Online Organizing 101

What We’ll Cover Who’s Online? Why People Respond What the Internet Can Do Internal Organization Online Tools Track & Engage

Who’s Online? Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project April 2009 Survey

Why People Respond Engaging them where they spend a large amount of time Tapping into what they’re already interested in Connecting with them visually through video and pictures Timeliness and sense of urgency Meaningful action

What the Internet Can Do Online organizing allows you to: Scale your actions Connect with people you couldn’t possibly visit in person Articulate a clear theory of change in a transparent way Empower supporters to take action in their own communities Engage new audiences from

Online Organizing Should be integrated into every corner of your org Complements and improves: – Fundraising – Communications – Field plans – Volunteer program Must have an offline connection Field/Organizing Communications Fundraising Online Presence

Internal Organization Who has responsibility for new media initiatives? How much time do they have? How can you coordinate with other departments in your organization? How can you develop an event calendar & organize around milestones and key dates? Who can be an internal ally in this work?

Online Tools 1.Website 2. 3.Online Fundraising 4.Blogs 5.Social Networking Sites 6.Video 7.Metrics

1. Website signup form Organized navigation & content Clean design – don’t mumble! Pictures & photos Sharability Bio/About/Issues section Call to action buttons (e.g., donate, volunteer) Promote presence on social networking sites

Home Page Example

Issue Page Example

2. From line (voice of the org) Subject line (engaging and action-oriented) Clean design – don’t mumble! Content – Short paragraphs with a link – Conversational – One “ask” Frequency Landing Page calendar

Examples

3. Online Fundraising Empower supporters and provide a way for them to take action Set goals and deadlines Use personal stories whenever possible Be transparent (explain where the money will go) Make it as easy as possible for supporters to donate

Donation Page Example The form is on one page. It’s not a multiple step process.

4. Blogs Articles that contain news and commentary and that might include video and pictures Don’t just recite/re-post a press release Be engaging and exciting; give readers a reason to return Utilize free blog software Connect with other bloggers – don’t blog in a silo

Blog Examples

5. Social Networking Sites Emphasize two-way communication and collaboration Take advantage of the networks of your supporters – exponential expansion Let people know how they can get involved Be super-responsive to questions that are posted Select which social network(s) make the most sense

Facebook Example

Twitter Example

Social Networking Examples There are a lot social networking sites out there!

6. Using Video Has emotional bandwidth and immense capacity for storytelling “Going viral” is like becoming famous – no one has control over it and it’s usually the result of really hard work Focus on content and message Understand the process of making a quality video and plan accordingly (pre-production, production, post-production) Utilize free video hosting sites

Video Example: Fidelity Created by Courage Campaign Inexpensive production cost. Photos of supporters holding similar sign (built a campaign asking for photos). Set to music of Regina Spektor (used with her permission).

7. Metrics Monitor your initiatives and track the progress against your goals Learn from your successes and failures Listen to feedback Try new things TubeMogul Google Analytics

7. Metrics Some metrics to follow: Website : visits, unique visitors, page views, search words open rate, click-thru rate Fundraising : avg. donation, number of donations Blog : trackbacks Social network sites : number of members/new names, video/photo views, wall comments Video : views, comments

Example: 350.org Day of Action

350.org: Action Resources for Offline Ask

350.org: Video Watch the video here

350.org: Social Networks

350.org:

Contact Info New Organizing Institute (202)