Revised July 26, 2011
Microblogging and Nonprofits
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The press and various pundits are always breathless about something they perceive as "new" technology. What's got them all aflutter lately? Sometimes they call it microblogging, sometimes they call it tweeting, sometimes they call it SMS... it's sending text messages of less than 140 characters to several cell phones via text message, or via a web site users read regularly, like Twitter.
This page is meant to get nonprofits, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government offices, schools and other mission-based organizations up-to-speed quickly about microblogging / tweeting, and to come from a realistic, practical point of view - with no hype. This is a hype-free zone.
Introduction
Microblogs (called "Tweets" on Twitter) are a great vehicle to help organize political demonstrations in countries run by corrupt governments (and an effective way to spread misinformation), but how can nonprofit organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), libraries, government programs, and other mission-based organizations really use microblogs to promote their work, increase attendance at an event, get donations or mobilize or support volunteers?
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I'll say something I don't hear many social media "experts" saying:
Twitter isn't for everyone. It's not appropriate for every nonprofit, NGO, government agency, or other mission-based organization.
And I'll say something else:
The primary goal of a nonprofit, NGO, government agency or mother mission-based organization in using Twitter isn't for its messages to go viral (to be retweeted/resent on a massive scale)
Whether or not your organization should invest in using Twitter or another microblogging platform depends on just two things:
- the audience you are trying to reach - is that audience on Twitter or whatever microblogging platform? Is that an audience you don't reach any other way? Or is it an audience that would like to receive your messages via Twitter or another platform in addition to already being subscribers to your email newsletter, your blog, etc.?
- what information you want to receive - are organizations and agencies you want information from posting such information to Twitter that you aren't already getting by liking them on Facebook or subscribing to their email newsletter? Or is the information something you want to receive daily, even immediately?
Messages via cell phones? Smart phones? Desktop computers?
There are two ways to think about microblogs: those that go to the cell phones as text messages, and those that will be read on a web site, like Twitter or Tumblr, via a smart phone or via a personal computer. The way most of those you are trying to reach receive microblogs will also dictate how you might use microblogging.
For instance, if you are thinking of microblogs as cell phone text messages: why would someone want to receive that message, that way?
I'm all for text messages on my cell phone from an organization I care about that tell me,
The President of the USA just arrived at our offices! Come at once!
Vote on state bill to prevent Dalmatian fur coats comes up this afternoon. Call your state rep now! More info on our web site.
Volunteers R gathering @ our offices to greet our executive director on her return from Afghanistan. Arrives in 1 hour. Come & cheer!
A volunteer had to leave our booth at county fair; we need someone to come down ASAP & fill in! Please reply if U can!
The annual meeting starts in one hour; we RLY hope you will be there.
Online survey of volunteers closes in 24 hours. If you have not completed it, please do ASAP!
Location of meeting has been change; please be at our Main Street location tomorrow at 9.
Please reply with your GPS coordinates immediately. More info 2 follow.
I do NOT want text messages on my phone that tell me:
The new annual report is out!
We're having a sale!
Our Executive Director wrote a new blog on her trip to Afghanistan
We've published a new book!
We have a new video on YouTube!
None of those last four messages are urgent. All would be good status updates on an organization's Facebook page, all would be good status updates for a staff members LinkedIn profile, and some of them might be good tweets, for people to read via a smart phone or computer when they want to log in to a microblogging site. None of those are worthy of my phone vibrating or making a sound.
So you first have to define what you are going to use microblogging for. You might want to have different microblogging activities for different purposes:
- You might want to require everyone who is going to attend an upcoming training to give you their cell phone numbers, so you can send them a reminder text message the morning of the meeting, and even another an hour before, to assure peak attendance.
- You might require all volunteers engaged in disaster response to give you their cell phone numbers, so you can send them a text message when a disaster strikes and you will either need their assistance urgently or you want to direct them to where they can find out immediately if they are needed (but be aware that cell phone networks may not work in certain disasters, or may be overwhelmed with messages when disaster strikes).
