Best Blogs of 2011

Well, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for…our choice for the best Connection Cafe blog posts of 2011.

I wish I could connect them all with some pithy common thread, but alas, the word “eclectic” is the first thing that springs to mind. After all, the common thread between baseball and Google Analytics is so obvious, right? But it occurs to me that the common thread is how varied and diverse the world of nonprofit success really is — to do it well you have to do a whole lot of things right, a whole lot of the time. So, for those of you that achieved it in 2011, congratulations! And to those of you still striving for that Holy Grail, keep tuned to this station because Convio will be back in January with tips, techniques, ideas and the occasional cyber musings (those would be from me) to keep you on the right path to achieving success in 2012. Happy New Year from all of us at Convio!!

1. 50 Social Media Content Ideas – keep your nonprofit’s social media presence alive and healthy all year long
2. Baseball: A Metaphor for Everything – time for your organization to start thinking differently.
3. CRM Glossary – six essential terms you need to know to dive in and get your hands dirty with CRM.
4. Fun Friday Facts – three facts about the social media revolution that will knock your socks off.
5. Google Analytics for Nonprofits – tips on using Google Analytics to gain more insight into your online marketing.

This post originally appeared in the Convio Connection newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.

Do More with YouTube

You’ve applied and been accepted to the YouTube Nonprofit Program. Congrats! You are ready to start slapping call-to-action overlays on your YouTube videos…but hold on, what is your call to action? How are you going to use this awesome, free resource to help reach your mission?

I’ve got a few ideas for you.

1. Donate. If you have a general PSA type video, link it back to your annual donation page. (Be sure the page includes a sustained giving option.) If the video is about a specific program you offer, link to a page where potential donors can give to that specific program.
2. Volunteer. Now that you’ve shown how rewarding it is to feed hungry kittens or help kiddos learn to read, let your viewers be a part of the fun. Link back to a volunteer registration or interest form. Make sure it includes the volunteer opportunity featured in your video.
3. Newsletter sign up. This is also good for a more generic video and your copy should encourage them to continue learning more about your organization through your email newsletter.
4. Advocate. Your awesome, emotional video has them pumped to create change – so let them. Help them create change by linking to a petition or a contact-your-representative form.
5. Learn more. It’s pretty simple. You caught there interest with 30 seconds of video but goodness knows that didn’t communicate the full scope of your program. Simply send them to the webpage that contains the next logical bits of information. For example, if your video is about support groups, it probably makes sense to direct viewers to the support group schedule.

Great! Now you have a call-to-action overlay. Where are you going to embed this awesome video, complete with call-to-action? I've got a few ideas on that too.

1. Website. Use the power of video to help web visitors better understand your organization. One thing to keep in mind here though, make sure the video's call-to-action overlay doesn't direct them to the same page you embed the video in. That would just be silly.
2. Facebook. Use the YouTube long URL to show the video right there on Facebook. (From a video, go to "share," then "show options," and finally "long link.")
3. LinkedIn Products/Services tab. You may not have "products" exactly, but I bet you have services and programs. Update your org's LinkedIn page and use your videos to add pizzazz.
4. Blog. This can be especially great for seasons when your blog team is strapped for time (you know...like the holidays). Embed a video and just write a paragraph or so of text around it for a super-quick-to-post post.

Check out the YouTube Nonprofit Program page for more ideas and best practices on using video to meet your mission.

New Rules of Engagement

We are, each and every one of us, consumers. We buy things – products, services, insurance, etc. And every time we make a purchase, we compare our experience to other similar experiences in our life – both consciously and subconsciously. Was my experience at the bank better than my experience at the grocery store? I really like the way my insurance agent lets me know what’s going on with my policy; I sure wish my credit card company would do something similar. We have a myriad of interaction channels to choose from when engaging with company x, y or z – online, direct mail, email, text, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Every interaction a company has with us – good and bad -- can be publicly scrutinized and publicly broadcast, creating whole new levels of accountability in a new digital world. But are the rules any different for nonprofits?

