and the National Wildlife Federation had epiphanies about social media and its potential long before the blogosphere caught on. That "A-ha!" moment fueled their passion to get past early blocks to their success, like convincing fearful executives and staff that these sites were not dangerous, that these sites were not just for narcissistic teens that want to be famous, and that indeed utilizing these sites was not a colossal waste of time, rather essential because social media was the future of the Web.

Early adopters began utilizing MySpace and Facebook mostly in 2006 and 2007 respectively, and now more than three years later, these nonprofits are recognized leaders in the field. They have received countless mentions by adoring bloggers and reporters and been the focus of numerous case studies which over time has translated to significant Web buzz and increased numbers of supporters and new donors. Being pioneers and risk-takers paid off. This is a lesson every nonprofit, business, or college or university should keep in mind. Reward your forward thinkers, empower them, and don't be afraid to try something new.

2. Approaching social media with fear and trepidation can harm your brand.

It's so obvious when a nonprofit has been given permission to tip-toe into social media, but with instructions to be cautious and careful. Their Tweets or Status Updates are a little too uptight, more akin to Marketing 1.0, and do very little to inspire conversation. They close off their wall or put their profiles on private. They miss the big picture and do exactly what they are not supposed to do... try to control social media. Social media is all about letting go of control and being open, provoking conversations, and building community through vibrant and sometimes controversial opinions. Calculated exercising of caution actually works against your nonprofit on social media sites.

Nonprofits that are fearful of social media, or being open, but engage in it anyway because everyone else is doing it can actually do harm to their brand because they come off as boring and/or old-fashioned. People expect you to be open on social media sites. They expect more than the traditional glossy, perfectly crafted Web content. They want personality. The want to be inspired. They want to be impressed. They don't want rules and they don't want to be told how they can participate on your profiles. Any attempt to do so, and they just won't participate.

3. People who are mean and grumpy online are likely mean and grumpy in real life too.

The fear that cripples so many nonprofits even still today usually comes from the fear that someone will post a negative comment on their wall, or blog, or in the Twitterverse. Well, after spending over 7,280 hours on MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Change.org, and more recently Twitter, I have received more than 20,000 wall comments and @mentions, and have had to delete less than 10 of them because they were rude and derogatory.

Most people who use social networking sites are very friendly, especially in the nonprofit sector. Those few that do post something grumpy or downright rude and inappropriate tend be that way in real life too. Nothing you say or do can please them. They are just difficult, mean and grumpy people in general. So, don't worry so much about these folks. They are tiny in number and can easily be blocked from participating in your profiles. Don't give them a second thought or that much power! I learned that the hard way. At first, I tried to engage them, but over time, I realized indulging in their negativity was a big waste of my time and mentally draining. I now ignore them completely and delete or block them without a second thought. They are exceptionally rare.

Of course, some nonprofits that work on controversial issues are more likely to have to deal with naysayers or extremists that are not respectful of others opinions in the online commons. In these cases, let them post. It's nothing your nonprofit hasn't heard before. They are going to say it anyway someplace else on the Web, and 9 times out of 10 your supporters are going to to come to your defense. That's social media at its best. Over time, you'll get a sense of when to let it ride and when to delete and block.

4. Some schmoozing is required.

I am terrible at schmoozing, but those that are good it can transform your nonprofit's online brand in a matter of months. Building friendships with complete strangers online, chatting up bloggers and flattering their work, and doing cold calls/emails/friend requests to nonprofit experts is essential to getting mass exposure for your nonprofit in the era of Web 2.0.

There is a fine line though. Come on too strong and these folks can get annoyed and lose respect, so be subtle about it. But yes, some schmoozing is required in your social media strategy. One of the easiest ways to effectively schmooze is to Retweet their articles, blogs, etc. just make sure they are mentioned in the Tweet so they know you did it!

5. Good community builders are optimistic, friendly, and obviously enjoy using social media.

Nothing is worse than whiny Twitterer, a cranky MySpacer, or an ungrateful Facebook Admin. Again, most nonprofit folks are pretty friendly and just all around good people, but still to this day, I am sometimes just astounded that the person running a nonprofit's social media profiles got the job. They are negative, consistently post bummer content, never responded to questions posted on walls or blogs, and just give the all around impression that they completely resent having social media added to their job description.

Good community builders are optimistic about even the most depressing of realities. They understand their mission is to empower folks to create change on social media sites, not to overwhelm them into apathy with depressing stats and information. They are friendly. They provide good customer service. They have a good grasp of emoticons and exclamation points. They don't ignore their friends, followers, and fans. They engage them, and most importantly, they thank them for their support.

