Social Media Content for Nonprofits: Video!
Earlier this month we hosted a knowledge share on writing social media content for nonprofits.
Cynthia Hartwig and Emily Warn from Two Pens led 65 participants from Seattle-area nonprofits through a mini-version of a class they offer on social media content.
Finding your voice
So often, we read and hear: “Write good content!” and then it’s back to strategies and tactics on conquering the next great social network.
During this knowledge share, we actually took a step back to think about what we are writing and how that is reinforcing our brand. Don’t have a brand? We talked about that too.
To start off, we introduced ourselves or our organizations in 120 characters. Who are you? What is your persona or brand?
Click here to watch introduction and for writing exercise #1.
How can you be heard in cyberspace?
Twitter is up to 1 billion tweets per week, there are over 1.3 million blogs, at least 500 million Facebook users, and there are more than 70 million LinkedIn users. And, here comes Google +.
What’s most important for nonprofits, says Warn, is to create an online community. This allows you to stay engaged with your community, listen to them, and for the walls of your organization to become permeable. It also lets you share resources and knowledge openly and quickly.
Start with branding
We have to start with the concept of branding to be successful in social media, says Hartwig. This is where people often fall down in the nonprofit arena. Organizations are struggling with the concepts of who they are and how they should portray the organization with a strong human personality that people can really connect with.
What’s your organization’s personality? Is your organization a little snarky yet smart, or do you want your organizational personality to be kind and generous? Whatever you are, Branding 101 says you say it over and over and over again. Transmit that personality in social media using words, images, and video.
Take a look at three really strong branded properties in the nonprofit world for inspiration: Washington Trails Association Signpost Blog, Grist, and Bus Chick.
Listen to Emily and Cynthia talk about creating a personality.
Identifying your personality
To help us think about our own organization and what personality we want to convey, Hartwig walked us through a couple of writing assignments to get ideas flowing.
Writing Exercise #2: Make a Mind
Map of words that describes your brand. Have you ever taken a moment and
thought about what you want to convey about your organization on a regular
basis?
Click here for The Real Thing writing exercise to walk you through it.
Writing Exercise #3: Write from the heart.
Using compete sentences, take two minutes and answer this question with full sentences: The Real Thing about my organization’s social media personality is:
Click here for this writing exercise.
Need some inspiration? Listen to what other nonprofit staff members had to say.Point of view
Now that we have a better idea of what we are about, who are some personalities that could represent your organization in a new and different way?
Writing Exercise #4: Write a list of 10–15 people within your organization – personalities – who could be the personality in a blog post / facebook post/ tweet.
Click here for writing exercise #4.
What makes a good blog post
At this point, we have thought about our brand, our personality, and even possible people (fictitious or real) who could write a blog post for us. Now, Warn walks us through the features of a good blog post.
Click here for a list of tips and writing exercise # 5 to get your started on a blog post.
Plan and write you own blog post
And two more writing exercises to help us plan out our blog post:
How to Write A Good Blog Post: writing exercise #6: (quick planning write) What is the personality I want to
project in this blog post?
How to Write A Good Blog Post: writing exercise #7: (quick planning write) Every good blog post has an intersection between what we want to say as an organization and what readers want to hear. Write about that intersection.
Want to hear what other nonprofit staff members are writing about? Click here for some awesome and hilarious blog post ideas from the audience.
Armed with our planning notes and some inspiration, we spent the next half hour writing a draft blog post for our organization, then work-shopping what we had written in small groups.
Three great blog posts
Starting with the simple question of "who you are," followed by brainstorming and mind mapping and free writing, followed by work-shopping and sharing, many participants were starting to see a blog post take form.
Inspired to learn more?
This fall, Two Pens is focusing on nonprofits. Writing classes include Super Star Blogging, Grant Writing, SEO Content Strategies and much more.
Go to the Two Pens website for a complete listing of classes.
SPREAD THE WORD! ONE FREE NONPROFIT SEAT IN EVERY TWO PENS CLASS!
Every Two Pens class has one free place reserved for people who work for causes we believe in. Email cynthia@twopens.com and make the case for why your organization needs a place at our writing table.
Special thanks to Emily and Cynthia for a wonderful knowledge share.
