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Nonprofits and the Social Networking Mindset

By admin - November 6th, 2012

Any business can use the tools they are given, but not every business can take those tools and use them to their full capacity. This is the difference between a toolset and a mindset.

What is a networking mindset? It’s a new type of leadership. It means using open participation and collective action. The leaders of the organization need to operate with an awareness of the networks the organization is involved in and listen to these networks to develop a stronger impact. With this mindset, organizations communicate in active conversations and take part themselves. They give their organization a voice, and with social media this can be done through multiple platforms.

When it comes to nonprofits and their utilization of social media platforms, they need to adopt a social networking mindset. Every business benefits from utilizing different platforms, but nonprofits are the true beneficiaries.

According to Beth Kanter, co-author of Measuring the Networked Nonprofit, there are four different stages a nonprofit goes through when trying to adopt a social networking mindset. They are: crawling, walking, running and flying.

Crawlers have set up their social media accounts but are not interacting with their community through them and are inconsistently posting. They need to work on developing a social media strategy within their communication plan for the organization.

Walkers are using the different social media channels but are not focusing on a specific strategy. They may be posting the same thing every week, or posting irrelevant information. According to Kantar, “Walkers should focus on one or two social media tools, going deep into tactics and generating tangible results and lessons.”

Runners have developed a detailed and centralized social media strategy for their organization. In this stage all employees within the organization are comfortable with their social media efforts. More than one department is able to focus on the social media strategy and participate in it.

Flyers are the innovators of social media within their industry. They are focused on changing and developing new strategies to further their impact on their communities. Flyers have fully developed a communications plan with social media platforms intact.

No matter what stage a nonprofit organization is in, the most important point to remember is to actively engage within their social media networks by first determining a strategy, then goals and objectives. They need to evaluate and adjust their efforts as needed and keep repeating the process until they hit their goals.

Without consistent engagement, a nonprofit can lose their following and reputation amongst their different channels. Remember, there’s a difference between a toolset and a mindset.

If your nonprofit organization is stuck in the crawling stage, contact IQnection’s Web Marketing Department to get you off the ground and flying – or call us at (215) 345-5424.

Tags: Nonprofit, Online Marketing, social media, Web Marketing
Posted in Non-Profit, Social Networking | No Comments »

The Importance of Pinterest: A Marketing Perspective

By admin - August 15th, 2012

Pinterest is arguably the hottest social platform on the web today, named to Time Magazine’s Top 50 websites of 2011 alongside such social media heavyweights as Google+, Klout and Storify. The statistics behind the meteoric rise of this invitation-only social networking site is mind-boggling by any interactive media standard — having seemingly achieving a tipping point on December 17^th, 2011 when the site reached 11.0 million visitors, up nearly 40 times the level recorded a mere six months earlier.

And the growth of Pinterest.com didn’t stop with the singing of Auld Lang Syne.

According to Compete, unique visitors to Pinterest increased by 155% in just one month alone, between December 2011 and January 2012. By January 20^th, 2012 Pinterest.com had attracted 11,140,641 unique visitors, up a staggering 815% from the previous six months. By mid- 2012, traffic growth has averaged 63.7% month over month.

Just as a frame of reference, Pinterest has exceeded both Twitter and Facebook in terms of users after 2 years of operation. Whereas Twitter had 3 million users on its second birthday, Pinterest had 10.4 million users. It stands to reason then that Pinterest will continue its extraordinary growth and become the behemoth leader among social networking platforms.

In the event that you are not seeing the connection between these jaw-dropping statistics and the value of Pinterest in a business marketing plan, let’s start at the beginning…

First let’s define exactly what this juggernaut is. Pinterest is a social network which allows users to create thematic virtual “boards” (think vision boards) on which they “pin” images or videos that the “pinner” finds beautiful, useful or compelling. These images attract “followers” the world-over who can “like”, “comment-on” or “re-pin” images that resonate with them in some fashion. It’s this visual and interactive nature of Pinterest that has taken the internet by storm.

The benefits of the image sharing site is inherent in both what is obvious and, possibly more importantly to businesses looking for a competitive advantage online, what is not so obvious.

First, the obvious:

Pinterest is a slam dunk for businesses that sell visually interesting products or services such as jewelry, clothing, catering services, crafts, handbags, vacation destinations, etc. Visual content that is already in use for other marketing efforts can be re-purposed and showcased to a new and different audience. Blog articles can also be spiced-up with the strong visual opportunities afforded by Pinterest.

Even companies that lack a visual component can leverage Pinterest’s popularity and use it to drive new traffic to their website. With a little creativity, even the most visually-dry company can exhibit images that reflect the company’s culture by pinning pictures of company events, charitable functions or even executive headshots with corresponding impressive bios, onto respective boards. Infographics, which are all the rage at the moment, are easily “re-pin-able” for any business model.

And the not so obvious:

Although enhancing one’s brand is certainly a perk in the Pinterest-sphere, the definitive goal for businesses undertaking a presence on Pinterest (and it is recommended that any business that depends on a high level of traffic to their website have a presence on Pinterest) is to drive traffic back to the company’s website that ultimately converts visitors into leads. Each link from Pinterest becomes, in essence, a micro traffic source back to images that live on the company’s website.

There are several ways that businesses can increase the odds that Pinterest traffic is supporting lead generation efforts and ultimately converting visitors into leads:

Include landing pages in pin descriptions – each pin is afforded a small space to describe the image. Use this space wisely to include links to the landing page for image download. This is particularly effective when pinning images that require a form to access, such as presentations, webinars, eBooks, white pages or any other offering that requires more than a cursory glance.
Add clear “Calls-To-Action” - direct a viewer as to what the next step is in order to further engage with your business. It is best to give visitors easy to navigate next-step instructions on all pages of the website—whether or not the business or website is visually rich.
Build reach via increasing follower base – the rule of thumb here is a lesson learned back in kindergarten—be have a friend you must first be a friend. Promote other people’s content to enhance your own collection. When someone sees that you are interacting on their boards, they will be more likely to interact and share from your boards. This is how images spread virally.
Cross pollinate in other channels – add a Pinterest button to your website. Connect the Pinterest account with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, blogs and any future channel yet to be introduced into the ever-expanding social networking universe.

The holy grail of success on Pinterest for business is not simply showing off your products or services. Rather, it is in finding creative, engaging ways to show your target audience how your products and services fit into their lifestyle. It’s subtle, but can make all the difference in attracting an excited, engaged audience who is more than happy to serve as your unofficial sales team. Imagine the power of a staff of over 11 million sharing your message and driving traffic to your website, without the hassle of pay raises, sick days or office meetings.

All that is needed to enter the Pinterest-spere is a computer, an account and a creative approach to a universe of marketing opportunity.

If you are interested in adding Pinterest to your business marketing strategy and need help, contact our web marketing department.

Posted in Online Marketing, Social Networking, Web Marketing | No Comments »

Website Content for your Business

By admin - July 16th, 2012

Content has always been a valued element of Search Engine Optimization and with Google’s recent updates it is more and more important. No matter what size your business, having good quality content on your website is important.

However, content does take time to produce and when you are a small business it can be hard to create regular content for your website.

There are several options for a small business to create a website with a steady stream of useful content

Have a blog

If you are going to start creating a stream of content for your website, the easiest way to integrate it is by starting a blog. It is simple to add to the structure of your website and gives you the opportunity to write articles on current industry trends or your business’s achievements. It gives you a place to talk directly with your customers and maybe be a little less formal than normal, creating a more personal relationship.

Blogs allow customer relations. By adding a comment section after every post, you can relate to your readers. Replying to comments will encourage further discussion on the topics.

Have a plan for content distribution

Use Facebook and Twitter to spread the word allowing readers to see a snippet of the text and provide a link back to your site where they can read the complete post.
Start an email based monthly newsletter with links to your top blog posts and a rundown of any important company activities. Remember to create a signup option on your blog, website and on your social media sites.
Set up an RSS feed. This can be a great tool for pulling in more readers. Allowing people to subscribe to your RSS feed means that whenever you add new content to your site they will get a notification about it and a link, which will hopefully entice them to visit your site.

Hire someone who can write

It is essential you have someone who can write good quality posts. Writing is not everyone’s forte. If you do not have someone in your company who can do it consider IQnection’s Marketing Department. We have skilled copywriters on staff that can help create content for your blog or website. By optimizing your content for targeted keywords your posts will begin to rank on Google Search Results.

Having a good quality blog can only enhance your site. It should help your rankings and encourage more people to visit, and hopefully link to, your website.
So what are you waiting for?

