Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Social Media for Social Good: A How-to Guide for Nonprofits by Heather Mansfield Chapters 7 – 9 KEY CONCEPTS


Social Media for Social Good: A How-to Guide for Nonprofits by Heather Mansfield
Chapters 7 – 9
KEY CONCEPTS
Shelley Jane Graff  

*CHAPTER SEVEN—“Blogging” =
¦ “Eleven Blog Design Best Practices for Nonprofits” (p. 160) =
S  “1. Use a Simple Design That Allows A Custom Header” (p. 161)
S  “2. Use Your Avatar As Your Blog Picture” (p. 161)
S  “6. Allow Comments, But Moderate Them” (p. 1163)
S  “11. If Your Blog Is Not Hosted Inside Your Website, Purchase a Blog URL” (p. 164)

*CHAPTER EIGHT—“Social Media and the Mobile Web” =
] “Foursquare” (p. 183)—Examples of organizations on Foursquare with hyperlinks =

] “USTREAM (or Livestream)” (p. 184)

³ HOW TO FEED USTREAM THROUGH FACEBOOK PAGE:
³ Or, use the free USTREAM Facebook Application…Here is how to do so… “How to Embed a Ustream on Facebook

*CHAPTER NINE—“Mobile Websites” =
Ø “Eleven Mobile Website Design Best Practices for Nonprofits” (p. 206) =
v “1. Keep Design and Navigation Simple” (p. 206)
v “5. Link to the Mobile Versions of Your Social Networking Profiles” (p. 208)

Ø “Introduction to Quick Response Codes” (p. 210)

Ø QUICK RESPONSE CODE Related Information =
v How to Get a QR Code: To create a QR Code, all one must do is go online and use a QR Code generator such as (but not limited to): Delivr, Qurify, and Kaywa.  Such generators will convert your information into an image file that you can download and then insert into any type of media (such as posting it as a picture on your Facebook page). 
v This image can be used anywhere/in any context where it can be uploaded.  

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Social Media for Social Good: A How-to Guide for Nonprofits by Heather Mansfield Chapter 6 KEY CONCEPTS


Social Media for Social Good: A How-to Guide for Nonprofits by Heather Mansfield
Chapter 6
KEY CONCEPTS
Shelley Jane Graff

*CHAPTER SIX—“LinkedIn” =
Ø “Eleven Profile Tips for Nonprofit Professionals” (p. 139) =
± “1. Fill Out Your Profile to ‘100 Percent Completeness’” (p. 140)
± “6. Give Recommendations” (p. 142)
± “8. Use Linkedin Applications” (p. 142)
± “9. Join, Participate in, and Display Linkedin Groups on Your Profile” (p. 143)

Ø HOW TO SET UP A LINKEDIN GROUP (an investigation) =
±      First, on the horizontal menu (that begins with ‘Home,’ ‘Profile,’ etc.) running across the top of the screen click on "Groups."
±      Next, while on the “Groups” page, there are five “tabs” (beginning with ‘My Groups,’ ‘Following,’ etc.).  The last option is “Create a Group.”  Click on this tab. 
±      Finally, be sure that you exercise care in selecting the name of the group because LinkedIn restricts the number of times it can be changed (approximately a five change limit). 

Ø “Eleven Linkedin Group Management Best Practices for Nonprofits” (p. 145) =
± “1. Require Approval to Join” (p. 145)
± “3. Use a Horizontal Avatar” (p. 147)
± “4. Enable Promotions and Jobs” (p. 147)
± “5. Publish Group Rules” (p. 148)
± “7. Don’t Use News Feeds” (p. 148)
± “10. Send Monthly Announcements” (p. 150)

Ø Nonprofit Examples of Excellence: LinkedIn Groups” (p. 153) =

Social Media for Social Good: A How-to Guide for Nonprofits by Heather Mansfield Chapters 1 – 3 KEY CONCEPTS


