Facebook Causes Presents Great Opportunities for Growing Audiences and Raising Funds or Friends

 If you're a non-profit organization and you are on Facebook and haven't heard of the Causes application, you need your team to get on board with this excellent tool IMMEDIATELY!  Basically, Facebook Causes is one of the many applications available to centre discussion around issues of concern to a multitude of organizations.

Any Facebook user with a little passion and initiative can create a cause, recruit their friends into that cause, keep everybody in the cause up-to-speed on issues and media related to the cause, and, most importantly, raise money directly through the cause for any U.S. nonprofit or Canadian registered charity. Causes processes donations automatically via credit card, tallies the results, and reports the donation activity via a public "scorecard" in the cause. 

What I love about this application is that it is a natural evolution of social networking. Leveraging real world social networks is an important part of activism, fundraising, and political campaigning. This is especially true of grassroots activism, local-chapter style nonprofit organizations, and the walks/runs used by many charities to raise money. Given all this, it's a bit surprising that online social networks haven't been more aggressively leveraged until now.

Apart from my business, I operate a small Cause page for a charity I support: Help the Chronically Unemployed find the Right Job.  With very little effort, I have been able to raise awareness of the work conducted by a small grassroots Ottawa charity - the Success Factory Employment Centre.

I recently received this email from Facebook Causes.  I think this new development bring about important and positive changes for the sector.  What are your thoughts?

Hey Mark, Exciting improvements to your cause are almost here! You will be able to post bulletins to your members' News Feeds, the first page they see when they sign into Facebook. Your cause will be searchable in Facebook. Before, your cause was searchable in the Causes application but not the main Facebook search. Not anymore! Your cause will be featured in the Likes and Interests section of your members' Facebook profiles. These improvements also mean you can no longer change the name of your cause. Starting September 1st, your cause's name will be permanent. If you want to change it, go to the "Admin Center" of your cause then "Basic Info." * Get started at http://apps.facebook.com/causes/causes/your?m=680e539d TIP: Popular cause names are often action oriented - Stop Puppy Mills!, Support Arts in the Public Schools, or The Race to End Cancer. Think about what name would get a new person to join your cause if they saw: "Your friend just joined the cause ____." We're looking forward to seeing the inspiring things you do with your causes after these improvements. If you need any tips or suggestions on doing more with your cause, go to http://exchange.causes.com/resources/activists?m=680e539d. Good luck! The Causes Team *Why? When your members link your cause to their Facebook profile, they link to the cause's name. If you were to change the name of the cause, those connections would be lost. Members would have to re-join to be linked to your cause. Are you a Nonprofit? Click here for a more clear explanation of what these changes mean for your nonprofit organization: http://exchange.causes.com/2010/08/causes-open-graph-nonprofits/

What has been your experience with Facebook as an organization?  Are you utilizing Causes?  If your organization is looking to build it's Facebook or other social networking profiles, contact us.

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Mark Buzan is Principal and Chief Magnifier in Action Strategies, a full service Strategic Communications, Public Relations and Public Affairs Consultancy for non-profits and associations.   

Make sure to contact Mark for advice on reaching audiences you may or may not have yet considered in your marketing communications and PR campaigns. Drop him a line if you are looking for help in developing a public relations campaign. You can view his website at www.actionstrategies.ca.

"Our members and supporters aren't on social media" (and therefore it won't work)

 Social media has a loyal following.  Many are convinced while others from time to time that I encounter inevitably tell me a number of things:

• "My members are in the field and don't have access to computers or internet"
• "My members (usually in the medical field) are too busy to be on social networking sites (they might only be on at night for personal reasons)."
• "Social media is for another demographic than mine"

Ok, so let me admit this (even as a fan of social media): Social media may not be for you — yet.  The studies on social networking engagement are abound and point clearly to the fact that this phenomena is not going to go away anytime soon.  As with any new technology, there will always be the quick adapters and those for a number of reasons who will lag behind.

Yet, just because your inclining may lead you to think that social media is not a right fit for your audience, I want you to at least open your mind to the possibility that perhaps...just perhaps social networking might make for a good portion in your organization's marketing mix.  As any marketing campaign is only as good as the marketing plan and research behind it, do a survey.  As the lines between personal and professional lives are increasingly blurred, social media is becoming a greater forum than ever for developing niche communities.  My suggestion is to find out how and where your members and supporters prefer to get their information.

