The Guardian Voluntary Q&A

On Wednesday I had the privilege to join the Guardian Voluntary discussion about sharing of best practices in nonprofit sector in the UK. You can read the entire discussion here but in this post I would like to sum up few points purely for individuals working for nonprofits (something I am currently working on as I am writing my first book). In order to learn and achieve best practices in digital fundraising, marketing and other areas of social good I suggest the following:

1. Read, read, read!

Listen to conversations on-line and off-line. Read industry press. Read conversations on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn - but do not limit yourself just to the leading social channels. Follow at least few industry leaders in all spaces - even if today it will be rather annoying Vine;) Read industry blogs (I suggest Netvibes.com if you were a fan of Google Reader). Subscribe to lists. Create your own Paper.li newspaper on the topic. 

2. Research before planning!

There are quire a few platforms featuring great case studies, industry updates and best practices but think outside of the box. If you are planning a Twitter based campaign you will probably follow few charities there, but might want to check out UKFundraising and Osocio for good examples and Mashable for newest developments of this particular platform. 

3. Study!

KnowHow Nonprofit Study Zone is a brilliant start and with names of tutors from their programmes you will be able to find other relevant courses. Look out for free webinars too - most of the leading social media platforms and tools will offer those on a regular basis. 

4. Test your ideas on friends!

To move completely outside of your current comfort zone ask your closes friends to review your idea and ask yourself: if I was to see it on-line would I get involved and if so, how?

5. Share and collaborate!

I know that each sector, each entity has its own competitors but online it is simply polite to share. Read "Trust Agents" if you are still not convinced and adopt the formula of giving more than your own asks. 

I hope this is useful and thank you to the Guardian Voluntary for inviting me! 

Join Twestival.com!

As some of you might know Twestival is back but this time, in 2013 you can register and organise your event any time - not just on one day. I have so far organised all Oxford Twestivals but this year I will be spending more time on the global community team so you can chat to me on @twestival too. In the meantime watch this one and pass it on to all relevant friends - it's a great initiative. Happy to be even more involved this year! 

Cloudsourcing 2013 for nonprofits

This is a nice set of tips and I say it not because I contributed to this one but because other co-authors make some really valide points. I really like the sentiment of reality check in this presentation. Enjoy!

Cloudsourcing2013 from LasaCharity

Africa for Norway

This is a serious project! I personally find it really hard to explain to my son why I am upset every time he reacts to the word "poverty" with his association of starving African kids. I do not ignore the actual problems and issues - I work with them on a daily basis - but I think that his view on the continent created at school is pretty narrow. Just imagine...

Imagine if every person in Africa saw the “Africa for Norway”-video, and this was the only information they ever got about Norway. What would they think about Norway?

Exactly, as they said. 

Six 2013 social media trends for nonprofits

Since I mentioned LASA Digital Summit (notes here) it's probably also a good idea to summarize my points on what I think the trends in social media for nonprofits in 2013. I usually do not like predictions so what I am listing in here is simply based on my observations of where the current conversations, case studies and offline reactions are heading. I am also taking a rather positive approach hoping that most of these will actually happen:

1. Social customer relationship will become more important than social channels and stats and I hope that more nonprofits will experience the value of establishing long term relationships with audiences exactly this way. Our conversation on Monday drastically migrated towards brand integrity of BT when I mentioned their great @BTCare Twitter customer service and I do agree that from a consumer point of view this is still only the beginning of their journey. From my professional perspective I am really happy to see a small Twitter account experimenting and delivering a human tonality, respect and actual support to the customers, even if it's a small chunk - for me it serves as inspiration. I hope that in December 2013 I will have a good nonprofit example too. 

2. Transmedia - I am really fortunate that I managed to have a chat with @transmediology at #MozFest last weekend (really inspiring person!) because I feel that social media professionals start to use the term quite reasonably. I think we will see nonprofits using various types of content across well managed multiple platforms more and more often. I think my point on small charities on Monday was misunderstood and I apologise for not making it clearer - I think both large and small charities have a potential to benefit from transmedia stories I just think we still lack in volume of those case studies. I see quite a few clients of mine starting to manage the silos more effectively and embracing the change in culture social media can generate. I trust we will see more of that story driven change next year. 

3. Technology - 4G and new tech will most certainly change the way we will experience and utilise the social web. I cannot predict how, but I feel that whatever comes next will make us even more device independent. I see people like to refer to the cloud, but this is not a new trend as such. I think we will see more general adoption of cetralised data sets and collaboration tools, many of which will be based in the cloud, on-line and in social networks. 

4. The rise of brand ambassador engagement? Now this one is a big question mark to me but I really hope that few leading innovators will prompt other organisations to finally open up, educate their supporters on organisational messages and goals and simple let them do the work WITH the brand, WITH the organisation or on its behalf. I hope more nonprofits will learn to use social media analytics tools (free and complex ones) to listen and interpret the word of mouth in the context of their work. I hope they will also make the most of the content already created for them instead of spending huge budgets on sterile PR messages. I hope that social media volunteering will become a norm too. 

5. Boundaries between commercial brands and nonprofits will blur even more. I feel its an inevitable change. 

6. I might be biased due to the topic of my book but I have a feeling that we will see more individuals raising the standards of digital campaigning, fundraising and on-line philanthropy. We will see them shifting between sectors, silos, particular activities. They will wear multiple hats and work on multiple projects. Their personal trust and reputation will rise. I think the more true social web practitioners, the better! 

Now, this is my take. What am I missing? Let me know!