- You might want to create a Twitter account to promote new resources your organization publishes or produces, and tag these to reach those interested in various subjects (I somethings do a search on everything tagged as #nonprofit, or #volunteer, for instance, just to see what other people are saying about those subjects)
- You might want to create another Twitter account only for your volunteers or your activist network, and posting messages that are only of interest to them; for them to get these messages, they will need to "follow" (subscribe) to your network feed.
- You might want to create another Twitter account that is focused only on legislation related to the mission of your organization, and focus messages on what followers can do to take action.
There are programs and web sites that allow you to send one text message to several phone numbers via your computer. Here's an example of a free tool (not sure how much longer it will be around, however - at least for free), but there are many, many others that will do this for a small monthly subscription fee.
Some organizations use their Facebook page status updates as a kind of microblogging, because they can post longer messages than just 140 characters, and more easily link to photos and other content. Others use Tumblr. Some organizations stick to Twitter. Some use all of these and any that come along!
Which web-based microblogging platform should you use? The one or ones that many of those you want to reach are using. How will you find that out? You will ASK. Survey your staff, volunteers, donors, and other supporters.
Some organizations post the same message across all of their microblogging activities. For instance, a notice about a new blog posting may go out on the organization's accounts on Twitter or Tumblr, on Facebook, and on the status updates of one or more staff members' LinkedIn accounts. Others pick and choose: a notice about a training schedule change may only go out on the organizatioorganization'sn's Facebook account. What message goes where is up to YOU to determine. But note: people don't want to be overwhelmed with microblogging messages. Be strategic. Always have an answer to the question, "Why would our followers want to know this right away?"
Here are more examples of good microblog messages for Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc., but probably not to send as text message updates to cell phones:
- Online poll at CNBC NOW re: pet ownership. Please participate & help advocate for your pets! URLADDRESS
- Training schedule for week has now been posted on our web site.
- Training schedule has changed. Please check our YahooGroup for complete details.
- I'm following @TechSoup live Twitter event today@ noon Pacific Time. URLADDRESS
For URLADDRESS, you have to use a web address that still brings you under 140 characters if you use Twitter. If the URL you want to use is too long, just type the address into bitly.
Microblogging From the Organization
As mentioned earlier, microblogging works best for nonprofits, NGOs, libraries, government programs, and other mission-based organizations when they think about such as short messages going to subscribers via cell phone text messaging. They also work best when they are time-sensitive, with the goal of each message being to get volunteers or others to do something immediately: going to the organization's office, going to a program site, going online, making a call, forwarding the message to others, showing up on time, etc.
For instance, here are what effective microblogs to volunteers can look like:
- Vote on state bill to prevent Dalmatian fur coats comes up for vote tomorrow a.m. Call your state rep now! More info on our web site.
- Volunteers R gathering @ our offices to greet our executive director on her return from Afghanistan. Arrives in 1 hour. Come & cheer!
- A volunteer had to leave our booth at county fair; we need someone to come down ASAP & fill in! Please reply if U can!
- The annual meeting starts in one hour; we RLY hope you will be there.
- Online survey of volunteers closes in 24 hours. If you have not completed it, please do ASAP!
- Location of meeting has been change; please be at our Main Street location tomorrow at 9.
- Online poll at CNBC re: pet ownership. Please participate & help advocate for your pets!
- Training schedule for week has now been posted.
- Training schedule has changed. Please check our YahooGroup for complete details.
- Please reply with your GPS coordinates immediately. More info 2 follow.
You could require everyone who will be attending a training or event that your organization does only a few times a year to sign up to a Twitter feed via their cell phone, and then send reminders a week before and a few hours the day of the event. This will ensure those who are supposed to attend do so.
It's appropriate for some mission-based organizations to have more than one microblog account. Maybe your housing manager needs such to communicate with housing volunteers, while your campaign manager needs another to communicate with her activists, and the overall volunteer coordinator needs still another to communicate with all volunteers. That's fine, however, make sure everyone who is microblogging to volunteers is coordinating efforts with each other, and that no volunteer is required to subscribe to more than one account.
Most messages sent via microblogs should still also be sent via email or posted on your online discussion group for volunteers, with much more detail (as they won't be limited to 140 characters via those tools). If the message is THAT important to microblog, then it's worth repeating via other communications channels. Remember that not everyone is reached by just one avenue of communication! Rare is the situation where microblogging will be the only way a volunteer coordinator will interact with volunteers. Don't use it as a replacement for emails, posts to online discussion groups, regular blogging... and face-to-face meetings and phone calls.
