© 2008 Convio, Inc. Social Media for Newbies Cynthia Balusek, Convio February 10, 2009

© 2008 Convio, Inc.2 Agenda ■ What is social media? ■ Who is using social media? ■ Why should you care about it? ■ Social Media platforms to explore: ▶ LinkedIn ▶ Facebook ▶ Twitter (sort of) ■ BONUS: 3 Non Profit Blogs I Like

© 2008 Convio, Inc.3 What is social media? ■ social media: A category of sites that is based on user participation and user-generated content. They include social networking sites like LinkedIn or Facebook, social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us, social news sites like Digg or Reddit, and other sites that are centered on user interaction.* *Source:

© 2008 Convio, Inc.4

5 Examples ■ Photo sharing ▶ Flickr, PicasaWeb, Photobucket ■ Video sharing ▶ YouTube, sharinghope.tv ■ Collaboration ▶ Wikipedia ■ Opinion sites ▶ Epinions, Yelp ■ Social networks ▶ A social network service focuses on building online communities of people who share interests and activities * ▶ Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn *Source: Wikipedia

© 2008 Convio, Inc. Who is using social media? 6 ■ It’s not just the kids ■ According to Entertainment Trends in America study by The NPD Group (9/2008) ▶ 57% of web users overall visited social networking sites ▶ 41% of baby boomers (44-61) have visited social networks ▶ 61% of boomers had been to sites with streaming or downloadable video.

© 2008 Convio, Inc. Who is using social media? 7

© 2008 Convio, Inc. Why should you care about social media? 8 ■ Your business plan is based on people connecting to each other and asking for support. Social media provides a way for people to connect. ■ During a tough economy, it will be more difficult for your participants to ask for money. Social media provides a soft way to ask

© 2008 Convio, Inc.9 Two social networking media sites to explore (and one to know about) ■ LinkedIn ■ Facebook ■ Twitter

© 2008 Convio, Inc.10 What is LinkedIn? ■ A social network for professionals ■ Allows you to connect to past and present colleagues ▶ Think of it as a Rolodex that updates itself ■ Discover connection to people you wish to connect with ▶ Think 6 degrees of separation or the Kevin Bacon game) ■ Over 30 million subscribers* Source: LinkedIn *Source: LinkedIn

© 2008 Convio, Inc.11 What is the demographic profile of LinkedIn? *Source:

© 2008 Convio, Inc.12 What is the demographic profile of LinkedIn? *Source: ignite social media

© 2008 Convio, Inc.13 Joining LinkedIn ■ When you sign up on LinkedIn you create a profile ▶ Similar to an online resume ▶ Put in information about your past and current positions ▶ Put in information about your education ▶ Picture (most people do put one, though you wouldn’t put one on a resume)

© 2008 Convio, Inc.14 Cynthia’s Profile on LinkedIn

© 2008 Convio, Inc.15 Connecting on LinkedIn ■ Once you have a profile, you can search for connections using addresses you have ▶ Manually input names ▶ Use your webmail address book ▶ Outlook toolbar ▶ Upload contacts file ■ Or search by previous/current employers and educational institutions ■ LinkedIn will also recommend people on your home page ■ Your contact receives an invitation to confirm they want to connect with you and vice versa

© 2008 Convio, Inc.16 Connecting on LinkedIn

© 2008 Convio, Inc.17 Connecting on LinkedIn

© 2008 Convio, Inc. Using your network on LinkedIn ■ Once you have connections set up, you can search companies or people ■ LinkedIn will show you everyone you are connected to and who they are connected to 18

© 2008 Convio, Inc. How is Cynthia connected to... 19

© 2008 Convio, Inc. How is Cynthia connected to... 20

© 2008 Convio, Inc. How is Cynthia connected to... 21

© 2008 Convio, Inc. How can you use this? ■ Perfect for keeping up with your corporate contacts and team captains ▶ See where they go ▶ Ask to be introduced to someone at their old organization if they have left ■ Get connected to people you aren’t connected with ▶ You can get “introduced” through a connection ▶ For a fee, send an “inMail”, or an to someone you would like to contact through LinkedIn ■ Research businesses 22

© 2008 Convio, Inc. Other things that you can do on LinkedIn ■ Groups ■ Questions and answers ■ Applications ■ iPhone application 23

