In the past few weeks and months, social media have helped many groups unleash widespread advocacy efforts that have won the attention of millions of people and ignited large-scale public debates.
Supporters of Planned Parenthood, for example, used Facebook and Twitter to inspire protests after Susan G. Komen for the Cure said it would end support to the organization. Invisible Children used a YouTube video to start a campaign to make the public aware of abuses committed by the warlord Joseph Kony, in Africa.
And the killing of Trayvon Martin in Florida has fueled a massive online debate about race relations and gun laws and sparked large protests nationwide.
What is it that makes these events spread online and generate support?
The common thread is that the organizers found a way to help anyone relate to the cause, says Stephanie Rudat, an online activist and co-founder …
When nonprofits develop ideas for using social media, they tend to focus on networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. But they often overlook one of the oldest and most effective tools for sharing ideas and building a community online: the blog.
While blogs don’t get the same attention as newer social-networking platforms, Britt Bravo, a communications consultant, says blogs should still be a central piece of an organization’s social-media strategy.
Ms. Bravo says a good blog can produce a steady stream of content that can help nonprofits share information with supporters, garner media attention, and snare a higher ranking in search engines such as Google.
Blogs also provide useful content that can be shared in social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
In the latest episode of The Chronicle podcast Social Good, Ms. Bravo shares advice on how to…
When faced with a crisis, many nonprofits stay silent until they are sure they have created the right message to share with their supporters.
Amy Bryant, digital content manager at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, says that can be a big mistake. Groups that are facing a public crisis or challenge need to take control of the message early—even if they are still trying to react to that crisis, she told a session at the South by Southwest Interactive conference, in Austin, Tex. That is especially true in social networks.
“Even if you put up a statement that says ‘Yes, we know it’s happening. Give us some time to figure it out,’ that’s enough,” says her colleague, Stephanie Lauf, Planned Parenthood’s director of online-supporter engagement, who also spoke at the conference. That practice has been especially important for Planned Parenthood over the past year, as it has…
If your organization’s blog has gotten a bit stale—or if it has never really connected with supporters—help is on the way.
Britt Bravo, a communications specialist and blogging coach, will join Allison Fine, an author and consultant, as the guest for the next edition of Social Good, The Chronicle’s monthly podcast about social media.
Together, they will answer your questions about blogging and help you add new life to your online commentary.
To submit a question—or to request advice on how to improve your blog—post it in the comments area below.
Many nonprofit leaders understand the value of telling stories to connect with potential donors or to inspire action by supporters. But they struggle to find creative ways to tell stories—especially because they are often more focused on helping the people they serve than they are with documenting the experience.
How can nonprofits tell attention-grabbing tales about their work and the people they help?
In the latest episode of our Social Good podcast series, Michael Margolis, founder of the consultancy Get Storied, and Mark Horvath—a nonprofit leader who uses a video camera, social-media tools, and his Web site, InvisiblePeople.tv, to illustrate the trials of homeless people—discuss how charities can tell effective stories about their work.
Susan G. Komen for the Cure is facing a significant social-media backlash following its decision to cut off its support of Planned Parenthood.
The controversial move by the nation’s largest breast-cancer charity will cut hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual grants from Komen chapters to Planned Parenthood clinics, primarily for breast exams.
The charity is now facing a significant outcry from Planned Parenthood supporters in social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
Planned Parenthood helped fan the flames by posting a message to its Facebook page and on Twitter late Tuesday afternoon that announced Komen’s decision.
“Komen has been an ally and supported [Planned Parenthood] health centers to provide nearly 170,000 breast exams in the past five years—and we’re determined to make sure it won’t stop thousands of women from getting the care they need,” it wrote on its…
Steve Jobs (Jessica Brandi Lifland/Polaris/Newscom)
Steve Jobs, the Apple co-founder, was a polarizing figure in the nonprofit world.
While his chief business rival, Bill Gates, leads the world’s largest foundation and has been a standard-bearer for the high-profile Giving Pledge, Mr. Jobs, who died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer, rarely made his philanthropy or his views on giving a topic for public discussion.
He briefly ran the Steven P. Jobs Foundation—a grant-making organization he created in 1986 but later closed, The New York Times has reported. However, he did not sign the Giving Pledge nor did he ever make a public gift that appeared on The Chronicle‘s Philanthropy 50, an annual list of the largest charitable gifts.
Apple has also drawn some criticism for its philanthropy. …
A small but growing number of foundations are relying on social networks to advance their missions and promote conversations about the causes they care about.
The Marguerite Casey Foundation, for instance, uses Facebook to start discussions with its grantees about topics such as poverty, and it turns to Twitter to encourage similar discussions among government leaders and journalists.
Its goal is to use those networks to mobilize people to address poverty in America, says Suphatra Laviolette, who manages the foundation’s social-media efforts.
At the Case Foundation, Michael Smith, senior vice president of social innovation, says the philanthropy seeks to use social networks to connect people who are interested in the causes the fund supports.
It also uses social media as a key component of the Case Giving Challenge, which attempts to help nonprofits raise money and win…
The new Google+ social network has been producing a lot of interest, attracting more than 25-million members during its first month.
But for many nonprofits that are still learning how best to use established social networks like Facebook and Twitter, its arrival and rapid growth are anything but welcome news.
If they ignore it, they risk missing out on building strong connections with the early adopters who are flooding into the network.
But if they invest time in developing a presence in Google+, they risk weakening their relationships in existing networks like Facebook and Twitter without the promise that Google+ will ever reach the same size and scale.
So how should nonprofits approach the arrival of Google’s new network?
In the latest episode of Social Good, Beth Kanter, the blogger and co-author with Ms. Fine of The Networked Nonprofit, offers advice to…
Nonprofits face a growing challenge getting their message out as Google, Facebook, and other sites increasingly try to tailor information they show to meet a person’s interests.
Eli Pariser, in his new book, The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding From You, explores these challenges, explains that as the Internet is beginning to reward things that are “likable,” an article about the war in Afghanistan might not get a reader’s attention, he notes.
So how does a nonprofit working on issues that might not be popular find a way to rally activists?
In the most recent episode of The Chronicle‘s Social Good podcast series, Mr. Pariser, the co-founder of Moveon.org, discusses what nonprofits need to understand about the way technology tools work and how to get round them.
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