The New World of Mobile – Smartphones and Tablets

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Norman Reiss

For a long time, I resisted getting a smartphone, preferring to stay with my trusty desktop computer. I didn’t want to have to work with a small screen and keyboard, and also balked at having to add a data plan to my cell phone bill. I did have an Itouch, but was limited to using it online when wi-fi access was available. When I was given a netbook for work, I enjoyed the convenience, but still spent most of my time online at my desktop connection.

Late last year, I got my first Android, and was able to sign up for a plan which included phone, texting and data at a fixed price which was less than what I had been paying for voice only. Now I use it mostly for social networking, still preferring to use my desktop at home and at work when possible. But as shown in A Mobile Word: How Your Supporters are Using Smartphones and Why You Should Care, many of our organizations’ constituents have taken the plunge to mobile, yet we often develop websites and sending emails as if everyone was still primarily using a desktop computer.

In Walt Mossberg’s recent laptop buying guide, he suggests not buying a laptop now, which was the device that was supposed to be the replacement for desktops, and to consider whether a tablet may fit your needs. I haven’t used a tablet yet, but my boss does and he takes it everywhere he goes and ‘loves’ the device.

Recently I received an email newsletter that had this link on top: view on mobile device, reminiscent of when we were told that every email should have a ‘print friendly’ link. Now, fewer people regularly using printers, but practically everyone has a smartphone and possibly a tablet as well. So it’s critical that we design our online communications to be brief, viewable in narrow columns, and that we test on the most common platforms that our constituents are using (you can find this out through your web analytics or by surveying your audience).

There’s also the additional questions of whether to develop a mobile friendly website or a mobile application, or possibly a tablet specific or Facebook application. As a first step, however, make sure your website and email blasts can be viewed well on smartphones. Even if you have mostly ‘older’ constituents, this is a change that you must start preparing for now. If you need help, look towards Nten or firms that specifically work on mobile strategies such as MobileActive or consulting firms such as Common Knowledge. Also review Five Must-Have Characteristics of Nonprofit Mobile Websites.

Developing a Content Strategy

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Norman Reiss

Do you use an editorial calendar to plan what content you will post on your website and other online platforms, or do you mostly create content on the fly? In Deciding What the American Red Cross Tweets, social media guru Wendy Harman says that it’s a combination of both, and that her organization encourages staff to learn by using social media but also provides training. At certain times of year or when disaster strikes, the Red Cross uses much more planned content.

At a recent webinar on Content Strategy on a Shoestring Budget, Balance Interactive suggested these books: the Web Content Strategist’s Bible, and Content Strategy for the Web. Here’s my additional tips:

Encourage staff to participate in the content creation process by writing up feedback received from the constituents you’re helping – proactively ask for feedback by phone, email or through surveys.
Spend some time organizing your network directories so content is stored in a logical way – and make sure staff know where to find and post data
Don’t forget to add photos, videos or podcasts – this is especially effective to quickly post content from organization events
Categorize your Facebook and Twitter posts to make sure you’re not overly highlighting one aspect of your work while neglecting other programs
Look for ways to tie in current events with your work
Decide how many platforms you can realistically post on – better to do a few well than to try to be everywhere
When tweeting, make your post worthwhile for someone to read even if they don’t have the time to click through on the link

For more ideas on content creation, view Managing Content on the National Wildlife Federation’s Website. If you’re in NYC, learn from social media expert Danielle Brigida at this week’s NYC 501 Tech Club meeting. Finally, sign up for Kivi Leroux Miller’s upcoming webinar, Taming Your Editorial Calendar and Content Creation Process on May 18.

Wishing everyone a healthy and joyous Passover and Easter holiday.

What’s New in ePhilanthropy

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Norman Reiss

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.

Report from Chase Charity Insights Event in NYC

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Norman Reiss

A stellar panel from Facebook (Matt Jacobson, Head of Market Development), Mashable (Zachary Sniderman, Social Good Assistant Editor), Nten (Holly Ross, Executive Director), and Twitter (Jack Dorsey, CEO/Co-Founder) shared thoughts this week on nonprofits’ use of social media at the Chase Charity Insights event in midtown NYC.

Jack Dorsey, who recently announced he will return to the helm of Twitter, began by recalling the now familiar story of Charity:Water, and asked that nonprofits:

focus on design and storytelling – tell stories about the people you’re helping, not only about your organization
measure results and listen to constituents
use ‘simple tools’ to engage followers through ‘constant outreach’ to stay in touch

(Jack’s most recent project is Square, an amazing credit card reader which plugs into mobile phones, allowing organizations to accept donations / payments anywhere.)

Jack noted also that many charities are addressing the same issues, asking that we find ways to work together towards common goals.

Matt Jacobson explained how a simple gesture of agreeing to pay for someone’s groceries led to the $93 dollar club which has raised over $120,000 to fight hunger. He offered a few websites to help nonprofits get the most from Facebook, such as Non-Profits on Facebook and Facebook Pages.

My friend Holly Ross gave a quick review of the Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report, recently released at Nten’s Nonprofit Technology Conference (and which I recently blogged about). The most interesting takeaway – how organization size doesn’t matter – any nonprofit can benefit from using social media. But Holly pointed out that online represents only about 5% of total fundraising and that direct mail still brings in the most money. She also asked that we look past statistics and focus on telling good stories and building relationships. During the Q&A session, Holly reminded us not to talk at people, but to seek to engage in conversation.

Zachary Sniderman offered several examples of creative nonprofit social media initiatives such as Earth Hour, Living Philanthropic and would you believe, World Poopin’ Day.

Today’s event was sponsored by Chase Community Giving, which recently extended its philanthropic program by two years and $25 million and will soon begin another contest to select charities to support. There was some controversy over this program last year but nevertheless, learning from our colleagues on how to creatively use social media at our organizations is very worthwhile.

Notes from Latest Benchmark Reports

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Norman Reiss

Two major benchmark studies were released at the recent Nonprofit Technology Conference: the e2011 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study (#11NTCbenchmarks) and the Nonprofit Social Network Survey Report (#11NTCBench). If you haven’t yet had a chance to digest their contents, below are some major takeaways:

When analyzing email marketing statistics, a high unsubscribe rates will often be accompanied by a high response rate. With overall open rates of emails declining, it’s a continuing challenge to get subscribers to open and read your email messages. So look at all your statistics; don’t panic if you suddenly see a rise in unsubscribes
Do you give an option for monthly gifts whenever you ask for one-time donations? Other than by large nonprofits which seem to do the best in this area, many US based organizations seem to neglect this strategy – or forget to pay special attention when communicating with these donors
9 of 10 nonprofits now have a presence on Facebook, but use of Twitter seems to be leveling off (my take – what’s good for other nonprofits may not be best for you. I’ve seen Twitter often succeed better in creating a buzz and raise visibility than relying mostly on Facebook)
While most nonprofits aren’t raising significant funds on Facebook, many of the organizations that are doing the best in raising money are small. So if you dedicate the budget and staff, you can get good results
Many nonprofits focus on commercial networks such as Facebook and Twitter; only 13% of those surveyed have private / house networks which are used mostly for program and service delivery (my take – even though they’re initially harder to create, house networks have the strong advantage of being totally under your control; Facebook can and does change its rules often, and still makes it difficult for you to extract email addresses of those who like your page.)
Few organizations have yet shown concrete hard benefits from measurements such as ROI to validate the use of social networks; soft benefits such as increased organization visibility and non-financial supporter engagement are mentioned more frequently.

How can you use these statistics to tweak your online strategy? With an overall email churn rate of 18%, it’s critical that we always be thinking about ways of building our supporter base. While website and email marketing still predominates, it’s clear that the most successful nonprofits use a variety of techniques to engage current constituents and to attract new supporters. Social media can help, but it shouldn’t be done in a vacuum. Pick a few channels to focus your efforts, test some new approaches to see how they work, and get ideas from what other nonprofits are already doing successfully, especially others in your vertical. As both reports show, results often very dramatically between sector, e.g. international organizations whose results are often skewed by fundraising for emergencies.

For even more statistics, review the Online Giving Study, also presented at the recent Nonprofit Technology Conference. Many slides and recordings from the event sessions are now available at Nten’s NTC page.

See you at NTC This Week?

