Despite the popularity of social media including “micro-blogging” sites like Tumblr and twitter, traditional blogging is still one of the most important tools in your digital marketing arsenal.
Larger nonprofits have been early adopters of blogging, seeing the benefits in increased website traffic, email sign ups and online donations. A consistent, quality blog has been proven to have a direct benefit on marketing and fundraising efforts – so why do so many nonprofits ignore this powerful tool?
The question remains: How can smaller nonprofits get on board with blogging and create a dynamic outlet that grows their supporters and helps them accomplish their goals?
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Nonprofit Blogging Best Practices: Why Your Nonprofit Needs a Blog and How to Create a Great One
1. Nonprofit Blogging Best Practices: Why Your
Nonprofit Needs a Blog and How to Create a
Great One
Julia Campbell
November 5, 2013
Use Twitter Hashtag #4Glearn
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4. Today’s Speakers
Julia Campbell
Principal
J Campbell Social Marketing
Jamie Maloney
Community Developer, 4Good
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Of:
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Sponsored by:
5. Julia Campbell
J Campbell Social Marketing
http://www.jcsocialmarketing.com
4Good/Nonprofit Webinars
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#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
6. Takeaways From Today
The benefits of blogging – why you need one
The best platforms to use
How to get more readers
How to find and create fresh content
How to promote your blog posts
Top 10 tips to creating fantastic blog posts
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
7. Before We Begin…
Blogging is a marathon, not a
sprint. Don’t get discouraged.
Time, capacity and resources are
needed to do it effectively.
Every organization, no matter
how small and strapped for
resources, has great stories to tell.
They key is passionate supporters
– not number of Facebook fans.
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
8. Does the world need one more?
It depends.
The key to effective blogging –
quality over quantity!
“You can’t beat the Internet on
volume, but you can beat it on
quality, clarity and perspective.”
– Rich Brooks @therichbrooks
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
9. You aren’t writing for “the world”!
You are writing for YOUR
audience. They are unique.
Your audience is not “everyone”.
You don’t need to have 500,000
subscribers to have a great
blog.
You just need to tell your story
and authentically connect
with your audience.
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
10. Why have a blog?
To improve SEO – search engine results.
To build trust and community.
To establish yourself as an authority on the issue.
If you are active on social media, you will always have
new content to post!
To drive website traffic, email
sign ups, social media
followers and even donations.
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
11. Why have a blog?
Have a blog will continually force you and your
organization to ask the tough questions:
What impact are we having on the world?
What would happen if we disappeared tomorrow?
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
12. Why not have a blog?
According to Technorati 40% of people that have a blog spend
more than 3 hours per week blogging.
It’s a lot of work – researching and writing posts, editing posts,
formatting them, promoting them.
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
13. Establish Goals
As with any marketing strategy, you need a measurable goal to
determine success. (Blogging is not a strategy – it’s a tool.)
You need to know where you are going/want to go.
What is the goal for the blog?
Establish authority
More website traffic
More email signups
More Facebook fans
Advocacy
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
14. Measurement
Write down 3-4 goals for your blog (should tie with
overall marketing goals).
Think measurement and
benchmarks.
How will you measure?
How will you be held
accountable?
Monthly reporting? Weekly?
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
15. Getting Started
Get buy-in from Executive
Staff and Board.
Hold a staff meeting and a
Board meeting to announce
that you are going to start a
blog and that ideas for
posts are welcome.
Educate everyone on the
importance of the blog –
it’s not just “one more
thing” to add on the pile.
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
16. Getting Started
Tell staff, board, volunteers and Online Social Media
Ambassadors about it first. Be excited and enthusiastic!
Let them know that you are going to call on them to help you
find content and to promote the blog.
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
17. Getting Started
Determine who is going to write the posts and how often.
(Once per week to start is great.)
Create an Editorial Calendar – either in Google Calendar
or in a document in Dropbox that can be accessed in
multiple places.
Do not keep the Editorial Calendar and blog ideas on the
server! Get Dropbox or Google Drive.
Get Dropbox: https://db.tt/xJFmfwG
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
18. Editorial Calendar
Some things to include in your
calendar:
Call to Action (Is there a specific and
measurable action you want to see
from this topic?)
Post Date
Author (if you’re not the sole author) Notes
Free resources:
Working Title (or at least a
http://www.infarrantlycreative.net
descriptive idea to the content)
/2012/02/free-printablePublication location (is this a post
blogplanner.html
for your blog, a guest blog, etc.)
http://www.business2community.c
Status
om/content-marketing/anCategory
editorial-calendar-for-your-blogtips-and-templates-0465693
Tags
Keywords
Free resource: http://unbounce.com/content-marketing/blog-editorial-calendar/
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
19. Choose a Platform
Talk to your webmaster – what will integrate with your blog?
My recommendation is WordPress.
Easy to use (you don’t need to know HTML or code)
Can manage it from anywhere
SEO
Control
Plugins
100% customizable
It can grow
Multiple users
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
20. Blogging Process
4 elements of blogging
1) Research
2) Writing
3) Formatting/Editing
4) Promotion
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
21. #1: Research
What to blog about? Ideas for content:
FAQ about your organization.
What do you always get emails about?
What do people ask on the phone?
TIP: Add a short video to go with it.
Myths vs. Facts.
Top 5 myths you encounter regularly.
TIP: Add links to other blog posts and
articles that support factual evidence –
outgoing links create community and
help make your blog more interactive.
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
22. #1: Research
Video testimonials.
Stories!
What is happening in the world? What is everyone talking
about? The government shut down? The Red Sox?
How can you tie this in to a blog post?