Texting Your Location
Another microblogging practice is a person sending a text message to all of his or her friends/ cell phones, or via a status message on the person's Facebook account, or via his or her Twitter account, saying where he or she is:
Jayne just entered the Starbuck's in Canby.
Yes, ofcourse the practice has jargon names: mobile check-in services and location-based networking. Whatever.
Some people send these micro-messages manually to their contacts, and some people have their smart phones configured with a certain application so that their location is sent out automatically if they enter a restaurant or store that is also using the same application.
Nonprofits, NGOs, libraries, government programs, and other mission-based organizations can leverage this practice to help create more awareness about their organization:
- At the start of your volunteer recognition event, display a message on an overhead projector and ask all attendees to take out their cell phones or smart phones and to text it or tweet it right at that moment to everyone in their contact list, their followers or via their status update to their contacts. The message could be I am at the recognition event for volunteers of such-and-such organization. Great time! And then ask everyone to then turn their phones OFF!
- As a volunteer starts his or her first shift staffing a table at a public event, ask them to send out the message Come to such-and-such event @ number street address & look for me @ the such-and-such booth! Stop by & say hi!
- Ask attendees at your opening night for the season at your nonprofit theater to send the message I'm @ opening night of such-and-such at name-of-theater. Call xxx-xxx-xxxx for tix. On with the show! And then ask everyone to then turn their phones OFF!
- Ask students attending a class your nonprofit is providing to text a message at the start or at the end of the class. Learning/learned to do such-and-such at name-of-organization. It's fun/tough/exciting/challenging/interesting!
- After the volunteer firefighters finish putting away the equipment after a particularly intense or large emergency response, encourage them to send a message, as appropriate, to their network, such as, Just finished response to factory fire in such-&-such-area. More than xx volunteers responded. Photos soon @ Flickr.
Remember that messages need to be 140 characters or less, to meet the standards of all cell phones (yes, some phones accept longer messages, but believe it or not, some people don't have smart phones!).
These messages get a personalized, informal message out to your supporters' own networks -- their friends, neighbors, colleagues. These messages from your supporters shows how active your organization is and further builds awareness about your activities. These messages can generate interest among new volunteers and new audiences, attract larger numbers of attendees to an event, and augment your other outreach efforts.
However, don't abuse this. Most volunteers, audience members, clients, etc., don't want to send lots of messages on behalf of your organization to their network, and their network doesn't want to be overwhelmed with such messages. And sending such a message should always be entirely voluntarily on the part of those you are encouraging to send this message; never make sending such a message mandatory for volunteers, for instance.
If you encourage your volunteers, event attendees, etc. to text-their-location at the start, during or at the end of an event, track the results: do you see an increase in the number of phone calls or emails to your organization regarding volunteering? An increase in phone calls requesting more information? More attendees to an event? Ask your volunteers and other supporters as well what kind of responses they get per a message they have sent out to their network.
How to Get Followers on Twitter or Tumblr
Some people judge microblogging success by how many followers they have. For nonprofits, I don't. Numbers just aren't that impressive.
You don't just want followers: you want a particular kind of follower. What kind? It depends on the purpose of your microblogging activity.
- If your microblog activity is limited to current volunteers, then your follower numbers are going to be limited to the number of current volunteers you have. If all your volunteers you want to follow you aren't, find out why - ASK!
- If you create a Twitter account to promote new resources your organization publishes or produces, who do you want to receive these Tweets? Don't say "Everyone!" Are you hoping every volunteer follows this feed? Every donor? Every local press person? Identify every demographic you want to follow you and then reach out to that demographic as appropriate.
- If you want people who are passionate about a particular issue to follow you, then you have to make sure you tag your posts appropriately so they will find them, and that you reach out to these demographics.
- You might want to create another Twitter account that is focused only on legislation related to the mission of your organization, and focus messages on what followers can do to take action.
