Welcome to another round of Mixed Links! We’ve got some great social media and communications posts today.

This post by Kari Saratovsky not only sheds some light on the recent rise in Pinterest, but also shares some great infographics on Millennials. Check out The Millennial Story, Told By Infographic(s).

Think Facebook was confusing before? Beth Kanter shares What Do Facebook’s New Timeline Apps Mean for Nonprofits? Make sure you are fully awake (having a big mug of coffee, not a mixed drink!) when you get into this one. It’s powerful stuff, but not necessarily easy to understand.

When I released my 2012 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report, I found that creating and sharing videos gained more in importance for nonprofits from 2011 to 2012 than other social media channels. Nonprofits are definitely beginning to see the benefits of being able to tell their story visually (more on that in my e-newsletter next week). If you are looking to jump on board, YouTube has just released even more features and tutorials in their YouTube Nonprofits Program.

For more ideas on using videos, Lori Jacobwith gives us an Awesome Example of Using Technology to Keep Supporters Engaged.

The folks at Throwing Light ask the question, Email Tsunami: How Much Is Too Much? Leah has some great ideas on how to find what’s right for you and your organization. I know this is a big question for many of you, so if you are curious what other nonprofits are doing, see what our Trends Report showed.

And for email’s staying power, Allyson Kapin proclaims Email: Still Not Dead! I love the point she makes about Mark Zuckerberg proclaiming that email will die, while requiring that people have an email address to sign up for Facebook. Be sure to check out the great infographic she uses to make her point.

Katya Andresen shares some new and interesting statistics in Why You Need Someone Else to Be Your Messenger. She explains why only letting your executive director or CEO speak for your organization may not be the best idea. People’s trust in these positions has gone down recently as folks rely more on recommendations by “regular” people.

Last but not least, Jeff Brooks writes How to Handle “Great Fundraising Ideas” From Your Board. And by “great fundraising ideas” he means “horrible fundraising ideas.”

I’m off to hang out with 35 Girl Scouts for a Camp-In (so I’ll be saving my Happy Hour for later in the weekend). Anyone want to guess how much sleep the adult chaperones will get tonight?

See you next week!

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My default content strategy for nonprofits is the Three Gs: Be Genuine, Generous and Grateful. Seems the being Generous part is the hardest, so I’m going to try to give you more examples of how nonprofits can be generous to their supporters.

It can start with identifying a problem your supporters are having. Take, for example, Facebook’s new Timeline profile layout, including the 850 pixels wide by 315 pixels high cover photo. It’s an odd shape for most of us! I went through about 10 pictures before I found one I could use on my profile.

Now this problem isn’t related to any particular nonprofit cause, so it may not be an obvious thing for you to jump on. But it’s a simple problem many of your supporters have, and by providing cover images, you show your generosity (while increasing your organization’s visibility).  A few nonprofits have already jumped on this, and you can too!

I noticed that Beth Kanter is sporting a cover from Best Friends Animal Society on her profile today (Happy Birthday, Beth!)

The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano put their supporter’s endorsement center stage with their cover images:

Here are a few others:

Tearfund

Natural Resources Defense Council

Ocean Conservancy

If you don’t want to brand the images as your own, you could simply offer some that allow your supporters to identify themselves as caring about or identifying with your issue in some way:

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness

There is some rumbling about how cover photos aren’t supposed to be for promotional purposes. But I wouldn’t worry about that as long as your intent is just for your supporters to label themselves as caring about your cause. I wouldn’t add fundraising messages though — stick to basic “I support this” language if you use it at all.

If you want to join in, here are a few quick tips.

• Pick beautiful images that your supporters would want on their own profiles. Include your very best stuff.
• Obviously, get the size correct (850 x 315)
• Overlay your logo, perhaps a phrase like “I support the (your name)”, and your Facebook or website URL
• Put them all in a Facebook album that you can link to.
• Explain how to use the photos: Supporters will need to save the image to their own computers and then upload it into their own album on their profile, and then make it the cover photo.

John Haydon offers more detailed advice on how to do this, including a template.

