Earned media is defined less and less by placements in traditional print, radio or TV news, and more and more by direct contact with supporters via social media. Likes, Comments, Shares, Retweets -- these are the new earned media. Yet the more things change, the more they stay the same because both kinds are, at their core, about cultivating relationships.
The first step toward developing an effective social media presence will feel familiar: set goals. If you are a non-profit, at least one goal might be to raise more money, or increase membership. One of the first steps toward raising more money and increasing membership is to raise awareness. Social media can help with that. It can also help organizations reach a younger audience to build the pipeline of donors -- if one is willing to play the long game.
The next step is to identify strategic audiences, and the platforms that they spend time on. Is it Facebook? Twitter? Tumblr? Pinterest? Do your research and choose one or two to start with.
Objectives are incremental steps to help you reach your overall goals. Your objectives might include posting one or twice a day; achieving an average number of shares for every post; reaching a certain number of followers; increasing click-throughs to your website by 10 percent; etc. To determine if you are meeting your objectives, you must be willing to monitor and measure your efforts. If you want traffic on your website, make sure it is mobile compatible since most people are accessing social media on mobile devices.
Starting a blog can help you have regular content to promote via social media, but only if you have the staff capacity to maintain one.
And finally, nobody likes to listen to someone who talks about themselves all the time.
Some experts recommend a 60-30-10 rule: 60 percent of posts should share other content, 30 percent conversations, and 10 your own content/events/campaigns. This may not be the perfect breakdown for every organization, but consider what your ideal breakdown is, then keep tabs to see if it is working. If not, go back and try something else.
That is the great thing about social media. It is ephemeral. Fleeting. A great place to try new things, measure, and if it's not working, try something else. Be fearless.
