Tag Archives: Andy Goodman

What’s New in ePhilanthropy

Most nonprofits are on Facebook now, but fewer are using Twitter well.  Read these 24 Twitter best practices, and 8 nonprofit Twitter superstars who especially do it well, led by Charity:Water, which I highlighted in a recent post.  Also, don’t make these seven Twitter mistakes.

If you’re trying to figure out how to use content curation to benefit your cause, Beth Kanter offers this great primer as well as Content and Curation for Nonprofits on Scoop.It!  New tools such as Storify and Paper.li also offer interesting ways to consolidate great content.  (But make sure you take the time to digest content you are curating.)

Not hearing as much lately about Google Plus even though it’s now open to the public, yet I keep receiving connection notices from people I don’t recognize.  Strange.

There’s no magic bullet for how to succeed in the nonprofit sector, but thanks to Big Duck and the Taproot Foundation for offering these suggestions.

Were you able to attend the recent Blackbaud Conference for Nonprofits or the Convio Summit?  Here’s some ways on how to live tweet from an event from M&R (but make sure you participate in the live discussion – some of my best insights are from Q&A that takes place at events)  Also, Frogloop offers these takeaways on What Your Nonprofit Needs to Know.

If you missed last week’s chat with Andy Goodman on story telling, you can still get the recording from Nten.  Unfortunately, Andy reminded us that many nonprofits are ‘great at what we do, but not good in talking about it.’

Finally, if you’re spending a bit too much time on social media, here’s an important reminder from Jocelyn Harmon – put your most important relationships first.

What’s New in ePhilanthropy

Most of us are still figuring out what works and what doesn’t in social media.  For help in developing conversations instead of one-way communications, review John Haydon’s 16 Ways to Get Comments on Your Facebook Page and Robin Stephenson’s Twitter Community Organizing Rules for Non Profits.  Especially on Facebook, you’ll need to try different approaches before you find out what works best with your constituents.

Having engaging content to share in our multiple communication channels is a continuing challenge.  Per Kivi Leroux Miller, here’s how ASPCAPro Manages Content Creation, which reinforces why regular editorial meetings / calendars are so helpful in developing ideas and planning your outreach.

If you think you’ve heard it all about storytelling, consider M&R’s Storytelling and the Art of Email Writing.  Hint – you need to understand what motivates someone to give before you can write effective fundraising copy.  Veteran storyteller Andy Goodman provides more tips in Storytelling: The First Best Thing.

If you’re always wondering what day/time is best for emailing your constituents or posting on social media, view HubSpot’s recent presentation The Science of Timing, as well as Blue Sky Factory’s When is the Best Time to Send Email.  And don’t forget to integrate social media into your website so you use one channel to support the other in building your audience.

Finally, Jeff Brooks offers 20 Ways to Be Donor Centric which includes some familiar but useful reminders such as paying attention to the content and promptness of your gift acknowledgements.