Sponsorship – Answering the questions

The way the economy has been for the last few years has seen many nonprofits miss out on sponsorship dollars; now is the time to look at how to work toward re-gaining sponsorship for your nonprofit.

As we know sponsors look for value for their sponsorship spend; as we know all sponsors are being more cautious, and are looking for ways to garner more return from their participation.

The old days of simply approaching a business and asking for sponsorship has gone; there’s a real need now to be able to fully demonstrate where the sponsors money will go, how it will be managed, who will benefit and what the medium to long term results of their giving will be.
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If you haven’t had a chance to check out our free social media marketing platform, Converse.

We suggest that it’s about that time you did!

We built the tool to help manage the social media overload that everyone is attacked with these days.

Being able to schedule and post messages to multiple platforms at once can be a huge time saver and let you focus on more important social media tactics, like engaging with influencers and your constituents.

This is a quick guide on how to set up and start posting to multiple social media profiles (like your facebook fan page, linkedin, twitter, the list goes on and on)

How to Schedule out posts to groups

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There’s many voices out there wanting to be heard, and in a crowded non-profit market, it’s important to establish your niche, maintain communication and ensure you’re being heard.

It’s surprising how many in the non-profit sector believe that their organisation and what they are providing will ‘sell itself’; this is in reality far from the truth. These organisations are under the misguided belief that support will come to them solely as they are doing good in the community, and that people will automatically support them.

If only this were the reality, unfortunately, it’s not. It’s important for the management of any non-profitto make a point of ensuring that they are known among business and community groups, such as, associations, businesses, and individuals to ensure they remain familiar with the purpose of the nonprofit and the service it provides.
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The website. It’s your organization’s most valuable marketing tool. It is the first thing people check when learning more about you, after all—this is true of everyone from casual observers to passionate advocates to major donors and foundation program officers. Yet, the sad truth is a lot of nonprofit websites fail to perform.

Photo via Clauretano

When I say many nonprofit websites fail, I’m not talking about design. Your site may look good. But if it doesn’t perform—that is, if it doesn’t inspire visitors to sign-up, to donate, to take action or do whatever it is you’d like your visitors to do because it’s boring or difficult to navigate, then your website is failing you. It doesn’t have to. These six changes can help.

1. Install Google Analytics and Use It

Before you can move forward, you need to know where you are. How will you know if changes to your site have really improved performance if you don’t know how it’s performing now? You won’t.

With Google Analytics, you can how various elements of your site perform, see what keywords people are using to find you and track the conversion process—do people click on the donate button but drop off at a certain page before finishing? Is there a particular page that gets more email sign-ups than others? Monitor analytics for at least one month (three is better) to get a baseline view of how your site performs.
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In the second installment of our Relationships 101 Series, we’ll continue to examine social media through the lens of dating. Last week, we prepared ourselves to enter the market . We dressed the part, identified our ideal matches (supporters, donors, volunteers, board members, etc.), and figured out where to find them.  Now we’re ready to introduce ourselves to the world.

Cast a Wide Net:

Think about your best strategy when you head out for a night on the town. If you are looking for someone to chat up, do you set you sights on the first person you see or play the field and see who comes to you?  Many dating “experts” would recommend you circulate the room. Take a lap and look for familiar faces. Can’t seem to find anyone you know? Boost your confidence by mixing with individuals who appear interested. Notice the individuals who keep checking you out and say “hello.”

Lessons for Nonprofits: Don’t be intimidated. Get out there and meet people! Begin your “advances” by reaching out to individuals and other organizations you already know online. Friend, follow, and connect with them. Introduce yourself to some of their friends and followers and see where it leads. As you work to build your social media networks, continually seek out individuals in your area.  Look for men and women who have interests congruent with your mission and send requests their way.  While you are looking (and hoping) for quality supporters, you have to recognize there is also strength in numbers.   The more people you have in your network increases the number opportunities you’ll have to develop champions for your cause. (Disclaimer: See below for exceptions to this rule.)

