La Raza

July 8, 2012; Source: VOXXI

A panel at the National Council of La Raza’s (NCLR) recent conference in Las Vegas discussed some social media strategies worth noting. Titled “The Social Media Network Explained: Get Noticed with New Media,” the panel discussion addressed organizations looking to further develop their brand and online fundraising. The NCLR panel brought attention to fundraising trends and mobile technology that could increase nonprofits’ online donations.

Based on reporting from VOXXI’s Julissa Bonfante, here are some take-aways from the La Raza social media panel:

  • Mobile donations: Make sure your organization is using the right tools for supporters to donate through mobile devices. This will give users the option to donate from anywhere, transforming their smart phone into a credit card.
  • Using Facebook tools: Facebook Causes is a fundraising application integrated with Facebook and is one of the largest online advocacy platforms in the world. It allows nonprofits to draw attention to their causes and to raise funds. Any Guidestar-verified nonprofit can collect donations through Causes. Another important tip is to establish a strong Facebook page, since this may be the first page someone sees when looking up your organization.
  • Timing is everything: NCLR’s panel spoke on the importance of posting on social networks during the weekends, claiming, “It’s when social media sites get the most traffic.” This claim conflicts with statistics released by Bitly several months ago on the optimal times to post on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr (prime times to post on all three happened during the typical work week, not on the weekend, according to Bitly). Despite this discrepancy, few would dispute that posting on social networks during the weekend is a useful tactic. Tools such as HootSuite or Later Bro are handy to automate your weekend posts or tweets.
  • Partake in live Twitter chats: Make sure your nonprofit is interacting with its followers on Twitter; one of the best ways to connect with organizations with similar missions is by participating in the right Tweet Chats. Unsure of where to start with tweet chatting? Here is a useful Twitter chat wiki.
  • Take advantage of Google Grants: Google Grants is a great resource for nonprofits. Jennifer Edwards, associate coordinator of digital organizing for NCLR, points out that “Google Grants provides non-profits $10,000 per month in in-kind AdWords advertising.”

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Summarizing a continual focal point of the panel, VOXXI’s chief operating officer and technology expert Ariel Coro said, “The key to social media is having a good strategy. Social media is putting all the tools in front of us but we have to understand the strategy beyond the tools.” In other words, social media can be erratic and is constantly changing, but developing and implementing solid and consistent strategies to approach social media never grows old. –Aine Creedon