Training Camp for Nonprofit Social Media Rock Stars, Part 2

Pay special attention at training camp to board members with Mohawks.

Grab your whistle. It's time for Part 2 of Turning Your Nonprofit Board into Social Media Rock Stars: Training Camp. Here you’ll coach the board about their ability to effect powerful change through the simple posting of a picture or by tapping out 140 characters.

There are all sorts of tactics you'll be able to teach them, but here you really want to accomplish three things: help them gain an understanding the playbook and what social media actually is; amaze them with its viral feats of strength and speed; and get them in tip-top shape by connecting them in a meaningful way.

Let's start with understanding social media because, believe it or not, they might think they know what it is, but many of them don't.

An example: I recently asked a CEO, with whom I serve on a nonprofit board, if he used social media. His response was a thrifty and practical, “I don’t do Facebook.” Well, I looked him up on LinkedIn, and guess what? He occupied the lofty social media heights of having 500+ contacts there. He and many users equate social media with Facebook or perhaps that “Twitter” thing. You'll want them to understand that it actually covers participation in a far larger pool, one in which they probably swim. The 15 most popular social media sites start with Facebook at the top and end with Badoo. In between, you'll find sites such as Google+ and devianART. Yes, devianART. And all of them have millions of monthly users. (1)

Next, teach them about the “amplification” of social media advocacy. The business people on your board understand compounding interest. The math majors get the concept of exponential growth. And if you've got a geologist, they'll know that a 6 on the Richter Scale doesn't just release 20% more energy than an earthquake measuring 5 -- it's actually 10 times greater.

Social media is just as potent, and it goes like this: You are but one individual. But you've got friends! In fact, if you're the average person on Facebook, you've got 245 friends (2). So one day you post a message of support about your local animal shelter to Facebook. If your 245 friends relay your message to their 245 friends, who in turn share your message with their 245 friends, suddenly you've got the potential to reach nearly 15 million people with that message. Now, 100% pass-along just doesn't happen, but recent stats indicate that the average Facebook user can reach 150,000 friends of friends -- no small potatoes.

So if you’ve got 20 board members and each can reach 150,000 friends of friends with their shout-out for your awesome cause, you can reach 3 million people. When was the last time you were able to do THAT in with positive word-of-mouth in a coffee shop?

Last up for training camp is Connection with a Capital C. You want your team to bond, so get your board members to connect with your cause on social media. You'll be surprised at how many aren't following or liking you already. Then ask them to do the same with their fellow board members -- this way they will be able to follow cohorts and share their messages of support as well.

Of course, there are many, many more things you can teach them in training camp -- from using images and videos in their posts to increase the engagement to measuring their own online influence at sites such as Klout or Peer Index. But the main thing is to get buy-in, understanding, and connection. Your board will enjoy this exercise -- and be better advocates for it. And you'll probably have fun learning a thing or two yourself.

-- Russ Stoddard

Stay Tuned for "Ignition," the final segment in our series "Turn Your Nonprofit Board into Social Media Rock Stars.

(1) ebizmba.com 2012
 
(2) Pew Center's Internet and American Life Project, 2012

Turn Your Nonprofit Board into Social Media Rock Stars

Be a social media rock star like Mark Wahlberg - he's got 150K followers on Twitter.

Creating a board of social media rock stars takes a little work, but it’s worth it. With your help, you can make this an exceptionally easy and powerful way for them to advocate and spread your message.

There are 3 steps to doing so: Influence I.D., Training Camp, and Ignition. Today’s post talks about identifying social influence.

Influence I.D. is all about being wired and packing wallop. It starts upstream of the current board when identifying prospective new board members. You want to see who’s “wired,” considering them through the lens of social media – who participates, who’s active, which of them has influence?

Finding them online should be easy enough, whether they’re on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or another social media.

You’ll quickly get an idea of whether they’re wired or not. Next, you want to see if they’ve got “wallop,” or influence. You can gain insight into by checking social influence measurement sites such as Klout, Kred, or Peer Index. From these, you’ll be able to gauge overall influence, as well as areas of special expertise, whether that’s bicycling, nonprofits, human rights, or finance, for instance.

You should use these metrics to distinguish and choose potential candidates in the future. When recruiting, be sure to set the expectation that they should advocate for you online.

