Social Media or Web 2.0

Confused about where to start with social media for your nonprofit? Here are a few starting points.

The world of social networking is becoming more complex by the day. These tips will bring you back to the basics of how to get started.

Even though social media changes quickly, this book is a good start for any nonprofit that wants to set up a Page on Facebook.

Looking for ways your nonprofit can use Twitter? Twitter for Good has the tips and the examples that will help you get started or do it better.

Have you put up a Facebook age for your nonprofit? Don't let it just sit there like a wet noodle. Use these easy tips to promote your nonprofit Facebook page.

As much as professionals in the nonprofit community love to talk about social media, it is important to remember that the general pulic is not made up of experts or even dedicated users of social media. This is something that Melissa Jones, Social Media Specialist for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer, understands to the core.

Branding isn't just about logos and pretty graphics. It's about using social media to be engaging, inviting, the best in your sphere, and knowing what your supporters want and need.

Most people think of LinkedIn when they want to find a job, advance their professional careers, or find new employees. But LinkedIn is also a great place for nonprofits.

Do you use LinkedIn for your nonprofit? Tell us why and what you like or dislike about LinkedIn

In true LinkedIn fashion, I asked people on LinkedIn for tips about how nonprofits can best use the network. The LinkedIn community is very responsive and I received a bunch of excellent tips.

Don't think you'll reach donors on Twitter? Maybe not, but there is a rich nonprofit community on Twitter that you can learn from.

A good question that is floating around among nonprofit professionals is "How can nonprofits use social media?" I'm not sure what the answer is and probably few people so far really know. But we all need to get educated because the young are already there.

So, what are social media? The characteristic that most applies to social media is the ability to "upload." That is, individuals (formerly the audience) are now providing content by uploading information for all to see.

Mobile giving, the act of donating to a cause through oneÂ’s cell phone, is the newest thing in philanthropy. