Social Media – Looking for Inspiration!

Recently I’ve been looking for social media inspiration – ways others are doing it and how can I adapt that for myself and/or my job.  I troll the regular outlets – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc.  looking at the posts from others seeking out ideas, suggestions or just what others are posting to find out what might work for me.

Here are 5 people I’ve been following that have given me many little nuggets of knowledge over the last few months (some years 🙂 ):

• Kate White – (Twitter @katemwhite) author of “I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This” and formerly Editor-In-Chief at Cosmo magazine. I just love her posts, her book sand her writing in general. After following her on Twitter she inspired me to go out and buy one of her books so if that doesn’t prove she will grab your attention I don’t know what does!
• Pam Moore – (Twitter @PamMktgNut) Forbes TOP 10 Social Media Influencer from Orlando Florida.  She always shares info that is for many different sectors and many different areas of interest.  From Facebook to Google+ to the various articles on her website I always find something to retweet or save to my reading list.
• Tony Elischer – (Twitter @tonyelischer) Fundraiser from thinkcs.org in Great Britain. I saw Tony speak a few years ago in Toronto and I just loved him.  His energy is so contagious it will make you want to go out and start fundraising.  He always finds interesting and unique campaigns to feature that really make you think about what you are doing.
• Glen Gilmore – (Twitter – @GlenGilmore) Forbes Social Media Influencer & TIME Man of Action. I just recently starting following him and I don’t even recall why or where I first seen one of his posts.  He always has amazing tips on how to improve your Facebook Posts, your Tweets and again lots of relevant info that can be used across many different sectors.
• John Haydon – (Twitter – @johnhaydon) Author and looks at digital marketing for smart nonprofits.  I always find the newest trends and upcoming changes for various social media from John’s posts.  Plus he does amazing webinars on various topics and I’m always wishing I had more time in the day to participate in them all!

I always love checking my Twitter feed to see what they’ve been researching, working on or just plain interested in posting. So I  encourage you to find those people, organizations, publications etc that will inspire and motivate you to utilize your online tools.

And I’m sure you have others…who do you like? Who do you follow and retweet? I’m always on the look-out for more.

~daniELLE ramsTEN

Fun & Marketing…Farketing? (hmmmm?)

I always say have fun when you are working but sometimes I think nonprofits lose sight of this by making their message so heart wrenching people turn it off (we all know the Sarah McLachlan commercial).

From working in the nonprofit sector for over 10 years I’ve picked up a few tips and things to remember when working on marketing materials for your cause.

• Remember that for some causes it’s self-explanatory what you do. Take a look at www.charitywater.org for some wonderful examples.  They really know how to be creative and make an impact without being so heart-wrenching you need to look away.
• Tip: Marketing is a time to get creative and let out all those quirky thoughts (keep it clean though!)  You should be brainstorming with your team, testing out some ideas and looking your cause from many different angles.  And sometime when you do all this you learn even more about your nonprofit.
• Remember to keep it serious when seriousness is needed.  There have been some many horrific disaster events and community events that have happened over the last few years that you can see a consistent message.  Stating the need and the urgency and that’s it – the tears are already there so keeping it simple is the best way to go.
• Tip: Ask someone from outside your organization to read your marketing material.  This way you will know if you’ve got a good balance of your message/cause and fun factor.
• Remember to watch the trends and realize are they something you can coast along with that will help your cause or will you just get lost in the trendy shuffle?
• Tip: Let your passion shine.  Individuals who work in the nonprofit sector are usually very connected to their cause and can tell it with such compassion and realism that sometimes it’s ok to have your cause/message be told by your story.
• Remember sometimes you need to hire a company to get it right.  Most nonprofits fear the advertising company and their big glossy finish but as they say sometimes you need to spend money to make money.  If you are a small shop with little experience you may need to call in the experts – except make sure you are part of the process, that way you can learn and maybe develop the next campaign on your own J

Marketing takes time but it is a time to have fun.  Explore your options, look to other industries to inspire you and find that special something that will make you connect with your donors. Farketing the next best thing…well maybe not, doesn’t quite have that Brangelina ring to it – so FUN and MARKETING it is.

~daniELLE ramsTEN