For associations whose memberships are made of tradespeople in the field or who are not regularly in front of a computer with internet access, I foresee the growing popularity of mobile and cell text message campaigns bridging the gap.  Stats show that 1/3 of human kind has mobile internet access and that people are twice as likely to use text messaging and respond to this form of communication.  With services such as mGive, organizations can now link their websites to mobile call to actions campaigns.  Many organizations are becoming very effective in mixing traditional campaign calls that lead over to web/ social media presences.  How many have seen or heard an ad referring people over to a website?

Social media does not have to mean only blasting information out through Facebook, Twitter, etc.  Social networking is also a great support mechanism and strategy for getting the word out with other communications mediums.  In doing so, associations bridge the gap between different demographics of their supporters.

It is noteworthy that social media isn’t dominated by the youngest, often most tech-savvy generations, but rather by what has to be referred to as middle-aged people (although at the younger end of that spectrum).  This is a critical element to consider for professional associations whom, for the moment, more likely need to recruit and retain in their ranks.

What do you think?  Is ruling out social media outright a reaction to the unknown or have non-profit executives critical of this new means of communications done their homework in market research to justify the rejection?

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Mark A. Buzan, APR

Principal & Chief Magnifying Officer

Action Strategies

#3, 270 rue Champlain

Gatineau, Quebec J8X 3S1

819.770.2899 phone

http://www.actionstrategies.ca (Action Strategies website)

LinkedIn Profile: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/markbuzan

LinkedIn Group for Public Relations: http://tinyurl.com/nonprofitideas

LinkedIn Group for Government Relations: http://tinyurl.com/nonprofitlobbying

Please take a look at my just released book: Online PR and Social Media for Associations and Not-for-Profits -http://www.onlineprsocialmedia.com/associations

Social Media takes "too much time" and that's why it's "not" worth it!

Time and again, when you review the blogs and discussion forums, the question of ROI (return on investment) comes up when association executives think about integrating social media into their communications and public relations initiatives. For many association and not-for-profit organization executives and communications professionals, this medium is completely new territory.  Briefly, they're not completely sure what to make of it.

Here's the thing...social media adds one more important component to a successful communications portfolio of strategies a non-profit can call upon.    In fact, I often call it the "great equalizer" because to be effective in this medium, you don't necessarily need a huge budget as you would in a traditional advertizing campaign.  As with any effort, you get out of something that which you put into it.  Beth Kanter's blog put it correctly when she estimated the time commitments required and while at first the prospect of devoting staff time to this initiative may seem daunting, consider the fact that not-for-profit financial resources are not infinite either.

You do however need consistent passion for your cause.  Consider the following at least from the corporate sphere (from Forrester.com) I believe relays back to the not-for-profit sector:

Many marketers can draw a straight line between investments in social media marketing and financial results, but many more cannot.  This doesn’t mean social media marketing is ineffective; it just means that marketers have to recognize benefits beyond dollars and cents.  Facebook fans, retweets, site visits, video views, positive ratings and vibrant communities are not financial assets -- they aren’t reflected on the balance sheet and can’t be counted on an income statement -- but that doesn’t mean they are valueless.  Instead, these are leading indicators that the brand is doing something to create value that can lead to financial results in the future.

Is this not something critical to the reason for why the sector exists, namely making certain we are advancing our cause's recognition factor?  However, if you are still not convinced consider the following:  Those organizations who have a blog, average 55% more web traffic than those who don't.   As for the time commitments, believe me...with effective training and organization, there are plenty of tools available to streamlined your efforts.

I could go on but I love to hear more from you.  Leave your comments!

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Mark A. Buzan, APR

Principal &; Chief Magnifying Officer

Action Strategies

#3, 270 rue Champlain

Gatineau, Quebec J8X 3S1

819.770.2899 phone

http://www.actionstrategies.ca

LinkedIn Profile: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/markbuzan

LinkedIn Group for Public Relations: http://tinyurl.com/nonprofitideas

LinkedIn Group for Government Relations: http://tinyurl.com/nonprofitlobbying

Please take a look at my just released book: Online PR and Social Media for Associations and Not-for-Profits -http://www.onlineprsocialmedia.com/associations

Speaking at MARCOMM: Integrating Social Media into Public Relations

Big news! I'm pleased to announce that I will be one of the featured speakers at MARCOM 2010 happening June 10-11 ( I will be moderating a session on the 10th on "Integrating Social Media into your Public Relations") at the Hilton Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, Quebec. MARCOM is the premiere educational forum that understands the daily reality in your world of marketing; where the focus is more about how to make large-scale changes with limited resources than conceiving of multi-million dollar campaigns. MARCOM takes a look at the trends and topics that matter most to public sector and not-for-profit marketers and communicators.

