There are dozens of tools for social media – it seems like I hear of a new one every day. With all the options, it can be overwhelming when trying to decide what options to choose. Below are ten tools and strategies that Allyson Kapin, the editor of Care2’s blog for nonprofit professionals, suggests:
- RSS Feeds – When you add an RSS feed to the blog and news sections of your website, people can subscribe to stay updated on your latest news. Google Feedburner gives visitors the option to subscribe via RSS or email.
- Add This – is a widget that allows people to share your content via 50 social network and bookmark sites
- Social Networking Sites – Some popular social networking sites include Facebook (Fanpages), Twitter, and LinkedIn. Spend about 15 minutes every day engaging with your community of followers and promoting your latest news and on goings. Social media sites can be very time-consuming, so it is best to pick 2 sites and do them well, as opposed to having 8 mediocre sites.
- URL Shorteners – Bit-ly, Tinyurl, and Pagetweet turn links into 20 character links. This is especially helpful considering the character limit for statuses on sites like Twitter. Bit.ly also tracks facts such as click-through rates, geographic location, etc.
- Care2’s Petition Site – On this website, you can start a free petition for your newest campaign. You can list a goal and encourage people to download their signatures.
- Google Grants – Google gives nonprofits $10,000 in-kind grants for their AdWords program. Here are some tips for managing one of these grants.
- YouTube Nonprofit Program – Youtube gives nonprofits benefits such as branding, promotion on YouTube’s nonprofit channels, and a call to action overlay in your videos.
- Listservs – Join conversations in listservs that align with your nonprofit’s goals and where issues affecting your nonprofit arena are discussed.
- Widgets – There are many widgets that allow you to share content or actions. One such example is ChipIn, which allows visitors to donate to a specific campaign.
- FreeCause Toolbar – This is a toolbar you can customize with your nonprofit’s branding. You can use it to link to your social networks, post current news, stream videos and audio clips, etc. As a bonus, for every click, FreeCause will donate money to your organization.
Source: Allyson Kapin. “Top 8 Social Media Tracking Tools.” 24 July 2009. Beth’s Blog. 24 July 2009. <http://beth.typepad.com>.
-- Ashley High is a Research Assistant at Christian Foundation Grants (www.christianfoundationgrants.com) which is a subscription database of foundations that provide grants to faith based organizations. iDonate.com is a website (www.iDonate.com) that allows ministries to receive non cash gifts online