So I just got around to reading my Association of Fundraising Professionals magazine from May. Um.
Well, the cover was boring!
White fruit? LOL WUT.
I was busy editing my book! What?
ANYWAY.
There’s a huge section on online marketing and fundraising! Way to get with the program AFP! Well done!
There’s an article, called, provocatively, “Determining the Best Approach to Social-Media Marketing.” I didn’t know that social media had a hyphen. Hmmmm. It’s by Robin Fisk, a senior fundraising executive from Advanced Solutions International.
Here’s a picture of him.
Hmm. Yawn. Okay, so he writes,
“Launch an Internal Social Media Tool Set.”
Then he says, “Your CEO should have a blog.”
NO HE SHOULDN’T! Your CEO is BORING! Oh, plus, people in authority are not the most reliable narrators! Has the financial collapse taught us nothing?
I think it’s good for your nonprofit have “A” blog, and maybe even the CEO could contribute sometimes. But it’s far more valuable for the blog to talk to different people in the organization all of the time, rather than just the CEO’s point of view. Why not talk to the accountant? Or the Program staff? A volunteer’s perspective? How about a program participant’s ideas?
When you have top-down communication, it seems more like a company newsletter than a blog. Why not have tons of people weigh in with their content? Why not SHOW that you’re doing the work, IN YOUR BLOG?
But, you ask, “Wouldn’t that be a lot of work, to coordinate that?”
Yes, yes it would. Which is why you want to HIRE AN ONLINE COMMUNITY DIRECTOR FIRST.
But funnily enough, Mr. Fisk doesn’t mention that little detail.
He does mention that it’s important to “Increase web traffic and search engine optimization and a CRM (Constituent Relationships Management) System.”
Like your Advanced Solutions International Software systems Mr. Fisk?
Oh, wait a minute. I just realized that nearly everyone who wrote an article in this section works for a software company.
This “Tech Talk, Tips and Trends” feature is starting to make a lot of sense.
No wonder nearly all of the rest of the articles are just “Oh yeah, you should really do this or that WITH MY SOFTWARE” without actually giving you any real, useful, step-by-step advice on how to do it.
Way to sell advertising space as articles AFP. Wow. I had such hopes!
You should get ME to write an article instead. I could make it actually useful. I could make it funny! And I wouldn’t be flogging a software system either.
Agreed. Getting people to write without a specific motive would produce the most unbiased and clear content. Hope to see you on AFP one day!
Thanks for reading the blog, sorry that my picture makes you yawn! You make some interesting points. The reason that you, me and other suppliers to this sector write these things is that we have experience – and yes, we make a living doing it – of what many non-profits are doing with social media and technology in general, not just one. Consequently we get a pretty good sense of what’s working out there. Let me know if you’re interested in being interviewed for a future article – your views are as valid as mine.
Hi Rob!
Thanks! I’d like to be in there someday! Holy Moly, Mr. Fiske just responded! Maybe I could be in there someday?