Cover photos will likely come to Pages at some point, so even if you don’t create cover images for your supporters, start thinking about what you want  on your nonprofit’s Facebook Page.  Hopefully Facebook will make it easy on all of us and keep the photo dimensions on Pages the same as on Profiles!

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As I’ve said before, presidential campaigns are great for nonprofit marketers and fundraisers because they give us a sneak peek into how we’ll be engaging our supporters and motivating them to volunteer and donate in the years to come. The current edition of Newsweek has a very interesting description of what the Obama campaign is cooking up, including these especially noteworthy observations.

It’s All About Hyper-personalization and Targeting

If you don’t have some kind of system in place to keep track of what your individual supporters care about, this is the year to figure that out. You are going to want that information. Look at what the Obama campaign is doing (I added the bold):

“The campaign can do a much better job of “treating people like people,” according to Michael Slaby, Obama’s chief integration and innovation officer—provided it harvests the right data. Don’t ask a disenchanted Ohioan for money; woo him first. Don’t reach out to a supporter who donates $5 during the State of the Union the same way you’d reach out to a supporter who donates $5 during a Republican debate; they respond to different incentives. To figure out who each of us is, and what each of us wants, Slaby and his team are constructing a “microlistening” and computer modeling program that will comb online and off-line behavior patterns for voter information, then use it to personalize every interaction we have with the campaign: fundraising, volunteering, persuasion, mobilization.”

“In 2012 the Obama campaign won’t send its backers a video and say, “Share this with everyone you know”; it will say, “Share this with your four Facebook friends in Pennsylvania’s crucial Lehigh Valley swing district who are worried about the president’s tax policies.”

Need help with this? Start with Idealware’s constituent management recommendations and case studies.

Go Where Your Supporters Already Are

Rather than investing in creating its own social network, the campaign is going where everyone already is — Facebook — and leveraging all it offers for their own purposes.

“In 2008, the campaign encouraged supporters to create profiles on a social networking site called MyBarackObama.com. But while MyBO was advanced for the times, it was also weirdly detached from the actual field structure—and from Facebook, which has since become the world’s default social network. So for 2012 Slaby decided to ditch the site and start from scratch. “We’re not building a social network,” one insider told me. “You don’t need to create an account. You don’t need to upload a photo.” Instead, by logging in with their Facebook ID, volunteers get immediate access to “any tool that you can get in a field office.”

Need help with this? We are offering our “Social Media Starter Kit: Facebook for Nonprofits” webinar next Thursday, January 19 for All-Access Pass Holders. CharityHowTo also offers good Facebook training.

Make It Work in Mobile

You can’t ignore it . . . people are looking at your website and reading your email on something that’s often smaller than a business card.

“Last November, the campaign redesigned its website so that it would look and work the same on every platform: PC, mobile, tablet. The motivation wasn’t merely aesthetic; a site that renders properly on a smartphone makes it easier for volunteers to register new voters and call undecideds on the go, and that kind of efficiency translates into extra votes.”

Need help with this? Stay tuned! I’m excited that Tonia and Susan from TheMGen will be joining us this spring with blog posts, a free webinar, and an e-book on mobile.  Also check out Google’s How to Go Mobile initiative.

It may be many years off before your nonprofit reaches the level of sophistication described here, but it will get there eventually. Start doing what you can now, by understanding what’s happening and taking baby steps in those directions.

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Robyn Mendez

Does your organization look to Gen Y for support? This guest post by Convio’s Robyn Mendez explains why and how you should get thier attention.  ~Kivi

Guest Post by Robyn Mendez, Marketing Manager for Convio

Can your donor have a real lifetime value if they aren’t with you for life?

While it’s no secret that Gen Y doesn’t have much giving power today, the important thing to recognize is that they will soon. If your organization wants to benefit from the true potential of a Gen Y’s lifetime value, you need to be cultivating relationships with them today.

You can start by learning who they are, what matters to them and then connecting with them their way.

Who is Gen Y?

