Tweeting Information For Consistent Conversation At Food For the Poor, social networking is a two way street. It doesn’t just push out messages, it also retweets on Twitter the messages of its followers. The organization’s following has grown by 30 percent during the year they have been using Twitter, according to Roxanne Rives, Web content specialist at the group. Rives said that consistent conversation with the Coconut Creek, Fla., group’s Twitter followers is what has garnered solid public support.
Charities around the country have become to embrace social media tools, such as Twitter, to reach out to current and potential donors, and engage them in conversation, all in 140 characters or less. Rives updates Food for the Poor’s Twitter page multiple times daily, mindful of the fact that not all followers are in the same time zone. “Twitter is really powerful. You can say something meaningful in those 140 characters,” Rives said. To help reach out to its following, Food for the Poor retweets messages from its 1,265 followers, as a way of letting them know the charity cares about what they have to say, Rives said. “Retweets are important. They make readers feel valuable and understand that you are listening. Everyone wants to have a voice, and this is an excellent tool to give people that opportunity. It’s the public conversation backbone,” she said. Easter Seals has detailed plans, in advance, for Twitter, said Eve Smith, director of Interactive Marketing at the nonprofit. The organization has created an internal editorial calendar that dictates when and how promoting will be done. The schedule is also used for Myspace, Facebook and e-mail blasts. Right now, Smith is helping Easter Seals coordinate an April campaign for Autism awareness and disability services. Much of the information the organization tweets to its 837 followers is part of a concentrated effort to build traffic to its Web site, easterseals.com, Smith said. “On our site, we can share more information and get people engaged,” she said. “They can email Congress, read blog posts, take quizzes and be interactive. We’re trying to engage them through public education,” she said. Twitter is no longer just a tool to use to announce its latest news. Instead, the platform is being used in a more interactive manner, as a way for organizations to actually unite with their public following, and get their cause to go viral. Creating petitions at www.act.ly that allow followers to show support with a single tweet, or designing a ‘twibbon’ at twibbon.com for followers to post on their own page, are just two ways to get started. This past fall, Erik Rubadeau, senior consultant of technology and fundraising at Hewitt and Johnston Consulting in Toronto, helped Doctors Without Borders in New York City launch on Twitter its Be There 1st campaign, to provide humanitarian medical care to victims of armed conflict, epidemics and natural disasters. The organization built a Twitter application into its Home page that gave donors and its 1,325 followers the option to tweet a pledge to the campaign, or spread the word about Be There 1st through different hashtags -- organized catch phrases that begin with the hash “#” symbol on Twitter. The effort raised $155,660 for the nonprofit’s Emergency Relief Fund. Rubadeau said Twitter was extremely effective in fundraising and generating buzz for the campaign. “It helped us pick up some momentum,” he said. “Twitter really is a conversation, it’s not just the next great piece of technology.” The key to success for nonprofits on Twitter is creating a dialogue, Rubadeau said. Being accessible to followers and authentic in responses is what keeps people going back to a support charity’s mission. Nonprofits can also connect with other constituencies at Twitter directories such as wefollow.com/twitter/nonprofit, he explained. “You can see the difference between the organizations that are invested in conversation and want to learn about their followers, and ask questions of their donor base and get answers, “ he said, “and those who use Twitter as a one-way conversation, like email.” The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Arlington, Va., has more than 19,657 followers and continues to grow by following one simple rule -- not talking about itself too much. Amy Ganderson, online marketing manager for TNC, said the organization’s social media team refers to the nonprofit itself just once in every seven tweets. “That is key for us,” Ganderson said. “We need to talk about what other people are doing, and what’s going on in the environmental space, as well as promote other good green news. It’s not just promoting over and over. It’s trying to engage with the Twitter audience,” she said. Similar to the Easter Seal’s editorial calendar, Ganderson said TNC plans in advance when and how often promotions will be mentioned. Those who follow charities on Twitter also like to hear powerful success stories, according to Lauren Lawson, a spokesperson for Goodwill Industries International in Bethesda, Md. Goodwill highlights on its blog, its Web site and in podcasts, and via posts on Twitter individuals who have participated in one of its training program. Goodwill International has 2,323 followers, as well as individual Twitter pages for each of its affiliates. Goodwill also gave its Twitter followers an exclusive preview of its new Web site prior to its launch, and allowed them to give their input. “It’s effective to tell our followers to take action, watch an inspiring video or pledge to volunteer,” she said. “People like to support anything they can, especially when there is a viral way of supporting.” Likewise, Rives said Food For the Poor has experienced similar success in tweeting about inspirational achievements. “They [followers] want individual stories, and news about what our donations are going toward,” she said. Twitter has also allowed TNC to protect its brand by refuting media claims and telling its side of the story in several instances. “Crisis control is another big thing for us,” Ganderson said. “We’ve gotten writers to change their stories if something negative has come out about us in the press. It’s a big organizational win and shows the value of social media.” TNC is looking to go global with its social networking, and tie social media to donations, Ganderson said. Lawson said Goodwill plans on continuing to have direct conversations with donors, regardless of whether or not Twitter continues to thrive. Hewitt & Johnston’s Rubadeau said that while nothing is certain in social networking, one thing is for sure, there’s no stopping the continuing evolution of social media. “It has fundamentally changed the way organizations have to think about communication,” he said. “The way we now communicate on Twitter, I think we’ve reached a point you can’t go back from.”
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