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Norman Reiss

This week I’ll be at the 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference, where a record crowd of nearly 2,000 will discuss how nonprofits can optimize their online strategy. Below are some sessions which look particularly interesting:

Stop Chasing Rainbows: Enduring Success In a Shifting Online Landscape (Fri 3/18, 10:30 – 12 Noon) - Jascha Franklin-Hodge will review how we can integrate social media, location based services and mobile to engage supporters
E-mail Design Workshop – Don’t Let Bad E-mail Code Ruin Your Day or Your Results (Fri, 3/18, 3:30 – 5 PM) – email is still the primary way to communicate with stakeholders, and Shana Masterson and Sean Powell will discuss how we can get the best results
Sneak Peek at the Third-Annual Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report (Fri, 3/18, 3:30 – 5 PM) – I helped prepare last year’s report, which is sponsored by Nten, Common Knowledge and Blackbaud. Even if you can’t attend this preview, you’ll be able to download the report soon and attend follow up events to discuss its findings.
It’s Not Direct Marketing If You Can’t Track It! Analyzing the Social Web (Sat, 3/19, 10:30 – 12 Noon) – Social media can be fun to participate in, but you have to be able to show your management how it’s helping. Brenna Holmes will offer some tips.
2011 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study Release (Sat 3/19, 1:30 – 3 PM) – Nten & M&R Strategic Services‘ annual study looks at online messaging, fundraising, and advocacy data from 36 nonprofit organizations; you’ll be able to download this report too, but it’s fascinating to hear the analysis

The biggest problem you’ll probably have at the event is deciding which session to attend – since this is the largest NTC ever, there are even more choices this year. In addition to these tips from Yesenia Soleto, don’t deliberate too much about what to pick. But I’ve found that you can quickly get a feel in the first 15 minutes whether a session is matching your expectations; if not, feel free to go elsewhere. And don’t fret if your first choice is overcrowded and you need to select an alternate session; this happened to me last year and the ‘other’ presentation turned out to be fascinating. Also consider which sessions will be recorded or covered later through follow-up webinars.

If you’re in town early or staying after the conference, consider visiting the US Holocaust Memorial Museum (I’ll be there Wednesday) or attending Penguin Day to learn more about open source software.

Can’t attend the conference in person? You still still participate through the Online NTC.

Don’t forget to thank Holly and her staff for putting this event together. They work hard year round to make this a special experience for all of us. Hope to see you later this week in DC.

What’s New in ePhilanthropy

Posted on February 13, 2011 by Norman Reiss

Thanks to Charles Lenchner for today’s Organizing 2.0 Conference, where I presented a session on how to evaluate and implement a donor or membership database. Thanks also to fellow speakers (among many others) Steve Dondley, Jason Lefkowitz & Colin Delaney who spoke about content management systems (particularly Drupal) and managing online consultants.

Last week’s Nten webinar on email list management strategy offered tips such as segment on constituent behavior not on interests so you can better target your communications. According to the Agitator, email is still an important channel, but many readers may be reading them on their phones, making it even more important that your message is concise. Big Duck also offers 7 tips for an effective e-newlsletter.

Facebook has (again) changed how pages are presented – The Social Path and Tech Cafeteria offer a look at the latest changes, and Beth’s Blog discusses a Facebook content strategy.

Using a slide show on your home page? Future Fundraising Now suggests it may not be effective, even though many other sites are doing this. Also see EchoDitto’s take.

I’ve noticed on the NYC subway lately that almost everyone is on their smart phones, not a surprise since smart phone sales now exceed PC sales. All the more reason to make your website mobile friendly.

Nten’s 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference next month will be the biggest and best ever. Even if you can’t attend in person, you can now participate online.

Email Marketing & Websites Still Most Important in Nonprofit Communications

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Norman Reiss

According to Kivi Leroux Miller‘s new 2011 Nonprofit Communications Trend Report, email marketing and websites are still the most important tools in a nonprofit’s communications strategy, followed by print (newsletters or direct mail), in-person events, Facebook and media relations/PR. So until you have the basics in place, social media probably shouldn’t be a top priority. Kivi recommends three strategies for nonprofit communicators in 2011:

Be responsible for generating great content about your cause – don’t rely on others to do it for you.
Help your supporters to clearly understand what your organization is about and what you are accomplishing. Sometimes the abundance of information makes it more difficult for constituents to ‘connect the dots.’
Show passion for how your organization helps others and always be aware of what ‘brand’ you want to represent.

Yesterday I spoke about Selecting and Implementing a Donor or Membership Database at Congregations 2.0, a technology training workshop for churches, synagogues and mosques. For a small organization that is just getting started, in addition to collecting email addresses and having a website, I would add having the ability to collect donations online and having a good donor database, preferably using an online platform. Social media and blogging can come later.

For some additional ideas on how to create great content, look at this Report on Content Management Systems Powering Foundation Websites, Using a Content Strategy to Promote Your Organization, and this book Content Strategy for the Web, discussed at yesterday’s event.