How To
A step-by-step list for collecting food for a food drive, organizing a
fundraising walk, preventing elder abuse or calling a legislator.
TIP: Use a testimonial or a story of a person who took this action,
how they did it and what impact it had.
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
23. #1: Research
Top 10 Tips
Any number will work.
Examples: Top 10 Dog
Training Tips, Top 10 Tips To
Keep Kids Active in the
Summer, Top 10 Tips for
Helping the Environment.
TIP: Make an infographic of
the Top 10 Tips
using infogr.am and post it
everywhere.
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
24. #1: Research
Sign up for free Google Alerts:
http://www.google.com/alerts
Technorati: www.technorati.com
Alltop: www.alltop.com
Keep a list of topics always accessible so you can add to it
when you think of a potential topic (put in Dropbox).
Are you locally based, regional or national? Focus on local
events and news rather than national depending.
Ask your community!
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
25. #2: Writing
A blog post can be 300-500 words and a photo (it does not
need to be a novel).
Picking a great headline is the most important part.
Make it catchy and tweetable!!
Look at other blog headlines that grab your attention.
Free resource: John Haydon – Time-Saving Hacks to Write
More Blog Posts (Video demo):
http://www.johnhaydon.com/2013/10/time-saving-hackswrite-more-blog-posts/
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
26. #2: Writing
I find it helpful to do a “brain
dump” and put everything on the
page.
The create an outline – a
beginning, middle and end.
Opening paragraph should grab
people’s attention.
One-two sentence paragraphs.
Bolded headlines.
Bulleted lists.
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
31. #3: Formatting
Categories
Always think of your reader.
Will describe what the blog is
about.
Tags
More specific
Free resource – How to use
WordPress categories and tags:
http://www.johnhaydon.com/2013
/04/howto-wordpress-tags/
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
33. #3: Formatting
Make sure:
There is a way for
people to subscribe
to the blog.
There are social
share buttons so
people can share it.
Experiment with
email sign up/pop
ups.
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
34. #3: Formatting
Enable comments.
Encourage communication.
Can be monitored/approved.
Great WordPress plugins:
Disqus Comment System
Akismet (for spam)
WordPress SEO by Yoast
JetPack
CommentLuv – places a link to the commenter’s blog
WordPress Popular Posts
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
35. #3: Promotion
If you write it, they will
come!
Not necessarily…
You need to promote each
blog post.
Great WordPress plugin:
Publicize
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
36. #3: Promotion
Post the blog to all social media
channels:
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
Google+
Syndicate to your local Patch and
Wicked Local.
Create a checklist.
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
37. Julia’s Blog Promotion Checklist
Automatically goes to:
FB personal
Twitter
LinkedIn personal
Tumblr
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Delicious
Social Buzz Club
SocialMarker.com
ShareBloc.com
SocialADR.com
LinkedIn groups
Facebook page – add
hashtags
Google+ Community
– add hashtags
LinkedIn Company
Page
Pinterest
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
Scoop.it
Business 2
Community
Sulia.com
Patch
WickedLocal
Triberr
NetSquared
MosaicHub
Quora
38. #3: Promotion
Include in email blasts.
Guest blogging – look at
Technorati for the lists of top
bloggers in your industry and
contact them to write guests
posts.
Ensure that readers can subscribe
to your blog to see a new post
when it’s published –either via
email or RSS feed.
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
39. #3: Promotion
Don’t be passive!
Ask Board, staff and volunteers to
share the blog posts.
Read them at staff meetings and
encourage comments.
Make it a team affair.
Remember – you cannot do it
alone!!!
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
41. A Word On Content
The Customer Insight Group (CIG) at the New York
Times published a study exploring why people share
content online. People share to:
Bring valuable and entertaining content to others
Define themselves to others
Grow and nourish relationships
Give self-fulfillment
Market causes or brands
How can you help your community do these things through
your blog?
http://nytmarketing.whsites.net/mediakit/pos/
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
42. A Word On Content
Spend some time and dedicate some resources to creating
content that is well-written, original, compelling,
timely, relevant and interesting.
This may seem like a tall order, but that’s what it takes to
stand-out in the noise of social media.
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
43. Keeping Momentum
Be open-minded and don’t
get discouraged.
Not everyone will a
superstar blogger.
Just because someone is
influential does not mean
that your cause will
resonate with them.
Actively look everywhere
for people who are
passionate about your
cause.
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
44. Get Inspired
Third Sector Today – Nonprofit Blog Post Best of the
Day:
http://thirdsectortoday.com/2013/10/28/nonprofitblog-post-best-of-the-day/
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
45. Top 11 Takeaways
Figure out the “why” of your blog and be consistent.
2) Write good stuff.
3) Post at a regular time.
4) Mix up content – How To posts, FAQ, Video Testimonials, etc.
5) Don’t be long-winded.
6) Make sure you keep readers with an RSS feed, email sign up, etc.
7) Promote all posts.
8) Use an SEO plugin.
9) Measure, improve, measure, improve.
10) Incorporate visuals.
11) Be social yourself – comment on other blogs, be active.
1)
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
46. In Conclusion
Always think back to your audience.
What are they reading about, writing about, sharing
and commenting on?
What are they interested in?
It’s not about YOU – it’s about them!
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg
47. Nonprofit Resources
John Haydon – www.johnhaydon.com
Nonprofit Tech for Good – www.nptechforgood.com
Beth Kanter – www.bethkanter.org
Amy Sample Ward –
www.amysampleward.org
Problogger –
www.problogger.net
My blog –
www.jcsocialmarketing.com
#npblog @JuliaCSocial @4GoodOrg