Common Mistakes in Social Media

There was an article from Fundraising Success magazine about 10 common mistakes non-profits make when engaging in social media. by Heather Mansfield. This does not just apply to fundraising, but many other forms. I can’t say I agree 100% with all, when it comes to other marketing, but I sure agree with most of it. It any case, it is good food for though.

1. Facebook Status Updates limit 1 per day – We all know one person on Facebook who seems to update their status about every 30 seconds. “Heading to work” 8am, “Getting Coffee” 8:08am, “Checking my email” 8:12am. Arrrrghhhh! Who cares!!! Although I am an admitted stalker, I actually don’t care what you are doing every minute of your life – and neither do your supporters. So spare your followers the minutiae and limit yourself to one great status update or posting per day! If not, your sanest followers will quickly “Hide” your updates, and you’ll never again appear on their mini feed! So show up each day, but make it one great post! MDH–I think stats show that you can do more than one a day if it is sharing revenant information. The key is not to overload with trivia.
2. Twitter – Become a fan of your fans! Fundraising Success called it a 1:1 ratio – plain and simple support your supporters. Follow your followers. They will like you and trust you more – and they won’t think you’re a snob. Besides, symbiotic Twitter relationships can help you create new business relationships not to mention spreading the message of your organization to more people. MDH–I agree with this for any marketing and realized I can block inappropriate followers.

3. Blogging and exciting post content – Both of these are severely important and they kind of go hand in hand. Every non profit should be blogging. Deliver news and updates on what great work you are doing. Make it fresh; new, exciting… make your supporters laugh, cry, care….. Make them emotional about what you do or what needs doing! Blog about it, tweet about it, and Facebook about it! MDH–I believe this applies to marketing in general.

These are part of the article that stood out. To read the full article, click here.