Twitter is the fastest growing social media platform in the world. The latest stats indicate that more than 32 million people are using this service for communication, collaboration, marketing, customer service, advocacy, market research, and fundraising. Everyone seems to be tweeting these days. If you aren't using Twitter already, you might want to check it out to see what everyone is buzzing about.
Amazing What You Can Do With 140 Characters…
Twitter, a real-time micro-blogging platform, is free and fairly intuitive. Posts are limited to 140 characters. Unlike Facebook, the Twitter interface gives you just two basic options: reading other tweets or composing your own. That's it. More good news: Twitter is about making new friends and building relationships. It's about making new contacts, giving, and receiving. It's also easy to build a following fairly quickly on Twitter.
There's not much of a downside to Twitter unless you have zero self-control. You can get sucked in to reading pages and pages of Twitter updates. But don't! Read what's on your screen, post an update or two, and leave. You can also get sidetracked by all of the fancy applications available to Twitter users. Don't do that either--at least not in the beginning. Start by identifying a few people or organizations you care about…then follow, observe, listen and learn the ropes.
You Probably Won’t "Get" Twitter Initially…
Until you have been using Twitter consistently for three or four months, you might be frustrated and have every reason to be. Twitter might very well be too simple. Don't look for it to be more complicated than it is or to reveal a deeper meaning. It will take time to understand what Twitter is all about and to learn how to use it effectively to build a following.
I have been using Twitter for more than a year, and my account sat mostly neglected for the first couple of months. I couldn't see or understand the possibilities and very few people I knew were using Twitter or had even heard of it. When Twitter exploded last year during the election and I rejoined the fun.
Give it a try. The longer you are on Twitter, the more you will understand the benefits and the more people you will meet. Twitter is now a key part of my marketing strategy. To sign up for your Twitter account, just go to http://twitter.com.
You can follow me http://twitter.com@davidlsharp or http://twitter.com@sharpconsults
Please share your thoughts...
Cheers!
Dave Sharp
Sharp Consulting Group, LLC
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Making a Difference with Social Media
Online tools that connect people to real world actions in creative and accessible ways have the potential to rapidly accelerate social change.
Social Actions is a nonprofit initiative committed to making it easier for people to find and share opportunities to make a difference. A search engine on SocialActions.com helps users find ways to take action for the causes they care about from 50+ online action sources including Kiva, DonorsChoose.org, Change.org, DemocracyinAction, GlobalGiving, Idealist.org, SixDegrees, VolunteerMatch,Care2 and others. Social Actions creates incentives such as the Change the Web Challenge to encourage the distribution of their open API (Application Programming Interface) to websites, blogs, social networks and mobile devices and include everything from volunteer opportunities to micro-credit loans.
The overall goal of the SocialActions site is to make the web more action-oriented and to make it easier for people to make a difference.
Check it out.
Cheers!
Dave Sharp
Sharp Consulting Group, LLC
Social Actions is a nonprofit initiative committed to making it easier for people to find and share opportunities to make a difference. A search engine on SocialActions.com helps users find ways to take action for the causes they care about from 50+ online action sources including Kiva, DonorsChoose.org, Change.org, DemocracyinAction, GlobalGiving, Idealist.org, SixDegrees, VolunteerMatch,Care2 and others. Social Actions creates incentives such as the Change the Web Challenge to encourage the distribution of their open API (Application Programming Interface) to websites, blogs, social networks and mobile devices and include everything from volunteer opportunities to micro-credit loans.
The overall goal of the SocialActions site is to make the web more action-oriented and to make it easier for people to make a difference.
Check it out.
Cheers!
Dave Sharp
Sharp Consulting Group, LLC
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Nonprofits on Twitter...
Not a day goes by when someone in the Nonprofit world or Public Sector doesn't ask me about Twitter. Here's a great post by Lon S. Cohen (Director of Communications at the ALS Association of Greater New York) listing "26 Charities and Nonprofits on Twitter".
Lon's list includes great examples of organizations that have embraced Twitter for building awareness, making new friends, engaging communities and raising funds.
And, it's clear that more and more local, national and global groups are experimenting with Twitter everyday.
It's very easy to get started. Twitter provides a free easy-to-setup interface; the potential to reach a huge engaged audience; and, the ability to engage with people in stimulating conversations. It's a natural platform for any organization seeking recognition for their mission or building a following.
