Chris Forbes

Use your social media powers for good and not evil

2011-05-26T15:45:54+00:00

You don’t have to be a narcissist to use social networking. Reading books and articles on the subject of social media makes it sound like social networking is mostly a tool for marketing yourself or your business. Contrary to what you might be hearing, the best thing about social media isn’t that it’s a way to make some fast money, get free advertising, or brand yourself as a thought leader in your industry. It might be useful for doing some of that, but the most important thing about social media is that it is a very handy tool for socializing with other people. And that is exactly what society needs today. People being more social.

Social media is not just a place to talk about yourself. If you were attending a party, would you spend the entire evening talking about yourself? Would you ramble on incessantly about articles you recently read? Would you work the room in such a way that you built a crowd of people listening to you paying little attention to them? I hope not! If you did you would be considered rude by most people at the party. But that’s how some people use social media. They make it more about themselves than about other people. Socializing has value in more ways than just getting attention for yourself or for keeping you from feeling bored and lonely. People are wired to be relational and to “do life together.” Social media provides a convenient and fun way to do that.

Not Bowling Alone

Foursquare Status: “I'm at Presidio Bowling Center (93 Moraga Ave, San Francisco)”

In addition to being a way to stay in touch, social media has good implications for society too. Back in 2000, Harvard Political Sociologist Robert Putnam wrote “Bowling Alone.” In his book he examined the topic of social isolation and the changing behaviors of Americans. Putnam claimed we have become increasingly disconnected from one another. He demonstrated his theory that social structures were in decay by pointing to declines in participation in political parties, churches, PTA, fraternities, bowling leagues, etc. The bonds that held people together socially and created the potential for societal influence in the past (our social capital) were breaking up. People, he said, no longer joined bowling leagues like they used to because they prefer to be “bowling alone.”

It seems society is changing for the better, because social media is keeping us from living lives of quiet separation. It’s not popular to bowl alone anymore because social media is bringing us together. Even when we can’t be physically together I can enjoy relating to you as you bowled a 300 game. (Or, at least saying you bowled one.) In fact, the entire planet can read along as you gloat about your high score. Social media interactions are changing how we relate to one another and to our governments. The 2008 elections changed political campaigning forever, now social networking is as much a part of political campaigning as traditional town hall meetings. It is changing how we use media. Now you don’t just read articles by your favorite reporters, you can write back what you think about what they reported. Social networking is transforming how we meet-up in the real world. Researchers estimate that up to 20% of marriages today began online.

Dr. Putnam’s “Bowling Alone” theory is now out-of-date because almost as soon as his book was published, the social media revolution started. Due to the advent of social networking sites, civic and social involvement is in revival. If you don’t believe social media has the power to chance entrenched society, sit down with a few of the former Kings and politicians who have seen Twitter and Facebook used to yank their thrones out from under them. You can sit down with them because they may be working at a Starbucks now, they lost their jobs.

Social networking sites have brought people closer together to their long-lost friends, distant family members, high school and college alumni, business colleagues, and even their favorite celebrities. We cannot be in the middle of a decline of social interaction if Facebook boasts 500 million users and Twitter consists of nearly 200 million people. Something else is going on. The world is becoming a more closely connected place and social media are at the forefront of developments in this change in society.

At the back of the line of these social changes are the people who can only see social media as a place to satiate their egos and talk themselves up. The people who are changing the world are not a bunch of self-serving narcissists, they are people-oriented leaders. People are starting to come back together to talk about life.

We live in an exciting time, we live in the days of the flowering of socialized media.

Social Media is Not Narcissism! Or, at least it doesn’t have to be.

2011-05-23T14:15:40+00:00

Social media hasn’t cornered the market on narcissism, self-portrait photography notwithstanding.

Social Media is Not Narcissism! Or, at least it doesn’t have to be.