Social Media for Social Good: A How-to Guide for Nonprofits by Heather Mansfield
Chapters 1 – 3
KEY CONCEPTS
Shelley Jane Graff

*CHAPTER ONE—“Websites, E-Newsletters, and “Donate Now” Campaigns” =
¦ “Five Must-Have Characteristics of a Nonprofit Website” (p. 5)
S  “1. Easy-to-Use Content Management System” (p. 6) =
§  The “four free, or low-cost, highly regarded CMSs” (p. 6) =
Ø 1. WordPress
Ø 2. Joomla!
Ø 3. Drupal
Ø 4. eZ Publish
§  And the newer (but popular) CMS: 5. Squarespace.com
S  “5. A Dot.org Website Address” (p. 9)

¦  “Eleven Website Design Best Practices for Nonprofits” (p. 9) =
S  “4. Limit the Layout to Two Columns” (p. 11)
S  “5. Write Page Titles That Increase Your Search Engine Optimization” (p.11)

¦ “How to Launch an E-Newsletter” (p. 14)
S  Hosted e-mail marketing services =
§  iContact
§  MailChimp

¦ “Eleven E-newsletter Best Practices for Nonprofits” (p. 15) =
S  “2. Publish E-newsletters That Are 500 Words or Less” (p. 16)
S  “4. Make It Personal” (p. 17)
S  “10. Send One to Three E-newsletters per Month and up to Six Fundraising Appeals per Year” (p. 19)

¦ Nonprofit Examples of Excellence: Websites” (p. 39) =
S  Stay Teen

*CHAPTER TWO—“Getting Started With Social Media” =
] “6. Use a Square Version of Your Organization’s Logo as Your Avatar on Social Media Sites” (p. 50)
] “Deciding What Social Media Tools to Use” (p. 54)—Summary of Suggested Amount of Hours Weekly to Devote to Each Medium in Question =
·       “Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube: 15 Hours Weekly” (p. 55)
·       “Flickr: 5 Hours Weekly” (p. 55)
·       “Linkedin: 5 Hours Weekly” (p. 56)
·       “Niche Networks (Ning, Change.org, Care2, Jumo, WiserEarth, BlackPlanet): 5 to 10 Hours Weekly” (p. 57)
·       “Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Networks (Razoo, Crowdrise, FirstGiving, GlobalGiving): 5 to 10 Hours Weekly” (p. 57)
·       “Location-Based Communities (Facebook Places, Foursquare, Gowalia): 5 to 10 Hours Weekly” (p. 58)

*CHAPTER THREE—“Facebook and Facebook Apps” =
Ø “Eleven Facebook Pages Best Practices For Nonprofits” (p. 74) =
v “4. Do Not Automate Content and Sync Facebook with Other Social Networking Sites” (p. 77)
v “7. Have More than One Administrator for Your Page” (p. 78)
v “9. ‘Tag’ Other Pages to Build Partnerships” (p. 79)

Ø “Five Advanced Facebook Best Practices for Nonprofits” (p. 81) =
v “2. Utilize Apps” (p. 82)
v “5. Utilize Facebook Events” (p. 85)

Ø “Five Status Update Content Ideas for Nonprofits” (p. 85) =
v “1. Success Stories
v “2. Photos”
v “3. Video”

Ø FACEBOOK COMMUNITY PAGES (an investigation) =
v According to Facebook’s own definition: “Community Pages are a new type of Facebook Page dedicated to a topic or experience that is owned collectively by the community connected to it. Just like official Pages for businesses, organizations and public figures, Community Pages let you connect with others who share similar interests and experiences.” (Source)
v However, I came across an article that does an excellent job summing up the issues surrounding what Community Pages mean for an organization.  It is called: “Facebook Community Pages What Your Business Needs to Know” by Mari Smith.  

