As Facebook reaches 600 million users in January 2011, social media continues to attract attention from nonprofits internationally. Whether you decide to in-source or outsource community management, you should discuss the following items with your community manager to make sure your nonprofit is making the most out of your marketing and digital advertising.

1. Put your ear to the ground and listen. What are your competitors speaking about? Where is there room to become viewed as a thought-leader in your industry?

   Tip: It truly is amazing what information Google and Bing.com holds. Don’t stop there; also check Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Your nonprofit should learn from the successes of others.

2. Do your homework. Are you new or seasoned at social media marketing? Even for social media gurus, the area is constantly changing. So keep up! Read Mashable.com and other social media news outlets.

   Tip: We are in the process of writing a series of books on social media for social enterprise. Register for complimentary beta versions here http://carbonoutreach.com/books.

3. Tie together networks. Are you publicizing across networks and cross-promoting your networks? Doing this effectively ensures more active and connected users.

   Tip(s): Always make sure your online communications materials (such as eNewsletters) can be shared via social media easily. Make sure to cross-post to multiple social networks if you are sending out communications about an important subject.

4. Empower visitors. How can you empower your community? When devising strategies to reach out or communicate with your community, how can you empower them? Successful community management is not just about driving up donations (though that’s important), but also driving conversation and behavior change.

   Tip(s): Twitter campaigns are a great way to drive donations around a specific event or campaign. Like TwitChange or Twestival, community managers can encourage users to donate money and a tweet.

5. Define your target audience. Where does your target audience reside, how old are they? What are their interests? The more information you know, the more information you should provide your community manager, which will help him/her to connect not just with an audience but the right audience.
6. The more targeted the better. Who is your target audience for this particular campaign? Does this audience match our overall target audience of consumers and donors?

   Tip: This is especially useful for targeted Facebook Ads. Within Facebook Ads, community managers can target by age, gender, interests and other information. In Facebook Ads, make sure to segment your target audience making each ad even more valuable.

7. Make time. Does your community manager have enough time to manage your community and/or specific campaign? Depending on the objectives of your campaign, community management can take hours daily. Being a community manager should not just be one of their many responsibilities, because to be an effective community manager it takes time and skill.

   Tip: Make sure to estimate how long your community manager should take on tasks throughout the day. Do you really need a full-time community manager?

8. Plan for success. How do your social media objectives work to support your medium to long-term marketing objectives? Social media plans should support overall marketing plans.
9. Improve touch points. Learn where your customer or donor touch points are, and then improve them. Constantly improve your donor experience online through good design principles.

   Tip: Possible touch points include website, eNewsletter, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Flickr. Remember your online presence should engage visitors and potential donors!

10. Expand touch points. How do customers currently learn about our products or services? How would you like to get heard about among your target audience?
11. Give props. Don’t forget to thank your community, partners, sponsors and donors. On Twitter @mention, on Facebook @mention. These are your most important fans!
Erica Grigg is Founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Carbon Outreach. She recently co-authored, “Facebook for Social Enterprise” which launched May 2011. Erica speaks internationally on social media and social enterprise development. Connect with Erica on http://linkedin.com/in/ericagrigg or follow on Twitter http://twitter.com/ericagrigg.