MARCOM’s Pre-Conference Workshops on June 9 will feature a choice of three intensive sessions on Social Media Marketing, Essential Selling Skills and Social Marketing Planning and Implementation.

For those of you who have been loyal followers of my blog, I am pleased to offer you as part of my network $100 off a Two-Day (June 10/11) or Three-Day (June 9/10/11) Registration at MARCOM 2010.

To take advantage of this special offer, please do the following:

1) Log on to Registration Page (http://www.marcom.ca/index.php/register/)
2) Complete the information
3) As your discount code, please enter my name like so: [MARK BUZAN]
4) NOTE: The total amount will not be correct, but do not fear! MARCOM will issue an official receipt manually and ensure your discount is applied at that time. Please also note that this offer cannot be combined with any other offer.

For more information about the other sessions you can review the entire program on the MARCOM site at: http://www.marcom.ca.

I look forward to seeing you in June and sharing the MARCOM experience.


Mark A. Buzan, APR
Principal & Chief Magnifying Officer
Action Strategies
#3, 270 rue Champlain
Gatineau, Quebec J8X 3S1
819.770.2899 phone
http://www.actionstrategies.ca (Action Strategies website)

LinkedIn Profile: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/markbuzan
LinkedIn Group for Public Relations: http://tinyurl.com/nonprofitideas
LinkedIn Group for Government Relations: http://tinyurl.com/nonprofitlobbying

Please take a look at my just released book: Online PR and Social Media for Associations and Not-for-Profits - http://www.onlineprsocialmedia.com/associations

Social Media Risk for Non-Profits? What if Someone Says Something Negative About us?

Coming off a recent talk before the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation, I came across a common question that seems to prevail amongst other associations, non-profits and charitable organizations. Namely, "isn't it dangerous to get involved in social networking because there's a risk that someone might say something negative about us?"

What's your thoughts on the matter?



Mark A. Buzan, APR
Principal & Chief Magnifier
Action Strategies
#3, 270 rue Champlain
Gatineau, Quebec J8X 3S1
819.770.2899 phone
877-336-2701 toll free fax
http://www.actionstrategies.ca (Action Strategies website)

LinkedIn Group for Government Relations: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2465512&trk=hb_side_g
LinkedIn Group for Non-Profit Communications: http://tinyurl.com/nonprofitideas

Counseling Associations on Better Governance in a Social Media Age

Working with non-profits, I hear the continuing comment from association execs: "I like the idea of social media or a blog but what if someone says something negative about us?" In my last posting, I touched on the point that in all honesty, your bigger risks are not participating or having a social network presence devoid of participation.

That said, association executives and board members would be wise to consider strategic planning that reflects upon the following:

Avoid anonymous postings on other blogs or social networking sites: In the world of social media, commonsense rules still apply. It’s not wise to make hidden or anonymous attempts to influence the public perception in any forum.

Have a clear participation policy: Let your staff know the rules of when and if they are speaking on behalf of your organization. By like turn, be certain to explain to them that whether they like it or not, they should be mindful of what they place in social networking spheres in their personal lives can be cross referenced easily on the net and as a result, it can reflect on the organization that employs them! As a basic rule, don't post what one would not want neighbours to know about in one's personal life.

Decide on who speaks for the organization: Good social media communication and good governance protocols call for identifying who in your organization will speak. Depending on your audience and with whom they most regularly interact, this might vary from case to case.

Be flexible: I encourage experimentation and testing of new social media tools. Social media tools are new and developing rapidly. However, if no policies cover future technologies, organizations will need to be practical and flexible in dealing with them using what ever resources available. However, organizations should only adopt only those tools and platforms that will help them advance their mission, and not because they are trendy or cool.

What challenges is your organization confronting and how do you expect to face the needed paradigm shift?


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Mark Buzan is principal and chief magnifier in Action Strategies, a full service strategic communications, public relations and public affairs consultancy for nonprofits and associations. He is currently collaborating on a new book for the American Society of Association Executives called "The Will to Govern Well" where he will be providing advice on how associations can better adjust their governance structures in a Web 2.0 world. You can view his website at www.actionstrategies.ca.

Social Media changes control over your brand!

How is your association's governance structure adapting?

Social media offers important opportunities to connect with your supporters. However, you must be willing to let conversations about your organization occur - even if you are not driving the message! Time and time again, I hear the continuing comment from association execs to the effect of: "I like the idea of social media or a blog but what if someone says something negative about us?"