When critics talk about what they don’t like about social media, they usually focus on the tip of the iceberg of what social media is all about. They focus on how people often use social networks to talk about themselves and what they are doing. It’s true people can toot their own horns on social networking sites. But braggarts don’t only boast on social networking sites--they do it everywhere they go!

Talking about yourself is just the tip of the iceberg of what you do on social networking sites. There's another 90% that isn't about you. In this blog I want to show you how only about 10% of what you do on social media needs to be about you. The other 90% of your activities can be focused on thinking about, listening to, and interacting with other people. I don’t find that narcissistic. Rather, I find it refreshingly humble. There is a lot more going on below the surface of social media if people care to dive in to discover it.

This blog is written for the type of person who seeks to keep a healthy self-esteem while putting more attention on others.

Imagine if people in offline situations spent a majority of their energy focused on others. It would put troubled marriages back into the honeymoon stage if spouses focused 90% of their attention on meeting the needs of their mates. (It would confuse a lot of mother-in-laws too.) It would turn around businesses if they spent more time thinking about and pleasing their existing customers than they spend on developing strategies to get new ones. Any politician that dedicated 90% of his/her energy to humbly serving their constituents would be elected in repeated landslides.

Social Media for the Cautiously Narcissistic (Intro)

2011-05-12T14:47:01+00:00

Like everyone else, I first got into social media so I could stalk my teenaged kids. But when I found out I could also use it to project my ego globally into cyberspace, they had me at shallow!

Actually, I signed up to join the social web in the summer of 2007 because I was asked by a client of mine to investigate the potential uses of social media. (I work as a nonprofit marketing consultant because when I tried to work as a stand-up comedian people only wanted to pay me if they laughed.)

Social media was only getting started back then and my clients were intrigued about the potential for mobilization, fundraising, and advocacy using this new form of communication. I wasn’t all that interested in social media personally.

But my clients were, and I try to stay curious about the things in which my employers are interested. I find it helps me stay employed with them longer. To me, social media seemed a little bit narcissistic and like a complete waste of time. But I have since learned otherwise. Social media is only a partial waste of time and if done right, is the polar opposite of narcissistic.

Reasons I wanted to write this blog...

To show people the significance of social media as a life-enriching tool
I got tired of all the social media gurus garbage out there that makes social media sound like the next gold rush
Fame and global domination, of course are in there...let’s not focus on that part
You gotta buy my book Guerrilla Marketing for Nonprofits, just sayin’ http://gmnonprofits.com/
Also it’s yet another chance to make a few jokes and have some fun!

What you will learn...

Get the most out of social media for your personal growth and enjoyment
How to take a balanced approach to using social media that only takes a few minutes per day
Ideas for making your use of social media more fun and interesting for you and your social media contacts.
Grow your social followers and make six figures in just weeks....just kidding!

Social Media Hit the Streets in Revolutions

2011-02-10T03:38:25+00:00

The protests in Egypt have many discussing the role of social media in political and social movements. Social media proponents believe these movements are facilitated and accelerated through the use of socialized networks.

Disbelieving commentators point to other social movements and political coups that didn’t need social media to become successful. They claim social change is more a product of face-to-face relationships, not of video clips, tweets, and wall posts.

It’s true that when Martin Luther King, Jr. led the civil rights movement, he didn’t use Twitter. Poland’s Lech Wałęsa didn’t have a Facebook fan page to promote the Solidarity movement, and the 1989 video that captivated the world’s attention for protestors in Tiananmen Square wasn’t even posted on YouTube until 2005. That’s because social media didn’t exist during these historical events.

But it does now, and these networks are proving their usefulness in fanning the embers that lead to revolution.

The cyber-activists’ medium of choice used to be the weblog (blog), but since social media come with built-in networks of people, they are preferred because they are more likely to rapidly multiply and go viral. Socialized networks are also attractive to a rapidly expanding tech-savvy generation. Research shows an exponential increase in the use of mobile devices and social media use in North African and Middle Eastern countries where the collective median age of nine key countries is roughly 23. They use YouTube and comments on Twitter or Facebook to instantly inform the world, to the point where major news organizations monitor these sites for the most breaking news.

