Social Media - Time To Start

New article just loaded onto our website ... Social media seems to be the "hot topic" these days. With curiosity peaking in almost every organisation we speak to, we find ourselves being asking for either evidence of its purpose or advice on where it could impact the organization. Some commentators seem passionate, others submitting themselves to the inevitable and getting on with the job of exploiting it. Most of the criticism of social media comes from the armchair observers, because to understand it fully you simply must get involved. But what does it really mean to the NFP sector? Where should we go for practical examples of its use? Is it safe to be an early adopter and / or should we wait and see if it loses momentum?... read more.

Why charging for online content (mostly) won't work

Judy Shapiro has written a great article about how charging for online content doesn't generally work, but using online content to develop a community can lead to profitable revenue streams ... click here to read more.

The Building Blocks of Social Media for Business

Found this great article by Chris Brogan on his blog. It provides some great grassroots advice for those wanting to both understand and use social media more effectively ... read more.

Does Twitter matter?

While I'm a big fan of social networking sites such as LinkedIn, I'm not a huge fan of Twitter. It's not that I'm totally against the idea. It's just that I'm yet to be convinced that the investment of time into Twitter is actually worth the return. However I did read with some interest Rohit Bhargava's article "10 Reasons Twitter Might Actually Matter". Still not entirely convinced but it does have some reasonable arguments in there.

Social media aggregators - getting all your social media in one place

There are so many different forms of social networking available that many people are finding it difficult to keep up. This is seeing the rise of a new online tool called a social media aggregator. This is a website where you can view all your social media streams from one place. Adam Pash reviews 3 of these on PC World. For those associations who are looking at ways to bring their members together perhaps there are opportunities here to be explored ...

Social network usage

E-Marketer has reported on a new study called the Consumer Internet Barometer that looks at who is using social networking sites. Interestingly, nearly 1/2 of women visit social networking sites compared to 37.6% of men. Not surprisingly, it also found that a greater percentage of younger people were regular users of online social networks. Click here to read more.

Working social media into your day

Social media is a great way to keep up with the conversations going on in your business, personal and special interest lives. However it is hard to keep up with everything as well as actually have a real life as well. I came across this article today by Summer Huggins who has some great tips on her blog on how to work social media into your work day - ... read more.

More on the effect of social media on associations

I came across this article that highlighted how social media and associations can work together for growth. It's an interesting read for anyone trying to figure out how their organisations fit into the new media environment. Read: How Twitter, Facebook and others are challenging traditional groups.

Social networks are an opportunity for associations

I found an article today talking about how membership numbers in social networking tools designed for business are exploding (The Best Way To Reach Decision Makers?. Business Social Networks!). The core benefit of many business and professional associations is networking. As a prolific user of LinkedIn myself I have to say that I find it a great networking tool. I've even started a Membership Group on LinkedIn that is growing steadily.

These social networking tools are changing the landscape for associations. But it doesn't mean the end of assocations. On the contrary these tools represent a fabulous tool for vastly expanding the reach of associations. Those associations who thrive will be the ones that can capitalise on this tool and still remain financially sustainable at the same time.

Can you "Facebook" your membership?

Facebook has just hit 250 million users -just three months after hitting 200 million users. This is one of the most fabulous examples of membership growth I know of. Here is an organisation that understood a need in the marketplace, developed a membership product that fulfilled that need and experienced enormous growth as a result. They went from 0 members in 2003 to 250 million members in 2009. Even better - they have a free membership structure that is supporting from other income sources that leverage off their strength in numbers. With vision the sky is the limit. How can you "Facebook" your membership?

A fantastic example of how non-profits can develop a viral email campaign

I thought this was an interesting look at how a nonprofit who had never used social media before managed to achieve some great success. A good step by step case study reproduced on Mark Buzan's blog. Click here to read the article.

What's the difference between community and social networks?

Peggy Hoffman makes an interesting distinction between community and social networks. There is the interesting observation in the article that "community is the what and social networking is the how". Click here to read the full article.