What are the risks vs. opportunities to an association's brand when your audiences control the message?

Many organizations think the biggest risk of social media is that people will use it to say negative things about them. That's certainly worth addressing, but the biggest risk is actually the opposite: that your organization will create a social media presence, and nobody will participate. There's no shortage of deserted online communities out there, some of them beautifully designed and clearly very expensive. Others garner participation... but the conversations quickly veer off-topic or into belligerent shouting matches. And still others start off well, but can't sustain their momentum; some aren't ready to scale up, some encounter embarrassing technical failures, and some just peter out and fade away.

So how do you avoid their fate? A compelling reason to participate... thinking about your audience before you think about anything else... staffing up to encourage participation and put out fires... and both knowing and pushing the limits of your organizational... these can all help. But nothing works quite as well as knowing social media in your bones, and that means diving in yourself and understanding exactly where your supporters can be found with the topics that will motivate them to participate.

Web 2.0 makes it easy to reach a worldwide audience, but the heady possibilities come with potential liabilities. Any errors in communication will be amplified. This is why many organizations find the concept of social media pretty scary. Allowing employees to blog, tweet or post Facebook updates is obviously more risky than not permitting anything outside the standard channels. Especially if those employees are executives or at the board level where devolving information or opinions could impact on the whole of a cause or industry.

As a communications guy that believes in associations being willing to expose even the ugly side of things from time to time (provided there are communications plans in place to respond and counter), social media really is going to change some aspects of how associations even govern themselves. For example, who will speak for the organization? Who owns the association's brand? In essence, social media will need to reposition may of the protocols in place in the strategic business plans of associations.

While all of these issues may seem scary, properly prepared communications protocols, social media policy, and a communications plan tied to solid governance principles in a non-profit's by-laws can effectively mitigate the risks. What concerns do you have about social media?


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Mark Buzan is principal and chief magnifier in Action Strategies, a full service strategic communications, public relations and public affairs consultancy for nonprofits and associations. Contact him for advice on reaching audiences you may or may not have yet considered in your marketing communications and PR campaigns. You can view his website at www.actionstrategies.ca.

The age of Cloud Computing & Online Membership Management

Two opportunities have come my way for interesting discussion which I feel enters at least on the peripheries of social media and online public relations for associations and non-profits. Recently, I was made aware of a possibility of speaking at the Trillium Chapter of CSAE's annual Tech Conference. The subject? Cloud Computing and Social Media. What is cloud computing? Basically, this new development allows organizations to store information on online sources instead of on individual hard drives. Myself, being an active Mac user subscribe to a similar service with Apple's Me.com. This new development provides some interesting opportunities in that from a social media perspective, groups and in particular, associations can share information amongst colleagues, members and supporters. Security protocols can limit access where needed and allow groups of stakeholders to contribute online to documents, for example.

With memberships being the lifeblood of many associations, keeping track of them all can be a challenge - especially in a social media age where everyone on the net expects content to be personalized. As a result, I am firm believer that for associations and NGOs to stay ahead of the curve and communicate regularly (and in a personalized manner) with their supporters. For that to occur, associations need to develop robust CRM (Customer Relationship Management Software) databases. Smart organizations also develop means of allowing this information to be shared over distances, safely stored at a remote location, and preferably allow their supporters to contribute to the database online.

As recently as a few years ago, an organization who wanted to do even mildly sophisticated things online needed to hire web designers and programmers to create a custom member database, to design their website, or to customize existing software to their needs. The process was expensive and laborious. Often these projects would require elaborate and expensive IT infrastructure. And, all too often, the end result was just a temporary fix — a site unable to accommodate the growing organization or, even worse, failing to meet its goals in the first place.

This leads me to the second opportunity which has had me thinking of social media, cloud computing and membership management - all of which are essential to successful membership retention and recruitment. I stumbled upon a newly released white paper "Membership Management Software Selection Guide: For non-profit organizations". While it is produced by my friends at Wild Apricot, it does present a number of important points in how you would consider managing your membership from a cloud computing perspective.

So, how is your NGO or association considering cloud computing, online membership management or even the sharing of documents online?


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Mark Buzan is principal and chief magnifier in Action Strategies, a full service strategic communications, public relations and public affairs consultancy for nonprofits and associations. Contact him for advice on reaching audiences you may or may not have yet considered in your marketing communications and PR campaigns. You can view his website at www.actionstrategies.ca.

Are you moving your organization into 2010 with a Social Media Strategy?

