5 Quick Tips for Nonprofit Networking in the Age of Social Media

Recently I presented to the Association of Fundraising Professional in Central Florida on Nonprofit Networking in the 21st Century. Talking about how networking has changed and connecting with donors, sponsors, and fellow professionals has become a world tied to social media and technology. Below are 5 quick take aways from my presentation and a copy of the full presentation with lots of great links/examples.

1. Earn your social media karma. This means it’s important to give, share, and build up your social media karma with your donors and friends online. Don’t be the person who always is asking for something and not giving back. Build your social media karma for that time when you really need people to help support or share your cause.
2. Don’t put all your eggs into one basket. Relying only on one type of social media or online tool is foolish because you are missing out on a group of people who don’t use it. This could mean to focus on a few key networks or tools that give you a good reach of your donor and audience. Remember social media and tools can change very quickly, so it’s important to not rely on a single one for everything.
3. Learn about your audience and what mediums they prefer. I have been quoted in saying it’s important to learn about the medium someone prefers when networking. Some people want an email, other want a text, some prefer a tweet, and one might want that old fashion phone call.
4. Analytics are necessary. It’s important to find out if your audience is clicking on your links, engaging with your photos, or sharing your content. Try tools such as Hootsuite, Buffer, and Bitly to test different formats, times, and postings types through a variety of social media channels. Learn about the insight on your Facebook page and how the number of followers, fans, and connections are not as important as engagement.
5. Engage, engage, engage. Engage with your audience, friends, and network on a regular basis. Give back to them, reply to them, retweet them, and connect with them on a personal level. You are a real person and not a robot. Make sure people understand that in connecting with them.

Check out a full copy of the presentation on my SlideShare: http://buff.ly/15Mwu6t