(This is the fourth in a series of videos, recorded as part of our "Flip" chat series, that explores how various nonprofits -- and the consultants they hire -- are using "social media for social good." You can check out our previous chats, with the National Wildlife Federation's Danielle Brigida here, Small Act's Casey Golden here, and Idealist's Julia Smith here.)
"You run into trouble if you think social media is just Facebook or Twitter," Amy Sample Ward (@amyrsward), membership director at the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN), said at the Foundation Center's "Social Media for Social Good" (#SM4SG) event last week. By lumping e-mail, newsletters, and Web sites into the same category, Ward added, nonprofits run the risk of looking at social media as "the solution" rather than as another communications vehicle.
In this installment of our "social media for social good" video series, Ward explains why, in terms of your social media activities, not taking the time "to know where your community is" and approaching social media like any other broadcast channel or marketing vehicle can get your organization into trouble. She also explains why "social CRM" -- the ability to track customer/constituent information and engagement across social media platforms -- will be the next big development in the social media space. (For more on social CRM, check out this post from NTEN executive director Holly Ross.)
(If you're reading this in an e-mail, click here.)
(Total running time: 5 minutes, 28 seconds)
How about you? Are you measuring your organization's social media engagement? If so, how are you doing it and what, if any, lessons have you learned? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments section below.
And for more about DIY community engagement metrics, check out this post from Amy herself.
-- Regina Mahone
