Take-aways from Voluntweetup event

Yesterday I attended “Voluntweetup”, a nonprofit social media conference produced by Comcast.  There were a couple of hundred people there from nonprofits around the region, all in various stages of figuring out what Facebook and Twitter are, and how being more “social” would help their organizations.  I thought I’d share some of my take-aways, and make this available for others who attended to chime in. Comments? Additions?

In the spirit of information sharing (with no claim that these ideas represent the opinion of NPower), here are a few random tidbits of advice from presenters at the event, and an opinion or 2 of my own:

Advice tidbits:

• Think of Twitter as a way to meet people (versus connecting and interacting on Facebook with people you already know). Don’t get hung up on the volume of content - it is a “river of news” that can flow by.
• Twitter is a great place to ask questions - to tap into the “human web” of advice and experience on anything from using social media to the best restaurants in a new city.
• Use the hashtag (#) with a keyword in your Twitter posts to make them searchable by others. For example, there was a live feed on display of tweets including the #voluntweetup tag decided on for this event.
• For any social media effort, make sure you have the energy to stick with it. Once you’re on Facebook or Twitter stay there and be dedicated — don’t just start and drop out.
• For nonprofits sorting out how social media fits with their other communications efforts/strategy, the advice was the tried and true “think audience then message then match it to the best medium” mantra. Another tip was to focus on our stories — of our impact on individuals and on the community. Social media is about stories, so use the medium to let our stories proliferate.
• Social Media Club Seattle, a co-sponsor of the event, hosts gatherings in Seattle. You can follow SMC Seattle online: Twitter @SMCSeattle, Facebook under “Social Media Club Seattle” and Web site: www.smcseattle.com

Peg’s observations and opinions:

• Anyone seeking to provide training for nonprofits on social media (I count myself in that esteemed group) needs to either 1) span a broad range of a) basic overview/intro, b) hands on or step-by-step show and tell messing around online, and c) discussion of strategy to meet the needs of the audience, or 2) be very clear abut addressing a small segment of the range. Nonprofits are not a monolithic audience. Some nonprofits are very savvy about communications and social media. Some are still freaked out or confused by the whole idea. And some are in between — not afraid of the tools but wondering why they should bother. In my opinion yesterday’s event was a little light on how-to’s. Maybe that’s where NPower and our training partners like Communities Connect Network can pick up.
• I agree with Eric Weaver’s obervation during the plenary session that there’s a generational difference in how people interact and self express. To mix my own embellishments with Weaver’s observation, I think that for people whose professional identity development predates the emergence of social media (so anyone late 30’s and above, give or take a few years) there is an emphasis on having a clear distinction between private and public. We (I’m almost 50) have been trained to be careful about what we put out there and tend to want to craft public messages about ourselves or our employer very carefully to get it right. For “millenials” who grew up using social media tools, the emphasis is on putting it (it being photos, causes, updates…) out there as broadly as possible so people can find you. “Getting it right” as opposed to “getting it out there” are two very different orientations to interaction. So even beyond the initial “how do I sign up and where do I click” technology learning hurdles for non-millenials, there’s a more reserved stance towards sharing information that is its own hurdle to get over in relation to social media, at least in this stage of the adoption curve.

So those are the tidbits I came away with from Voluntweetup, with a couple of opinions sprinkled in. Your thoughts?