Gen Y is loosely defined as people born between 1981 and 1991, which today would make them between the ages of 20 and 30. They often delay traditional milestones, like moving out of their parents’ home, marriage and children.  They also are more educated and more technologically dependent than previous generations.

What’s important to Gen Y?

• The Internet:  One of every three college students and young professionals surveyed globally believes the Internet is a fundamental resource for the human race – as important as air, water, food and shelter.   (Note to self:  take daughter on humanitarian visit where people are starving before her college graduation.)
• Mobile Devices:  Two-thirds of students and young professionals cite a mobile device (laptop, smartphone, tablet) as “the most important technology in their lives.”
• Social Media:  Nine out of ten young adults have a Facebook account – of those, 73% check their Facebook page at least once a day. *

How do they connect to charities?

The Next Generation of American Giving Report shows that Gen Y-ers are very comfortable with both peer-to-peer solicitations (87% say it’s appropriate) and social media solicitations (69% say it’s appropriate). Further, we know that the most common first engagements Gen Y has are visiting your website (27%) or attending an event (19%). And as always, making a good first impression is critical to retaining their interest (talent & treasure) in future years.

What do we do with them?

Now that we know a little more about who they are, what matters to them and how they are connecting to organizations, let’s discuss some ideas to better engage them.

1. Optimize your website for viewing from a mobile device

It probably didn’t take reading this post for you to know that young people are addicted to their cell phones.  And with the increase of mobile use, the demand for mobile-friendly websites also strengthens. If your website is not equipped to provide a positive experience for mobile users, you are ignoring the important trends and needs of your younger participants and risking losing valuable donors from your organization. Our Guide to the Mobile Web can help get you started.

2. Make online fundraising tools easy to use and interactive

Many online fundraising tools have added new features helping make the fundraising experience much more interactive.  Displaying badges, sending trigger emails at fundraising milestones and integrating with social media sites are just a few features to look for.

3. Add Google+ into your organization’s social media mix

Generation Y is hanging out on social media and your organization and event should be there too. On Nov. 7, Google opened the ability to create a Google+ Page to the world.  This is the Google+ version of the Facebook Fan Page.

(Note:  like all social media platforms, be sure you have the resources to maintain a Google+ page before creating one.)

4. Add social sharing icons to your website

These easy-to-add tools help your participants and donors promote your website to their friends on the various social networks.  The easier you make this, the more frequently that your visitors will promote your site leading to more visitors to your site… it’s a wonderful cycle!

5. Pepper your print advertising & communications with QR codes

QR codes are barcode-like images that can be scanned with a smartphone camera.  Once scanned, these images typically point to a page on the internet.

A recent study by comScore noted QR codes have increased popularity among young, affluent adults like those we are trying to attract to our fundraising events.  The study noted that in June 2011, 14 million mobile users in the US scanned a QR code, 53.5% of them were between the ages of 18-34 and a third of users had a household income of $100K or greater.  If our target audience is using QR codes, we should be using them too.

6. Recruit a young, hip social media volunteer

A great way to attract a younger crowd to your event is to showcase one of their peers who feel passionately about your cause.  The youth of today know what’s exciting to them and can bring new ideas to the table.  Don’t be afraid to allow this person to assist you with crafting your event’s social media strategy and owning specific pieces of that plan.

*“What’s important to Gen Y?” data from the 2011 Cisco Connected World Technology Report.

Robyn Mendez has an extensive background in fundraising and nonprofit marketing and is currently a marketing manager for Convio, a leading provider of technology solutions for nonprofits. Convio has two solutions perfect for peer-to-peer fundraising, TeamRaiser and Common Ground Social.

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Kate Antoniades

In today’s guest post, Kate Antoniades shows how planning ahead and paying attention to what your fans, friends, and followers react to can make all the difference in your social media marketing. She also proves that social media can work at the local level.  Thanks Kate, for sharing a super easy way to improve your Facebook strategy!  ~Kivi

Guest Post by Kate Antoniades, Communications and Social Media Coordinator at Lollypop Farm, the Humane Society of Greater Rochester

Earlier this year, after a couple of years of keeping my Facebook and Twitter plans for Lollypop Farm in my head or scribbled on Post-its stuck to my monitor, I created a social media calendar in Google Docs. It’s become a very useful tool for planning ahead and for keeping track of what I’ve posted.

