100 Days of Gratitude, Day 1: Are words enough?

I thought it was going to be really difficult to pick the first person to say thank you to as part of the 100 Days of Gratitude. But sometimes things just fall into your lap.

We were at the National Federation of Community Broadcasters Community Radio Conference last week. On the first day, Ginny Z. Berson, Vice President for Federation Services, and the anchor of this organization, announced her retirement. (See below for Jim's video of her speech.)

No question who I would thank now. The trouble was, how?

It seemed impermanent to pull her aside and just say thank you for her almost 20 years at NFCB and much more than that in community broadcasting. So I pulled out a notecard and a pen.

First of all, I discovered how infrequently I write long-hand, because my hand started to cramp up!

But more importantly, I discovered how hard it is, sometimes, to articulate how valuable and important someone has been. When someone has been a role model, a pillar of the sector, a stalwart champion of the underdog, and a no-nonsense fighter against injustice, it's hard to capture her impact.

I wrote my short note, and I hope she understands that my words are just the tip of the iceberg of the gratitude I feel for her personal commitment to the broadcasting community.

And so it begins.

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Alice Ferris, ACFRE      alice.ferris
Jim Anderson      GoalBustersJim

Cash Follows Contact

Note: You can generally substitute the term "Fundraising Campaign" anywhere I write "Pledge Drive."

I recently Tweeted "Pledge Drive on Facebook? Yes! @KAWC reach up 500% & engagement up 300% during recent pledge drive. #PublicRadio #NPR"

To translate the Twitter-speak, I was saying. "Yes, it's a good idea for Public Radio Stations to include their Pledge Drive activities in their social media activity. One of our clients is KAWC Colorado River Public Media. When we evaluated KAWC's Facebook analytics for the period of their recent Pledge Drive, we saw their "Total Reach" increase by 500% and their community engagement increase by 300%."

That Tweet generated considerable feedback from both the nonprofit and public broadcasting sectors. Common themes were: What did you do differently? What seems to be working? To what degree did you have success turning these followers into donors?"

The short answer to those questions is that a small percentage of KAWC's Social Media followers are donors. But the numbers are comparable to successful direct mail "acquisition rates." Gifts tracked to social media are about 1.0% of followers. An added benefit is that some of those gifts came from friends outside our listening area. They gave to support the team they feel connected to via Social Media. They are a part of our extended community.

What excited me most about the increase in reach and engagement is that it proves that Pledge Drive activity is NOT a turn-off to our social media audience. Last year I presented at both the Public Media Development and Marketing Conference (PMDMC) and National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB) conferences. I heard many stations argue that pledge drive is forbidden from being included in their social media communication. I think that is tragically myopic. They believe that pledge drive will drive away online fans, like so many people in Public Radio believe Pledge Drive drives away listeners. Oh, it's true that if ALL you're doing is pitching and/or begging for donations you will drive away listeners and online fans. But if you're creating "good" content and not just constantly asking for support, you can engage your audiences with your appeals.

When Alice Ferris, ACFRE is training new team members at one of our Public Radio clients, she always reminds them that "Pledge Drive IS programming." It should inform, educate and entertain. We're making a case for support that is logical, compelling, personal and genuine. We're frequently greeted by listeners during or after a Pledge Drive who tell us they "love Pledge Drive." They share that it gives them a chance to really get to know the team and hear from other supporters in the community. It's personal to them and it reinforces their connection to the station. 

The key to effective online engagement isn't that different from your other traditional messaging.  Your social media communication should do one or more of three things:

Inform: Provide relevant, meaningful information about your organization, your team, your events, your service and your goals. Be genuine. Communicate in a personal, authentic voice.

Entertain: Provide "Rich content" of interest such as photos, graphics, video, audio, articles, etc. Give them lots of links to click.

Provide Opportunity: Tell them about things they can do, places they can go, how they can learn more and how they can help. Give them lot's of ways to take action. Provide them ways to get involved that don't require giving money. Of course make it easy for them to give money if they're ready to.

How do you measure success? That depends on your goals. Social Media serves different audiences in unique ways. If all you do is increase reach and engagement, that's a good thing. I always say, "Cash follows contact." Social Media gives us a few new ways to keep making meaningful contact and building or deepening relationships with our communities of support.

A note: Don't be discouraged if your Social Media is slow to take off. You may be doing better than you think. Here's a great infographic regarding the reach of various kinds of Facebook pages. 