Good community builders love social media. They don't need to be real tech saavy, but they do need to enjoy being on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Change.org, and MySpace. Otherwise, your social media strategy won't work. It's not the profiles or sites themselves that are powerful, it's the human being behind your organization's social networking profiles that will make or break your social media success.

Your communications director with 20 years of experience who doesn't get social media may not be the person to run these profiles. It may be your new office manager who loves to Tweet on their iPhone on their lunch break. Find the person or people at your organization who enjoy social media, and give them the green light to embrace and experiment... and find their voice on social networking sites.

6. Race and class divisions are played out on social networking sites and must be considered in your social media strategy.

I must confess, I think the nonprofit sector has been very slow to acknowledge, accept, or even realize how race and class play a role in social media. I don't know of any nonprofits that have a group on BlackPlanet.com and very few utilize Hi5.com which is increasingly becoming popular here in the United States with some Asian American communities.

Most nonprofits live in Facebook/Twitter bubble. While these sites are becoming more diverse as they grow larger, it's clear to anyone who uses MySpace regularly that there is much more diversity in age, race, and class on MySpace than Facebook or Twitter, yet the nonprofit blogosphere is pretty much silent, or even antagonistic towards MySpace, despite its popularity. The Facebook vs. MySpace War runs deep and permeates throughout the primarily white, middle-class blogosphere.

It's a complicated subject. It's hard to quantify. It can be inflammatory. Nothing is absolute when it comes to discussing race and class, but I do think the nonprofit sector has failed terribly in understanding how race and class play a role in social media. If you are an organization trying to reach low-income youth in Houston or a labor union trying to organize busboys and dishwashers in Los Angeles County, then my first advice to your organization would be to get on MySpace. That's advice that's rare and hard to find, and still sadly, mostly ignored.

One of my heroines is Danah Boyd, one of the lone voices out there speaking about and studying how class and race divisions are played out on social networking sites. Please become familiar with her work and plan your social media strategy accordingly!

7. You have to be persistent and give your social media strategy time to produce results.

Most nonprofits are disappointed with their initial results from utilizing social media sites. There is a lot of hype out there that pretty much gives the impression that if you have a Facebook Page and a Twitter profile you'll have a million new fans and followers within a few months. The reality is your lucky if your nonprofit breaks 1,000 fans/followers within three months (especially if you are small organization) and fundraising on social networking sites has produced mediocre results at best. A lot of nonprofits at this point abandon their social media campaigns as failed strategies.

Don't do that! It's going to take you 6 months just to find your voice. Developing the skill set of a good community builder and social networker is learned through trial and error. You know you are doing well if your wall is getting "Thumbs Up" and comments, or that your getting Retweeted, or in many folks' Top friends on MySpace. Most nonprofits aren't getting this kind of action at all. They approach social media from a marketing point of view, or just to engage in fundraising. That's not where the power is. It's in storytelling and community building around your organization's mission and programs. If you can learn how to do that well, the ROI from marketing and fundraising will follow... later.

Personally, I don't even think we have begun to see the potential of social media. In terms of fundraising and utilizing social media on mobile devices, the best it yet to be. That's why you need to be persistent and continue to slowly build your profiles and social media skills set. Your organization's investment in social media today is laying a foundation for, dare I say... Web 3.0 tomorrow.

8. Training is essential to a successful social media strategy.

Knowing how to use Facebook to stay in touch with friends is quite different from using it as marketing tool for your nonprofit. Tweeting for fun is not the same as Tweeting for work. MySpace is huge and complicated and requires basic HTML knowledge. A common mistake that nonprofits make is that they think because they know how to use these sites in their personal lives, then they also now know to use them professionally. Wrong. Get training!

Most Facebook pages I see from nonprofits are a shell of what they could be. MySpace pages are a disaster. Only a fraction a YouTube functionality is utilized. Twitter is not as simple at it appears and nonprofits could be using it much better than they are. All of these sites require basic HTML knowledge, but less that 5% of nonprofit admins seem to even know the HTML code to link their organization's website. Get training!

DIOSA Communications gives detailed, how-to webinars on social media, as well as TechSoup and Idealware. Training will transform you social media strategy. Those that have taken webinars and been properly trained are outperforming those that haven't 10-to-1.