Social media, like it or not, is here to stay. Unfortunately, many non-profits and associations still remain confused on how to implement social media into their communications initiatives. A mystery for many, social media need not be beyond the capacity of non-profit organizations.

When Action Strategies works with it's clients on social media strategy, we work to repurpose your organization’s online PR and social media strategy is so as to wire together any content that you produce into many different web sites, in as automated a process as possible. To be effective, you need to have an understanding of how this will fit into your overall public relations and establish which social media presences will be your "anchors" vs. your "outposts". We walk our clients through developing a very robust identity and set of connections on specific Anchor Sites (eg LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, etc), and then develop a thinner identity on a large number of Outpost Sites. The Outposts lead people both to your Anchor sites and to your main web site. At the same time, your friends/connections/contacts will be connecting to you through your Anchors, and your prospects, clients and the media will find you through better and more consistent exposure on Google.

By undertaking an outpost and anchor strategy, the objective here is to connect with audiences all over the social media sphere (and internet) and draw them into your website, blog, or in the very least, your anchor sites where your team most regularly interacts with fans and supporters.



Posts on outpost sites incite visitors to your profiles downwards through to the various other positions your organization holds on the net and as a result, allow them to connect with other fans of your cause. In addition, by creating such buzz on so many other sites on the net, your organization's position in Google search engines improves and the likelihood of connecting with media, sponsors and other connections increases too.

Because the power of your strength in social media rests upon continually putting out good and relevant content, the challenge comes in assuring that your potential audiences receive information about your organization through the numerous internet forums they prefer. The trouble of course in all of this is identifying which out of the 300+ social media sites out there will act as your anchors and outposts. As an organization, you cannot nor should you try to be in every single sphere of activity. Answering that question involves the first step of a social media strategy: the social media audit which answers clearly where your audiences are located and how you need to reach out to them.

Do you know where your audiences are in the social media sphere? Give us a call for a free consultation and quote on setting your organization on the right step.
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Mark Buzan is principal and chief magnifier in Action Strategies, a full service strategic communications, public relations and public affairs consultancy for nonprofits and associations. Contact him for advice on reaching audiences you may or may not have yet considered in your marketing communications and PR campaigns. You can view his website at www.actionstrategies.ca.

Engaging Members & Supporters in Grassroots Lobbying

Many associations and advocacy non-profits engage in lobbying. What sets them apart however from corporations who also lobby is that they have an important asset at their disposal: a membership & supporter base. Understanding this concept, earlier in my career as the Director of External Communications for the Canadian Construction Association, I coordinated a nation-wide campaign initiative to engage CCA members into the 2004 federal election.

Faced with frustration at the lack of attention CCA was receiving from federal legislators regarding its issues, I was assigned with a strategy to raise the association’s profile. Undertaking a full year effort to identify construction industry champions on Parliament Hill and opportunities where significant legislative advances could occur, I developed a strategic plan that included the following:

1. An interactive website was developed especially where the media could learn about construction issues and members could login specifically to a special area of the website to download a series of manuals and ideas on how to influence candidates in their region.


2. A specific communications campaign to the Members was undertaken to educate them on the election and how their involvement could make all the difference.


3. Options for sharing content were provided and members were also trained/ encouraged to forward on news of the campaign to colleagues.

Over the course of a year, I succeeded in earning the association an invitation to participate in consultations with the federal government over reforms to the Bankruptcy Act. Approaching the policy developers of each of the five federal parties present in Parliament, I also succeeded in having aspects of the CCA’s position reflected in each of the party platforms during the 2004 general election.

Now...it is important to note that all this occurred before the rise of social media and social networking. I am currently experimenting means of how these grassroots campaigns can be all that more improved with interesting results. Now, with the expanding world of social media, lawmakers are creating Twitter accounts. Granted, the person actually doing the tweeting probably isn’t the lawmaker, but this does provide another avenue, on top of paper, phone calls and emails, to communicate with elected officials. Other effective means of grassroots advocacy is occurring through specially made applications that permit sharing of content and as a result, engage other supporters as well.

Whatever your strategy, a grassroots advocacy campaign will need to consider the key elements of what will engage and motivate supporters towards your cause.

Give us a call for more information!
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Mark Buzan is Principal of Action Strategies, a GR Consultancy for non-profits. If you have questions on how you feel your organization could benefit from legislative monitoring services or even undertaking a grassroots advocacy initiative. Subscribe now to his Lobbying tips newsletter at www.actionstrategies.ca