Tags: Online Marketing, search engine results, search placement, SEO, seo copywriting, Web Marketing, website content
Posted in Blogs, SEO, Social Networking, website content | No Comments »

Social Media for Nonprofits: Empowered Generosity

By admin - March 30th, 2012

There are very few fields that function as comfortably in a dual role, straddled between the two distinct disciplines of art and science, as the marketing industry does. This field has been especially proactive when it comes to embracing the latest in technological advancements in order to “tell the story to the widest audience possible” on behalf of their clients. Despite this, not all marketing segments were as quick to incorporate technology as others, especially social media, into their marketing strategy—namely, the non-profit sector.

Recently however, according to Beth Kantor, author of Social Media Whitepaper “How to Centralize Your Social Media Programs for Success”, non-profits have not only adopted the art/science of social media, but has used its unique, organic selling feature (i.e. people helping people) to transform the medium in ways that the for-profit business can only admire from afar.
According to Kantor, non-profits had previously employed a “listen, fail informatively, and evolve approach” that for-profits organizations cannot afford to attempt. Subsequently, non-profits have developed a strategy over time that is uniquely successful in the competitive pursuit of virtual attention, as well as procuring real-life cash.

This unique non-profit approach to social media uses the power of people to connect, in an informal fashion, cost-effectively and across institutional boundaries. Such methods include:

Deepening Relationships and Engagement – March of Dimes uses this strategy particularly well in their “Tell your Story” Campaign. Supporters of the cause are empowered to come together as a community, with very little assistance from the official organization, and take specific action of their own in the name of the organization. For example, members came out in force to support the Maddie Campaign, raising tens of thousands of dollars in memory of a toddler.
Individuals & Small Groups Self-Organizing around non-profit Causes – Empowered to create, join and activate groups independently from the official organization, groups such as “Twestival” and the “Facebook Causes” Birthday application have spontaneous strung up. Comedian Stephen Colbert has gotten into the self-organizing arena, lending his participation to DonorsChoose and their “Birthday Give Back” campaign.
Facilitation, Collaboration and Crowdsourcing – Non-profits organizations pool the passions of their human resources and create new and interesting collaborations. For example “Lights, Camera, Action” Film festival was created by individuals across several different non-profits in effort to promote filmmaking-for-a cause.
Social Change Behind the Firewall – In an early attempt to simply curb the tide of negative social media presence, many traditional non-profits turned their attention to social media simply as a means to stay on top of, and eliminate, negative comments. As their listening campaigns progressed, they soon realized that many comments were positive and worth cultivating. Although first shared only in-house, these adopters realized that this positive sentiment is a powerful marketing tool. By actively and genuinely participating in social media, they have managed to turn critics into supporters.

Social media has quickly become the dream platform for non-profits — with millions of engaged, passionate, empowered users banding together to do good works and help others on behalf of their cause of choice. As true today as when Margaret Mead (1091 – 1978) first quoted this: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”.
Wouldn’t Ms. Mead be amazed how the truth of her statement is more powerful than ever with the advent of social media?!

Tags: Non-profits, social media, social media marketing for nonprofits
Posted in Non-Profit, Online Marketing, Social Networking, Web Tools | No Comments »

Facebook Timeline for Business Pages

By admin - March 6th, 2012

The Facebook Timeline is now available for business pages. You have until March 30, 2012 to make the switch.

With this change, brand-focused business pages will be getting the large cover photos previously available only on personal profiles. Photos, likes and other ‘apps’ (maps, events, calendar) will be featured at the top of the page, just to the right of the profile photo. Businesses will now be able to make any post appear larger by ‘starring’ or ‘pin’ a new post to the top of their page. In addition, business pages get other new features including messaging capabilities – previously not available for businesses.

The new layout, however, will do away with the ‘landing tabs’ that asked users to like their pages. Now all visitors to a page will see the timeline view by default.

Here is a list of changes to make to improve your brand communications on the new Facebook look:

Brand Value – As communicated through the Cover Photo, This ‘signature’ feature can be used for a popular item, artwork or picture of people using your product. You are NOT allowed to use promotional campaign purchase information, call-to-action or reference Facebook interface elements such as ‘Like or Share”.
Brand Identification – The profile image will be shown as a box on the left atop your cover photo. The dimensions of this have changed, profile images used previously may be ‘cut off’ with the new format.
Page Summary Box – It is important to explain your offerings in this summary, since you are unable to add text to the main images. You can edit this information, but are unable to choose from which fields the information will be populated. The type of information that appears in the summary is specific to your Page’s Category.
Direct Link to your Website – By adding your domain in the description summary (www.domain.com) can add a direct link to visit your site.
Customer Passage – Access to other content is available through ‘views and apps’ that appears on the right, just below the cover photo. Here is where you can find access to your ‘fan page’, photo albums, video directories, events. This area can be expanded to show all areas available.
Pinned Posts – This feature allows featuring a post in a prominent position.
Starred Posts – Starring a post will allow it to appear across the complete width.

