This morning, one of my online newsletters had an interesting link to an article from a magazine (online version) called US Catholics. The title was called “Bishops Urge to Use Social Media to Evangelize More Effectively”.

“I don’t think I have to remind you of what happened when the Catholic Church was slow to adapt to that new technology,” he told the bishops. “By the time we decided to seriously promote that common folk should read the Bible, the Protestant Reformation was well under way.”

This article got me thinking about why non profits need to adopt social media strategies and tools to survive. The US Catholic Church Bishops Communication Committee understand the consequence of not acting. I hope our non profit sector comes to a similar conclusion.

I have daily conversations with non profit managers about social media adoption. I often hear them say that they realize the importance of developing an online communication strategy for their organization but they are not able or ready to commit resources towards social media strategies and tools.

On several occasions I hear them say that they have staff that are tech savvy and use social media tools in their work. They do pause for a few minutes when I explain what a risk they are putting their organization in by allowing staff to use these online tools without benefit of policy, guidelines and procedures.

These kinds of conversations got me thinking about shocking non profit leaders into understanding the consequences of not using social media. I’ve decided to focus my messages on the cost of not using online tools for relationship building, collaboration, knowledge management, community development, service delivery etc.

Regardless of sector, social media is transforming how business is conducted, how people communicate, access services, connect with others and participate in social networks.

My passion is helping non profit and education sector groups develop and use social media strategies and tools. I am on this path because after 25 years designing and delivering programs I understand how challenging it is for struggling non profits to make the transition to the social web.

Over the past year, I’ve been working with many groups that decided that social media is a necessity for connecting with users and strengthening all aspects of organization. They have chosen to use social media to nurture and sustain relationships that are critical to the organizations success and Mission.

Any organization, particularly non profit has within it’s mandate a fundamental requirement to communicate effectively with their supporters, users, partners and donors. To not use current communication strategies and tools is a recipe for failure.

One of the most powerful videos that illustrate how social media is transforming the way we communicate and conduct business is called Social Media Revolution 2 – Refresh. In under 4 minutes, this video paints an accurate picture of our emerging social media culture.

I offer workshops for  organizations who are ready to broaden their understanding and adoption of social media tools and strategies. The workshop topics include the following competency areas: These competency areas are usually connected to the business goals of non profit organizations.

Please note that there is a variety of different social media tools that can be used in these competency areas. I am emphasizing the outcomes of using these tools rather than a description of the tools. I can share more about these tools in a later discussion.

• Development of social media strategies, guidelines, policies and procedures to ensure confidentiality, safety, transparency, consistency and branding;
• Relationship development with clients, team-mates, partner agency staff etc. (understanding and practicing appropriate and safe online communications with stakeholders) ;
• Engagement online with clients (connecting with, informing, scheduling, resources etc);
• Team collaboration (using online tools for problem solving, crisis interventions, project coordination & planning etc.)
• Program design/planning/deliver (learning how to use a shared web platform for working on projects with peers, partner groups etc.);
• Professional development; (building practitioner skills via online training, learning to create online content that informs stakeholders; learning how to market yourself and your organization with social web tools etc.)
• Knowledge management/sharing; (learning to capture and unlock knowledge so everyone can search view and update; learn to use social book marketing tools for personal and professional research, sharing knowledge & creating content);
• Modeling appropriate, professional and safe use of social tech tools with clients (social networking, blogs, wikis etc.)
• Organization & community capacity building (learning how to strengthen your organization through participation on social networks & learning how to initiate and support stakeholder groups by nurturing online peer to peer communities;
• Fundraising & volunteer programming (learning how adopt social web strategies & tools to tap into the emerging giving & volunteer participation trends)
• Facilitating your organizations adoption of social media strategy and tools through an internal social media review and action plan

Practitioners need and require social tech skills and knowledge because increasingly the communities, children, youth, adults and families they work on behalf of expect to be informed and communicated with via online social media technologies.

As the social media landscape evolves, organizations (and staff) are developing their online communication strategies so they can build stronger relationships, stay relevant to their stakeholders and sustain their funding. Simply put, organizations and practitioners who view social media as fad, risk extinction.

There are many examples of how social media is changing how business, non profits, faith communities and government bodies are adopting web 2.0 social tech tools to meet their business goals and build stronger relationships.

The helping profession is many things but most of all it is about building strong and authentic relationships that support positive development. My proposal is about building those authentic and transformative relationships using social media.

Here are a few books that broaden the conversation about how social technologies are transforming our world.

The Networked Non Profit: Connecting with Social Media to Drive Change

The Dragonfly Effect: Quick, Effective and Powerful Ways to Use Social Media to Drive Social Change

Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age

Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies

Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead

Empowered: Unleash Your Employees, Energize Your Customers, and Transform Your Business

Brent Uncategorized competencies, nonprofits, socialmediastrategy