Tips for the Social Media Manager

by Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz, Communications Director, Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers

As a membership organization of foundations and corporate giving programs ranging in size, staff, resources and capacity, we at The Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers are continually looking at how to better our communications with and on behalf of our members.

As The Resource on Grantmaking, we provide critical information and services to the philanthropic and nonprofit communities. As The Network for Givers in our region, we convene grantmakers and others to address issues and create lasting solutions. And, as The Voice for Philanthropy, we represent the philanthropic sector to key audiences, including the media, legislators, and national organizations, raising public awareness and understanding about the role and impact of philanthropy on our society.

In order to enhance our ability to be the resource, network and voice of and for our members, we have been utilizing social media, and in particular Facebook and Twitter for four specific reasons: To Communicate, Disseminate, Concentrate and Participate.

Jumo as Dashboard

I have to admit, like most others in the nonprofit tech community, I’ve been disappointed by Jumo‘s debut. I won’t reiterate the litany of complaints (you can read some of the most well wrought ones in this post by Amy Sample Ward here; don’t forget the smart comments on that thread, too), but I will say that it would be nearly impossible for Jumo to live up to the expectations that many brought to the new platform.

Expectations is exactly what I want to talk about today. Jumo says it is “a social network connecting individuals and organizations who want to change the world.” It’s been called Yelp for nonprofits. With its Facebook pedigree (and mandatory integration),  we in the nonprofit community had high hopes. A social network for nonprofits and world-changers? Sign me up.

Social Media Round Up

I’ve been reading a lot of great social media posts lately. Here’s the cream of the crop.

The Engagement Pyramid: Six Levels of Connecting People and Social Change
What does it mean to “engage people”? Gideon Rosenblatt talks through six different levels of engagement people can have with your organization– from Observing and Following, all the way to Owning and Leading, in an article reprinted from Groundwire. (via Idealware)

“Controlling” Your Social Media Message
Laura Quinn takes a look at the myth that your social media message is either completely controlled or entirely out of your control: the truth, as always, is somewhere in between. (via Idealware)

Are Nonprofits Wasting Time Developing Mobile Apps?
As nonprofit campaigners, it’s our job to engage our constituency, move them up the ladder of engagement, and of course raise more money. New tools and mobile apps should always be on our radar. But have nonprofit campaigners in the U.S. been drinking too much Kool-aid these past couple of years and putting too much faith in mobile apps? Allyson Kapin gives us the facts.

RAs and Social Media: The Numbers Game

Last week, Claudia Herrold at Ohio Grantmakers Forum posted “OGF Memebers Try Out Social Media,” a blog post illustrating how many of their members are using different social media platforms. Seemed like a good idea so I did the same for the Forum’s membership.

56% of members are on Facebook

53% are on Twitter

29% are on LinkedIn

26% are on YouTube

24% have blogs

Back in October 2009, things looked a little different. In a post called “The Twitter Trend: RAs and Social Networking,” I wrote:

Twitter is the current social media platform of choice for regional associations, with more than a dozen organizations maintaining a presence there—Facebook comes in a close second with eight RAs represented.

In the past 9 months, Facebook has eclipsed Twitter as the dominate platform used by regional associations to communication with their members and the field. It’s a slim lead—there are 19 RAs using Facebook while 18 use Twitter.