Please share your thoughts.
Cheers!
Dave Sharp
Sharp Consulting Group
Lon's list includes great examples of organizations that have embraced Twitter for building awareness, making new friends, engaging communities and raising funds.
And, it's clear that more and more local, national and global groups are experimenting with Twitter everyday.
It's very easy to get started. Twitter provides a free easy-to-setup interface; the potential to reach a huge engaged audience; and, the ability to engage with people in stimulating conversations. It's a natural platform for any organization seeking recognition for their mission or building a following.
Please share your thoughts.
Cheers!
Dave Sharp
Sharp Consulting Group
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Tools and Tips for Monitoring Conversations about your Organization on the Web…
There are lots of ways to keep track of the conversations taking place on the web regarding your group or organization. Here’s a short list of social media marketing tools to help you keep track of what is being said about you on the internet.
1. If you don’t have a personal profile on Facebook, create one. Then create a business page on Facebook. Invite your friends, stakeholders, members and customers to become fans. It will help you keep track of your “friends” as well as start, facilitate and track conversations surrounding your org. Depending on your goals, you can also create a Facebook Group page and/or Cause page.
2. Want to follow conversations on Facebook? Signup for Facebook Lexicon.
3. Sign up for a Twitter business account. Start following tweets and joining in the conversations about your group or organization.
4. Once you are on Twitter, you can use Twitter Search to follow keywords across the millions of conversations and posts.
5. You can also search for any word on Twitter using Tweetscan.
6. Twilert allows you to receive email notification when something is mentioned regarding your organization.
7. GoogleAlerts is a great tool that helps you track your org and relevant conversations.
8. Sign up for an account on HowSociable. This is a great tool for tracking conversations.
9. If you come across a negative comment about your organization or group, respond with kindness and transparency. Craft your response strategically. Most of the time, you can turn the negative comment around just because you were listening.
10. If you are interested in tracking industry trends in the online space, you should check out Trendpedia.
11. Create a LinkedIn group for your organization or group. This is a great way to keep stakeholder communicating, collaborating and sharing.
12. There are many monitoring services if you have the budget. Just Google “reputation management” or “web monitoring” services.
13. If you don’t have a blog… start one. Be topical, relevant, and keep at it. Encourage comments and sharing. And, it’s ok to fall off the wagon. Just get back on (I’ve fallen off many times) and try to keep at it (at least once a week). It gets easier once you have established the habit.
14. Finally, set aside some time every day to monitor conversations about your group. It is important to stay on top of the conversation.
Social Media is here to stay. It’s very dynamic and keeps on changing. Jump in and start using a couple of the tools listed above.
Cheers!
Dave
Sharp Consulting Group, LLC
1. If you don’t have a personal profile on Facebook, create one. Then create a business page on Facebook. Invite your friends, stakeholders, members and customers to become fans. It will help you keep track of your “friends” as well as start, facilitate and track conversations surrounding your org. Depending on your goals, you can also create a Facebook Group page and/or Cause page.
2. Want to follow conversations on Facebook? Signup for Facebook Lexicon.
3. Sign up for a Twitter business account. Start following tweets and joining in the conversations about your group or organization.
4. Once you are on Twitter, you can use Twitter Search to follow keywords across the millions of conversations and posts.
5. You can also search for any word on Twitter using Tweetscan.
6. Twilert allows you to receive email notification when something is mentioned regarding your organization.
7. GoogleAlerts is a great tool that helps you track your org and relevant conversations.
8. Sign up for an account on HowSociable. This is a great tool for tracking conversations.
9. If you come across a negative comment about your organization or group, respond with kindness and transparency. Craft your response strategically. Most of the time, you can turn the negative comment around just because you were listening.
10. If you are interested in tracking industry trends in the online space, you should check out Trendpedia.
11. Create a LinkedIn group for your organization or group. This is a great way to keep stakeholder communicating, collaborating and sharing.
12. There are many monitoring services if you have the budget. Just Google “reputation management” or “web monitoring” services.
13. If you don’t have a blog… start one. Be topical, relevant, and keep at it. Encourage comments and sharing. And, it’s ok to fall off the wagon. Just get back on (I’ve fallen off many times) and try to keep at it (at least once a week). It gets easier once you have established the habit.
