It’s not about Social Media

45999931 45c9b4287d Its not about Social Media

If you’re like most nonprofit marketers, you find social media platforms technically confusing. Especially sites like Facebook and WordPress.

You also probably find them very boring. The reason why, of course, is that very few people actually have something interesting to say.

How to be interesting

There many sources of great tactics and best practices (based on research) on how to post content that’s interesting. But even applying all of these new strategies and tactics gets boring after a while.

And the reason why they get boring, is that these approaches focus on the platforms and not the people.

It’s not about the telephone

telephone1 Its not about Social Media

When the telephone was first invented, people probably spent a lot of time trying to understand how to use it, what to discuss, how to apply business etiquette, and what the ROI was.

But ultimately (and we take this for granted today) it came down to understanding and connecting with the person on the other end of the phone.

Start thinking this way

Put Social media in its proper place. And that place can be anywhere behind your people, who should always come first.

So stop thinking “What can I post on Facebook to get the most comments”, and start thinking “How can I be useful to my people?”.

You may not break the Facebook Sound Barrier, but at least your people will feel cared about.

What do you think?

Comments

Ari Herzog says:

June 25, 2012 at 11:34 am

I think you shouldn’t worry about being useful to PEOPLE but about being useful to your CUSTOMERS. It is true your customers are people but they have names and interests and reasons for buying from you. If you ask yourself, “How can I be useful to people?” you don’t think about Tom, Vick, and Carly.

John Haydon says:

July 2, 2012 at 1:23 pm

@ariherzog:disqus The point here is that people come first, whether they’re customers, donors, volunteers, prospects. Also, “my people” is more specific than “people”.

Caroline Chambliss says:

June 29, 2012 at 4:09 pm

As a small non profit I need to think about customers/clients, volunteers and donors…a variety!

John Haydon says:

July 2, 2012 at 1:18 pm

Exactly!

R. Anthony Solis says:

July 12, 2012 at 3:28 pm

This exactly what we tell our clients. It’s not about tweeting and posting on every platform available to get followers, comments, etc… but more about do you care about the people and what you post? Thanks for the reminder John. Remember me? I’m the guy who manages our friend Sarah Robinson’s site.

Aloha!

_RAS

John Haydon says:

July 14, 2012 at 2:59 pm

I do remember you.

Ari Herzog says:

June 25, 2012 at 11:34 am

I think you shouldn’t worry about being useful to PEOPLE but about being useful to your CUSTOMERS. It is true your customers are people but they have names and interests and reasons for buying from you. If you ask yourself, “How can I be useful to people?” you don’t think about Tom, Vick, and Carly.
1. John Haydon says:
  
  July 2, 2012 at 1:23 pm
  
  @ariherzog:disqus The point here is that people come first, whether they’re customers, donors, volunteers, prospects. Also, “my people” is more specific than “people”.
Caroline Chambliss says:

June 29, 2012 at 4:09 pm

As a small non profit I need to think about customers/clients, volunteers and donors…a variety!
1. John Haydon says:
  
  July 2, 2012 at 1:18 pm
  
  Exactly!
R. Anthony Solis says:

July 12, 2012 at 3:28 pm

This exactly what we tell our clients. It’s not about tweeting and posting on every platform available to get followers, comments, etc… but more about do you care about the people and what you post? Thanks for the reminder John. Remember me? I’m the guy who manages our friend Sarah Robinson’s site.

Aloha!

_RAS
1. John Haydon says:
  
  July 14, 2012 at 2:59 pm
  
  I do remember you.