Training Your Staff to Effectively Use Social Media – Part I

We’ve all heard about employees having wild nights out and posting pictures on Facebook; not exactly someone you want to represent your organization. We’ve also heard that social media can be a mesmerizing time warp; without scientific explanation the clock can jump 30 minutes ahead when you quickly open the tab to check your e-mails or Facebook account. Here are a couple of ways to train your staff to effectively use social media platforms to benefit your organization towards your online fundraising goals.

Delegate Responsibility

The first way to save time and money using social media is to assign one person to being the online communication manager. You probably have a marketing manager, a special events coordinator, a volunteer coordinator, and many others that play an important part in running your nonprofit.  However, if each person sent an e-mail or posted a tweet on behalf of your organization each day to your donor list, you will probably overwhelm your supporters. Not only that, but it’s impossible to open a Twitter account or Facebook page without checking all of the updates and wasting at least 15 minutes reading up on the mundane events of friend’s lives. Having one person control this task will save your nonprofit countless wasted hours and money!

Manage Your Time and Content Wisely

The Internet is a crucial part to running any business and so is time management. Combining your updates and needs into one e-newsletter is more effective than sending out bits and pieces. Highlighting one event over one week or month also gets better results than letting your donors get overwhelmed by all of the projects that you are working on. Moreover, creating a calendar of updates and events can help keep you on top of your online communication while keeping your donors connected and not bombarded with a cluttered in box.

Establish Rules

The next step is to teach your employees accountability. It’s always better to prevent an accident than to clean up after one. In your next staff meeting, consider addressing the issue of acting responsibly when using social media. There are countless stories of people posting inappropriate pictures or using derogatory language on Facebook and getting fired for their behavior. You never know who is going to see what you post when you make your private life public. Beyond the 9 to 5, each employee is a representative of your nonprofit and the cause you are supporting.

When used properly, social media is an effective way to connect to your donors and increase your fundraising dollars. Making sure your employees are using it properly is an important step to success in this arena.