This is just a reminder to us all how powerful the internet is. We all have to be careful about our public image. Within seconds, the entire 500 million people of Facebook can know something that could help or hurt your organization. So make sure you use the internet wisely. Connect with your publics and be friendly. Be open with communication rather than closed.

With a potential audience of 500 million, make sure your Facebook image is a good one.

2. Encourage participation. Whether that’s tweeting at someone or calling your audience to action, it’s important to get your followers motivated.

3. With everything you write, make sure it’s worth everyone’s time. Sure it’s only 140 characters, but there are just some things that people do  not need  or want to know.

4. Respond to tweets often. Whether it’s just a simple “thanks for the follow” or answering others’ questions, it shows that you/your organization values relationship forms of communication rather than the out-dated 1-way communication model.

5. Tweet about different things. Keep your Twitter account interesting. Just because you focus career-wise in one field doesn’t mean you can’t tweet about other things that interest you. And chances are, you can relate most things back to what you’re “known” for.

Tweet On.

There are a few things that need to be done. First off, choose which social media site you want to use and focus on. Having too many sites to manage will eventually lead to a few of those sites lying dormant in the World Wide Web. Inactivity on these sites will convey a message to viewers that your company isn’t fully paying attention to the details.  When looking at your social media site, viewers want to see it bustling with life because in their minds, it is a representation of the charitable work that you do as well. By the same token, do not overwhelm you followers with constant updates about every small little thing; leave that to Lindsay Lohan and the other obsessive Tweeters. (No, actually we don’t care that you just brushed your teeth, but thanks for sharing).

By focusing your social media on one or two key sites, you allow your organization to connect with your followers. Since this opportunity is there, embrace it. You can respond with personalized Tweets or posts rather than sending out mass, generic e-mails and newsletters. Social media allows for relationships to be built. So build them and your organization will see the benefits of being real rather than a distant, impersonal organization asking for donations.

Connect with your volunteers, potential volunteers and those whose interest has been piqued by your cause. If you really want to put a face and personality into your relationships on social media, call for some opportunities to meet in public as a large group for you and your following.

Some resources that your NPO can use:

-Volunteermatch.org : A “dating” website of sorts for Non-Profits and those who want to make a difference in our world. This takes the stress out of looking for volunteers, the site will have them find you.

-Firstgiving.com : A way to raise money online for either your organization to use as a collective, or for your members to use to reach their more immediate base  of contacts. Check out more tips for raising money online.

-Google Analytics: Find out, for FREE, how many people are visiting your site to measure the results of your Social Media endeavor.

For more tips on NPO Social Media

For examples of successful NPO Social Media pages already in practice

Details on their site state:

foursquare is a cross between a friend-finder, a social city-guide and a game that rewards you for doing interesting things.  We aim to build things to not only help you keep up with the places your friends go, but that encourage you to discover new places and challenge you to explore your neighborhood in new ways.

The best way to utilize this website is on your mobile phone.  That’s right.  The action and fun start by “checking in” at various locations by using your mobile phone.  A number of apps have been created for a variety of phones including the iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and Palm.  If you don’t have one of these smart phones, you can access the site by visiting http://m.foursquare.com from your mobile browser to “check in”.

How could this potentially help my business?

Checking into a location.

Approved businesses will have access to see who is checking into their location.  Businesses can now have the opportunity to send rewards and encourage the “checking-in”.  Here is a snapshot on FourSquares website regarding the privacy settings (which you can turn on and off)

FourSquare Check-In Privacy Setting

I crown you MAYOR OF ________.

Playing the game offers a reward system.  Individuals who “check-in” the most at a location are rewarded Mayor status.  A number of businesses (coffee shops, pizza joints, etc) are offering discounts to individuals with the “Mayor” status.  FourSquare’s website has a section dedicated to how you can utilize this app to promote your business. Also, they encourage businesses to promote the “Mayor” discounts on the FourSquare site.

Get your brownie sash out of the closet – its badge time.

Badges are still a “work-in-progress” for FourSquare, however it’s an opportunity for you as a business owner.  Since this is a WIP, FourSquare is asking for your recommendations on what additional badges to create and offer.  So, as an owner of a brick and mortar, create a badge that is earned if someone checks in 5 times within  a month.  If they earn your badge, offer then a discount or free item.

This is just a small taste of the potential FourSquare is about to bring.  It’s still in the early stages, jump on board, create a profile, and start “Checking-In”.

Features of this site include:

• Article Directory with Archive
• Staff/Journalists Updater
• Calendar of Events updater
• Networking Resource Updater
• Online Advertisement Management
• Built with CSS to be search engine friendly

Beyond the features that we have built for Citigal Magazine, you can find them on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn among other online social media outlets.

When looking at some of the big hitters in the advertising world, its easy to see what is working and what isn’t working to relay a message.  Check out Coca-Cola’s website.  The first thing you see is a huge promotion to join them on Facebook.  The very first thing!  Now if this isn’t a message for the world about the power of social media, I don’t know what is.

A local radio station recently offered free tickets to a concert, but the only way a listener could get the answer to the station’s questions was to follow them on Twitter.  What an excellent advertising opportunity for the radio station to quickly increase their number of followers they have.  As radio station gains followers on Twitter, the promoting only becomes easier.  The radio station grabs attention on the airwaves and online.

Another example I saw earlier this morning is a commercial for Dentyne Gum that plays heavily on the social media concept.  Most social media sites allow you to accept, reject, or deny “friends or connections”.  This commercial ends with the tag line “60 connections in every bottle”.  What’s happening here is the online world is filtering through to the offline world.  Lingo and actions normally associated with website activities are being applied to other media.  Why is this happening?  Social media is so powerful that the transition into other media (radio, tv, print, etc) is the only logical next step in the world of advertising.  Good marketers know that relaying their message across different media is the best way to reach their audience.  Adding social media is another important piece of the puzzle.

Do you need any more proof that social media is an important aspect of your business?  It’s a powerful marketing tool that absolutely needs to be part of your marketing strategy and budget.

Social media is working.  The big guys and little mom and pops are doing it.  It emphasizes your brand and message, stimulates your target audience, and keeps your name top of mind in your consumers head.  Need more convincing than my examples?  Check out this recently published report:  Social Media Marketing Industry Report by Michael Stelzner.

Twenty-Set created by Monica O’Brien to share her experiences about social media, entrepreneurship, Gen Y and any random topics she decides to write about.

Steal Fashion created by Bridget MacWalters as a means to share with the world that awesome fashion does not have to be expensive. Her goal is to share the stories of various boutiques and designers across the country.

AthleticGals.com created by a team of ladies (I’m one of them) to share their stories, thoughts and perspective on various sports and athletic events.

Beerleague Benchwarmers created by Andy Highby to share his viewpoints on current hockey events, particularly in the WCHA – college hockey.

MySkyMom created by a pilot instructor who wants to help student pilots with the everyday questions that come up in the flying world.

Got a new blog to share? I want to hear about it. Want to start a blog, its easy, check out www.wordpress.com to set one up. Review the recent blog post on Search Before Blogging to get a couple of pointers on blogging.