9. The Web evolving faster than you can imagine. To stay competitive, you have to keep up.

I have a hard time keeping up! I have been working with nonprofits with 15 years now, and a good 10 years of that time spent solely on online communications and development. I thought websites, email marketing, and Donate Now buttons and their potential were mind-boggling in 2001. That's nothing compared to what's happening now. The Web is opening up and evolving so quickly, in many ways truly beginning to reach it potential to democratize the global community, and there is seemingly a hundred new third-party Twitter tools and Facebook Apps launched every day. And who knows what is coming next week, next month, next year?

The fittest will survive... the early adopters will thrive... and some just won't be able to compete. Your nonprofit is only going to be able to allocate your social media strategy to volunteers and interns for so long folks. At some point, your nonprofit is going to have to invest in a new media communications and development position if you really want to remain timely and relevant five years from now. What's coming next will happen faster than either you or I can imagine, and you will need someone on staff who can dedicate their time and focus completely on understanding and embracing the next evolution of the Internet. Now is the time to be looking ahead. If you are just now getting on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Change.org and MySpace... I hate to break it you, but you have a lot of catching up to do!

10. Social media is going mobile.

Where is all this leading? What's the next Big Thing? Why put all this energy into building your organization's profiles on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Change.org, and MySpace? The simple answer is social media is going mobile. If you would have told me 3 years ago that I would be checking my MySpace profile in airport on an iPhone, I would have thought you were some crazy SciFi conspiracy theorist. Not only that, I would have thought... "What a pain in @ss! Who wants to do that? Have their computer with them at all times? How [George Orwell's] 1984!"

I didn't see it coming, but now that it's here... I love it. My iPhone is well-deserved of the honor of being named Time Magazine's 2007 Invention of the Year. I enjoy Facebook more on my iPhone than on my laptop. And Twitter is ideal for mobile technology and advocacy. Don't believe me? Ponder these stats for a moment:

* There are 271 million cell phone subscribers in the United States. 88.5% of the population.

* Today, 74% of all mobile phone users send/receive text messages.

* There are 4X as many mobile phones in the United States as there are PCs.

* The number of U.S. cell phone users who accessed the mobile Internet in January 2009 reached 22 million, doubled that of one year earlier.

* The number of U.S. cell phone users who access social networking sites via the mobile Internet has quadrupled in the last year.

Make no mistake about it. The mobile Web is the future, and social media sites will be the backbone of the coming mobile Web. The time for early adoption is now. If your organization was a little late adopting social media, now is your time to be an early adopter, get the glory, and be the best. Learn more at MobileActive.org and DIOSA Communications.

New Webinar: How Nonprofit Organizations Can Successfully Use Twitter and Flickr

2008-11-07T09:54:00.001-08:00

This webinar provides a general introduction to Twitter.com and Flickr.com and will demonstrate how nonprofit organizations can successfully use both Web sites to increase their organization's website traffic and visibility on the Internet. The webinar will demonstrate how to successfully set-up accounts on both sites, discuss best practices, and will showcase nonprofit organizations that are excelling in their use of Twitter and Flickr.

The webinar will also discuss how to merge your organization's Twitter and Flickr profiles with any presense your organization may already have on MySpace, Facebook, and/or Change.org.

To Register:
http://www.diosacommunications.com/webinars/twitter/january272009.htm

Announcing YouTube Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations

2008-08-03T15:29:00.000-07:00

Beginning in August 2008, I will also start publishing three new YouTube Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations:

http://www.diosacommunications.com/youtubebestpractices.htm

An Experiment: Nonprofit Organizations on Facebook

2008-07-26T06:08:00.000-07:00

I am going to see if I can duplicate what I have done with/for nonprofits on MySpace:
www.myspace.com/nonprofitorganizations

On Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nonprofit-Organizations/27795452714

Please become a fan!

New Webinar: How Small Businesses Can Successfully Use MySpace and Facebook

2008-07-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

Check out this webinar on how businesses can successfully use MySpace and Facebook to increase online brand recognition and generate new sales leads and customers:

http://www.diosacommunications.com/webinars/business/august142008.htm

Learn more:
http://www.diosacommunications.com/corporate.htm

MySpace (soft) launches a new directory for nonprofit Organizations

2008-07-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

This is very exciting and much needed... an official registration process/directory for nonprofits on MySpace.

At this point, all you can do is send them a friend request:
http://www.myspace.com/aplaceforimpact

Because the registration link is "COMING SOON!"... this is something to watch!