Soon after I started using the calendar, I began tracking the feedback rate for each Facebook post—the percentage that indicates the comments and “likes” per impression. (Each time a post appears in someone’s news feed, on the page itself, or in a page badge, Facebook calls that an impression.)

With about two months of data, I decided to use the feedback rate to find out exactly which posts made the greatest and least impact. Other factors, like the time of day or day of the week that something is posted, may affect feedback, but that was beyond the scope of what I wanted to examine.

I found that the majority of the 20 posts that fell below a .05% feedback rating could be placed into three categories: mentions of various events and classes (those that were unrelated to pet adoption), notices of holiday closings, and news of job and volunteer opportunities. We feel that these are important messages, but they don’t seem to grab the attention of our supporters as much as we’d like.

The 10 posts that topped a 0.75% feedback rating (ranging from 0.78% to 3.21%) were all one of two types. Many shared news of pets being adopted (either a single animal or many animals during a successful adoption event). Here’s one example of responses to an adopt-a-thon that found homes for a record number of cats and kittens:

The other posts that had a lot of impact—including the single most popular post of the two months I reviewed—were related to an online contest for animal shelters that awarded five platform dog beds. Our supporters got really excited about this contest because it offered them an easy way to help the dogs in our care. With just a couple of mouse clicks, they could vote and encourage their Facebook friends to vote, too.

We ended up winning the contest, and Facebook was certainly a major factor. These were some of our supporters’ reactions to the good news:

The conclusions I can draw from this close look at feedback rates aren’t earthshattering, but they serve as good reminders: Our supporters want to hear good news, specifically about pets being placed in new homes, and they want to know easy ways they can help.

Looking at these numbers has prompted me to share more of our “happy endings” and not let them fall through the cracks when I’m trying to encourage people to register for class Y or attend event Z.

The “easy ways to help” posts might be a little tougher to find—since the assistance we most often need involves adopting a pet, making a donation, or volunteering time—but perhaps I’ll suggest that our supporters search the web using GoodSearch or do their online shopping through iGive, both of which can send small sums of money our way.

Fortunately, I’ll get a good idea of how these posts are received—simply by checking the feedback rating.

Kate Antoniades is the Communications and Social Media Coordinator at Lollypop Farm, the Humane Society of Greater Rochester (Fairport, NY).

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Most nonprofits understand the potential power of social media to connect with both old and new supporters, advocates, and clients. But have you considered how social media like blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube can be used to increase your organization’s accountability to and transparency with those same people?

Social media can help you improve your accountability in seven ways.

1. Real-time Communications

Social media is about the here and now. It’s the fastest way to share timely news with people, and when you use it that way, you demonstrate that you aren’t using the old “We missed the newsletter deadline, so forget it” excuse. People turn to social media for breaking news of all kinds, and they expect you to use the tools in the same way. Say there is a unexpected problem with an event you are hosting, such as a road closure that makes it difficult to get to your fundraiser. Twitter and Facebook are perfect ways to tell attendees about an alternate route.

2. Personal – Not Institutional – Voices

Social media is, well, social, which means that it works best when it’s used by real people at organizations, speaking in conversational, natural voices, rather than stilted official-speak. You are more likely to explain news more clearly when you speak in a conversational style and to take personal responsibility for what you post online when it is attached to you personally. It’s appropriate to have “official” Twitter and Facebook accounts, but it’s also good practice to let supporters know which human beings actually update those official accounts.

3. Responding to Negativity

While you can certainly put social media policies in place, the reality is that anyone can say just about anything about your organization in social media. The overwhelming majority of what people say about nonprofits is positive or neutral, but when the negative does appear, responding to it directly, calmly, and thoughtfully goes a long way. Many corporations are relearning the value of great customer service the hard way because their unsatisfied customers now broadcast their displeasure via social media. While we haven’t seen that happen too often in the nonprofit world, it’s not unheard of.

