Digital Marketing for Non-Profits: Lack of Time - Developing your Digital Architecture - Social Media Outlets

If your organization already has a website, great!  Then you're ready for this step.  If not, please refer to the previous post in this series here. Many people may think of social media outlets as only Facebook or Twitter, and although those are two of the major social media sites online, they aren't the only ones. Having an account to reflect your organization on multiple social media sites enhances your organization's online footprint and improves your websites ability to be found through an online search engine.  Each social media account created and regularly managed increases your online reach without having to spend money.  The more active an account is, the more potential it has to expand your audience with people who have an interest in the niche you are trying to reach. By having multiple accounts set-up, and connecting them to your website through different services - you can publish content on a more automated and/or scheduled basis - saving you many hours of managing your marketing efforts. The most difficult aspect of this step is matching the name of your organization and website to your social media accounts.  In short, make sure your organization's name matches your website and facebook page, twitter account, etc... to ensure consistency of your organizations brand. Once this step is done, filling in the basics on all social media accounts is rather easy... So, create the following social media accounts - and make sure you fill in the details about your organization on each to remain consistent:

• Facebook Page - This may be the entire major hub of your organization for regular feedback from your members.
• Twitter Account - This platform is great for networking and expanding your reach
• Google+ Page - Don't discount creating one.  It's good to have for SEO (search engine optimization) and for expanding your reach
• LinkedIn Company Page - This established your organization on the professional networking platform.
• Pinterest - many folks prefer to use this platform as it provides them ideas.
• Instagram - Good to have to share pics
• Youtube - Good to have to eventually share video content.

Now it's likely you may not use all of these platforms regularly, but having them ensures your organization can be easily found on those channels and that you have a means to regularly post different types of content.  Cross promotion between channels also shows activity online - which generates further interest.

This step is just wrapping up and finalizing the basics of your online presence.  Once your website is set-up, and your social media accounts are set-up for your organization - then we move onto the next step - content distribution.

        

---