Christina Aguilera makes Rock the Vote her number one friend on MySpace

2008-07-07T14:43:00.000-07:00

Christina Aguilera has made Rock the Vote her number one friend:
http://www.myspace.com/christinaaguilera

The Top Artists on MySpace have hundreds of thousands of friends and receive more traffic (page views) than any other group on MySpace. Something so simple will (hopefully) result in tens of thousands of new friends for Rock The Vote!

I am so glad to see that some of the Top Artists on MySpace are starting to help out various nonprofit organizations on MySpace in this way. I am not sure why it has taken so long for this to happen, but I think it is mostly that the artists (or whoever runs their MySpace) don't know that nonprofits are on MySpace in such large numbers.

Each month I feature a "Socially Responsible Artist of the Month" on the NPO MySpace - meaning they have at least one nonprofit organization in their top friends. There are quite a few artists and bands on MySpace that aren't in the "Top Artists" category that have nonprofit organizations in their top friends (thank you...), I just try to feature more often than not the Top Artists hoping that others will follow their lead. Imagine how much more powerful MySpace could be as a tool for social change if more Top Artists followed Christina's lead! And if they sent around a bulletin their hundreds of thousands of friends on MySpace... wow!

To view a list of Top Artists with nonprofit organizations in their top friends, please see:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=93066971&blogID=411919156

Nonprofits and Twitter.com

2008-07-01T15:37:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting project... Twitter Pack. More specifically the Nonprofit Twitter Pack:
http://twitterpacks.pbwiki.com/Twitter+Pack+by+Topic#NonProfitPack

This is a list of nonprofits and nonprofit folks (staff, volunteers, consultants) that are using Twitter.

You can "Follow" DIOSA Communications on Twitter here:
http://twitter.com/diosacomm

High ROI for Social Media Marketing

2008-06-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

Engaging on social media is a hot trend, but many have doubts whether it provides actual return-on-investment (ROI). In a survey done by Collactive of close to 200 organizations, those with a successful social media strategy performed 27% better in achieving their business goals than those with poor social media strategy.

Read More:
http://blog.collactive.com/2008/01/23/high-roi-for-social-media-marketing/

Any nonprofit organizations out there using Hi5.com?

2008-05-23T06:42:00.001-07:00

If so, please sned me a friend request:
http://nonprofitorganizations.hi5.com

This site has 70,000,00 active users (as many as Facebook). It is very popular in Southeast Asia and Latin America... wondering if any nonprofits are out there giving and getting "Hi5's"?

Higher Education has so much to gain by launching a MySpace profile!

2008-05-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

Because MySpace has the built in "Schools" function:

http://www.myspace.com [See "Schools"]

Every college and university in the country is already on MySpace... as well as every professor... and most colleges and universities seem to have no idea. MySpace has an unjustfied bad reputation (that's changing finally) and higher education has been fearul of using the site. At the very least thousands of current students and alumni are just one click away... more likely if you are a large university, you have tens of thousands on MySpace... already organized for you and just waiting for you to launch an official profile.

I run:
http://www.myspace.com/collegesanduniversities

And do a Webinar for higher education:
http://www.diosacommunications.com/services/webinars.htm

Facebook Pages are good for higher education as well, but you get a much better return using MySpace. Not only in webiste traffic and e-newsletter subscribers, but in comment and blog posts.

If your college or university is not on MySpace, please consider taking the webinar listed above. Best $75 you will have spent all year! Guaranteed.

Change.org launches new MySpace App: My Favorite Nonprofits

2008-04-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

I love this App... so simple... highlight six of your favorite nonprofits on MySpace. See the App on the NPO MySpace here:

http://www.myspace.com/nonprofitorganizations

Add the App here:
http://www.myspace.com/favoritenonprofits

Change.org launches Facebook Page App!

2008-04-08T11:27:00.000-07:00

This App allows you to insert a "Donate" button on your page, a "Subscribe" e-newsletter box, and any e-actions that the nonprofit has created on Change.org. Nonprofits can download the donor data and e-mail addresses from the Change.org Nonprofit Dashboard.

See the DIOSA Communications page for an example of the App:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/DIOSA-Communications/13063275449

I added the App and selected the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund to feature.

The App can be found and added here:
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2700056252

MySpace (soft) launches "Apps"

2008-03-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

http://apps.myspace.com

You know I'll be keeping a close eye on this!

http://mashable.com/2008/03/13/myspace-applications/

Flickr for Good

2008-03-11T17:04:00.000-07:00

A photo gives us the ability to see what goes on in the world, but can also move us to care, or motivate us to help. Many individuals and organizations use Flickr to share their mission to make the world better, and this is just a sample of what's going on on Flickr.

