Nonprofit leaders and technology

Leadership Perspectives and Practice class November 4, 2010

Farra Trompeter

Techie guru

The Twitter?

What can technology do for your

organization?

http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2010/02/reflections-social-media-and-ngo-workshop-in-india.html

Get started

Image by http://www.elca.org/~/media/Images/Stewardship/Started/Getting_Started.jpg

•  Programs •  Raise awareness •  Build brand equity •  Increase # of

downloads or requests •  Reach a particular new

audience •  Recruit volunteers •  Promote events

Set goals and priorities

•  Fundraising •  Raise $XXXXXXX •  Attract XX% new

donors •  Advocacy

•  Change policy •  Be the go-to org for

your issue •  Increase your list by

XX%

http://blogs.forrester.com/jackie_rousseau_anderson/10-09-28-latest_global_social_media_trends_may_surprise_you

Time

Money

Audiences

Goals

Listen

Image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/smoovey/ CC BY-ND 2.0

•  Sign up for alerts •  www.google.com/alerts •  www.twilert.com •  www.backtype.com •  Suites of listening tools:

http://socialmedia-listening.wikispaces.com/Tools

Listen

•  Your organization’s name •  Program or event names •  Peer/competitor names •  Individuals connected to your organization •  Tagline or key phrases •  URL for any web properties (website, blog) •  Related issues/topics •  Common misspellings •  Twitter handle and common hashtags

Select keywords/phrases

Adapted from a list on Beth’s Blog, by Beth Kanter

•  Get your feet wet •  Sign up for alerts •  Research

•  www.pewinternet.org •  www.mashable.com •  Survey your email list •  Conduct informal focus groups

Listen

Image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/gi/ CC BY-SA 2.0

Make a plan

•  Revisit your goals and priorities •  Do they still make sense in light of the

listening you’ve done?

Make a plan

•  Revisit your goals and priorities •  Identify barriers

•  Buy-in from leadership •  Cultural change within your organization •  Staff time

Make a plan

1.  You have no control of your message. 2.  You never did. 3.  The conversation is happening, with or

without you!

Let go…

•  Revisit your goals and priorities •  Identify barriers •  Decide which technology to use

•  What suits your mission? •  What’s going to give you the biggest bang for

your buck? •  What can your team sustain and grow?

Make a plan

•  Revisit your goals and priorities •  Identify barriers •  Decide which media to use •  Build your capacity

•  Hire, if needed •  Offer training (reverse mentoring) •  Have and encourage realistic expectations •  Avoid outsourcing/use interns wisely

Make a plan

•  Revisit your goals and priorities •  Identify barriers •  Decide which media to use •  Build your capacity •  Create & share a social media policy

Make a plan

Create a social media policy

•  Scan sample policies from other orgs •  http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php

•  Agree on contents •  Write them in a way that addresses concerns,

but feels friendly and easy to follow •  Try http://socialmedia.policytool.net/

•  Rollout through staff trainings/meetings •  Update 2x/year

•  How will we address negative comments? •  What is our policy about employees’ personal

use of social networks? •  What is our policy about employees using social

media for work-related activities? •  What topics are acceptable for staff to talk about

online, and what is off-limits? •  What is our privacy policy? •  When should a staffer ask for help in deciding

what to do online?

Questions to address

The Networked Nonprofit by Beth Kanter & Allison Fine, page 58

http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=52806

Image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/aussiegall/ CC BY 2.0

Assess

•  Measure your progress (at least monthly) •  Set up a dashboard •  Website: Referrals from social media sites •  Facebook: likers, pageviews, comments, etc. •  Twitter: Followers, retweets, lists, etc. •  Blog: Subscribers, views, comments, etc. •  Bit.ly: track clicks and stats for the links you

share

Assess

•  Measure your progress •  Check-in once a quarter

•  What’s working? What’s not? •  Are you achieving your goals?

•  If yes: How can you build on your momentum? •  If no: Why not?

Most common reason: Not enough time •  Determine your ROI (return on investment)

Assess

•  Increased awareness of your cause •  Shift in your org’s perception •  New program participants •  Increased requests for info/programs •  Pageviews/clicks/comments/etc. •  New email addresses/contact info •  Signatures/actions taken •  Dollars raised •  Mentions online

Defining Success

•  How much money are you spending? •  How much staff time are you spending? •  Is the return (meeting your goals)

proportional to the investment (time and money)?

Remember: Return ≠ $ (necessarily)

Measuring ROI

Image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/spidermandragon5/CC BY-ND 2.0

Evolve

•  Meet semi-annually to assess strategy •  New tools we should explore? •  Old tools no longer working? •  Examine goals—still relevant? •  Consider staff/time—is it enough? •  Reprioritize as needed

Evolve

•  Meet semi-annually to assess strategy •  Become an “open leader”

•  Respect that your stakeholders and employees have power.

•  Share constantly to build trust. •  Nurture curiosity and humility. •  Hold openness accountable. •  Forgive failure.

Evolve

What type of leader are you?

http://www.charleneli.com/resources/open-leadership-self-assessment/

http://www.charleneli.com/resources/open-leadership-self-assessment/

Resources

Resources

Resources • Nonprofit Technology Network http://www.nten.org • Open Leadership by Charlene Li http://www.charleneli.com/open-leadership/ • Internet Management for Nonprofits by Ted Hart et al. http://books.google.com/books?id=Ct1u5HQkeA8C • Pew Internet & American Life Project http://www.pewinternet.org • Big Duck: Website, eNews, and Duck Call Blog http://www.bigducknyc.com http://www.bigducknyc.com/blog

You might want to check this out:

Becoming a Nonprofit Tech/Social Media Superstar Wednesday, Nov 17th, 6-8pm (free; @PlannedParenthood) http://501technycnov10.eventbrite.com/

Online Engagement: Leveraging the Internet and Social Media to Increase Visibility, Raise Money, and Create Change Spring semester, Thursdays 6-7:50pm (not so free; @Milano) http://www.newschool.edu/milano/courses.aspx?id=37551

Let’s stay in touch

facebook.com/farratrompeter

trompetf@newschool.edu

bigducknyc.com/blog/?author=6

twitter.com/farra

linkedin.com/in/farra

slideshare.net/farra

Thanks!

© Jeremy Crow