Thoughtfully Getting The Most Out Of Fundraising Day New York
I will be blogging through the day as I attend #FRDNY - looking for The Thoughtful Approach To...
Each year I struggle to figure out how to get this best out of my #frdny experience. Do I just hang out with vendors and eat, should I try a track that is my least favorite stuff to do. This year, I actually spent some time with the schedule and tried to figure out which sessions had instructors or presenters who seemed most likely to have a thoughtful approach to their material. Now I am not even assuming they have read my blog or are even aware of being thoughtful. And isn't that really the goal that we just do our jobs in a thoughtful way.
But first I am heading the free breakfast.
SESSION ONE
At the Successful Strategies for Social Media session. Danielle Brigida from US Fish and Wildlife is amazing in the session. So nice to hear someone who thoughtfully understands how Social Media ought to work for your organization and more importanly for hoe it works for your preferred audience. I so hope she provides a handout! If so I will see if I can share it.
Her main thrust is to be Creative and be understand how people consume content. Try a crazy thing. It won't hurt you it might even drive a lot of great folks to your site. They could learn something and then who knows what they might do next.
Some brief notes:
FIRE, EARTH, FLOOD
Owned, Paid, Earned
PUSH OUT, BLAST why so aggressive.
Understanding What Metrics Matter
LISTEN to your social media audience
Final Notes:
Be Inclusive
Asking for stuff can STOP engagement in its track
Know your analytics.
Create things you want to read
Don't just pat yourself on the back
FACEBOOK may be declining for the regular folks. Creating a community on FACEBOOK can be hard.
Consistency is very important.
If you are doing this well and your LIKES and FOLLOWS will increase.
SESSION TWO
Communicating Across the Generations: Is Everybody Getting Your Message
One great idea after another. So much good stuff.
Do you know what years really define your supporters - depression era, baby boomers, X, Y and Z. Some Xs are turning 50!
Sandwich Generation? Hmmm.. What age do you think they are? And what is sandwiching them?
Do we ask our audience if they want what we are sending them in the way we are sending it to them.
Generation X Z want a response now. N
Cultural norms have changed. Have you?
Being sensitive to age and cultural mores
Older generations attend lectures. Younger Gen want instant feedback
What is the message? Knowing what generation
Boomers are not going anywhere! Darn right! @cdarrison #frdny
OFF TO LUNCH!
The Keynote was amazing as they always are at #FRDNY. It is inspiring to hear from those at the peak of the fundraising world in New York. This is especially true when they are able to take their experiences and succinctly relate them to those of us not quite on the precipice -yet.
The last two sessions were really good. But I am still reflecting on session one. Who knew I would become a dedicated follower of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
To tweet or not to tweet that is the question.
Unfortunately, the answer to this conundrum is the same as it is for FACEBOOK - you just have to do it. But you can do it in a thoughtful manner.
First you have to create a TWITTER account.
Twitter allows you to create an account in your organization’s name, but you still need to attach a person to the account. This is where you can use your official email and persona.
Before creating a twitter a count, you should know the difference between @ and #. These are the most important symbols on TWITTER. The @ symbol defines the user i.e. @thoughfulappro is my twitter handle. Handles have a 15 character limit. Your handle should be reminiscent of your organization's name. The Greatest Art Center might use @TGAC or the North Country Jack Russell Rescue Society could @rescueajackNC.
The #hashtag is used to categorize your message. It is used in searches in Twitter - more on that later.
Your goal is to create a @handle as clearly associated with your organization as possible.TWITTER helps by telling you if your preferred handle is available. If you need signoff from a supervisor, I recommend getting permission to use any of three or four handles. That way, if you cannot get your first choice, you already have an approved backup. You can also just search TWITTER to see if the handle you want is taken. The name that appears under the small photo can be your official persona or your organization's name.
The name that appears under the small photo can be your organization's name or a person's name. It all depends on the type of Twitter feed you are looking to promote. If you are creating a personal blog, then I recommend using your name. On the other hand, if you are creating one for an organization you should use the organization's name. But this is twitter so there are character limits. You can only use 20 characters. So using the organization names above, you might use GreatestArtsCenter or JRRescueNorthCountry.
Here is an image of my Thoughtful Appro TWITTER account from a few weeks ago.
Note how your information is presented Since this is my blog the username is my name. On the previous example the username was the organization's name.
This is how Wikipedia describes # or hashtag
The HASHTAG #
The # symbol called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. Twitter users created it as a way to categorize messages. Now the #hashtag symbol has become ubiquitous throughout social media. You can even do a google search on a #hashtag.
A #hashtag comes before a phrase or name like #givingtuesday, #thebieberforever, or #lovemylife. When you hear that something is "TRENDING" it usually means that a ton of people are using a specific #hashtag in their Tweets.
There must be millions of hashtags in use. Your goal should be to create one or two that represent your organization and or a specific event at your organization.
Our art center might be #TGACShowsOff. You would use that hashtag in all of your twitter post and even Facebook Page post. You should encourage your followers and friends to use the #hashtag when tweeting about your organization. You can also use it on all of your printed material, as well.
Here is an example of what #givingtuesday - a popular #hashtag looked like a few weeks ago.
Some # hashtags rules of thumb
Remember, if you Tweet with a #hashtag, anyone who does a search for that #hashtag may find your Tweet.
Don't #use #more #hashtags than you need. It is rather spammy and very unthoughtful. As a rule of thumb, I never use more than two #Hashtags in a tweet. Make sure the #hashtag is relevant to your tweet. Never use a trending #hashtag just because it is trending.
You can also use your TWITTER account to follow news events without following anything by creating a search using a # hashtag. #nepal #brucejenner
Twitter being a micro-blogging site you have a very limited number of characters for your message - 140 to be exact. To give you an idea of how short that really is this famous sentence –
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
That sentence is made up of 26 characters but 34 Twitter characters because spaces count. In fact, everything counts. Which brings me to @handle and #hashtag.
If you want to refer to or reference a specific person or organization, you can use their @Handle. That way not only will the @person see your tweet in their stream, their followers will see it as well. But the thoughtful when you use this approach it is a bit rude and unthoughtful to force your tweet onto someone else's followers. Be sure your tweet is relevant.
Now it is time to start Tweeting and following people and organizations that you are interested in knowing more about.
Why not start by tweeting about this blog? Something like -
Have you read @thouhgtfulAppro blog. No better time than now? Just remember #thoughtfulFYI http://ow.ly/MYlLD
Let's see if we can make it trend!
Short Thoughtful Post
It Occurs To Me
August 25, 2022
Quitting Quietly-
I am fascinated by this concept, this movement. I always figured that once you got a job, you did your best at the job, maybe you learned some new stuff and used that to, at some point, move to a higher position. If you are "quietly quitting," are you doing your best at your job? Isn't that our part of the hiring bargain? This NYTimes article examines many of the issues surrounding this movement. What do you think? Click the photo below to read the article.
Please leave a comment, thoughtfully.
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