One increasingly important marketing tool for nonprofit organizations to utilize is social media.

The first step to social media websites for nonprofit organizations is to pick the right social networks. Don’t dismiss smaller sites simply based on their sizes. Smaller sites may have members that are more focused.

If you have never created a social media page you may want to consider hiring a nonprofit marketing professional to design your page. You may be able to have a volunteer create the page free of charge. Having a professional looking page will give a good first impression of your nonprofit organization. Make sure that your organization’s profile looks good.  You can also control what your organization will look like on other people’s friend lists. Be sure to pick a great picture and title that will get noticed.

With millions of individuals already on social media and networking sites, chances are many of your members are already actively participating. Survey your members and find out who has MySpace profiles, Facebook accounts, Twitter Accounts, or if they belong to other social networks. Send them an e-mail inviting them to become your friend or to join your group.

To keep your page fresh and exciting, update your pages with new content regularly. Use MySpace ‘bulletins’, Nonprofit Twitter ‘Tweets’ and Facebook ‘notes’ on other users’ profiles to get the word out on important issues and drive people to your page.

Assign a staff person or volunteer to accept friend requests, post comments on other people’s pages, and invite others to become friends. The more people that follow your profile, the more people will become aware of your nonprofit organization.

The ultimate goal of social media and networking online for nonprofit organizations is to start turning your ‘friends’ into activists, donors, and volunteers. Make sure your social networking pages always feature lots of opportunities to get involved. Also include donation opportunities on your social networking pages. Even if you do not raise much in the short run, it helps to set expectations for the future. Be specific when you do ask your friends to do something for your nonprofit organization. Also always let people know what happened at an event or with a campaign even if they did not participate. They might get involved the next time.

Hopefully this article has given a simple social media breakdown for nonprofits. As the number of people that use these online social media and networking sites continues to grow, the importance of having an online presence on these sites will become increasingly critical for nonprofit organizations. Just remember that the more people that you have as friends online, the more people are aware of your organization and the more potential volunteers and donors you will have.

On average 57 million adult Americans read blogs, which is good news for nonprofits trying to generate awareness about the services they offer the local community. If you’re writing blogs to generate additional donations, you’re not alone. Approximately 53% of professional bloggers are interested in attracting new donors from blogging.

About 63% of respondents say that blogging has led them to become more involved with things they’re passionate about. This is great news for nonprofit organizations who can utilize their posts to help volunteers become more passionate about the causes they work with. Hobbyist or persons who are unpaid for the content they generate write about 73% of blogs. Blogs can be a commitment as small as one hour a week to 10 hours a week depending on how often you post.

Technorati has indexed more than 133,000,000 blogs since 2002 and around 77% of Internet users read blogs according to Universal McCann. According to recent data 57% of blog readers are male, 48%, were under 30, and 82% were longtime Internet users or had more than six years’ experience online. Blog writers appear to mirror these trends, as two-thirds are male between the ages of 18 and 44. Over 75% have college degrees and 40% have graduate degrees.

Blogs are decidedly content driven but a growing emphasis is being placed on having more multimedia friendly blogs. Over 82% of respondents say that they post photos to their blog, making images the most popular form of multimedia. Of those who use media other than text, 73% say that that they create the photos, video, or audio they post themselves about half of the time. Only 13% of all respondents say that they never post any images/videos/audio to their blogs, preferring to just use text. With just-text blogs becoming the minority in today’s blogosphere, it’s important to use appropriate multimedia to make your nonprofit blog exciting. Post a picture at a recent fundraising event or a video of a family you just helped. Human-interest stories are really important to make your reader feel empathy in your blog.

Bloggers participate in an average of five activities to drive traffic to their blogs. Which is most successful? Well the jury is still out but Twitter is definitely in the top five. Blogs with greater than 100 page views a day received on average 83% of their page views from Twitter referrals. This referral percentage was constant as the audience size of the blog increased. In other words, the faster the growth of a blog the more important Twitter became in promoting it.