Sunday, September 23, 2012

The Nonprofit Marketing Guide: High-Impact, Low-Cost Ways to Build Support for Your Good Cause by Kivi Leroux Miller Section 3—Chapters 8 – 12 KEY CONCEPTS


The Nonprofit Marketing Guide: High-Impact, Low-Cost Ways to Build Support for Your Good Cause by Kivi Leroux Miller
Section 3—Chapters 8 – 12
KEY CONCEPTS
Shelley Jane Graff

*CHAPTER EIGHT—“Make It Easy to Find You and to Connect with Your Cause” =
¦ “Are There Stories on the Need or Successes?” (p. 100)
¦ “Improve Your Search Engine Rankings” (p. 101)
¦ “Put Keywords in the Right Places in Your Page Text” (p. 102)
¦ “STAY CONSISTENT: BRANDING YOUR NONPROFIT” (p. 109) =
± “1. Make sure that there’s agreement, within leadership and key departmental staff, on what your brand is.” (p. 109)
± “2. Create a process for creation and review of marketing materials.” (p. 109)
± “3. Design and implement tools to make it easier for colleagues to develop or generate communications that convey the brand.” (p. 109)
± “4. Hold a training session.” (p. 110)

*CHAPTER NINE—“Become an Expert Source for the Media and Decision Makers” =

*CHAPTER TEN—“Stay in Touch with Your Community of Supporters” =
Ø “THINK OF YOUR ORGANIZATION AS A MEDIA MOGUL” (p. 126) =
v “Cool Aunt” (p. 130)

Ø “CREATE AN EDITORIAL CALENDAR” (p. 133) = [Three Audiences] =
v Who needs to be fed?” (p. 134)
v Where do they need to be fed?” (p. 134)
v How often do they need to be fed?” (p. 134)

Ø “CONSIDER YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY” (p. 138)

*CHAPTER ELEVEN—“Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude” =

*CHAPTER TWELVE—“Empower Your Fans to Build More Support for You” =
S   “IDENTIFY YOUR WALLFLOWERS, BUDDIES, AND FANS” (p. 152) =
] Wallflowers.  They are in touch with you, but prefer to keep to themselves.” (p. 152)
] Buddies.  Buddies like your organization and what you do.  They sometimes volunteer time, donate money, or attend your events.” (p. 152-153)
] Fans.  Fans regularly connect with you and your cause and spread the word to others without being asked to do so, because they love what you do and being associated with your cause.” (p. 153)
] Conversion strategies follow these definitions—i.e., how to convert a ‘wallflowers’ into ‘buddies.’ (p. 153)

S  “BE CLEAR ABOUT THE BEST WAYS FOR PEOPLE TO HELP” (p. 159) 

Saturday, September 15, 2012


N.I.U.’s LGBT Studies—Penguin Poster Campaign—Analysis of Effectiveness
Shelley Graff, September 8, 2012, COMS697-00P7

*TEXT/Message =
Ø  First of all, the message's text speaks to the “naturalness” of LGBT behavior.  In other words, scientifically or biologically speaking this is not a phenomenon that is exclusively a part of human behavior.  Often, it seems that anti –gay arguments focus on the behavior’s supposed “abnormal” qualities; when in actuality, the animal kingdom showcases many instances in which such behaviors are quite commonplace. 
Ø  Secondly, it speaks to the uniquely human behavior of discrimination.  By illuminating the notion that intolerance (including discrimination of almost any sort) is taught (and therefore not innate), it highlights the abnormality or unnatural quality of such behaviors. 
Ø  Indeed, in this light we appear less sophisticated than our animal brethren.  By not accepting LGBT lifestyles as inherently existing amongst biological life forms, we set ourselves apart from so-called nature.  The only way to dispute the statement in question is to attempt to simply deny the science backing it. 
Ø  Brevity is essential to the sheer power of the text to make an impact, insofar as part of its cleverness is in its message’s simplicity.  A poetry professor of mine once said that a great writer says the most in the least amount of words…this appears to be a solid example of that notion in action.  In thirteen words resides an argument that appeals to logic and emotion, while simultaneously anticipating the opposition’s arguments and using their own warped claims against them. 