Be a Flirt:

You’ve met someone who seems into you and you think he or she could have potential. (Congratulations! Now… let the games begin.) If you get nervous, you may talk too much or start to stumble over your words. Be cool and keep the dialogue moving.  Nothing kills a conversation quicker than silence. Tonight, though, the planets have aligned and things are going really well. You start complimenting their interests, appearance… anything! You are making excellent eye contact and leaning into the conversation.  Nonverbally, you are screaming, “I’m interested!”  (Research reveals these nonverbal cues… body language, etc… are even more important than anything you could say in the initial stages of a flirtation.) http://www.sirc.org/publik/flirt.html

Lessons for Nonprofits: You’ve made connections; now it’s time to start building relationships. Let your followers, friends, and fans know you are interested in them. Flirt! First, avoid awkward pauses in your “conversation.” Respond to requests in a timely manner and thank individuals and organizations for following your cause. Next, realize that while you won’t actually be able to make eye contact… you can get a closer look.  Examine profiles, posts, etc. and let individuals know you’ve taken the time to check them out. Flirting is all about feigning interest (until you truly connect, of course).  Lean in and investigate the information your followers provide. Connect their interests with your own to make a deeper connection.  “Like” something they do, “Retweet” an interesting post, etc. Relationships rely on reciprocity (mutual exchange). Your followers have taken the time to get to know you. Do the same! Remember: Every connection you make has the potential to turn into someone special (a volunteer, donor, board member, etc.).

Make Good Decisions:

Before you get carried away chatting up every Tom, Dick, and Harry on the street… remember the words of my sweet mother and “Cover your drink!” The world can be a crazy place. If you are picking up strange vibes, kindly excuse yourself and walk away.  Don’t put yourself in bad situations.

Lessons for Nonprofits: Unfortunately, not everyone in the world is out to help you. As you take a closer look at your online supporters, don’t be afraid to block, ban, and remove fans and followers.  Each connection you make online reflects your organization and simultaneously extends its reach. Protect your image by making sure this growth is headed in a positive direction.

Need more Relationship 101 advice? Check back soon to learn about the dreaded DTR (Defining the Relationship).

Having a bequest program to gain support for your organization is easier to establish and promote than many non profit groups believe.

Do you know why people give?

Some of the main reasons people give are:

• Belief in the mission of the organization they are giving to. Remembering that donors get (are) inspired by what your organization does.
• Your donors must be reassured that any gift they give to you will be used wisely, that it will be used for the sole purposes of your organization. They want to know that you are totally open about how the money you receive is used.
• First hand experience, knowledge of the work of your organization may be a reason donors choose to give. They may have been recipients of the work of your organization, perhaps they have been a volunteer, helped on an annual appeal.
• A stronger personal connection to the work of your organization may be behind their reason for giving, perhaps it allows them to honor or memorialize a loved one.
• There are those too who may wish to give as they have the personal belief that they have a responsibility to share their good fortunes with others. Others may give as they feel an inner warmth, and find it fulfilling to give to others in need.
• Your organization has directly impacted their life or the life of a loved one. Serving well is the key to gaining gratitude as well as gifts and bequests.

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As we think about the use of social media in nonprofit organizations, the ever-evolving best practices, differing opinions on the future of the field, ROIs, SEOs, and a host of other acronyms used to analyze the effectiveness of our work, it is easy to lose sight of why we embraced it the first place… the people.

Social media use is all about relationships.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll explore those relationships in a series of posts using a model almost everyone is familiar with: dating. With this framework, we’ll examine the different stages of relationships in an attempt to get back to the basics of social media and focus on the interactions between NPOs and their online supporters.

Establishing, building, and maintaining relationships is difficult work, but before any of that can happen we have to prepare ourselves to enter the market.

1. DRESS THE PART

Living the single life is all about appearances. When the time comes to hit the town, girls (and a few guys I’ve known) trade their tissues, baggy sweat shirts, and emotional baggage for an updated ‘do, a flattering (though appropriately revealing) wardrobe, and great accessories. We even spend a few extra minutes primping in front of the mirror to make sure we’re sending the right message to potential mates: “available, but not desperate.”

Lessons for nonprofits: You have to be ready to attract potential volunteers and donors. Take a long look at your organization’s online presence and ask yourself, “What needs to change?” Don’t be afraid to rework your appearance; brand your sites with the same look, feel, and information. Next, make sure you aren’t negatively exposing yourself to the world. Share your mission, values, goals, accomplishments, major gifts, and current projects, but don’t reveal your “baggage.” Strapped for funding? Don’t beg for it. Refrain from continually publishing posts asking for donations. Remember: desperation is not a good look for anyone.
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