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Jim Anderson      GoalBustersJim

Alice Ferris, ACFRE      alice.ferris

Convert Your Business Facebook Profile to Fan Page

If you know you're ready to make the switch, click here to convert your profile to a fan page. If you're not sure why you should bother, read on...

Point of Caution If you do not have a Personal Profile separate from your Business Profile and ALL of your Facebook interactions happen on your business profile, please read this Mashable Blog detailing the potential pitfalls of conversion. If that is the case you should create a personal profile as soon as possible for personal interaction apart from your business interactions. If you already have a separate Personal Profile the risks associated with conversion of your business profile to a business page are minimal and are detailed below.

PROFILES vs PAGES There are many businesses, organizations, bands, etc. who have set up Facebook accounts as "people" or personal profiles. Contrary to the US Supreme Court and Mitt Romney's assertations, businesses aren't people and Facebook agrees.

Click here for Facebook's explanation Why should I convert my profile to a page? clearly stating that setting a profile for anything other than a person is a violation of their policy's and could result in you losing the page. Yes, it happens and will likely be happening more frequently.

To better benefit your business and more securely protect your "friends" data, businesses should set up their Facebook pages as fan "pages" NOT as personal "profiles." If you are a business and you have "friends" on Facebook, you should convert your profile page to an actual Facebook page. Yes, I know you like your "friends" and they like you, but they can't invite your store over for dinner with the family or take your business to movies.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Fan Pages are indexed by search engines. Profiles are not. If you want your Facebook page to improve your results in Google, Bing or Yahoo searches, do NOT set your business up as a personal profile. Create a fan page so "new" people can find you.

Capacity Fan Pages can have an unlimited number of fans. Profiles are limited to only 5,000 friends. Even if you only have a few hundred fans now, why would you choose an option that limits your maximum number of fans.



Delegation Fan pages allow you to assign numerous administrators.
This is great so that one person doesn't have to do all the work maintaining the page. It's also helpful if you're not available to monitor your page due to travel or illness. When an administrator posts, they do so as the page, not themselves personally. Although, I encourage signing your post when it's obviously a personal comment or a reference to someone else on your team.



Multiple Identities
You can manage multiple fan pages from a single personal profile. This is important if you want to promote various businesses, organizations or groups. Alice Ferris and Jim Anderson both have personal pages and we share administration rights for numerous clients and professional organizations we're affiliated with. Including: GoalBusters Consulting, the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB), KGHR Navajo Public Radio, KAWC Colorado River Public Media, KUYI Hopi Public Radio, AFP Arizona Statewide Meetings and the Public Radio Program Directors (PRPD)

Personal vs Professional Profiles If you have a business fan page, people will still want to connect with (most of) you personally on your profile. They want to know the people behind a business.

Consider your business fan page to represent your brand and your personal profile is a "sub-brand." You may also consider setting up two personal profiles. Use one openly and professionally taking care with the nature of the content to minimize offending customers or clients. Use the second as a "private" profile with your family and true friends. This is a good way to separate that crazy uncle or the person you dated in high school from your professional acquaintances.





Advertising Opportunities Facebook can help you advertise your page, not your profile.


Ready to Convert? The Social Media Hound suggests a review of the following information before your convert your personal profile to a page.

• All your confirmed friends will be converted to people who like your new Page.
• Your profile pictures will be migrated to your new Page.
• Photo albums, profile information, etc. will not be transferred. Be sure to save any important content before beginning your migration. (see step one, below)
• Once you convert your personal profile to a business page, that profile will no longer exist.
• You will not be able to convert your page back to a personal profile.
• You will continue to login with the email/password that you used before you converted the page.

Convert your Facebook profile to a business page:
Step one
Backup your Facebook profile. Login to Facebook and click the down arrow next to Account in the upper right corner of your screen, then select Account Settings. Toward the bottom of that page, you’ll see Download Your Information. Click the "learn more" link to the right and follow the instructions.

Step two
Post a notice indicating you are going to convert the page and explain the page may look different as you complete the conversion and update your information. When you are ready to begin the conversion click here and read How do I convert my profile to a fan page? Follow the instructions. After conversion post another notice to your friends who now "like" your page informing them of the conversion and thanking them for "liking" your organization


Good luck with your conversion.

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Contact Jim.Anderson@GoalBusters.net with any questions regarding Social Media.

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