A way to get followers or to reach beyond your followers, is to tag your Tweets. For instance, any time I use the following words in a Tweet, if I have room, I put a hashtag in front of them, so anyone that follows these keywords can see them as well:
#volunteer
#volunteers
#microvolunteering
#nonprofits
#nonprofit
#ngos
#humanitarian
#ict4d
This means that, say, anyone interested in ICTs being used as a part of development activities in third world countries and that does a search on a particular day for the phrase ICT4d is going to see any Tweets I've done recently that include that term.
Your tags will probably be different, depending on the focus of your organization or department. How do you find what tags to use? By looking to see what similar organizations use, and by searching for tags you think might be in use.
What about a Tweet Going Viral?
One of the most hyped things about microblogging is a message going viral, meaning that many of the people who receive it are so moved by it that they forward it to others, and many of those who receive it do the same, and on and on.
Messages go viral because they are funny, because they are breaking huge news ("Elvis is NOT dead"), or because they point to something incredibly cool (like the space shuttle breaking through the atmosphere, as viewed by someone on an airplane). These messages often make the news, but they are incredibly rare.
When does a Tweet from a nonprofit go viral? When it meets one of the aforementioned requirements:
- It tells people what number to text from a cell phone in order to donate to an area that has just been hit by a major disaster
- It announces that your new baby panda exhibit has a webcam
- It announces that Elvis has joined your board of directors, with a link to photo proof
The reality is that most nonprofits or NGOs are NEVER going to have news this big EVER. If you are donating most of your planning to how to make a Tweet go viral, you are missing the point of microblogging's value to nonprofits and NGOs.
Live Tweet Chats/Live Micro-Blogging
TechSoup has used live tweet chat events to solicit questions and quick answers from and for nonprofit organizations regarding specific text tools, such as Facebook, online video, and Twitter itself. The purpose of these live events has been to help build the capacities of nonprofits to use these tools (an activity which is directly related to the mission of TechSoup), to create awareness about TechSoup, and to attract more traffic and users to TechSoup's web-based services, such as the TechSoup community forum. The point is that, for this organization:
- They created events that related directly to their mission
- They had ways to measure the impact of the event, by looking at what happens AFTER the event
A live tweet chat event for a nonprofit, NGO or other mission-based organization could be:
- A Q & A with your high-profile executive director or other high-profile, oft-in-demand staff person - someone people really want to talk to
- An event with your volunteers where they talk about what they have liked most about being a volunteer with you, what they've learned, etc.
- Brainstorming ideas for green living
- A Q & A with experts about some issue your organization addresses: helping aspiring actors and dancers, leading exercises with seniors, spaying and neutering pets, etc.
It needs to be something simple; you cannot do anything that's too involved, like exploring ways to reduce violence against women, or dealing with teen pregnancy, or addressing long-time misunderstandings between two religious groups, etc. Your goals for such an event need to be simple.
Also, remember that anyone who wants to can see this event happen. It's an entirely public event.
A live tweet chat event is NOT for everyone. It's an intense experience that requires a lot of preparation before the start and a lot of concentration during the event by the organizer, and requires a lot of excited people who know how to participate (and want to!).
The fundamentals of a successful live tweet chat event:
- A live tweet chat event has a definite start and end date, though many participants will tweeting before and will keep tweeting afterwards. Myself: I prefer just an hour for such events.
- The event requires that all participants use the same tag on every message they tweet as a part of the live event. This tag has to be communicated to all participants before the event. Participants follow the event by doing a search for that particular tag. For the TechSoup event regarding using Twitter, the tag used was #NPtwitter.
- The event requires a lot of promotion on other venues: you should list the event on the events sections of LinkedIn and Facebook, put the details on your web site, blog about it, include it in any email or print newsletters, and talk about it ion the organization's blog and on its Facebook profile. Post about it to online discussion groups you are a part of, as appropriate. Staff should also be encouraged to talk about it in their own status updates on LinkedIn and Facebook.
- Use status updates on your various online networking accounts and your Twitter feed to remind people of the event two hours before the event, again an hour before, and again as the event is starting.
- Have your welcome message, opening question, some questions for midway through and your ending message already written and ready to copy and paste into your Twitter feed at the appropriate time.
