Non-Profit Tweetup

I attended my first #nptweet – up. If you don’t know, a tweetup is an event organized solely via Twitter. This one, labeled with the hashtag “#nptweet” focused on social media strategies in the non-profit setting.

I’ve attended others like the Online News Association (#onadc) and the D.C. Media Makers (#dcmm), but this one made me feel at home since my new job is in the non-profit setting.

If there are any takeaways, it’s these (you should also look at the conversation stream by checking #nptweet on Twitter):

• Sometimes, instead of focusing on social media ROI, you need to measure actions taken.

• Great tools for measuring social media are: backtweet, topsy, tweetmeme, whatthehashtag and twazzup. (I won't link them all; look 'em up).

• If you have some IT assistance at your non-profit, you should work with APIs, which help replicate information cross-platform. For example, if you want to develop a “donate” tab on your org’s Facebook page, you can use an API to assist.

• In the future, the genesis of profile information will be such that volunteers/funders/etc. will be able to customize which platforms they want to hear certain information from. For example, a volunteer could arrange settings to follow the Red Cross Twitter page, but not the Facebook page – all within one aggregated platform.

• Our fellow employees are going to be our best advocates for implementing social media strategy. If they’re not on board, how will you encourage the members, volunteers, donors?

• Don’t get caught up in the “shiny tools” – focus on value, ethics, brand.

Super-glad to meet Wendy Harman, who developed one of the best examples of a social media policy for her org – none other than the American Red Cross. Frank Gruber, from #DCweek, moderated the amazing panel.

In the future, I would love to see a panel that incorporates social media pioneers at smaller non-profits, and learn from folks who have had difficulty getting buy-in from senior management.

I would also love to gather opinions on this question: How do you approach social media at a member-based org? I’d argue that you need to employ different tactics from the grassroots, volunteer orgs. Leave a comment…

After tonight's discussion, I don't want to ever see a headline like this again.