We've partnered with TechSoup, a US-based non-profit technology training service, to donate 10,000 1-year Flickr pro accounts for good causes. TechSoup and its international partners will distribute these to qualifying non-profit organizations.

More Info:
http://www.flickr.com/good

Facebook Fan Pages: I like 'em!

2008-03-08T11:08:00.001-08:00

In all honesty, I was never really that excited over Facebook Groups or Causes [kinda boring]. I am a big MySpace advocate/user [I like the chaos]. BUT I am definitely excited about the Fan Pages and their potential for nonprofits.

My favorite Fan Pages thus far:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Humane-Society-of-the-United-States/6041057841
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Nature-Conservancy/8057376739
http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Wildlife-Federation/5644748986

These three organizations above have been leaders in utilizing social networking websites... and they are at it again with Facebook Fan Pages.

I just created a Fan Page:
www.facebook.com/pages/DIOSA-Communications/13063275449

I would appreciate it if you would participate in the discussions and share your fan page experience:
http://www.facebook.com/board.php?uid=13063275449

Also, please “Post Items” that are related to the Facebook Fan Pages.

If you would like to learn how to create a Facebook Fan Page, I'll be giving this webinar on March 25:

http://www.diosacommunications.com/webinars/march252008.htm

Thanks!

The Popularity of Social Networking Sites Around the Globe

2008-03-07T06:18:00.001-08:00

For stats about the most popular social networking websites, I use:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networking_websites

http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_sites?cc=US&ts_mode=country&lang=none

http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_sites?ts_mode=global&lang=none

Nice visual:
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/infog/0,47-0@2-651865,54-999097@51-999297,0.html

Announcing Web 2.0 Webinars from DIOSA | Communications!

2008-02-19T09:04:00.000-08:00

Webinars are seminars that are given over the Internet. To participate, you are given a website link and login, as well as a phone number to dial, and then you are able to view the desktop of the person who is presenting the webinar and listen to their presentation. Our webinars are a combination of Powerpoint slides and live demonstrations of various websites. There is an interactive component of Q&A that is reserved for the end of the webinar.

The technology is simple, safe, and effective. The best part is that the webinar technology is good for the planet because neither the presenter or the participants need to travel to attend the seminar.

View Upcoming Webinars:
http://www.diosacommunications.com/services/webinars.htm

10% of the proceeds are donated to the Nonproft of the Month on the Nonprofit Organizations MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/nonprofitorganizations

I wuold love to be able to offer the webinars for free, but a girl has got to make a living - and at the rate I am going, I'll be paying off my student loans well into my 50's!

Mashable.com: Social Networking News

2008-01-10T08:43:00.000-08:00

This is great website to monitor what's happening with MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, etc.

http://mashable.com/

Announcing Branded Social Networks on Change.org!

2007-11-21T12:29:00.000-08:00

This site is amazing! For $20 a month nonprofits can get a branded social network on Change.org that allows nonprofits to better fundraise and create e-advocacy campaigns. Nonprofits get the email address of every person who donates, participates in an email campaign, or joins Change.org thorugh their branded social network. Amazing!

Change.org also offer fundraising pages, widgets, etc... all for $20 a month. Now we are really starting to see the potential of Web 2.0 and it possibilities to inspire philanthropy and social change! This new service is ideal for small nonprofits with small budgets.

From Change.org:

We're very excited to announce the release of our new premium service allowing nonprofit organizations to create their own custom, branded social network ...org. We launched this service with over 50 organizations, including Amnesty International, CARE, Environmental Defense, The American Lung Association, and The Humane Society of the United States.

To view a partial list of our launch partners, please visit:
www.change.org/branded_networks

In addition to the community building and fundraising tools that nonprofit organizations' s already have access to through Change.org's basic service, our new premium service allows your organization the additional features to:

1. Have your Change.org social network designed to match your website
2. Email your supporters
3. Capture and download supporter and donor contact information
4. Send "Supporter Requests" to recruit new members
5. Start email advocacy campaigns [View Example]
6. Blog

All design and development work is completed by the Change.org team, and your branded social network is usually completed and live ...org within 48 hours of your request. For more information and to sign up for our new premium service, please visit:

www.change.org/nonprofit_admin/signup/branded_networks_info

With our new premium service, nonprofit organizations now have access to all the tools necessary to better engage their supporters, recruit new members, and spread viral fundraising and advocacy campaigns across the web!