4. Show Behind-the-Scenes

Social media allows you to share little vignettes and “slice of life” stories from your daily work. That means it’s easy to take people behind the scenes and share what really goes on within your programs. Full-blown, in-depth descriptions aren’t necessary – simply give us a little peek into what’s happening by sharing a few moments from your days. You’d be surprised how what you find mundane in your work life is actually interesting to those who support your cause!

5. Ask Questions and Seek Feedback

Many nonprofits use social media to float ideas for comments, to gather opinions, and to let their supporters weigh in. It’s an easy way to demonstrate that you are listening to your supporters. Can’t land on a theme for your next event? Come up with a few finalists and put them on Facebook for a vote. Then use social media to share the results or other ways that you used the feedback you heard.

6. Invite Participation

Social media gives you more opportunities to allow your supporters to engage with your staff and your work. Can you encourage supporters to upload and share their own photos or videos with you, for example? Or to write a guest blog post? Also think about ways that you can use social media to open up your programs to those who cannot easily connect with you or participate face to face. We are all so busy these days, so think creatively about ways can people can participate in off-hours, but online, for example.

7. Keep Talking in Between Meetings

Social media can also be used in smaller, more controlled groups, like closed Facebook Groups for board members. Allowing board members to connect and converse in between board meetings can help keep your organization top of mind, while allowing board members to more fully discuss important issues outside a hurried board meeting agenda.

By focusing on using social media as a tool for increased accountability and transparency, as well as marketing and communications, your nonprofit can truly optimize its power.

This post is excerpted from an article I wrote for the National Catholic Development Conference‘s newsletter. If your readers are nonprofits, I’m happy to contribute to your newsletter too. Send me an email to start the conversation.

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Kerry Barnes and Frances

Think because your organization caters to seniors, you don’t need social media? Think again! Kerry Barnes explains how her organization used Facebook to create buzz about their community as well as keep family members informed.  Added bonus: computer use has increased among their residents. ~Kivi

Guest Post by Kerry A. Barnes, Director of Development and Community Relations at Longview.

I’m the director of development and community relations for a senior living community in the Finger Lakes region of New York. One of my biggest tasks is increasing awareness of our beautiful community and all it offers, and one of the ways I seek to do this is through using social media.

When I started in my position two years ago, I decided we’d set up a Facebook page, more or less just for a lark. I was pretty familiar with using social media for my own personal purposes, but I wasn’t quite sure what role it could play in marketing a senior community.

We’re fortunate in that we have an extensive daily list of events and programs for our seniors; the day’s agenda makes for an easy status update. Before long, we added photos of special events and happenings, making sure to post those pictures within hours of the event.

Our Facebook page started getting comments such as, “Wow, this reminds me of the daily schedule on the cruise I recently took!” and “Hey- look at Dad! Glad to see you’re getting out and taking part of things!” We had stumbled upon a great way to keep family members informed of what their loved ones were doing, without being invasive or overbearing.

Recently, I’ve become aware of increased computer use amongst our residents, including social media. I’m currently gathering data to back up my claims that the vast majority of our residents are regular and savvy computer users, contrary to the popular image of seniors being befuddled by technology. I think there are several reasons for this:

1. The technology has become easier to use. Software and devices have become more intuitive and easier to use, thus decreasing senior’s anxiety and trepidation about using them. Think of the difference between the touch screen of an iPad and the DOS machines of several years ago.
2. There are more practical purposes for technology. Even convincing my Baby Boomer father to get a computer a few years ago was a lesson in futility. “What would I use it for?” “Well, you could type letters, do spreadsheets, play solitaire.”  “I don’t want to do any of those things!” With more and more of our lives being lived online, the practical day-to-day applications of a computer make more sense, especially to seniors who are hesitant to adopt technology merely for technology’s sake.  Checking a ten-day weather report, reading news, downloading a recipe, monitoring a bank account balance, maintaining a calendar, and sharing photos are all practical applications that make computers more useful and worthwhile to seniors.
3. It’s how we stay in touch now. Particularly for seniors, computer use is vital for staying in touch with family that may be far-flung geographically. Being able to watch real-time video from a grandchild’s birthday party happening across the country or getting photos of a new baby straight from the delivery room are all appealing actions that are just not possible without the use of a computer and internet. Residents at our community who are blatantly anti-computer have no compunction about asking for help downloading photos family members have posted online.

