Social Media for Non-Profits and Small Business
Using Free Online Technology and Tools to Promote Any Organization
Apr 5, 2009
The web is congested with articles on how big box retailers and international corporations are successfully using social media applications to communicate creatively and effectively with customers and prospects. In turn, small businesses and non-profits want to follow suit, but are stymied - not by the user-friendly applications themselves, but by how best to use social media to maximize the benefits for their organizations. The question isn't "is social media strategy right for non-profits or small businesses," but "which social media strategy is right for these organizations?"
According to Social Media Marketing Industry Report, a recent study by marketing expert Michael A. Stelzner, "a significant 81% of all marketers indicated that their social media efforts have generated exposure for their businesses. Improving traffic and growing lists was the second major benefit, followed by building new partnerships. An unexpected benefit was a rise in search engine rankings reported by more than half of participants."
Smart Social Media Strategies for Non-Profits and Small Businesses
Social media is evolving by the day. With all of the new tools and tactics being developed so rapidly, it’s difficult to know which social media strategies are the best for small business and non-profit organizations.
Both non-profits and small businesses need compelling social media strategies that are affordable and easy to manage. Here's a break down on how small businesses and non-profits can realistically harness the power of social media and online tools in equally successful ways as their “big business” counterparts.
#1 The Blog as Newsroom
A blog is simply a website that has content posted in chronological order - the perfect format to display news via press releases and other media documents. Blogs are built on robust content management systems, and are often packaged with templates and tools that even the most novice users can manage. And of course, because a blog newsroom will have regular content additions in the form of releases, it is a search engine’s content-crawling dream. A blog newsroom can also have static pages for things like the organization’s “About” page and other publications a small business or non-profit wants to make available online.
#2 Quick and custom online communities
Many companies are utilizing Facebook and MySpace to build affinity groups online. While this community-building tactic is valid, not all organizations will be the right fit for these applications. A more customizable solution for small businesses and non-profits is Ning. Ning allows users to build a completely custom social network, complete with member profiles, event and news promotion, and a built-in email system to reach members. Members can add updates via the organization's Ning forum, or post individual blogs right in the network. Each Ning site can be public or private, so it is not only a great resource for existing customers, members or donors, but also for prospects.
Named one of the most innovative companies in Web 2.0 by Fast Company, it is estimated that more than 700,000 custom social networks have popped up on Ning and that the site now attracts 2,500 to 3,000 new networks a day.
#3 Freelance designers compete for online design projects
Design work can be an expensive and daunting business, and often design partners must be selected based solely on proposals and portfolios. With 99 Designs, more than 30,000 designers can compete to design an organization's logo, corporate stationery and website. Users post “contests” for needed design work, and designers compete by submitting unique designs in response to a creative brief. Users then select the best work from some of the finest freelance designers around the world, all for between $100 and $1,000.
#4 Distribute social media releases for free
The dynamic world of Web 2.0 offers the ability to amp up staid press releases with search keywords, relevant links and media like images and videos. In addition, these social media releases can now be distributed efficiently through channels that make them available to online and offline publications and news sites like Google News. Some of these news wires can get pricey, but there are many wire distributors that offer a simpler set of distribution services for free. Good options include ClickPress.com, PR.com and PressAbout.com.
#5 Microblog to promote events, sales and fundraising campaigns
Once an organization has a strong online presence with a blog newsroom or social network, and news is being distributed through news wire distribution, microblogging is a great tool to use to further promote social media activities. By using a microblogging social media tool like Twitter, small businesses and non-profits can announce events, fundraising campaigns, sales and promotions. In 140 characters, small businesses and non-profits can give a short but powerful promotion line that ultimately drives visitors to an organization's website, newsroom or network. Microblogging literally takes moments to manage and gets relevant information to an audience of thousands.
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