Ammo for winning the argument for social media: 5 tips

I had the true honor of speaking at a morning educational session at the AFP National Philanthropy Day in Maryland. It is always so great to get out and talk to folks at other nonprofits who do what I do and can feel my pain on everything from fundraising in a down economy to dealing with well-meaning but technology-adverse executives who think the whole social media thing is just frivolity.

I spoke about using technology and new media to extend the reach of our appeals. Most of the attendees wanted to hear about social media. I don't blame them - it's new, it's a powerful awareness and engagement building tool, and it's free (of course, with the exception of manpower.)

But I was asked by more than a few people how we were able to start a social media program at a Catholic agency. (What? Is there a stereotype of Catholics being stuck in the dark ages? Of being extremely conservative?) Can't say I completely disagree, but my organization is an incredible place to work, with an infallible mission, and hundreds of some of the best and the brightest staff who break that stereotype every day. What I usually explain to people is that I was lucky enough to have a savvy manager who was willing to let us give it a try. Once we had built up some success stories we started letting everyone in our agency know, and they were excited to know we were on the leading edge - and successfully meeting our goals - in this new space. The Ever-Brilliant-Chris-Brogan smartly calls this the "Middle Up Down Approach."

But if you are looking for some facts to put in your arsenal to face down your ED or manager, here's a few to pack in the old cannon:

1. It's "free." Although stress that you must be able to devote time on an ongoing basis or it will be a waste of time, and that "you get out of it what you put into it."
2. It's viral. Let your supporters help with the heavy lifting and help spread your message into a deeper audience than you currently have.
   
3. Critical mass. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and MySpace are all in the top 15 most visited sites in the US. Might as well be where the people are.
   
4. Increased awareness. Awareness precedes engagement. Engagement precedes conversion. If you want more donors you need to get out there and chat people up, get friends to introduce you, build relationships - these things take time. It sounds like I am talking about dating, doesn't it? I am, kind of. My organization doubled our "unaided awareness" in one year. I can't take all the credit and say it was solely social networking - but it was unarguably a contributing factor.
   
5. Increased engagement. Time will tell if our most engaged supporters will be our most loyal donors in the future. But in the meantime, harness the power of an engaged constituency: ask the to take advocacy actions, ask them to help spread the word about the work you do, if you enter a contest, ask them to vote for you. These little actions add up.

Good luck. I'd love to hear some stories about how you got permission to bring your organization into the world of social networking.

AFP: CRS Fundraising And Technology102609

Slide deck for the presentation I am giving for the Association of Fundraising Professionals(MD) Philanthropy Day Morning Educational Session...

AFP: CRS Fundraising And Technology102609

View more presentations from Laura Durington.

H1N1 is no joke!

Okay, enough with the excuses, but MAN my family has been through it! All four of us got it and for all the blase attitude I had about it in the beginning, this thing really kicked my ass. I still sound horrid, coughing and wheezing, but I no longer feel like I've been hit by a truck. My poor baby girl Georgie had a 105.7 (!!!) fever...THAT was scary.

We are all on the mend, slowly but surely. I've missed a whole week of work and I feel really disconnected from the world. But tomorrow morning I have a presentation at the AFP-MD Philanthropy Day in Baltimore and I am keeping fingers crossed that I can get through it without a coughing fit. Yikes.

Once I get back in the saddle, more senseless ramblings about social media. But for now, just a thought...what the HELL is facebook thinking with their little guilt-trippy suggestions of people I should "Reconnect with"? (over in the section that used to be reserved for "People you might know"). It feels really icky, even though I know it is just some algorithm telling the Facebot to show me people I have friended but never actually interacted with. Oh, come on...you know what I mean. You get a friend request from someone you can't diss, but you really aren't crazy about so you accept the request - and if you are me, you place them on a restricted list so they can only see certain types of information about you. I shouldn't get a little pang of guilt from facebook of all places. It's like in elementary school and your mother insists on inviting the whole class to your birthday party so no one feels left out.

I'm no Chris Brogan

If you are not already an avid reader of Chris Brogan's blog, or don't know who he is, I highly recommend a daily dose of Chris (you can sign up for e-mail alerts that send his most recent post to your inbox). I nearly always walk away with a new idea or confirmation of something I have an opinion of. Sometime he helps me to articulate an argument I've had trouble finding the right words for when talking about social media. For instance I love this wonderful "apple tree" analogy:

Focus on the Relationship – to me, the new unit of business should be relationships. You get more fruit from an apple tree if you nurture it and pick apples when it’s ripe, instead of uprooting the tree and forcefully shaking the apples into your barrel.

I plan on ripping this off the next time I get called in to explain why it is taking so long to grow our list and why I don't just want to rent an e-mail list.

Great stuff, no?

But the reason I'm no Chris Brogan or Seth Godin or Beth Kanter is that my poor blog is not the central mouthpiece of my work. Sadly, my blog is like the plants in my house...if only they would whine or at least meow, they would have a much better chance of surviving.

This past two weeks has been a blur of natural disasters and sick kids and even giving them the attention that was due was an exhausting feat.

But it hammers home the point...you can't have it all (and to quote Steven Wright, "where would you put it?") Time is an ethereal luxury. You can neither stop it, nor control it.

Embrace it. Enjoy it. Focus on the most important thing in your life at that moment. For me, sometimes it's the knowledge that millions of people were suddenly left homeless due to the unrelenting series of disasters in the Asia-Pacific region and sometimes it's the feverish cry of a small child who needs you to drop everything and just sit with him.

And that's okay. In the grand scheme of things, the blog can wait.

Stay tuned...

Oh earthlings on Twitter, why must you disappoint me so?

Dear Twitter,

Working for an international humanitarian NGO, I tend to be a bit more globally focused than most. But considering the number of colossal natural disasters to strike the Philippines, Samoa and Tonga and Sumatra, Indonesia this week, it just breaks my heart when I read your top trending topics, and they are all about completely mundane, pop-culture stuff.

Your coverage of the #iranelection was when I started to find you so attractive, and I had high hopes that you would rise above as the more adult network for sharing ideas and news on a global scale. But - to say this bluntly - you are rapidly proving yourself to me as just another site on a breakneck race to the middle. To say I am disappointed in you is an understatement.

Twitter, I want to love you so. In theory we should be perfect for each other. But lately I feel as if I am the one doing all the work to try and make this relationship evolve. I am not saying I am breaking up with you, but maybe a trial separation is in order.

Maybe you could take the time to reflect on your public timeline and decide, is this what you really want? To be the mouthpiece of the Ashton Kutchers and Perez Hiltons and relate tidbits of celeb gossip in real time?

Think about it and please let me know.

@ellebe