Seniors are growing more comfortable with computers and compiling a greater presence online. This will only increase exponentially as our Baby Boomers retire and become “seniors” whether they want to or not. Smart marketers will keep this in mind both in their messages and how they communicate.

Kerry A. Barnes is Director of Development and Community Relations at Longview, a senior residential community in the Finger Lakes region of New York. She enjoys photography, writing, and her two rescue beagles, Frances and Mr. Minchy Spampobello.

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Kristina Leroux

I get this question so often, that I asked Kristina if she would re-post this tip she shared on her blog last week. She’s tailored this version to nonprofits for us.   ~Kivi

Guest Post by Kristina Leroux

Before I get started, let’s establish a few definitions as I know Facebook terminology can be a little confusing. Your Facebook page is that thing on Facebook you set up for your nonprofit. Your personal Facebook profile is that thing on Facebook you use to play Farmville and wish your friends “happy birthday.” We good now? Let’s get started!

So, you set up your Facebook page and are getting some folks to like your page. You’ve read the million blog posts and articles on how you have to post great content and engage people in order for your page to be a success. You have a plan, but you aren’t quite reaching everyone you want to reach. What can you do? Use your page like you would your personal profile! Here’s how:

Don’t be a spammer. I am going to give you some tips to help you get your organization out there, but I am hoping you won’t use those tips to spam other pages. Spamming is ugly. Don’t be ugly.

Find where your audience IS hanging out on Facebook. Think about the kind of person you really want to reach. Now think about other pages those people like already. Chances are, they are pages you are already personally involved in – just not as your organization.

Like those pages as your organization. How do you that? Simple. You can use Facebook as either your personal account or your page account. Follow these steps:

1. Switch to your page by clicking on “Account” then “Use Facebook as Page.”

2. If you are an admin of more than one page, find the page you want to use and click “Switch” button.

3. Now search for those pages you are interested in and “like” them as your organization. (You can’t make friends with people as your organization, but that’s a little creepy anyway.) You can then comment on those pages using your organization. For those of you easily confused, you can tell whether you are using your organization’s page or you personal profile by looking at the thumbnail picture before you comment.

Unless, of course, you used the same picture for your page as your did your personal profile. Then you're on your own, buddy.

Now. Like I said before, do not abuse this feature. Post relevant and helpful content and don’t try to sell yourself. You’re just part of a conversation. This isn’t a bullhorn.

Who to like? Start with anyone your organization has a relationship with. If you have a partnership with any local businesses like those pages. Do you support certain politicians? Like their pages. Work closely with another nonprofit? Like their page. If your cause is health related, like your local hospitals or clinics. Animal related? Like veterinarians or other shelters.

What to post as your organization? Start slow. Check out the pages and see how they handle discussions and whether they allow posts by others. “Like” a few status updates or photos.  If they ask questions, answer. Ease your way in and establish yourself as a valuable member of the community – not as a pushy spammer.

Bonus! If you ever want to post to your page as yourself, you can do that too! If you are a volunteer, there may be times you want to post as yourself and not represent the organization. This will also be helpful for getting the discussion going. First, make sure you are using the page as yourself (go back to “Account” and then choose “Switch back to…”) Go to your brand page, then click on “Edit Page”

Then go to “Your settings” and see below:

Now you can do this:

Red arrow: Brand - Blue Arrow: Me

Kristina Leroux is Kivi’s little sister and executive assistant. She also runs Kristina Leroux.com, a virtual assistance service that provides online administrative support to nonprofits and entrepreneurs who need to spend more time focusing on their passion to help others and less time worrying about administrative and technical issues. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter or email her at kleroux [at] kristinaleroux [dot] com. For more “how-to” posts, check our her blog also.