If you are ready to make the change to the Facebook Timeline for your business, we can help. Contact our Marketing Department for more information.

Tags: facebook, Online Marketing, SEO, Web Marketing
Posted in Online Marketing, SEO, Social Networking | No Comments »

So…What Is This Panda Update?

By admin - October 27th, 2011

In March 2011, Google released the “Panda” or “Farmer” update. Matt Cutts, Google’s Head of Spam, released this statement: “This update is designed to reduce rankings for low quality sites—sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high quality sites—sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on.”

This sent shockwaves through the online community as some big name websites and companies were hit the hardest.

Some of these sites were:

Ezinearticles.com
Hubpages.com
Associatedcontent.com
Suite101.com
WiseGeek.com
Buzzle.com

The hardest hit website types:

Affiliate Sites
Ecommerce Websites
Answer Web Sites
Blogs
Wiki Style Sites
Archive Sites
News Sites

This update affected 11.8% of search queries and targeted poor quality websites and scraper websites. Initially, there was some panic as some legitimate businesses were affected by the update. This calmed down as further versions of the update came and restored traffic to these sites. The purpose of the update is for the Google users to find the search results with the highest relevancy and provide a better user experience. With the rankings of low quality websites reduced, it is now the time for high quality websites to shine.

5 Tips For A High Quality Website:

1) Unique content with high relevancy
2) Clean Web Design– Less ads, less clutter, create a better user experience
3) Social Media – Facebook likes, Google +1’s, Retweets – user engagement
4) High Quality SEO – On page optimization, internal, and external linking
5) Take steps to decrease bounce rate and increase repeat visits

These steps are all aimed towards providing a fully unique site that provides a great user experience. This is not only good for search engines, but also gives your website loyal long term visitors.

It’s important to follow these steps on your website to help you avoid any penalties in the future with the Panda update. If you need help Panda Proofing your website, feel free to contact us and we can create a custom solution for you.

Tags: panda upate, panda update seo, panda update web design
Posted in SEO, Social Networking, Website Design | No Comments »

Facebook for Business

By admin - August 2nd, 2011

Top Techniques:

Be interactive, entertaining and helpful. When people come to your Facebook page they are looking for some type of contact. Offer your fans links, applications, engaging information. Within a short time you can add thousands of fans.
Embed videos on your Facebook Page. You do not have to send people to YouTube to watch your videos. Use embedded videos to keep fans on your page.
Create a connection between Facebook and the outside world. Promote your events through Facebook and update with photos.
Create contests on Facebook. Contests are a fun and engaging way to promote participation from fans and a way to generate new fans.
Integrate traditional advertising with Facebook. Add the Facebook icon/logo to your print ads to promote your Facebook Page. You could also use conventional ads to promote contests that encourage people to become a ‘fan’.
Use Facebook to grow your email list. Use your email newsletter to boost awareness of your Facebook page and promote your email newsletter to your existing Facebook fans. As a result, your email list and Facebook fan base will grow.
Introduce new products on Facebook. People who sign up to be fans are probably your most loyal customers. Reward them by giving them information about a new product/service/feature before everyone else. In turn, they will help by promoting to others.
Create a Welcome page for new visitors. Implement a ‘welcome’ landing page that invites new visitors to Like your Page.
Integrate other social content on your Facebook Page. Facebook has become such an online ‘home’ for people that it is important to incorporate content from other social channels like YouTube to extend the life and reach of that content.
Like’ other businesses’ Facebook Pages. By Liking Pages of business partners, vendors, and customers, Facebook will notify those administrators. To reciprocate, some may decide to ‘Like your Page’. This will then expose it to the individual fans of their Pages.

Contact the IQnection Marketing Department for more information on how we can help you get your business on Facebook.

Excerpts from HubSpot

Tags: facebook, link building, Online Marketing, SEO, small business
Posted in Online Marketing, Social Networking | No Comments »

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