To put it simply, no. As a matter of fact the evolution of the digital world and the growth in multi-channel engagement requires nonprofits to be even more focused on the experience than ever before (and likely even more than their for-profit counterparts). Behavior drives response. When people donate to a cause, volunteer for a charity or advocate on a nonprofit’s behalf, they do so because the mission and the story resonate with a part of their soul. It’s personal. It goes beyond buying a widget or paying a monthly electric bill. People want to feel connected to a cause in which they believe, they want to feel a part of something bigger than themselves, which creates an entirely different set of expectations when simply buying a new TV set (although we all still want to be made to feel like we are human beings even when filling the tank with gas).  

So, what should I focus on if I’m a nonprofit?

For the most part, what holds true in the for-profit sector carries over to the nonprofit sector as well – a seamless, integrated engagement experience that feels as though it has been personalized for me. Organizations that do this well are: Amazon.com, Hilton Hotels and Southwest Airlines. Nonprofits could learn quite a bit from these organizations in terms of these new rules of engagement that boil down to:

• Know Thy Constituent. You know me. You know my preferences and make the experience feel unique to me.
• Value. Value is critical. Where is my money going? How is it being used? What are some of the projects that are taking place that might be of importance to me?
• Integrated Interaction. Call it integrated. Call it multi-channel. The premise is all the same. In the nonprofit sector, direct mail has been the “tried and true” approach to fundraising for the past umpteen years. Direct mail is still the fundraising bread and butter for the nonprofit world. But online is now the fastest growing fundraising channel, growing at approximately 40 percent year-over-year. Mobile and social media are starting to get their sea legs as well. It’s absolutely essential that nonprofits adopt an integrated strategy to engage with their constituents and be able to consistently tell their story across multiple channels. And recognize that not everyone wants a piece of mail (or an email or a text message).

That’s all well and good, but how do I get there from a practical perspective? Glad you asked. Nonprofits that have any degree of success in creating a unique and memorable experience for the constituent base they engage have spent time, energy and money implementing the right technologies and understanding the right processes that pay significant dividends at the end of the day.

• Database. The database is such a key/core component for any nonprofit. And there is a piece of it that is unique to the nonprofit sector. For-profit companies know their customers, track their customers and sell to their customers – by and large, a single constituency they serve. For nonprofits, there are two constituent bases with differing needs – those who donate money, volunteer and advocate on behalf of the organization, and those who receive the benefits of the services being offered by the nonprofit (for example, AIDS victims). Two very different sets of “customers” that need to be engaged differently. To be most successful, having a single database that can track ALL interactions – online, offline, etc., will remove internal silos and help create a unique experience for people that engage with an organization.
• Business Intelligence Tools and Processes. Ok, we have this great database, now what do we do with all this information? Analytics and the ability to “view” and report on the data in your database is essential. Does this individual donor live in a household with a spouse? What is their preferred method of contact? Have they both contributed individually to the organization? Knowing this type of information and showing the donor you care enough about them to recognize their personal preferences creates a unique and authentic connection that engenders trust.
• Lifetime Value. The ultimate goal for any nonprofit is to be able to extend or improve the lifetime value of any donor, volunteer or advocate. Receiving a one-off donation is certainly welcome and appreciated, but creating a lasting relationship with a donor can lead to a rewarding and fulfilling experience for both donor and organization.

That’s a tremendous amount to absorb in very short article, but the reality is the world has changed for nonprofits. There is a greater need to create a unique and personal interaction in a world in which there are multiple distractions and multiple communication channels. We are all seeking a positive experience we can remember, and the more nonprofits embrace this brave, new world – the more successful they will be. 

This post is by Dennis McCarthy, Convio's Vice President of Strategy and Organizational Practice and originally appeared as an article in 1:1 Magazine.

Rise of the Weblebrity

Last month PayPal and Zoetica Media announced a white paper about the effectiveness of celebrities in social media fundraising.

