through nonprofit eyes: Through Non-Profit Eyes... again.

* Jumped the gun this week and interpreted another Mashable article rather than the "Social Media Resources You May Have Missed" bit... So rather than spend a bunch of time on my mistake, let's just look at it as a bonus post for everyone ;) A revamped, supplemental Through Non-Profit Eyes follows. - DTM

Every week Mashable.com summarizes their stories and blogs of the week on social-media resources. As a corresponding resource for the non-profit world, I take it each week and share some of the applicable tools through a pair of non-profit spectacles. You can see Week of 4/18, part I here.

1) This week, one topic is 9 Ways to Do Good with 5 Minutes or 25 Dollars. The examples are mostly for international aid operations such as Kiva, Deki and Free Rice, where the concept is more challenging to duplicate for other non-profits. One example, though, seemed applicable for everyone. I had not spent much time exploring SocialVibe previously, but this video intrigued me and led me to explore it further. Check it out:

SocialVibe connects your online networks and preferences to give you an easy way to support your cause-of-choice. I think you'll see some familiar causes on the page. Such as...

@charitywater and USA Today winner @TWLOHA are both right there on the front page.

2) 4 Tips for Tapping Into Twitter Conversations

Anticipate Conversations - Last week is a great example... Did you know National Volunteer Week was coming? Did you have a strategic plan for engaging, recruiting and/or thanking volunteers? Do you have November 15th circled well in advance on your marketing plan? (It's National Philanthropy Day) As pertinent laws, public debates, events and trends are on the horizon, are you ready to get on Twitter and say what you need to in order to make your case relevant and compelling?
Don't Just Post - Engage - I hope this is a truth we know as self-evident in the social media world, but sadly that is not the case for many. Notice who is tweeting about you, reply to DMs (when appropriate), identify the key influential followers of your account/cause and directly engage them. Treat them like you would a potential future board member (which they may be!).
Move Fast - All you have to do is look at the #AmericaWants Twitter campaign to realize the impact moving fast can have. As Jamie Tworkowski, founder of To Write Love On Her Arms (@TWOLHA), told USA Today last week - ...his team discovered the contest pretty much right when it launched on April 13. "A few of us were awake and knew we had to jump on it," said Jamie. "We tweeted right away, got something up on the website, and started making noise." There is not a shortage of examples where urgency can make a difference in a NPOs campaign. Haiti, Chile and other such disasters illustrate that urgency mixed with a nimble NPO can result in significant giving.
Be Relevant - Easily one of the most common mistakes I have seen NPOs make on Twitter and Facebook is ignoring this advice. Rather than engaging and being "human" the accounts are used as a press-release machine with 0% personality; a one-way communication that fails to add value to the larger conversation. If you provide insight and personality, your audience will be more inclined to pay attention to you and your cause in the future.

3) Five Ways ~~Classrooms~~ Non-Profits Can Use Videoconferencing

Connect with Experts - No matter what kind of NPO you are - Education, Religion, Environment, Health... and on and on - there are experts in your field. Ideally they are on your staff or partnered with your org, but you can connect your constituents with the experts easily via one of these videoconferencing options. Put the researcher in front of your donors and illustrate the difference she is making. Put a child sleeping in under a mosquito net in front of potential donors half-a-world away.
Virtual Field Trips - This is very closely tied to the previous bullet point. However, rather than just bringing an expert to the computer screen, you can illustrate a cause, need or success story. Habitat-for-Humanity can take a virtual field trip to a completed house and show those who helped build the abode just how the family appreciates the volunteerism (and the decorations!). PETA can take you to the Canadian coast and show brutal seal hunting.
Working Together - The example Mashable gives here is of two classrooms working on a school project together. Now imagine that instead of two classrooms it is two NPOs. We often stay within our silo and avoid working with other NPOs. What if the phone programs for soliciting alumni at the University of Florida, Boston University and Texas A&M brought student managers together to share best practice via video once per month? Each could share a challenge and get support from the other institutions while building a professional network. Why shouldn't multiple chapters of the American Diabetes Association meet via video to brainstorm event and fundraising initiatives? A successful community organization in London, UK could meet with on in London, ON to share tips.
Assessing Previously Unavailable Courses - If you are fortunate to have volunteers and donors that are outside of your local area, you can provide fundraising and event training via video. This limits the resources you must dedicate to training and keeps your travel budget down (hopefully!).
Teaching the Teachers - I return to the first point about connecting with experts. These experts, conversely are connecting with your constituents. This connection can help the researchers, doctors, organizers, leaders and other experts better understand what challenges you have when fundraising ... a lesson that can be valuable to your internal relationships.