Now conduct the same exercise with your existing board members. Depending on their generational bent (and protestations that they do NOT do social media), you’ll find that most of them participate, though many will have a preferred venue. A CEO could be super connected via LinkedIn only (and won’t see this as social media, but as a “business tool”), while an active community philanthropist might an image-pinning queen on Pinterest.

Use this data to compile a board social media matrix – who’s active on what social media, the number of their followers, friends, or connections, and their overall influence metric. Just like putting a team on an athletic field, this will enable you to determine who’s best at playing where. You can then develop tactics for making the most of the time they invest on behalf of your organization.

-- Russ Stoddard

Stay Tuned for Our Next Post: Training Camp For Your Social Media Board Team.

Have You Made A "Love Child" With Your Banker Lately?

B29 StrEATery -- A "Love Child."

In 21 years of owning small businesses, I’ve had my share of experiences with commercial banks. I’ve had “relationships” with four of them, ranging from local to regional to national, and the experience largely has been transactional in nature. Oh, sure, there’s been arm twisting, the yearly lunch, cajoling, a fly-fishing trip, and the occasional “sweat” session through economic downturns – now that’s when a bank really gets involved in “the relationship.”

So I’ve been through the wringer and survived and now I’m on to my fifth bank with Social Good Network. And I can truly say I never thought I’d utter these words, but here they are: I love our bank.

Jennifer's "da bomb." And she gets startups.

We bank with Intermountain Community Bank (ICB). Now, I hesitate to call Jennifer Deroin a banker, because she’s really “da bomb.” Jennifer is so unlike any other commercial banker I’ve met. She’s proactive. She’s creative. She thinks with an entrepreneurial mindset. Jennifer’s totally a banking cat with different stripes, and she takes the tired and trite banking adage of “we’re your partner” and turns it into true.

Here’s another good example of how her bank is different. Check out the ICB partnership with Brick 29 Bistro restaurant and their B29 Streatery Food Truck (d-frickin-licious, by the way). ICB helped make it happen, and the folks at B29 were so happy with the relationship that they plastered it on their exceptionally cool food truck. Now when was the last time you ever heard of a commercial bank creating a “Love Child” with a customer – let alone co-promoting their brand this way? That’s forward thinking. That’s differentiation. THAT is a relationship. And I love it.

Proudly proclaimed on the food truck's graphics.

Thanks, Jennifer and ICB – you’ve been crucial to the progress of our startup thus far. We’re looking forward to more of it.

-- Russ Stoddard

Your Mom Called. She Wants You to Get it Together.

It's Mother's Day, people. Don't panic . . . yet. Today is not actually Mother's Day, but before you know it, Sunday, May 13th will be upon us. As ever, you will likely find yourself rolling out of bed that fateful morning with empty hands, having forgotten the occasion altogether. It's high time we all admitted the utter unacceptability of our continual neglect of Mother's Day. Your mother is (in)arguably the most important person that has ever existed in your life. Seriously. YOU CAME OUT OF HER. So, do something nice this year. Plan ahead for once. If you shop using Social Good Network, you might even score some extra mom kudos because a percentage of your purchase will go to a nonprofit of your choice. Here are a few of my favorite SGN offerings with mommy in mind:

GROUPON

GROUPON Deals

Time, they say, is the greatest gift of all. Why not track down a nice, personalized Groupon for you and mom to use together? Choose one that facilitates an activity. Go to lunch. Get some pedi's. Go to a boxing class. Whatever does it for your mama.

Nordstrom
Chloé
L'Eau de Chloé Mother's Day Set
I can't get over this new fragrance from Chloé. It's timeless and ageless, a great scent for me and my mom adores it too. Fresh and floral, but full of depth. Not to mention, this Mom's Day exclusive from Nordstrom is a steal.

Chaco
Chaco
Flip EcoTread (Black)
Flip flops are supposed to be bad for your feet, but these super supportive numbers from Chaco might change your mind. The Flip EcoTred experience is to walking what memory foam is to sleeping. Mother will surely approve. You can surprise her with a pair post tandem pedicure.

REI

prAna 
Revolution Natural Sticky Yoga Mat

This nontoxic yoga mat is biodegradable, but it's still durable and delightfully sticky. Need I list the reasons to invest in such a thing? Get one for each of you. A visit to the Groupon site is the modern equivalent of turning to the yoga section of the yellow pages. Why not integrate some Namaste into your special day?