Social media are actively being used in places of current unrest such as Egypt and Tunisia. Even though governments attempt to block users – as was the case in Egypt –social network users find creative ways around government intervention. Egyptian hackers created dial-up access lines modeled on the original Internet Usenet discussion boards that feed posts through an application protocol interface (API) to social networks.

It’s not just hackers and information leakers that are creating censorship counter measures; the networks themselves are assisting the cyber-activist. Google recently launched a voice-to-tweet application that turns recorded phone messages into tweets. Users call a number dedicated to the Speak2Tweet profile the tweets are formatted and posted as links to audio messages, thus bypassing governmental censorship of the internet. This is helping Egyptian protesters send messages via Twitter using any telephone line. Twitter also often aids protests by postponing network updates to keep potential crashes from interfering with protest communications.

Other examples precede Tunisia and Egypt. In April 2009, Twitter and YouTube were extensively used by political activists to mobilize protestors in Moldova. In July of that same year, protestors in Iran effectively used Twitter to inform the world as to what was happening, reducing the government’s ability to control information beyond its borders. Twitter and YouTube users beyond Iran re-Tweeted messages and re-posted videos so they could not be removed from the Internet. Many Twitter users showed their support of the movement by shading their Twitter profile icons green as a sign of sympathy with the movement. Tunisia and Egypt are the latest locations where cyber-activism are fueling political change, this time Facebook has been added more predominantly to the media mix.

So, you may not be starting a revolution; but what can be learned from how revolutionaries are using social media? The ideas below are adapted from the "Taxonomy of digital resistance" created by Patrick Meier. Here is a list of tactics you may be able to adapt to your organization’s situation and needs.

How to use social media like an activist:

Post videos of speeches and presentations that tell your side of the story
Write out your thoughts in blogs, Facebook notes, Tweets also
Create an online petition and get people to sign it to show their support
Host a vigil or protest and post feeds from it (videos, tweets, Facebook posts, pics)
Infiltrate existing forums, including games and virtual communities
Stage a flashmob or walkout to attract media attention
Create anonymous profiles and amplify your voice.
Represent your voice in the comments on news, videos, images on major websites
Create mobilization resource files and share them on flash disks and large download sites
Use your smart phone wisely, communicate via SMS, develop a mobile webpage for your organization

Get Me Elvis on the Phone and I Want to See Me a Martian!

2011-01-27T14:35:01+00:00

Imagine it has happened, you have all you need, everything you could wish for in your organization's communications. I have heard many times people saying, “If we had more money, we could do a better job” or “If only we had a few more volunteers our nonprofit would really take off”. It seems everyone is waiting for perfection to arrive before they really get going.

It would be great to have no limitations on your nonprofit wouldn’t it? So, okay,—POOF—you have it all, the zillion dollar budget, all the resources, all people you need, Zuzu’s petals—everything! Now what are you going to do to change the world?

I have always thought if I were elected president, I would make my first two presidential orders “Get Me Elvis on the Phone and I Want to See Me a Martian!” I’d like to settle those two questions right off the bat. Area 51—here I come! I would get me one of those automatic shoe polishers with the spinning fuzzies, you know like Elvis had, for my presidential limo. I would take him for a ride in my limo as we ride out to see the sound stage where the government conspirators faked the lunar landing. Ah, the life!

This really is going somewhere! Some nonprofits look like dogs chasing a car, they don't look like they'd know what to do with it if they caught it. Imagine you had all the resources you think you need, what would you do to use them to accomplish your mission? After you fool around a while, you would eventually have to realize you need more than money and resources, you need a plan that will work. You would have to develop a plan to prioritize how you do things. You need a vision for what you are doing and a mission for how you are going to do it. You can’t throw money at vague dreams and tag lines like and really have an impact.