© 2008 Convio, Inc.24 What is Facebook? ■ Allows you to connect with friends, share photos, and create your own profile ■ Personal social network ■ Allows you to quickly and easily connect with friends and family ■ Reaches 68.5 million people each month, and growing ■ Facebook is one of your top 10 referring sites to your event websites Source: Facebook

© 2008 Convio, Inc.25 What is the demographic profile of Facebook? Source: ignite social media

© 2008 Convio, Inc. Joining Facebook 26 ■ Like with LinkedIn, you create a profile ▶ Name ▶ Employment history ▶ Educational history ▶ Photo ▶ Interests ▶ Contact information

© 2008 Convio, Inc.27 Status Updates on Facebook ■ Facebook asks you to provide your status by answering the question: “What are you doing right now?” ■ Your status is provided on your profile page ■ Your status and your friends’ statuses are aggregated into a “News Feed” so you can quickly get updates without having to view each page ■ Can update via Facebook website, or application for iPhone or Blackberry

© 2008 Convio, Inc.28 Cynthia’s Facebook Page

© 2008 Convio, Inc.29 Feed on Facebook

© 2008 Convio, Inc.30 Connecting on Facebook ■ Once you have a profile, you can search for friends using addresses you have ▶ Manually input names ▶ Use your webmail address book ▶ Upload contacts file ■ Or search by previous/current employers and educational institutions ■ Facebook will also recommend friends on your home page ■ Your friends can suggest friends too ■ Your friend receives an invitation to confirm they want to connect with you and vice versa

© 2008 Convio, Inc.31 Connecting on Facebook

© 2008 Convio, Inc.32 Facebook Applications ■ Photos and Video ■ Flair – virtual corkboard of buttons you can exchange and trade with friends ■ Gifts – give a virtual present (some are free; some are a cost) ■ Import – allow other programs to update your feed, such as blogging programs (Wordpress), photo sharing programs (Flickr, Picasaweb), or video programs (YouTube) ■ With Facebook API, developers can create their own Facebook applications ▶ Charity Dynamics boundless Fundraising ■ Your feed is updated as you install new applications or take action

© 2008 Convio, Inc.33 Facebook Groups ■ You can create a Facebook group that allows people to connect to each other around a cause or event ■ Options include: ▶ Discussion board ▶ News updates ▶ Event invitations ▶ Ability to message members ■ As people take action (join the group, accept an invitation) their feed is updated

© 2008 Convio, Inc.34 Facebook Groups

© 2008 Convio, Inc. How can you use Facebook? ■ Publicize your events and mission using Facebook groups ■ Encourage participants to update their status about Relay ■ Encourage participants to install boundless Fundraising 35

© 2008 Convio, Inc. What is Twitter? ■ Twitter is a “microblogging service” ■ Asks people one question, “What are you doing?” ■ Respond in 140 characters or less ■ Similar to Facebook status updates without any of the extra stuff (applications, groups, virtual presents) ■ Unlike with LinkedIn or Facebook, most updates are not protected – you can follow almost anyone ■ You “follow” people to see their updates, and they “follow” you to see yours ■ You can receive people’s updates via text messaging as well ■ Least adopted of the three social networks 36

© 2008 Convio, Inc. Who is using Twitter? 37 Source: ignite social media

© 2008 Convio, Inc. Cynthia’s Twitter profile 38

© 2008 Convio, Inc. Cynthia’s Twitter feed 39

© 2008 Convio, Inc. How can you use Twitter? ■ Publicize your events and mission using Twitter updates by creating a Twitter account for your event ■ Encourage participants to follow your Twitter account and get text updates in order to get up to the minute updates (traffic warnings, location information, etc.) ■ Note that adoption is still low enough on Twitter that if you only can do one new thing, this isn’t the one to focus on ■ Even if you don’t use Twitter, you can learn from it – a message in 140 characters or less means you have to get to the point! 40

© 2008 Convio, Inc. 3 Blogs I like ■ Connection Café (Convio blog): ■ Beth’s Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media: ■ Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog ▶ Of note: “5 Keys to Pulling out of the Economic Nosedive”  ng_out_of_the_economic_nosedive/#When:01:01:00Z ng_out_of_the_economic_nosedive/#When:01:01:00Z 41

© 2008 Convio, Inc. Thank you! ■ Cynthia S. Balusek, PMP ■ ■ Balusek/ Balusek/ ■