There are so many opportunities in social media for nonprofits and community builders to grow their followings and engage with people, but I realized this morning that there’s still a pretty big learning curve and that starting out in social media can be very intimidating sometimes.
Today I moderated a panel called Progressing in the Age of Social Media at Community Capital Fund‘s 1st Annual Community Development Workshop here in Kansas City. What started out as a normal panel discussion soon turned into an all-out no-holds-barred Q&A, with attendees getting specific with the panelists (Aaron Deacon, President of Social Media Club of Kansas City; Lindsey Slater, Community Outreach Coordinator for Lawrence Habitat for Humanity; Jase Wilson, CEO of Neighbor.ly; and Michael Liimatta, President of Connecting for Good) and myself about their troubles and challenges with social media.
After it was all said and done, there were still a ton of unanswered questions and we were all out of time. So this blog post is meant as a social media nonprofit resource and link dump. If you are just getting into social media for community-building or nonprofits, use this as a kind of “social media starter kit.” There are a million jumping-off places from these links.
Two Things to Remember
1. Being active on a social media platform is only necessary if it can help you achieve your specific goal (fundraising, building online advocates, event promotion, etc.)
2. The only way to get better at social media is to jump in and start experimenting. See what works and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
- This post covers the Basics of Twitter and Facebook for Nonprofits, which made up much of the discussion from today’s panel. The full powerpoint is embedded below.
- Nonprofit Tech 2.0: nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com
- Nonprofit Technology Network: nten.org
- Google for Nonprofits: google.com/nonprofits
- BlackBaud Nonprofit Resources: blackbaud.com/nonprofit-resources
- SocialBrite Social Solutions for Nonprofits: socialbrite.org
- Pinterest for Nonprofits: Pin for a Reason
- LinkedIn Nonprofit Learning Center: learn.linkedin.com/nonprofits
- Google Wallet vs. Paypal vs. Square: a mobile wallet field test
- Books: The Non-Profit Narrative by Dan Portnoy, Social Media for Social Good: A How-to Guide for Nonprofits by Heather Mansfield
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