- Arrange a core group of folks each with at least one question prepared and ready to copy and paste into their own Twitter feeds during the event if questions don't start immediately. This core group should also already have at least one resource or advice statement ready to copy and paste into their own Twitter feeds during the event, to ensure there is something being posted at least every 60 seconds. This core group can be designated employees or volunteers; talk with them beforehand so they know exactly what they are supposed to do.
- Have someone designated to thank every person who posts a question or an answer during the event. They can thank three or four people at once: Thanks to @jcravens42, @ebarnhart & @LCMoy for great questions re: nonprofits & Twitter. #NPtwitter. Now all of the followers of these people are going to see this Tweet, and have the tag to click on to jump in and see what's going on. You've just reach more people with your event! This is a great task for an online volunteer.
- Encourage participants to retweet questions and answers. Most will feel encouraged to do this if they see others doing it, so make sure your core group for this event knows they should retweet something at least once during the event.
- If you cannot answer every question that comes in, that's okay; save them and assure participants that all questions will be addressed on a followup web page or blog.
- Capture every post and compile the information into a web page or a blog so others can read the key information from this event, and answer any questions that did not get answered during the event. This is a GREAT task for an online volunteer to do for you.
Evaluate Your Efforts!
Once you launch your microblogs, evaluate your efforts. If you encourage your volunteers, event attendees, etc. to text-their-location at the start, during or at the end of an event, track the results: do you see an increase in the number of phone calls or emails to your organization regarding volunteering? An increase in phone calls requesting more information? More attendees to an event? Ask your volunteers and other supporters as well what kind of responses they get per a message they have sent out to their network.
Look at your email, RSS and Twitter subscription numbers frequently. Survey users to ask what they like and what they don't about how you are communicating. Ask ex-subscribers why they left. Always have data to help you refine your micro-blogging based on subscriber (and ex-subscriber) feedback.
What's most important: measure your success with online tools by real outcomes, not number of subscribers, number of messages sent, etc.
Final Key Suggestions
Microblogging is NOT for everyone. It's not appropriate for every mission-based organization (and maybe most organizations). It's also not something every volunteer and other supporter of a nonprofit wants to use.
A lot of nonprofits I have talked with abandoned micro-blogging after just a few weeks or months, because subscribers realized they really didn't want nor need frequent updates from a nonprofit organization they support and, eventually, there weren't enough subscribers to continue the microblogging effort.
A tip sheet on using Twitter for nonprofits that I came across recently said, "Limit your Tweets to 5 per day, and no more than 6!" I almost fell out of my chair. Unless you have a VERY passionate, ultra Internet savvy volunteer base, the vast majority of people do NOT want to receive messages from your organization that often. Most people are overwhelmed with online and cell phone messages and are looking for ways to cut down, not increase, online noise.
There is the danger of “crying wolf,” using the service so often that it loses its impact. Volunteers and other supporters should know when they subscribe to your microblogging service that you will use it for critical, time-sensitive messages only, messages that require immediate attention or action. They want messages like, "Barack Obama just walked in the front door of our office and it's live on CNN", not "Our Executive Director is flying to Seattle today for a board meeting."
If you are going to micro-blog, find what works best for your organization and your volunteers, and know that your experience may be hugely different than another organization. The only way to be sure what potential subscribers to your microblog would want is to ASK THEM. Ask volunteers and others if they would be interested in receiving updates via their cell phone from your organization, and tell them what such an update might look like. Ask them what they think would be an appropriate message vs. one that should have been sent via email or posted to an online discussion group instead. Ask them what microblogs they already receive via their cell phones and why.
Content is still king. The online tools you use that have staying power -- and are, therefore, worth investing in -- are those that have quality, highly-desirable content. The fluffier and faddy your messages, the shorter the time whatever tool you are using will be valuable to those you are trying to reach. Be thoughtful and be strategic about whatever communication tool you use, even the flavor of the month.
Who to Follow To Learn More
For an organization that wants to see the value of Twitter for mission-based organizations, I recommend you follow these organizations for, say, a month:
Note how each of these Tweeters use their feeds differently, how different their audiences are, etc. What do you think the goal of each of these organizations is with microblogging? How will that be the same or different for your organization?