Web 2.0 icons for your website

2007-10-20T07:50:00.000-07:00

Right click the Web 2.0 icons below to download these icons for your organization's website:

Larger versions of the icons can be found here:

http://www.diosacommunications.com/myspacebestpractices.htm#25

View list of Nonprofit Organization using these Web 2.0 icons:
http://www.change.org/bestpractices#grow_network

MySpace and Skype to announce partnership

2007-10-18T11:58:00.000-07:00

In a deal that will connect two of the largest Internet services, MySpace, the social network owned by the News Corporation, will announce on Wednesday that it is teaming up with Skype, the Internet telephone service owned by eBay.

In November, MySpace will add the Skype features and brand to its instant-messenger software, which allows MySpace users to conduct text chats with each other. MySpace users who download the newest version of that software will also be able to make free calls from their computers to each other, and to anyone else on the Skype network.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/technology/17skype.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&ref=business&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

Wow... wonder how nonprofits will use this!?! Exciting time for nonprofits and the Internet!

Change.org now on Facebook

2007-10-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

Change.org has recently launched an "App" on Facebook:
http://apps.facebook.com/changes/

Anyone on Facebook who adds Change.org will then be able to raise money for nonprofits and political campaigns, share information about pressing social issues, and take action by organizing volunteer events and coordinating emails and internet-based phone calls to lobby elected officials directly from Facebook.

It also creates a duplicate profile of the user on Change.org and any content the user creates on Facebook is posted on Change.org - two social networks for the "price" of one!

Facebook to expand groups capability to interact with members

2007-10-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

According to techPresident, Facebook groups will soon be able to e-mail their members on Facebook:

http://www.techpresident.com/blog/entry/9419/improvements_to_facebook_groups

While I think this is a step in the right direction, I am really curious to see how this will play out over time. Facebook is great for staying in touch with friends and former co-workers. It has the market cornered on that aspect and from interviews that I have read about Facebookers, that's what they love about Facebook... the ability to maintain and organize their personal relationships.

Now, since Facebookers know that they aren't going to be e-mailed (possibly spammed) by nonprofit Groups on Facebook with more than 1,000 friends, then I think they are much more mouse-click happy to join nonprofit Groups on Facebook. But will they continue to do so when Group adminstrators start e-mailing them with urgent actions and fundraising appeals? Facebookers like Facebook because it isn't intrusive. It's clean, linear, minimal ads, and no Spam. If nonprofits aren't careful on Facebook, they could easily alienate their Group members.

I am sure Facebook has thought of this - probably the whole reason for the 1,000 friends cap in the first place - so perhaps they will limit the number of e-mails that Group adminsitrators can send out? Say, two per month, for example. Otherwise, I think these "improvements" run the danger of ruining what actually seperates Facebook from other social networking sites and makes it so successful.

YouTube launches new program for nonprofit organizations

2007-10-13T07:21:00.000-07:00

YouTube recently launched a new program for nonprofit organizations:
http://www.youtube.com/nonprofits

I am excited about the idea, but so far I haven't had much luck with it. I have filled out applications for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and ACCION International, but have yet to hear anything back from YouTube and it has been two weeks. Hopefully they are just working out the kinks!

The new program basically allows individuals on YouTube to donate to your organization. Whether you sign up for this new program or not, if your organization uses video or plans to, you should definitely create a YouTube Channel for your organization... with or without the new donation capability. I'll keep you posted!

Comprehensive Web 2.0 communications strategy for $1,000!

2007-10-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

DIOSA Communications can set up your organization on MySpace, Change.org, YouTube and Facebook for $1,000. All four will be designed to drive traffic to your website, recruit new subscribers to your e-newsletter, and secure online donations. See:

http://www.diosacommunications.com/services/web20.htm

Change.org launches fundraising widgets for individuals and nonprofit organizations

2007-09-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

Individuals can now fundraise for their favorite nonprofit on MySpace:

http://www.change.org/mywidget
http://www.myspace.com/changedotorg

Nonprofits can also create their own fundraising widgets, but I suggest that nonprofits first sign up for Change.org to access the fundraising widgets on the backend of Change.org:

https://www.change.org/nonprofit_admin/signup/signup_request
http://www.change.org/nonprofit_admin/signup/preview

MySpace Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations

2007-09-28T11:17:00.001-07:00

Each month, DIOSA Communications publishes three new MySpace Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations:
www.diosacommunications.com/myspacebestpractices.htm

The best practices come from hands-on experience through running:
www.myspace.com/nonprofitorganizations

To receive the "MySpace Best Practices" monthly e-newsletter, send a blank e-mail to:
myspace@diosacommunications.com