online marketing

Social Media Marketing White Paper: Key Findings and Nonprofit Lessons

I came across a great white paper about the use of social media by marketers. You can download the whole report for free. Kudos to Michael A. Stelzner, the author, for putting this together and making it available.

It should be reassuring for many nonprofit professionals to learn that EVERYONE is relatively new to this stuff. One of the most common things I hear from nonprofit staff is something along the lines of, "I'm just learning about social media. Do you think I can keep up with this NTEN webinar or that conference session on this topic?"

My answer: a resounding YES!

We're all just learning about this, actually -- which is why the nonprofit community should be excited about getting in on the ground floor with these marketing tools and strategies. Too often, we in this sector think we're automatically at a disadvantage. Social media is an area the nonprofit sector has been, in many ways, leading the way!

Let's explore:

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Will Email Ever Die?

It's a question I get asked a lot, especially since the latest e-Benchmarks study shows a drop in open rates. My answer can depend a little on my mood, but I generally think that email is not going to die, just as direct email is not going to die (anytime soon). Never say never, but bet on the fact that both will be around for a good long while.

This raises an interesting point: your job as communicator or fundraiser is getting increasingly difficult.

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You Are Not Your Target Audience

Brian Reich, EchoDitto

If you are in charge of marketing, recruitment, engagement, or fundraising for an organization, you spend most of your time looking for some tiny advantage -- something to generate buzz and differentiate your offering from the crowd of other organizations. There are, after all, thousands upon thousands of not-for-profit groups doing excellent work in local communities around the globe.

Too often, the decisions that organizations make when it comes to online marketing, especially non-profits, are dictated by "shiny object syndrome", a terrible affliction that results in a marketing path based on whatever is newest or generating the most buzz of the moment, instead of what will truly be effective.

To be successful, organizations need to share, clearly and consistently, the societal impacts of their efforts. They need to provide hands-on experiences that the user can explore and understand, and they need to demonstrate their commitment over time.

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The Seven Things Everybody Wants

Katya Andresen, Network for Good and Mark Rovner, Sea Change Strategies

Some very human principles make or break the success of absolutely everything you do online. These are the kinds of truths Buddha or Freud –- explorers of the deepest recesses of the human mind -- talked about.

To achieve true marketing "enlightenment," you need to tap into fundamental human needs with your technology rather than hoping technology can inspire alone. There are at least seven of these fundamental needs:

To be SEEN and HEARD
To be CONNECTED to someone or something
To be part of something GREATER THAN OURSELVES
To have HOPE for the future
To have the security of TRUST
To be of SERVICE
To want HAPPINESS for self and others

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