How can you empower your staff to be the voice for your nonprofit through social media? Danielle Brigida, senior manager of social strategy and integration for National Wildlife Federation in Reston, Va., and Farra Trompeter, vice president at Big Duck, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based communications consulting firm, served up a number of tips on how do that during a session at the ninth annual Bridge to Integrated Marketing & Fundraising Conference this summer at the Gaylord National Conference Center in National Harbor, Md.

Don’t just open the floodgates of social media to your staff. First, explain the organization’s social media goals and relate it theirs, and of course, train your staff about your nonprofit’s brand.

Among other things your organization can do, according to Brigida and Trompeter:

• Invite all to contribute;
• Teach privacy settings;
• Share a process for comments;
• Create share-worthy content;
• Use tools to share and coordinate;
• Create a safe space;
• Listen and thank donors;
• Recruit by sharing your culture;
• Share the joy and stay in touch; and,
• Exhale – mistakes will happen.