How I use Twitter is a blog that details how I am using Twitter as of July 26, 2011. If your nonprofit, NGO, government office, etc. or an individual staff member cannot say how it is you are using Twitter, in this detail, then you are not using microblogging strategically!
Also See...
- Handling Online Criticism
Online criticism of a nonprofit organization, even by its own supporters, is inevitable. It may be about an organization's new logo or new mission statement, the lack of parking, or that the volunteer orientation being too long. It may be substantial questions regarding an organization's business practices and perceived lack of transparency. How a nonprofit organization handles online criticism speaks volumes about that organization, for weeks, months, and maybe even years to come. There's no way to avoid it, but there are ways to address criticism that can help an organization to be perceived as even more trustworthy and worth supporting.
- Using Real-Time Communications
With Volunteers
A growing number of organizations are using real-time communications -- usually called "chats" -- to hold online meetings with volunteers, or to allow volunteers to interact with staff, clients, or each other. This resource provides more information on chats -- what they are, how agencies are using them to interact with volunteers, tips to encourage and maintain participation in chats, and where to find chat software. This resource was developed by the Virtual Volunteering Project.
- Internet discussion groups for volunteers
Many agencies have created e-mail-based discussion groups or newsgroups for their volunteers. These asynchronous online tools allow agencies to easily make announcements to volunteers, and sometimes also allow volunteers to interact with each other, get suggestions and feedback, and ask questions. They can also serve as a written record of participation, concerns, trends and issues for volunteers. Unlike chats, volunteers can participate whenever they wish, and they don't need special software to do so. This resource was developed by the Virtual Volunteering Project.
- Using Video to Support Online Volunteers/Remote Volunteers
Video is a great way to further support volunteers, and your computer probably already has all of the tools you need to make a video, or to engage in a live video conversation with others. Video isn't something to use only with online volunteers or remote volunteers (those providing onsite service at a different location than yours). It's also a tool you can use with new and current volunteers. In addition to an organization producing videos for volunteers, it can also work the other way around: volunteers can produce videos for organizations. This resource provides information on your options, and links to my own short video on the subject.
- What are good blog topics for mission-based organizations?
The word "blog" is short for "web log", and means keeping a journal or diary online. Blogging is NOT a new concept -- people have been doing it long before it had a snazzy media label. The appeal of blogging for an online audience is that it's more personal and less formal than other information on a web site. Readers who want to connect with an organization on a more personal level, or who are more intensely interested in an organization than the perhaps general public as a whole, love blogs. Blogs can come from your Executive Director, other staff members, volunteers, and even those you serve. Content options are many, and this list reviews some of your options.
- For Nonprofits Considering Their Own Podcasts:
Why It's Worth Exploring, and Content Considerations
I present my first podcast about... podcasts (transcript included). Specifically, I talk about how podcasts can be used by nonprofits, and just how easy it is to do.
- Nonprofit Organizations and Online Social Networking (OSN): Advice and Commentary
OSN is buzz phrase used to describe special web-based online communities that are accessible only for community members, like LinkedIn, FaceBook and MySpace. Is there a value for nonprofit organizations to engage in OSN platforms? This resource offers a realistic set of possibilities and considerations.
- Evaluating Online Activities: Online Action Should Create & Support Offline Action
Hundreds of "friends" on an online social networking site. Thousands of subscribers to an email newsletter. Dozens of attendees to a virtual event. Those are impressive numbers on the surface, but if they don't translate into more volunteers, repeat volunteers, new donors, repeat donors, more clients, repeat clients, legislation, or public pressure, they are just that: numbers. For online activities to translate into something tangible, online action must create and support offline action. What could this look like? This resource can help organizations plan strategically about online activities so that they lead to something tangible - not just numbers.
- Stages of Maturity in Nonprofit Orgs Using Online Services
What does a networking technology-savvy nonprofit
organization look like? To help nonprofits think about networking tech standards they should pursue, and possible goals for the future, I've created this assessment of the states of maturity for a nonprofit organization's use of networking/online technologies.
Return to my list of resources relating to online culture & communities of volunteers
Return to my volunteer-related resources
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