14. Finally, set aside some time every day to monitor conversations about your group. It is important to stay on top of the conversation.
Social Media is here to stay. It’s very dynamic and keeps on changing. Jump in and start using a couple of the tools listed above.
Cheers!
Dave
Sharp Consulting Group, LLC
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Leading Through Uncertain Times...
Strategies for any organization should always be tailored to the specific situation and circumstances. The Lowell Bryan and Diana Farrell article, “Leading through uncertainty”, in The McKinsey Quarterly (December 2008) is a must read for all socially responsible companies,nonprofits and government agencies.
The range of possible futures confronting organizations is great. Organizations that encourage awareness, flexibility and resiliency are more likely to survive tough economic times,and even to thrive… Check out: Leading through uncertainty
Cheers!
Dave
Sharp Consulting Group,LLC
The range of possible futures confronting organizations is great. Organizations that encourage awareness, flexibility and resiliency are more likely to survive tough economic times,and even to thrive… Check out: Leading through uncertainty
Cheers!
Dave
Sharp Consulting Group,LLC
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Offline, Multi-generational, Multi-media, Social Media Marketing, Mash-up Meetup
My daughter, Tara is 26, and I’m 56. Tara grew up in a world with cell phones, the Web, instant messaging and Google. I was born into a world when TV had just been introduced, manual typewriters were in use, man hadn’t walked on the moon and we shared a telephone line with our neighbors (party lines). Our interests in life are very different. However, we both share many common interests: art, cooking, reading, philanthropy, social networking, and “making a difference”.
Tara and I just made a presentation about Social Media Marketing at the Northwest Development Officers Association (NDOA) Winter Conference in Seattle. More than 350 nonprofit development professionals from the Pacific Northwest were in attendance at the full day meeting. The audience was a mix of NPO executive directors, development directors, marketing communications managers, event managers and others. Senior and junior non-profit professionals from different organizations represented at the conference.
The conference theme was “Stability in an Unstable Economy“ and it was clear from the beginning that everyone in attendance was very worried about the impact the economy was having on "business".
Our break-out session, “Return on Engagement: Leveraging the Web to Make New Friends, Engage Communities, Build Lasting Relationships and Increase Donors”, was well attended with more than 125 participating. The focus of the presentation was the Web, specifically social media and social media networking, and the profound impact on nonprofit organization fund raising. The interactive presentation shared tips on blogging, podcasting, online polling, photo sharing, tagging, social networking, vidcasting, wikis, etc. I think the presentation was well received judging from all the questions, comments and requests.
After the session was over Tara and I were struck by a couple of things.
1. Social Media Marketing is a Hot NPO topic. The audience was really interested in the topics we touched on (from a personal and professional point of view) and is hungry for more information, tips, ideas and case histories.
2. NPO Social Media Marketing is still at a very early stage. It was clear from the beginning of the session that web/ social media experience among our session attendees was all over the map. The younger, less seasoned NPO managers were old hands with Facebook, LinkedIn, blogging,meetups, mashups, Twitter, Flickr and de.li.cious. Others in the session had much more limited experience beyond email, awareness of YouTube, and searching with Google. The range of perceptions, apprehension, knowledge, trial and use is all over the map but falls along generational lines.
3.Questions about privacy, ethics, transparency and use need to be addressed. There were many questions raised about the use of Social Media Marketing as NPO communications and fund raising tools. These are rich topics for future workshops and blogs.
Partnering with Tara was a great idea. Her perspective about communications, community engagement, social media applications and networking provided the group with a generational perspective I wasn’t able to provide. My perspective was similar in some respects, but very different in others. I may try to convince my youngest daughter, Erica (20) to join us next time. Her social media use and perspective is vastly different from mine (at this point she won’t “friend” me on Facebook because it’s lame). I’ll text an invitation to join us.
More to follow. I’m going to blog about the presentation topics over the next couple of weeks. Please share comments, thoughts, and ideas. Thanks.
Cheers!
Dave
Tara and I just made a presentation about Social Media Marketing at the Northwest Development Officers Association (NDOA) Winter Conference in Seattle. More than 350 nonprofit development professionals from the Pacific Northwest were in attendance at the full day meeting. The audience was a mix of NPO executive directors, development directors, marketing communications managers, event managers and others. Senior and junior non-profit professionals from different organizations represented at the conference.
