Chances are you already know that you never really had control over your supporters, volunteers and constituants. But sometimes you forget, like we all do.
The good old days of bliss
Years ago, when all you had was direct mail and a telephone, you couldn’t tell you was really opting in. Your annual appeal letters would get thrown in the trash and voice mail would take your calls.
Back then, it was all about output. A numbers game based on the theory that more output meant more results. Life was one big excel spreadsheet.
Spam happens
Facebook, email marketing, blogging and Twitter haven’t given people the power to opt out (they’ve been doing that for decades). They just make opting out louder. And measurable.
Time and money (same thing) are wasted when listening is skipped. Imagine if you sent out 2,500 direct mail pieces and a week later, 750 of them are returned with messages written on them like “I found someone who understands me better than you ever could” or “You only care about my wallet”. I’m guessing you’d make all changes neccessary to remedy the cause of these complaints.
If you’re not sure how to start listening read these articles:
- Listening Posts
- Seven ways to prevent your social media strategy from going into a tailspin
- Are you tired of “listening”? (file this under bitch-rant)
- Five steps to building a successful social media strategy for your non-profit
- 5 things you absolutely must be searching for on Twitter (video)
- How To Use Facebook Insights To Measure Engagement(video)
- How to Create a Free Listening Dashboard
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