Five Social Media Tips:

By Workshop Moderator Barbara Moreno, NCLR

  1. Make it fun. One of the best ways to get the most out of your social media program is to give the task to someone who enjoys it, because it won't seem like a chore to them. They'll take the time to make it good. Just remind them to keep metrics, because you also want them to make it better.
  1. Don't be afraid to fail. Digital is all about trying new ideas and seeing which ones work. Despite the focus on them, there are very few huge social media fails. So don't limit yourself.
  1. Don't use social media to talk AT people. Engage them in conversation. It’s sometimes difficult to start these conversations online, but try to find a way to make your social media followers feel like they own a part of your organization's social media by responding to them or retweeting. Also, try to join larger conversations on your issue areas through Twitter chats or Google Hangouts. It will help to both build and engage your audience simultaneously.
  1. Don't be afraid to reuse content. If something worked once, chances are it will work again. If you make a great infographic in February that really resonates with your audience and deals with an issue your organization focuses on, feel free to update it (if appropriate) and repost later on in the year. Don't overdo it though. Chances are it doesn't need to be posted every month.
  1. Use emotion to drive the content creation. Content that makes people feel something is more likely to be engaged with. Think about memes. You share them because you feel they're funny or relevant. Think about the videos you like the most. Chances are they made you happy or empathetic to a person's plight. Same goes for images and blog posts. See what emotions your nonprofit elicits from your current fans, and use that to help create your content.

As Maya Angelou said — 'I've learned that people will forget what yousaid, people will forget what youdid, but people will never forget how youmade them feel.'

Free Resources for Beginners and Limited Budget Nonprofits

For creating memes:

For image editing: (tutorials available on YouTube)

For infographics:

For video editing: Sign up for a YouTube nonprofit account and use their video editor for FREE

For scheduling posts on Twitter and Facebook in advance:

Free sound editing: (tutorials also on YouTube)