Casey Golden, CEO, Small Act

"Success" in social media has historically meant acquiring a large number of fans and followers. Savvy nonprofiteers know it's about much more than that. It's about creating authentic, meaningful relationships that drive actions benefitting your organization: getting more members, volunteers, and donations.

Danielle Brigida from the National Wildlife Federation -- one of our amazing panelists for the upcoming presentation at the 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference, "Let's Go Stalking! Fun with Social CRMs" -- when asked if she thought relationships really matter in social media, said:

I don't think they matter, I KNOW they matter. Relationships are what brings the "social" aspect to social media. Without them, you're just reading content or broadcasting, and that's not nearly as insightful. I think relationships matter to nonprofits because the better we know our constituents and treat them like friends, the more likely we can learn from them, improve our ways and earn their loyalty.

Research has shown, however, that the average person's brain can only manage about 150 quality relationships. How then can organizations manage the hundreds, if not tens of thousands, of relationships in the social media world?

The simple answer is that in order to make the vast numbers of interactions on social media valuable, organizations must embrace technology in the form of Social CRMs to help manage this new landscape. Without a system to help track, organize, and mobilize their efforts on social media, nonprofits are letting key relationships fall through the cracks, losing potential donors and supporters.

So, what is Social CRM?

At a very high level, the "CRM" in "Social CRM" stands for "Customer Relationship Management." Your organization may already use a traditional CRM like Convio, Blackbaud, or Salesforce to track and maintain information about your members. A Social CRM augments the value of traditional CRMs by bringing in the social arm of the relationship. You can manage your social interactions across platforms (Twitter, Facebook, etc.), and add notes and tags about the people in your community to help you keep track of more than just their addresses. Social CRMs can be used on their own or can be integrated with your traditional CRM system.

Social CRMs present an amazing opportunity for organizations to harness the power of word of mouth. Not only can you hear what your donors are saying about you, you can take advantage of lead-generation possibilities by listening for people discussing topics related to your cause who could become passionate supporters for your organization.

As an example, with Social CRM, it's not just @starfocus you tweet with, it's Danielle Brigida, who:

• is a donor and volunteer
• is from Washington D.C.
• works for National Wildlife Federation
• loves to learn & laugh
• is interested in nature, animals, nonprofits, social media, technology and life
• has 13,364 followers
• has retweeted your information to her network 5 times this month

Having this kind of self-published information about your donors or potential supporters adds immense value to the relationship-building process.

What else do I need to know about Social CRM?

Social CRMs also allow you to segment your audience and call them to action. When your contacts are organized, you then have the opportunity to define a niche and mobilize that group for action. For example, if you're working for an animal shelter trying to promote a special campaign about cat adoption, you could use your Social CRM to see a list of women on Twitter between the ages of 35 and 45 who love cats and live within 25 miles of your shelter. Danielle says:

Tagging and organizing your social contacts is incredibly helpful when it comes to relationship management because it gives you context, tracks your history, and keeps track of different audiences. I can sort by people who would be most interested in subjects that we cover frequently. It's a very useful tool that I'm loving because of how it is improving my communication with our friends on social media."

The possibilities of what organizations can do with Social CRM are amazing -- and growing rapidly. There is no doubt that 2011 will be a year of great progress and measurable results for those who learn these new tools and tricks of the trade.

How Can I Learn More?

Come to our panel at the 2011 NTC! Check your program guide for "Let's Go Stalking: Fun With Social CRMs" to hear from and ask questions of nonprofiteers who are currently using social CRMs to help their cause. It's going to be a fun, informative and interactive session that you won't want to miss.

Casey Golden's company, Small Act, develops software and offers consulting services to help nonprofits raise money, advocate and build awareness with social media. A frequent speaker at national events who also donates his time to serve on several nonprofit advisory boards, Casey is currently writing two books on technology and philanthropy, and has contributed a chapter to “Do Your Giving While You Are Living."