You need more than a slogan. If you are going to have impact, catchy phrases won’t work. How will you find your customer? How will they be persuaded to decide? How is your organization going to change the status quo? No, really, write it down now. You need the picture of what life will look like in the future you are trying to create, you need a road map for what steps you will take to get there.

Maybe you don't have what you need because you don't look like you know what you are doing to the people who would otherwise be glad to jump in and help.

What in the World is Weltanschauung?

2010-11-12T14:28:36+00:00

Nonprofit marketers who want to influence people’s behaviors may not realize it but they are engaged in the application of epistemology. Yeah, epistemology, the lecture you slept through in freshman philosophy class! Blast you Dr Smellfungus! Why couldn’t you have been more interesting to listen to when I was in your 8:15 AM class?!

Now I am drawing a blank–what in the world is epistemology? Epistemology is the study of the “nature and scope of knowledge and belief” (see also: narcolepsy). The Germans call it Weltanschauung (worldview). You’ll call it your lifelong communication problem. Most people float through life with little thought about why they think things. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t influenced by a particular way of thinking, or worldview.

Don’t just study consumer behavior or psychology, remember to study worldview. Learn as much as you can about it! Bone-up on fundraising or social media strategy, but also study how people decide what matters to them most—how they arrive at truth. Then you can speak to them in ways they will understand and with which they will easily relate.

Weltanschauung Meets Nonprofit Communications

We don’t have a choice about engaging worldview in advocacy communications. The Weltanschauung show has come to your town, so learn to enjoy it!

The wave of change that is coming to America due the increasing influence of the Latin worldview is what will shape nonprofit communication for years to come more than social or mobile media will. The great clash we are experiencing between the west and the middle east is really the competing of worldviews. Changes in the global economy will lead to southern asian countries rising in influence and will bring even more contact with the Indian worldview chez nous.

If you become an expert in worldview, you will be much more in demand as a nonprofit marketer in the future. As a a nonprofit or social marketer your job is not only to know about what your organization offers to the public, you also need to comprehend the differences in people’s worldviews. Your homework today is to head to the library and find a good book about worldview.

Home: http://chrisforbes.org

Do Mobile and Social Media Give Your Organization the Heebeegeebees?

2010-10-08T13:52:27+00:00

Stuck on Stupid (Part Two)

Happy October! This time of year people think about the things that scare them, like ghosts, goblins, mobile website strategy, and the fear your nonprofit staff might be playing Farmville all day on their office hours if you let them use Facebook. If mobile and social media give you the heebeegeebees, it's time to look under the bed and see there is no monster down there. These media are not going to bite you! But you should make friendly with them before it’s too late! Here is some sound advice that will help you overcome your fears.

Stop Treating social media like it is a fad or a novelty: Many nonprofits block social media sites from your employees thinking they are doing themselves a favor. Employees can’t even take a peek at what’s going on over on the organization’s official Facebook page. Don’t just tip your organization’s hat to social media with a perfunctory Facebook page and or Twitter account that spams out your PR, involve your entire team and mobilize them on the social web. When you look out across the cubicles of your office, see an army of advocates ready to be unleashed onto social networks.

 Get over your Technophobia of mobile media: History is repeating as nonprofits ask themselves if mobile media is important enough for them to use in their outreach. Just like when the internet was new, and now with social media, nonprofits are avoiding getting involved in mobile media until it’s already an accepted convention. If you are waiting on a cue to get started, here it is: GO MOBILE! While we are on the subject of mobile media, social media and mobile media are merging with new GPS-based tools like Gowalla, FourSquare, and Facebook places. You might as well accept this, these type media are going to be around too and you will need to leverage them at some point. Begin now!

Courage is not the absence of fear, it is what you do in spite of your fears. Imagine yourself standing firm and facing the brave new world of social media and finding victory! You can do it!

Home: http://chrisforbes.org/

See You at the American Marketing Association’s 2010 Nonprofit Marketing Conference, October 11-13

2010-10-04T18:17:24+00:00

Some Things Can’t Wait. Market NOW

Get your mission moving. Whether you’re an association or a charity, the time is NOW to transform marketing, try new ways of managing and tap into how you can reinvent your organization.