The conference theme was “Stability in an Unstable Economy“ and it was clear from the beginning that everyone in attendance was very worried about the impact the economy was having on "business".
Our break-out session, “Return on Engagement: Leveraging the Web to Make New Friends, Engage Communities, Build Lasting Relationships and Increase Donors”, was well attended with more than 125 participating. The focus of the presentation was the Web, specifically social media and social media networking, and the profound impact on nonprofit organization fund raising. The interactive presentation shared tips on blogging, podcasting, online polling, photo sharing, tagging, social networking, vidcasting, wikis, etc. I think the presentation was well received judging from all the questions, comments and requests.
After the session was over Tara and I were struck by a couple of things.
1. Social Media Marketing is a Hot NPO topic. The audience was really interested in the topics we touched on (from a personal and professional point of view) and is hungry for more information, tips, ideas and case histories.
2. NPO Social Media Marketing is still at a very early stage. It was clear from the beginning of the session that web/ social media experience among our session attendees was all over the map. The younger, less seasoned NPO managers were old hands with Facebook, LinkedIn, blogging,meetups, mashups, Twitter, Flickr and de.li.cious. Others in the session had much more limited experience beyond email, awareness of YouTube, and searching with Google. The range of perceptions, apprehension, knowledge, trial and use is all over the map but falls along generational lines.
3.Questions about privacy, ethics, transparency and use need to be addressed. There were many questions raised about the use of Social Media Marketing as NPO communications and fund raising tools. These are rich topics for future workshops and blogs.
Partnering with Tara was a great idea. Her perspective about communications, community engagement, social media applications and networking provided the group with a generational perspective I wasn’t able to provide. My perspective was similar in some respects, but very different in others. I may try to convince my youngest daughter, Erica (20) to join us next time. Her social media use and perspective is vastly different from mine (at this point she won’t “friend” me on Facebook because it’s lame). I’ll text an invitation to join us.
More to follow. I’m going to blog about the presentation topics over the next couple of weeks. Please share comments, thoughts, and ideas. Thanks.
Cheers!
Dave
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
You made a difference in my life....
Who do you appreciate? This video says it all. Make a difference in their lives by letting them know you care.
If there are people who have made a difference in your life, reach out and let them know that you respect them, admire them, recommend them, and appreciate them.
Go ahead. It's easy.
Cheers!
Dave
Sharp Consulting Group, LLC
If there are people who have made a difference in your life, reach out and let them know that you respect them, admire them, recommend them, and appreciate them.
Go ahead. It's easy.
Cheers!
Dave
Sharp Consulting Group, LLC
Monday, January 12, 2009
Cause Marketing Continues to Grow...
Finally some good news: US Sponsorship spending on cause related marketing will grow at a rate 40% higher than the overall sponsorship industry in 2009, according to the latest IEG Sponsorship Forecast Report.
The new sponsorship report projects corporate cause related sponsorships will reach $1.57 billion in 2009, a 3.1% increase over last year. Cause marketing's share of the overall sponsorship market remains at 9%. IEG expects the total industry to expand by 2.2%. Sports marketing, which accounts for 68% of total sponsorship spending is expected only to rise by 1.8%.
Projected sponsorship spending and category share in 2009 are:
1. Sports: $11.4 billion, 68%
2. Entertainment Tours/Attractions: $1.66 billion, 10%
3. Causes: $1.57 billion, 9%
4. Arts: $848 million, 5%
5. Festivals, fairs, annual events: $786 million, 5%
6. Associations, membership orgs: $503 million, 3%
The new IEG projections disguise the fact that many nonprofits will experience significant reductions due to corporate cutbacks while others will grow thanks to new initiatives.
It should be noted, that back in 1990, cause sponsorship spending was only $120 million.
More later.
Cheers!
Dave
Sharp Consulting Group
The new sponsorship report projects corporate cause related sponsorships will reach $1.57 billion in 2009, a 3.1% increase over last year. Cause marketing's share of the overall sponsorship market remains at 9%. IEG expects the total industry to expand by 2.2%. Sports marketing, which accounts for 68% of total sponsorship spending is expected only to rise by 1.8%.