It is important to keep up with your blogs statistics to see how people are finding your blog and how often they are reading it. There are many free blog statistic softwares available to blog writers but the five most commonly used are:

1. Google Analytics

2. StatCounter

3. SiteMeter

4. AWStats

5. MyBlogLog

Blogging is not just about numbers, traffic, or hits to your website but can be a wonderful nonprofit marketing tool. Be careful to avoid the trap of writing for search engines rather than human beings. As a nonprofit blog, your key objective needs to be keeping the community informed about recent trends in your overall cause or local events sponsored by your nonprofit. Build your credibility first and traffic later. Traffic is a direct reflection of writing good content and smart cross promoting of your blog. Contact CharityNet USA today about setting up a blog for your website so you can take advantage of these exciting statistics.

What is twitter and how can it benefit my nonprofit organization? In short, Twitter is a great nonprofit marketing tool.  It is a social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author’s profile page and delivered to the author’s subscribers, who are known as followers. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow open access. Since late 2009, users can follow lists of authors instead of following individual authors. All users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, external applications (notably including those developed for smartphones), or Short Message Service (SMS), although the availability of SMS services varies by country. While the service itself costs nothing to use, accessing it through SMS may incur phone service provider fees. The website currently has more than 100 million users worldwide.

Since its creation in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Twitter has gained notability and popularity worldwide. It is sometimes described as “SMS of the Internet.” The use of Twitter’s application programming interface for sending and receiving text messages by other applications often eclipses direct use of Twitter.

Twitter statistics:

• Twitter now has 105,779,710 registered users
• New users are signing up at the rate of 300,000 per day
• 180 million unique visitors come to the site every month.
• 75% of Twitter traffic comes from outside Twitter.com (i.e. via third party applications)
• Twitter gets a total of 3 billion requests a day via its API
• Twitter users are, in total, tweeting an average of 55 million tweets a day
• Twitter’s search engine receives around 600 million search queries per day
• Of Twitter’s active users, 37 percent use their phone to tweet
• Over half of all tweets (60 percent) come from third party applications
• Twitter itself has grown: in the past year alone, it has grown from 25 to 175 employees

Nonprofit Uses for Twitter:                         

• Social -while at a conference to find better sessions or parties
• Using twitter as a virtual water cooler
• Industry gossip
• Nonprofit marketing
• Pointers to resources, blog posts
• Drive traffic web page/blog or comments
• Ask a question, get an answer
• Get referrals
• Ad hoc collaborations
• Sending reports in an emergency
• Getting news
• Product recommendations while in a store
• Even help create screen captures for presentations!
• Solicitation tool for a fundraising campaign

Hopefully this article will have shown you that Twitter is an increasingly growing social media networking website that nonprofits should be utilizing.  Twitter allows for nonprofit marketing, allowing organizations to get their message across and increase awareness. If your nonprofit doesn’t already have a Twitter page you should defiantly consider creating one. If your nonprofit organization does create a Twitter page, make you remain active on your organizations page to ensure that followers are getting the most updated information possible.

Have you ever really wanted to let your community know about an important issue that’s near and dear to your charity or non profits heart but didn’t have the funds to get the awareness out? If you’re like many non profits in today’s economy trying to get the most out of your advertising dollars, it might be time to look at some low cost ways to raise awareness of your charity.

Word of Mouth

Spreading the word by simply telling your friends is the easiest and cheapest non profit marketing way to inform the community about your programs. Word-of-mouth non profit marketing encompasses a variety of subcategories, including buzz, blog, viral, grassroots, cause influencers and social media marketing.

Talking among friends and acquaintances has a personal connection within communications that traditional advertisements formally lack.  It is believed that product information communicated in this way also has an added layer of credibility. Research suggests that individuals are more inclined to believe word of mouth non profit marketing than more formal forms of advertising methods. The listener or “receiver” of word-of-mouth information tends to believe that the speaker or “communicator” is speaking honestly and is unlikely to have an ulterior motive.  In other words, they are not being paid for their opinion or good will feelings towards the charity.

