I went to a networking event of the San Antonio Nonprofit Council the other night and had a wonderful time catching up with several high level,  nonprofit executives  in my hometown.  Since I had not seen many of them in awhile, I talked to them about my new adventures in blogging.  Most of them shared with me that they don’t read blogs.  Frankly, I didn’t read many blogs either 8 months ago, and I could not have articulated what the difference was between a blog and any other website.  I think the main reason we are not savvy about social media is because most of us are over 40 and busy saving the world.  It is much easier to stay up on the latest trends when you are young and don’t have as many responsibilities (some sarcasm intended.) 

“Mature” executives, with high level demands and pressures on their shoulders, need someone they can relate to explaining why they should consider social media.  They need someone they highly respect helping them understand the multiple ways they can use social media as part of a mission-driven strategy.  When a young do-gooder, who has not earned his stripes, tells a seasoned executive that social media is the way to go, their words will often fall on deaf ears.   Alternatively, that executive may give the go ahead to spend time on social media but not understand it or really believe in it.  If you are one of those seasoned executives, I strongly encourage you to download The Nonprofit Social Media Decision Guide. Idealware in partnership with NOI  produced this guide. 

I have read through this guide and believe it can help nonprofit executives better understand the important role social media can play in advancing the mission of their organizations.

The Decision Guide walks through:

• What social media is, and why it might be useful for you
• How your goals, audiences, and metrics should drive the decision making process
• Specific information on the tangible value nonprofits have seen in using Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Photo Sharing Sites, Video Sharing Sites, and more.
• Choosing an effective social media mix
• Integrating all your communications
• A workbook that helps you walk through all of this for your own needs
• And a Consultant Directory to find a professional to help you take the next step!

Full disclosure:  I was not asked or paid to promote this guide… although I would have been completely open to that.

Tags: do-gooder, executives, idealware, mission, NOI, nonprofits, San Antonio Nonprofit Council, social media

This entry was posted on August 20, 2010 at 11:41 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in News You Need to Know Nonprofit Book Reviews Nonprofit Executives by Beth Myers 1 Comment