Elaina Buzzell

Tag: Communications

April 6, 2012

Exploring Slacktivism

Flickr image from Anonymous9000

One usually doesn’t have to go too far before finding blog posts decrying slacktivism, or the modern trend of low-effort internet activism. Whether these actions are sharing the Kony video, wearing a plastic bracelet, changing one’s social media profile image or texting to donate a small amount to charity, they are often decried as not being well thought out and just another way for privileged people to feel better about their status. Read the rest of this entry »

March 20, 2012

Communications Lessons from Major League Soccer

Those who know me or follow me on Twitter know that I am a huge fan of soccer and the Seattle Sounders. I played a bit of extracurricular soccer as a child, but it wasn’t until I found the supporter community here in Seattle that I became a passionate fan of “the beautiful game”.

I’ve had soccer on my mind since watching the Sounders’ fantastic home opener last weekend. In reading up a bit on the history of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the US, I found some insights that I would like to share with you on nonprofit communications strategies and getting started in social media. Read the rest of this entry »

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March 9, 2012

Professional Social Media Presence

So, you have your communications strategy set, and your social media accounts are set up. Now, how do you get the results you are looking for? This week in Favorite Finds Friday, I’m highlighting articles that I have found about running a professional social media and/or communications campaigns at nonprofits. These articles have tips for engaging your audience, building your follower base, and how to staff your communications campaigns.
  • How to Build Your Professional Twitter Brand by Heidi Cohen. This article includes some tips for creating the kind of Twitter account that attracts followers and has high engagement. You’ll still want to have that strategy in place to be sure that you’re bringing in followers that will meet your goals, but these tips will help you along the way. Most of these tips apply to communications tools well beyond Twitter.
  • 3 Cool Twitter Tricks That Are Useless Without Strategy by Hector Cuevas: Here, Hector outlines some pretty neat tips, but I also love that he points out that tips and tricks won’t get you far without an underlying strategy to your communications.
  • 7 Reasons Why You Don’t Need an Intern to Run Your Social Media Program by Peggy Dolane. Job listing sites never seem to be short on listings attempting to recruit interns to run the social media or communications programs at nonprofits. In this post, Peggy outlines great reasons to re-consider this practice.

 

Have you used any of these tips? How does your communications strategy utilize Twitter? How is your communications program staffed?

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