In traditional fundraising, having great name recognition and devoted fans can generate increased awareness and raise funds if a celebrity cares about the cause and invests time.  Yet, online celebrity fundraising efforts are hit and miss, and often get outpaced by lesser known web-based personalities - weblebrities - who have deep ties to their communities. 

Research across a wide range of PayPal users, from Network for Good and Operation Smile to DonorsChoose.org and TwitChange, reveals three key reasons that weblebrities succeed:

1. They have a personal story to tell about the cause;
2. They are willing to engage a pre-existing tight knit community that interacts with the spokesperson on behalf of the cause; and
3. They have an authentic tie to the cause that resonates with that community’s knowledge of the weblebrity.

The paper includes multiple stories highlighting this phenomena. From Stephen Colbert’s interaction with the Reddit Community, to Paddy O’Brien’s stunning story that won the UCSF fundraising challenge on Causes.

One thing that stands out from these case studies, are the uncanny similarities that social media fundraising best practices share with traditional fundraising best practices.  In fact, recruiting effective social media champions is a lot like recruiting terrific board members or major donors:  First and foremost is finding someone who will become truly engaged in your work, and who is deeply connected to a community. 

What do you think? Has your organization had experiences with celebrities and social media appeals?

Clam Lorenz manages the nonprofit engagement strategy for Convio partner, PayPal. You can learn more about social media fundraising with PayPal's white paper and by exploring our Common Ground Social Fundraising feature.

Maximizing Your Resources

As the executive director and 1 of 3 staff members at small organization, I can honestly say I have a lot on my plate. I admit, I woke up at 3:00 am this morning with some anxiety about all the tasks I need to complete before year end. 

I awoke thinking about the insurance committee phone call in the morning, processing gifts and thank you letters, working with volunteers to utilize Google Analytics, following up with prospects from a recent  event, finalizing an off-site employment agreement with a University for a work study student, meeting with one of our partners regarding programming, signing checks, interviewing a co-op student, and many other tasks. After taking several deep breaths… and snuggling with my dogs…I was able to go back to sleep with a clear mind.

Being able to relax and go back to sleep hasn’t always been easy for me. First, let me explain. For a variety of reasons, I absolutely love working with small and/or start-up nonprofits and helping them grow into sustainable, viable organizations.  I’ve been doing this for more than a decade and less than two. Through a lot of hard knocks & sleepless nights, I learned three important lessons that help me maximize my time and resources in a small shop that has big aspirations.

My first lesson was the need to establish strategic goals. To grow, small nonprofits need to take advantage of unplanned opportunities. The staff – and the board – can run circles chasing all the opportunities and ideas available to an organization.  By establishing strategic goals, the staff and the Board can prioritize whether or not the opportunity or idea is worth pursuing. I learned this lesson by experiencing the challenges small and/or start up shops have in either a) chasing everything possible until everyone is exhausted or b) over planning and missing some make it or break it opportunity. Defining strategic goals is a happy medium between these two scenarios. 

The next lesson I learned was regarding the importance of developing systems and processes for a variety of job functions so you can assign these jobs to volunteers, interns, or co-ops. I’m sure a lot of you are saying, this sounds great but who has the time! I used to think the same thing. Now I ask, who doesn’t have the time? If you are skeptical, start off small and see what happens. 

I gave a hint earlier about the last lesson, which is to utilize volunteers, interns, co-ops, etc.! Believe me, I understand this adds work to your day. At the same time, it can take a lot of work off of your plate. The key, as outlined in lesson two, is to systematize job functions for volunteers, interns, or co-ops.  This allows the person to work with minimal oversight and provides a mechanism to evaluate the quality of work. And, hopefully, a few of your volunteers, interns, co-ops will be natural leaders who quickly stand out. When this happens, utilize them as project leaders. 

I admit all the lessons I’ve outlined above require an investment of time. The payoff comes when you’re out of the development stage and into the implementation and maintenance phases. This is when you’ll be able to sleep at night  knowing you’re maximizing all your resources to help move the organization forward!

This post is by Doven E. Collins, executive director for Cadence Cycling Foundation. We want to know - what tips can you share for maximizing organizational resources?