Another important opportunity to create buzz about a social topic is to post comments on discussion boards at Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, and Digg. Blending your message with the people most likely to need it on social networks is a faster way to generate viral growth about the benefits of your charity or root-cause you are organized to promote. With the increasing use of the Internet as a research and communications platform, word of mouth has become an even more powerful and useful resource for consumers and marketers.

Public Service Announcements

A public service announcement (PSA) is an advertisement broadcast for public interest, which is intended to modify public attitudes by raising awareness about specific issues. The most common topics of PSAs are centered on issues connected to health and safety. A typical PSA is part of a public awareness campaign to inform or educate the public about an issue such as smoking, dangers of gangs, protecting the environment, or compulsive gambling.

Public Service Announcements have often been a popular choice for non profit startup because radio stations and television stations are required to devote free time to causes that benefit the public good. With the deregulation of television stations and broadcast, in general there are no longer uniform standards about how much time must be allotted for public service announcements.

Public Service Announcements are generally in 60-, 30-, 20-, and 10-second scripts to conform to advertising standards. It is important to use the right format when writing your script or it may not be acceptable to the station you are presenting it to.

BizCentral USA is a great resource for helping non profits set up materials to supplement word of mouth campaigns and public service announcements. Call us today for more information about how our non profit business review can help you make the most out of your advertising efforts.

People sometimes question the need for a mission statement, but an accurate, effective mission statement is essential to your nonprofit organization. Why? It’s the most widely used nonprofit marketing piece, and it’s your first and most concise tool to win public understanding. 

What’s included in a mission statement?

A mission statement encompasses the following:

• Explains why your organization exists
• Defines what you do
• Sets your priorities
• Motivates your activities

However, the purpose of a mission statement is not to give all your program descriptions, because you want to keep it short. A mission statement serves as a blueprint of your activities, so it should be clear, uncluttered, and not full of adjectives – just stick to the facts.

How should you use your mission statement?

You should include your mission statement on all your publications, in your press releases, and everywhere you say something about your organization. You can even put it on your fax cover sheets. It serves as a brief introduction for those who don’t know you and a reminder for those who do.

How does my mission statement relate to my goals?

Your success as a nonprofit organization can be measured by how effectively you perform to achieve the mission you’ve outlined. Therefore, any projects your organization chooses to undertake should be compatible with the mission statement you have already established. A mission statement serves as a yardstick for deciding what programs your organization can and should undertake. Even if a program is valuable and interesting, if it is not relevant to your organization’s mission, it is likely better suited to another organization.

It’s summertime, and it’s a great time for any organization to really push their fundraising efforts! Car washes, walk-a-thons, chicken bbq’s… all of these are great ideas and they can really aid in bringing in a few dollars; but wouldn’t you rather they bring in a few hundred dollars? Any organization can easy walk away from a simple summer fundraiser with well over $1,000, if they go the extra mile to publicize the event. 

This does not mean you have to spend a ton of money on paid advertising.  There are actually many ways to promote your organization’s event that will cost you just about nothing but time. The following tips will help you get the knowledge and understanding of simple promotional tactics that can get you on your way to a successful summer fundraising event!

Promotional Tactics that won’t Bust the Budget!

Send out a Press Release: Having a press release for your event could possibly be one of the most important things any organization should do.  Not only can you submit your event’s press release to your local media (TV stations, newspapers, radio stations etc.), but you can also use it to find donors and vendors for the event at local grocery stores for supply stores.

Use your Social Networking Skills: Social Networking has added new ways to conduct business and build your organizations awareness. By utilizing it, you have the ability to form communities, groups and events with others interested in your cause.

