Sharing Social Media lessons...

Today, Clarissa participated in a webinar presented by Harris Interactive and Virilion called the Power of Social Media: Impact on Healthcare Nonprofits and Charities. The data was based on survey results of non profit volunteers. Some highlights are included here, and you can access the complete slide presentation on the O drive at: O:\National Center\ADV\Grassroots\Let's Talk Grassroots- Blog Links\2-24-09.ppt

Clarissa wanted to share a few key learnings that impact our work in grassroots:
An increasing number of volunteers want the organization they work with to engage in social media forums. The demographics for who uses social media shows a fairly even split among men and women and the average age is mid 30s, college educated. The 50+ and 65+ plus generation’s adoption of social media has doubled just in the past quarter. Those using social media want to hear about organizational news, the organization’s view on politics, what you are doing to influence policy, as well as how to get involved. The messenger they prefer is a non staff voice, they would like to hear from fellow volunteers. The volunteer base would like to hear about the day to day work of the organization via social media tools. And Facebook remains the number one space people use with Twitter only accounting for 9% of usage.

*You can view a recording of the presentation at https://www323.livemeeting.com/cc/1100006390/view?id=M2NTHG

Paper Doll booklets- How's it going?

It's Go Red luncheon season, and we want to hear how YTC recruitment is going with the Paper Doll booklets and postcards. If you're having success, what's the secret? What's working well for you? We want to hear your challenges, too! If you are struggling to recruit with the booklets and postcards, tell us what's not working. What are the roadblocks to success?

Click comment and share your thoughts on this post. I'm looking forward to a robust conversation!

More from I2M conference...

Several of our colleagues recently attended the Innovate to Motivate conference, and they've been sharing feedback. Brian Bowser, Grassroots Coordinator for the South Central Affiliate, shared the following thoughts:

"One of the more interesting sessions focused on offline advocacy and the importance face to face interaction between advocates and decision makers. To me it seemed like common sense that an in-person visit is more meaningful than a fax, phone call, or email, but the session was still very insightful. The presenter was a professor from USC with a PhD in psychology and provided scientific evidence along with a case study to prove his point.

The basic premise was that as online communication tools become more popular and sophisticated the less effective they are. If everyone is able to deliver hundreds of emails to the capitol then the affect is essentially canceled out. In all cases is it advantageous to go back to what works….live meetings between real people. It is harder to say "no" to someone directly but it is also easier to read non verbal cues like apprehension or reluctance that isn't possible online.

With the new focus around offline goals this year and the activities we have already accomplished in our affiliate I see us as well positioned to be effective advocates moving forward. I also didn't interpret the presentation as saying we should abandon our online system, in fact we need to continue to build and improve on it, but at the same time not rely solely on it."

You can also check out the post below with Terri's lessons from the conference!

Combating Issue Fatigue

One of our colleagues, Betsy Vetter in NC, was quoted in this article by Amy Showalter. The article is a great look at issue fatigue- a problem so many of us face. I encourage you to check it out.

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/associationnews/200902/index.php?startid=28

Online Tip of the Month- Subject Line Best Practices

Subject lines are our “first impression” with advocates. Based largely on that simple sentence that appears in their inbox, they will make the choice to either open the message, or delete it. And considering we expend a considerable effort to effectively write our messages to persuade action, subject lines are a critical component to our online communications. Our hard work is in vain if no one sees the message.

When writing you subject lines, keep the following tips in mind:

• Less is more: Open rates are higher when subject lines are under 50 characters, so be brief and be bright. Use your MS Word word count tool to double check the length before sending.
• Remember the When and Why: The most effective subject lines are urgent, action-oriented, and specific. Use deadlines, embrace action verbs, and be concrete about the issue at hand.
• And Don’t forget the Who: Use the subject line to connect with the recipient and bring the message closer to home.
• Say “No” to SPAM: Some of the very same words that get your messages opened may also cause them to get caught in SPAM filters. Please refer to Quick Tips on Avoiding SPAM Filters for more information.
• Know Your Numbers: Watch the open rates of your messages. They will help you glean which subject lines work for your audience and which ones leave them cold.