--Catie Young

Slip On Socially Good Fashion This Summer

You’ve got to love TOMS Shoes and their One-for-One program. With every pair you buy, TOMS gives a pair to a child in need. Since September 2010, the brainchild of TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie has given 1 million pairs of new shoes to children around the world. We say, "Right on!"

The New Brushed Leopard Slip-On from TOMS. Exclusively from Nordstrom.

Of course, doing socially good work is fashionable -- but wearing it is, too. TOMS is totally stepping out with some seriously cool styles, fabrics, and colors. Check out their new kitties – Brushed Leopard Slip-Ons that let you purr or roar depending on your mood.

Does it get any better than the combo of One-for-One and sweet slip-ons for summer?

Yes, it does. These new slip-ons (and a fun Aztek print version as well) are exclusive to our online retail partner Nordstrom. Buy them via the Nordstrom link on our site, and you can turn them into an additional donation for your favorite cause at NO extra cost to you.

-- Russ Stoddard

Fundraising from the Hinterlands, Part 2 – "Neighboring Up."

We startups still circle the wagons on the Oregon Trail here in Boise.

How does a startup make a buck go further especially when you don’t have a buck? In these parts, you “neighbor up.”

Maybe it has to do with our location on the Oregon Trail and Boise's distance from other major metropolitan markets – the closest “big city,” if you call it that, is Salt Lake Metro, which is 5+ hours by car.

No big change there. Boise has always been located far away from capital markets and the centers of commerce. And while theoretically the Internet levels the field – “It doesn’t matter where you are located, right?” – you’re still an outsider looking in.

That’s why we’ve “neighbored up” with fellow startups here as a way to extend resources while we’re developing our products and seeking investment capital for growth. Where the pioneers might have asked a neighbor for help with a particularly stubborn boulder when clearing a field, we’re swapping intellectual capital.

At Social Good Network, we’ve augmented our technical skills by working with Meal Ticket and Tsuvo Social to help us on a range of needs from developing tech specs to reviewing lines of embed code. From Kestrel West, we’re getting an innocent’s bath in the ways of campaign fundraising for an exciting new product we’re about to launch.

In turn, we have deep experience in marketing, so we’ve assisted Meal Ticket with investor presentations and email marketing. For Tsuvo Social, we’ve advising them on branding and marketing strategy. For Kestrel West, right now we’re a good name on their fledgling client roster, though I’m certain we’ll be called upon shortly for our turn pulling their marketing oar.

Nothing changes hands so we preserve our precious financial resources. And we ALL get a good dose of moral support in the process.

Certainly in cities with startup accelerators this probably happens on a daily basis for the chosen few. But for those among us who choose to plow the earth in hometowns far from the “madding crowd,” this is a Godsend approach toward moving from startup to growth stage.

-- Russ Stoddard

Our Spring Chicken's Fresh Pickin's

I see no better activity with which to fill lulls in the workday than cruising the wide selection of products offered by SGN's many fantastic retailers. Here's what I'm sweet on this week. The sun is finally coming out and birds are singing their beaks sore. Could it be? Spring is here. It's time to freshen up. Need I remind you that Social Good Network provides the perfect opportunity to do a little spring splurging without the guilt? Buy through SGN and your favorite nonprofits benefit.  

AMAZON

Tanlines - Mixed Emotions [Vinyl]

This is your soundtrack for Spring/Summer 2012. Trust me. You're welcome.

Nordstrom
NARS
Pure Matte Lipstick in Montego Bay

So sweet, so pink. Think Marilyn Monroe's pretty blush lips on the set of The Misfits (sure, the film is in black and white -- use your imagination). Mmm, spring.

Keds
Champion Thumbs-Up

Good news, everyone. You no longer need the flexibility of those crazy street performers who fold themselves into boxes to give a thumbs-up with you foot. Check out these peachy keens. See those little white things all over them? Those are Thumbs-ups. Uh-huh. Throw your feet in the air if you feel good.

See's Candies

Dark Chocolates

Nothing makes me crave sugar like the onset of swimsuit season. Plus, if you order chocolate and have it sent straight to the office, you'll make friends (or you won't . . . we all know those bikini bods aren't going to sculpt themselves).

--Catie Young