Projected sponsorship spending and category share in 2009 are:
1. Sports: $11.4 billion, 68%
2. Entertainment Tours/Attractions: $1.66 billion, 10%
3. Causes: $1.57 billion, 9%
4. Arts: $848 million, 5%
5. Festivals, fairs, annual events: $786 million, 5%
6. Associations, membership orgs: $503 million, 3%
The new IEG projections disguise the fact that many nonprofits will experience significant reductions due to corporate cutbacks while others will grow thanks to new initiatives.
It should be noted, that back in 1990, cause sponsorship spending was only $120 million.
More later.
Cheers!
Dave
Sharp Consulting Group
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
How to Promote Your Organization Using Podcasts
Podcasting is blogging with audio instead of a text entry. Essentially, you post an audio file (MP3) instead of an article.
Although long-time podcasters (3 years or more) are tired of hearing this, there is no question that a lot of people who might be interested in podcasts believe that an iPod or other MP3 player is required to listen. The fact is a lot more people listen to podcasts on their computers than on their iPods and the number of people listening continues to sky rocket (according to Arbitron and Edison Media Research).
Five Reasons Why Podcasts Are Great for Marketing your Organization
1. An increasing number of people are downloading new podcasts every day (nearly 1 in 10 people have listened to an audio podcast in the last month according to Arbitron).
2. Unlike Radio, podcasts can be played whenever the listener wants.
3. People can listen to them in their cars on their way to work or when they go for a run..
4. There is a lot less competition in the podcast market than there is in the “article” market.
5. Podcasting is a lot easier and less time-consuming than blogging and getting your articles published.
Six Steps to Planning and Producing a Podcast
1. Start by getting a good digital recorder with a good microphone (they run about $50 at Radio Shack).
2. Download an audio editing tool like Audacity or Recordforall
3. Content is King! Write a tight script (so the podcast doesn’t sound amateurish or improvised).
4. Practice (a couple times).
5. Record it in a relatively quiet environment. Try different "reads" and pick the best “take”.
6. Apply the noise-reduction filter in your audio editing software and save the MP3 file to be uploaded
Posting your Podcast
Once you have completed and edited your Podcast you are ready to submit it to Audio Sharing sites:
PodPusher
Pod Submitter
PodOMatic
Podcast Alley
iTunes
Yahoo Podcasts
Digg Podcasts
Podcast Directory
PodFeed
Odeo
Digital Podcast
Podcast.net
Singing Fish
Blog Universe
Collectik
PodNova
Have fun.
Dave
Although long-time podcasters (3 years or more) are tired of hearing this, there is no question that a lot of people who might be interested in podcasts believe that an iPod or other MP3 player is required to listen. The fact is a lot more people listen to podcasts on their computers than on their iPods and the number of people listening continues to sky rocket (according to Arbitron and Edison Media Research).
Five Reasons Why Podcasts Are Great for Marketing your Organization
1. An increasing number of people are downloading new podcasts every day (nearly 1 in 10 people have listened to an audio podcast in the last month according to Arbitron).
2. Unlike Radio, podcasts can be played whenever the listener wants.
3. People can listen to them in their cars on their way to work or when they go for a run..
4. There is a lot less competition in the podcast market than there is in the “article” market.
5. Podcasting is a lot easier and less time-consuming than blogging and getting your articles published.
Six Steps to Planning and Producing a Podcast
1. Start by getting a good digital recorder with a good microphone (they run about $50 at Radio Shack).
2. Download an audio editing tool like Audacity or Recordforall
3. Content is King! Write a tight script (so the podcast doesn’t sound amateurish or improvised).
4. Practice (a couple times).
5. Record it in a relatively quiet environment. Try different "reads" and pick the best “take”.
6. Apply the noise-reduction filter in your audio editing software and save the MP3 file to be uploaded
Posting your Podcast
Once you have completed and edited your Podcast you are ready to submit it to Audio Sharing sites:
PodPusher
Pod Submitter
PodOMatic
Podcast Alley
iTunes
Yahoo Podcasts
Digg Podcasts
Podcast Directory
PodFeed
Odeo
Digital Podcast
Podcast.net
Singing Fish
Blog Universe
Collectik
PodNova
Have fun.
Dave
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