Finally, the tips offered here will help you write more effective subject lines, but keep in mind that you will not be able to abide by ALL of the best practice principals at all times in the little space that you have- so choose a strategy to use and don’t get discouraged. For more details and examples of the tips provided above, see Subject Lines That Work.

Notes from I2M

Several of our colleagues are at the Innovate to Motivate (I2M) conference this week in New Orleans, LA. I2M is one of the largest annual grassroots conferences, and a wonderful source of information and networking with others in the grassroots industry.

Terri Broussard is among the participants, and has sent along some lessons from the conference. Her valuable insights are below.

• Social Media only works when you tie it to reality. You need a picture of it to believe it. If you’re at a rally, take a picture of your advocates, post it on facebook or you tube and have them tag themselves. They’ll want to follow you on twitter if you hand out your business cards with your twitter id
• Social Media engagement is not a 9 to 5 job. Volunteers engage after hours. Don’t be afraid to experience and it’s okay to lose control of your message from time to time; you have to be willing to experiment.
• Differences between facebook groups and fan pages (we’ve all been wondering). Groups were first on the scene. They tap out at 1k people. Fan pages are the way to go if you have to pick one. But if you can do both, do both. Fan pages allow you to do the same thing you can do with an actual facebook page. You can also get demographics on your fans after you have more than 10 people join.
• The #1 concern of a very experienced Grassroots Organizer, PAC manager and lobbyist is how to move online advocates to offline activities. The playing field has been leveled, most organizations have some kind of online advocacy capability, that advantage will likely level out over time as these technologies become more commonly used.
• A way to find key contacts: look up political contributors in the city, then check their voter records, cross check their professions and interview them.

Thanks, Terri!

Grassroots Innovator Award Finalists

Thanks to everyone who submitted entries- there were a number of fantastic innovations that impressed our judges. A brief outline of the finalists follows. Be sure to cast your vote before 12:30 pm EST Friday!

Tom Connell (PMA)- Facebook
Tom shared his experiences using Facebook Ads as a part of the Smoke-Free Boise campaign. The ad, available on Facebook for 2 months, allowed users to click thru to a webform on the AHA site at www.americanheart.org/smokefreeboise. The goal was to recruit advocates that could deliver quality, personalized messages to City Council. Nearly 300 new advocates were recruited with this tactic, prompting Tom and his colleagues to dub the Facebook ad " our little recruiter."

Amanda Ptashkin & Melissa Brown (GRA)- Advocacy Road Show
Amanda and Melissa presented their Advocacy Road Show- a traveling presentation the Great Rivers Advocacy staff shared with their colleagues across the affiliate. Through an engaging game that utilized slogans from familiar companies, they discussed the value Advocacy can bring with AHA staff from other departments. Amanda and Melissa pointed to the staff's increased understanding of advocacy and a greater willingness to engage in discussion of potential partnerships as measures of their success.

Amanda Ptashkin & Melissa Brown (GRA)- YouTube
Amanda and Melissa shared how they've been using YouTube to help them accomplish their goals. First, as a part of the Advocacy Roadshow, they utilized YouTube videos to create excitement and buzz about advocacy prior to the presentation and to motivate staff to create partnerships after the presentation. They've also used YouTube to breathe fresh life into recruitment efforts around federal lobby day. Our technology challenges made it difficult to see their YouTube videos, so the links are included here.
Videos from Roadshow:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHwqqB2hIPc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS1HbDonWy4
Recruitment Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQuS--XhIX0.

Betsy Vetter (MAA)- Advocacy Committee
In response to a need for a pool of highly engaged advocates and a need for a way volunteers could build advocacy and leadership skills within their affiliate, Betsy developed the NC Advocacy Coordinating Committee. The Executive team for the state consists of a Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Communications Chair, Issues Expert Chair, Immediate Past-Chair; Regional Team Leaders (Mountain, Greater Charlotte, Triad, Triangle and Eastern); and a Youth Engagement Chair. She is currently in the process of developing regional teams that mirror this structure. Betsy pointed to increased grassroots involvement and community building done by these leaders as positive outcomes of the process.