Go Back to the Roots of Marketing, Word of Mouth: Mixing new methods of marketing and PR with more traditional methods will highly benefit the results of any campaign.  Still today, over 90% of customers identify word of mouth as the best, most reliable and trustworthy source about ideas and information on products, services and events. So tell everyone one you know, then tell them to tell everyone they know.

Update Current Constituents with an Email Blast: By maintaining a constant stream of communication with your current members and donors, not only will you form a better relationship with them, but you will keep them on the radar with your current happenings!

The importance of Public Relations is often under-minded as something only for large organizations and corporations.  The truth is, PR comes in many shapes and sizes for everyone, and any organization with a message to share should be using PR to promote that message.

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going” Will your organization rise to the top or will it buckle under the pressure of an unstable economy?  Most likely, you would prefer the latter, but in order to “get going” it’s imperative that an organization utilize strategies that are both low cost and effective. 

Social networking, press releases, blogging and article writing are all ways to spread your brands image across a variety of mediums without breaking the bank.  If you take the time to learn and then execute each of these marketing strategies, they can provide any organization a maximum return on little investment.

Does your organization “RT” the latest tweets in your industry? If you have an upcoming event, do you update your “wall” with the details? Is your nonprofit “In” the network with other fundraisers, charities and donors? If the previous three questions went completely over your head, it is what you call social media and it has completely re-shaped the realm of marketing. Currently, there are well over 50 different of social networking sites including: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Plaxo, Mixx, LinkedIn, Tribe, Ryze, Digg, Reddit, Squidoo, Flickr, Freindster, Bebo, YouTube, Tagged, Xing, and the list goes on and on and on.  The key is to gain a presence on as many sites as you can maintain; meaning regularly capable of adding fresh content, interesting updates and organizational news.  Ideally and realistically, this will be around five to ten sites. If your organization does not already have a presence on at least three of the top social networking sites then now is the time to “get going” on the social media wave.

Press releases are more effective than ever and, if done right, can deliver better pick-up with traditional media outlets, new media outlets and even get directly to consumers. How would you like your annual Gala event to be plastered in front of 200,000 eyes in color, in sound and in action?  Accomplishing this means providing your local media with a newsworthy press release.  Local reporters are constantly on the prowl for the latest happenings in the area that will generate interest from the community.  While you may not be guaranteed a feature package every week, a few sound-bites and video on the evening news would get you free publicity that reaches thousands.  Additionally, to stay competitive in the market today you need to be searchable, believable and credible.  Press releases help you to promote these goals.

An organization’s blog can provide commentary or news on your specific organizations interests, beliefs, positioning on current news.  As a nonprofit it is important to start your blog early because this can be one of the most cost effective ways to reach followers of your organization.  As your organization grows so will your number of followers and those who become faithful will appreciate your information and possibly become a future donor. One of the best characteristics of a blog is that it’s not necessary to be a professional author or a multi-million-dollar company to have a blog.  All you need is opinions, information and insight in your cause.  If you prove to be genuine and knowledgeable your readers will notice and your blog will become one of the most cost effective marketing tools your organization could invest in.  If you have a sincere message, as most nonprofit organizations do, now is the time to “get going” on an organizational blog.

Spreading your organization’s passion to others is what builds the foundation for most nonprofits.   Writing articles for your organization is a great way to disseminate your mission to current and future donors, plus it will build your organizations credibility as an expert source for your cause.  Furthermore, blasting these articles out to websites, directories and news outlets will increase link-backs to your website, making your organization easier to find on the web.  Writing an effective article requires an understanding of professional writing and AP standards along with the capability to merge SEO tactics throughout the body of your article.  To “get going” with writing articles may be a bit trickier than writing for a blog, but with a little practice or help from a professional writer, your organization can be on its way to expert article status.

“When the going gets tough, will your organization get going?” Using the above strategies will give you the tools to get started; it is how you execute them that will determine the results you will receive.  Finally, keep in mind that every method will not deliver results right away, but not giving up and pushing forward through the storm is what will set you apart from other organizations.