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During my webinars and workshops on how nonprofits can use social media successfully, I often urge nonprofit staff to take a friendly, fun, and more light-hearted approach to their social media communications.

But that’s often a tough sell with organizations that deal with very serious issues, like abuse, rape and death.  Obviously those situations do demand greater care, but I still think that “doom and gloom” isn’t going to work as well as more positive messages, especially on a platform like Facebook.

What advice do you have in situations like these? Here is a real-life question for you from Sarah Sperring, executive assistant of KIDS Center:

“I attended your webinar regarding Putting Real Strategy into Your Social Media Outreach (which I loved) and had some questions for you. I work for KIDS Center and I have taken on our marketing, as we didn’t really have a person dedicated to it before. Our nonprofit is a child intervention center where we see, evaluate, and treat abused children, so it’s a somewhat difficult and emotional subject.

We do have a Facebook and Twitter page, but have fallen into the trap of  ”prevention of child abuse” posts or events. Since your webinar, I have put a list of some fun things we could try and do, but I was hoping you also might have some ideas for us. We have a small base of around 400 Facebook fans and 116 following us on Twitter. We would also love to grow that but don’t really know how.

Here are some of my ideas, but I would love to know what you think.

• Comment of the donations we receive in-kind
• Questions to poll – do you think…?
• Emotional stories
• Human side of KIDS Center – staff spotlight / funny parts of the job/ parts we love / behind the scenes
• Funny things that kids say
• Summer memories
• What was your favorite book or toy
• Fall ideas – where to go in the area that are kid friendly
• Giveaways – give a free pass to a training or win a Body safety workbook
• Multiple choice questions – guess how many children are seen here, etc.

Thoughts?  Thank you so much!”

I think Sarah has some great ideas here!

What do you think she should try first? What other suggestions do you have? Add your thoughts and ideas in the comments!

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I use Hootsuite to automatically send new blog posts to both Twitter and Facebook. That is, until May of this year, when the Facebook integration failed. I’ve tried to reconnect the two accounts a few times without success (yes, following Hootsuite’s instructions), and then I forgot about it until last week. It’s been almost three months since the blog posts appeared automatically on our Facebook page.

This creates a few interesting questions:

• What’s been the impact on traffic to the blog?
• What’s been the impact on the Facebook page?
• Should I get the posts flowing to the page again with or without Hootsuite?

Here’s what the data says . . .

According to Google Analytics, traffic to the blog from Facebook didn’t change much at all. Apparently, not that many people were really clicking through before, or people are finding the blog links elsewhere on Facebook now. The amount of traffic to the blog from Facebook is really, really small (less than 1% of our total traffic), so I’m not that concerned about this either way.

I’m much more concerned about what Facebook Insights says.

Our active users have been growing steadily from the beginning, but you’ll see that when the blog posts stopped (which represents the majority of our wall posts overall), our active users started declining. If I had made a concerted effort to post to the page every day after the outage, perhaps the decline wouldn’t have occurred. But the reality is that I posted non-blog updates to the page just about as much before and after the outage. So I do think the differences here are attributed directly to the blog posts no longer appearing.

The page interaction data is even more startling. In the three months prior to the blog posting outage, we had a total of 242,636 post views and 312 post feedbacks.

In the three months after the blog posting outage, we had only 71,777 post views and 180 post feedbacks.

Again, if I had changed my manual posting behavior, and updated the status of the page personally every day, perhaps the drop wouldn’t have happened. But I didn’t, which tells me that a lot of the interaction on the page was around the blog content.

This data tells me to get this fixed, but I wanted to get some anecdotal support too, so this afternoon, I asked directly on the page if I should put the blog posts back on — and 100% of the people who commented in the first two hours said Yes!

So we have our answer! I’ll get the blog posts back on the Facebook page, with or without Hootsuite’s help. It will be interesting to see if/how the numbers recover over the next few months.

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