*IMAGE/Impact =
]  To begin with, the animal chosen for the image happens to be quite timely in respect to recent research that has been conducted regarding the widespread presence of homosexual behavior amongst penguins.  The message expands upon this notion by including many species of animal, so the penguin is merely a spokesperson—but a good one at that. 
]  Not to mention the fact that it is a pair of penguins who happen to be photographed in such a way that they appear to be engaged in an affectionate pose.  This speaks to the success of the species to express care for one another in the same ways that we humans do, regardless of the presence of non-offspring producing homosexual behaviors among many of the birds in the population.
]  There is an anthropomorphic aspect of this photograph, but it comes across as being wholly intentional, in that the viewer is expected to be able to see ourselves in them and them in ourselves.  Yet we are also expected to take notice of that which makes us very different.  
]  Frankly put—people love cuddly animals.  Even if animals fail to get an individual particularly excited, the affectionate implications of the image evoke powerful emotional responses in anyone who is loved in any way.  Whether you are a friend, a parent, or you simply have parents (which we all technically do), this image evokes an emotionally charged and shared characteristic between us and penguins that seems almost undeniable.  That being, we both love and care for—and are loved and cared for—by each other, especially by our friends and families. 
]  Perhaps part of the appeal of this image comes from the penguin’s generally harmonious and markedly cooperative social existence.  Right down to the specific kind of penguin shown—the emperor penguin.  This specific bird is renowned for its shared parenting responsibilities, particularly the fact that the males stay and sit on the egg for months on end while the females are out doing the hunting.  Their instinctually determined gender roles make for a solid argument in favor of progressive (i.e., “more flexible”) gender roles within our own society. 
]  Honestly, who hates penguins? 

*QUESTIONS/CONCERNS =
v  Why (given the reported success of the poster) is this poster’s image not on the website or the Facebook page or the Twitter feed or any online aspect of the group’s platform? 
v  I would have already scanned it in to my computer, but unfortunately my scanner is not big enough. 
v  Furthermore, why not make it a series instead of just a poster?  You would merely have to switch out the penguin photo for another of the 1,500 species of animal that it refers to (also in some sort of friendly situation/pose), and leave the text exactly the same.  Not to say that each variation would have to be made in to its own poster per say; indeed, online such images could be included anywhere throughout the social media platform for free.  Perhaps even a few of the better spinoffs could make appearances as printed media—yet, said printing could all be done here, and then the resulting posters could be put up around key spots on N.I.U.’s campus only.  I figure people love animals and the more kinds of animals shown, the more likely the program’s message will reach every passing person—it achieves this by making the campaign more interesting, i.e. increasing the initial image variety in a such a highly localized place; as well as increasing the likelihood an individual will respond positively to the particular animal being shown.   

Friday, September 7, 2012


The Nonprofit Marketing Guide: High-Impact, Low-Cost Ways to Build Support for Your Good Cause by Kivi Leroux Miller
Section 2—Chapters 4 – 7
KEY CONCEPTS
Shelley Jane Graff

*CHAPTER FOUR—“Define Your Audiences: Who Do You Want to Reach?” =
¦ “The Stages of Change” (p. 41)
¦ “Creating Specific Personas Within A Segmented Group” (p. 44)
¦ “The Power of Personal Identity” (p. 53)

*CHAPTER FIVE—“Create A Powerful Message: What Do You Want to Say?” =
¬ “Benefit Exchange” (p. 58)

*CHAPTER SIX—“Deliver Your Message: How and Where Are You Going to Say It?” =
Ø “Convince Your Supporters to Open Your E-mail” (p. 73) =
v “1. Make the “From” field recognizable.” (p. 73)
v “2. Describe the candy; not the wrapper.” (p. 73)
v “3. Change your subject line from edition to edition.” (p. 73)
v “4. Emphasize the personal value of your content.” (p. 73)
v “5. Don’t tell people what to do.” (p. 73)