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Writing for Social Media: It's Like One Big Cocktail Party
For more advice on how to succeed in social media, join me on Thursday, December 3 at 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. Pacific) for our newest webinar, Writing for Social Media.
By now, you know that succeeding in social media is all about "engagement" and "conversation." But what does that mean when Facebook asks, "What's on your mind?" or Twitter wonders, "What's happening?"
It can be helpful to think about your approach to what you write in those social media spaces the same way you might approach a big work-related cocktail party with lots of influential and interesting people in the room. To get the most out of that party, you have to work the room, but in a fairly specific way.
For example, you don’t want to stand on a chair and start yelling over everyone’s heads. You don’t want to walk up to each person, interrupt a conversation, and thrust your business cards in their faces. People will first glare at you, and then turn away completely.
They'll do the same online if you behave that way in social media. It’s not about you.
It’s about, as Chris Brogan and Julien Smith say in Trust Agents, being “one of us.” To be successful at a cocktail party and in social media, you have to see yourself and behave as member of the community you are trying to reach.
You do that by sharing interesting information, being helpful to others, giving praise where it’s due and inspiring people with your stories. It doesn’t hurt to have a good sense of humor too.
There are always a few groups at big cocktail parties that everyone seems to gravitate too. You can usually identify them by the number of people standing around spellbound by the person in the center (or by the raucous laughter). You become the person people gravitate to online by being a helpful, friendly expert, while remaining “one of us.”
Even if you are chatting with just one person at the bar and you aren’t sure if others are listening in or not, you still have to keep up your end of the conversation. Don’t stare at the bottles on the wall, or worse, try to catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror behind them while someone is talking to you.
In social media, that means not only putting out your own blog posts and status updates, but responding to those posted by others. Comment on posts by leading and beginning bloggers. Link to other people’s posts from your own blog. Reply and retweet on Twitter. Don’t just sit and stare at your own work.
Join me during Thursday's webinar for more specifics. We’ll explore how you write for social media from both a strategic point of view (e.g. how you want your supporters to perceive you) and a tactical one (e.g. how best do you use those 140 Twitter characters?).
Get the details and register here. Or get this webinar and everything else on the schedule for the next 12 weeks with the All-Access Pass for just $97.
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Finding More Supporters Online: My Five Favorite Tips
For more tips on how to grow your email, RSS, and social networking "friends" lists, join us on Tuesday, December 8 at 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. Pacific) for another new webinar, Finding More Supporters Online.
Your contact lists are your organization’s lifeline to donors, volunteers and other supporters, and with the rise of online marketing, you have more types of lists to manage than ever before. Your success in online fundraising and advocacy is directly related to the size and health of your email list. You want to grow the number of people subscribed to your blog, podcast, or other RSS feeds. You want more Facebook fans, Twitter followers, and video watchers.
But who, how, and to what end?
Many of the people who will turn into your best donors in years to come are the ones who are signing up for your email newsletter and casually connecting with you through social media today. But buying lists, poaching them from other nonprofits, or using automated tools to quickly inflate your numbers just doesn’t work (junk in = junk out).
Instead, you should be implementing a system to grow your online contact lists easily, effectively, and ethically, over time.
During Tuesday's webinar, I'll show you how to do just that. For now, here are my five favorite tips for growing your online contact lists.
1. Be there regularly. For your lists to grow, you have to use them, which means sending your e-newsletter regularly, posting to your blog or recording your podcast, or updating your status. Regularly. You can't set it and forget it. You have to show up to be seen and heard.
2. Be known for something. People follow other people and organizations who they find interesting or useful. While I don't think you necessarily need a laser-like focus on one narrow topic, it does help to be known for producing content on a particular topic or within a particular genre (e.g. humor or analysis).
3. Show your personality. People want to connect to other people in social media, so showing a little of your personality can go a long way. Write in a conversational tone, using the same kind of language you would in person.
4. Nudge offline contacts online. Always bring paper sign-up sheets to collect email addresses at your in-person events. Put your Twitter, Facebook, and other social media handles on your business cards. When you give presentations, invite people to connect with you online.
5. Cross-pollinate. Offer multiple ways to connect, everywhere. Make sure that supporters old and new know how to connect with you in various ways. Include links to your Facebook and Twitter accounts in your email newsletter and on your website. Include your email sign-up box on your Facebook page (use the FBML app to add it).
Learn much more about Finding More Supporters Online -- including where to go actively looking for them -- on Tuesday, December 8 at 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. Pacific).
Get the details and register here. Or get this webinar and everything else on the schedule for the next 12 weeks with the All-Access Pass for just $97.
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Upcoming Webinars and Interactive Conference Calls
December 3: Writing for Social Media
December 8: Finding More Supporters Online
December 17: Writing Thank-You Notes That Inspire Future Gifts
January 7 Teleconference: Trends for 2010 and Your Marketing Plan for the New Year
January 12 Teleconference: Nonprofit Marketing: Doing It Yourself Without Doing Yourself In
January 21 Webinar: How to Write a 4-Page Nonprofit Annual Report – A Crash Course Webinar
January 27 Webinar: Integrating Your Website, Email Newsletter, and Social Media Sites
Webinars and teleconferences are $35 each or you can attend as many as you want for 12 weeks for $97 with an All-Access Pass. |
