These days it’s not just enterprises, global brands, and small businesses leveraging the power of social media – non-profit organizations are getting involved, too. Social media has indeed sparked new ways of giving: take Twitter, for example. The massively popular microblogging site has been used time and again to raise funds and support charities and other worthy causes. Not only is Twitter an innovative avenue for fundraising; it’s also a pretty effective one, too, provided you follow these great tips. Engage with people who can help The key to fundraising on Twitter is connecting with people who can help and keeping them upbeat throughout your whole fundraising campaign. You may be able to get a random group of people to read your tweets, but if they’re all twelve-, thirteen-year-olds who’d rather buy the new Justin Bieber CD than make a donation, you might not be able to hit your targets. So start by using the Find People or Twitter Search – Read the full article
The Internet continues to grow, and more and more organizations are leveraging its power to support not just their own business objectives, but also their causes, advocacies, and social responsibilities. Charities have taken to using websites as their main communication vehicle, while an increasing number of groups and individuals are utilizing the Web to get volunteers, spread information, raise awareness, and raise funds through online donations. A creative and properly implemented fundraising campaign to a broad online community can indeed get more results and raise more money than an offline campaign, and without as much overhead expenses. Do you represent a group looking to get more results from your online fundraising campaign? Here are some essential tips to help you do that more effectively and make your campaign a success. Get legal First things first – make sure you have registered with the right officials and met the requirements for launching your fundraising campaign. Just because it’s being done online – Read the full article
Raising funds online isn’t easy. Thank goodness there are useful social media marketing platforms like Kickstarter and Twitter. (Check out our tips for fundraising on Twitter and our coverage of some of the most successful social media fundraisers!) But if these tools aren’t flexible enough for your charity organization, political advocacy, or religious community – and if you think you’ll need a bigger Web presence, like a website or a blog – then you might as well create your own WordPress site. WordPress is Lakeshore Branding’s recommended content management system (CMS). Why? Because it’s focused on aesthetics. Because it’s built on evolving and upcoming Web standards. And because it’s so easy to use. To help rally your cause, we compiled this list of 15 WordPress themes sure to strike at the heart of your online audience. These WordPress themes are great for non-governmental institutions, public sector groups, charity organizations, environmental organizations, fundraising events and committees, advocacy groups, political aspirants, churches, – Read the full article
Say what you will about the power and popularity of social media, but it’s not going to make a number of marketers, business owners, and brand managers stop asking questions about what to do with it. Take Twitter, for instance. Questions about its viability are being asked over and over. If you’re one of those who have to keep asking, don’t be embarrassed. It’s okay to be skeptical. And it’s perfectly natural to scrutinize the immense popularity and business viability of Twitter before you dive in and make it part of your strategy. For the sake of clarity, let’s take on 9 burning questions about Twitter. How can Twitter and its 140-character limit possibly have any real business value? Twitter is more a communications platform than a mere application. And that’s where its value lies. It allows you to easily enter into conversations with other users – conversations where you can listen in, receive precious feedback, share information, and, essentially, – Read the full article
Looking to get ahead of the social media marketing game? Sure, Facebook and Twitter are still the king and queen of this kingdom – just as reported in a recent StrongMail survey of online marketing budgets in 2011 – but the New Year also heralds a number of new social media darlings that are certainly worth keeping an eye on. Last year, it was Foursquare and Posterous leading the pack. This year is just as promising – if not more promising, thanks in large part to the continued expansion of social media and to the crazy range of new sites, apps, and startups out there. Here are our picks for social media websites to watch in 2011. Quora Last March 2010, Quora reportedly received $86 million in funding from Benchmark Capital (also a Twitter investor). It didn’t make any million-dollar noise the rest of the year, but this 2011 just might be the year Quora really makes waves. As a – Read the full article
In a new social media marketing ploy – call it the “Twitter Boycott” strategy – the Los Angeles Times reports that social media superstars Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, and Ryan Seacrest, among many others, are boycotting all social media sites until $1 million is raised for the charitable foundation, “Keep a Child Alive.” The “Keep a Child Alive” charity, which is dedicated to providing life-saving anti-retroviral treatment, care, and support services to children and families affected by HIV/AIDS, is fronted by talented singer and new mother Alicia Keys. The concerted sign-off of leading celebrity Tweeters and Facebook “friends” – what is described in the campaign as “digital death” – is slated to remain in effect until the $1 million target is met. In addition to swearing off all social media activity, the altruistic celebrity superstars will post “final tweet and testament” videos to the “Keep a Child Alive” website. Lady Gaga’s final tweet is already live on their website. The often – Read the full article
Thanks to social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, charity is moving beyond direct mail, newsletters, and door-to-door campaigns. It has gone “non-traditional” – and so have forms of giving. What d’ya know: social media has churned out something we may aptly refer to as ‘social good’. This came to record-setting light in the recent #BeatCancer campaign. You might have heard of it. Actually, you may have participated in it. Here’s how the fundraising effort went. For every Tweet, Facebook status update, or blog post containing the #BeatCancer hashtag, eBay/PayPal and MillerCoors pledged to donate one cent to cancer research. The campaign went viral, mobilizing raised social media users everywhere. On October 16 to 17, #BeatCancer raised significant money for several cancer charities – to the tune of over $70,000, actually – and set the Guinness World record for the most social mentions in a 24-hour duration: 209,771. Not all have set records, but more and more fundraising initiatives are – Read the full article