If your organization is like so many others, you’re feeling the pinch of the economy. Fundraising revenue is down, membership is experiencing attrition and nonprofits are struggling to survive these tough times.

The AMA’s 2010 Nonprofit Marketing Conference can help you turn things around. This year’s conference offers unique insights, proven cases and solutions-oriented sessions led by some of today’s brightest minds in nonprofit marketing.

Nonprofit Marketing Conference: Chicago

Swissotel Chicago: 323 East Wacker Drive
Chicago , IL 60601
10/11/2010 8:00 AM – 10/13/2010 12:00 PM

EVENT BROCHURE

Is your nonprofit stuck on stupid?

2010-09-17T14:16:59+00:00

I am not trying to be offensive here, but that’s the question that comes to mind when I think about how some nonprofits are functioning. Organizations with important causes sometimes let their thinking slip when it comes to being strategic with the things they do. Oscar Wild said, "Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives." How about your organization, do you have things you are doing that don’t make sense for fulfilling your stated mission? Take a look at these items below and see if you might be a little stuck on stupid.

Living with Plateaued Fundraising: It’s almost a proverb now that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. Does your organization claim to want to raise more money while always doing fundraising the same way? If you consistently raise about the same amount each year, perhaps your fundraising thermostat is locked on the same temperature. Organizations that raise one million dollars per year, have their thermostat set for that amount. What can you do to raise the fundraising heat a little and get more money? I’ll betcha it will mean doing something different!

Taking Volunteers for Granted: Many organizations are not showing enough appreciation for the volunteers that keep their organization running. That’s not only stupid, it’s insensitive! You need to constantly remind yourself to let volunteers know how important they are to you. Little forms of appreciation mean a lot. And remember keeping them in the dark about what you are doing strategically is also dumb. What people are not up on, they are down on.

Electing Dead Weight Board Members: I don’t know how nonprofit leaders can justify in their minds putting board members in their organizational leadership who don't support the organization financially or actively work to raise funds. Sure, there are folks who have skills that they bring to the table that can help your organization. But, what you need to survive is more than ideas--you need moola! Only appoint board leadership who will help you raise money and introduce their network of friends and colleagues to your important cause.

Continuing Pointless Programs: Perhaps you have programs you are presently running that are good, but do they really help you achieve your organization’s mission? You should only continue programs that are focused on reaching your organization's objectives. Programs that become the ends and not the means to the end are wasting your time. It can even happen with programs your nonprofit has done for decades, maybe someone twenty years ago was stuck on stupid, and now you maintain the pointless programs they started. Evaluate what you are doing, send the sacred cows out to pasture!

Stay tuned for Stuck on Stupid (Part Two)...

Want More Money in Your Nonprofit’s Kitty? Think Like a Cat!

2010-08-30T17:50:00+00:00

People only pay attention to what their brain tells them they need. For example, when my children were younger, they decided they wanted a pet cat . We all agreed it would be okay for the children to have a kitten. The next day, I noticed for the first time all the kitten communication in my community. I saw “Kittens for Adoption”, “Free Kittens” signs everywhere it seemed. I overheard people talking about cats. The Stray Cats were playing on the radio everywhere I went! Our town was crawling with stuff about cats!

I never noticed all the cat communication in my town before. Now, the fur was flying at me from everywhere! What made the difference from the day before? On that day I “needed” a kitten for my daughters.

People’s needs drive what people pay attention to. People usually only notice what will benefit them in some way. As a nonprofit marketer, you need to understand people’s needs. You can’t understand the specific needs of all people in your community, but you can understand the needs of a smaller group of people in your city. When you know who you are trying to reach and begin to understand their needs, your communication can be presented in a way that speaks directly to their needs. That means, they will pay attention to your communication and not block it out.

Not understanding this principle could be CATastrophic!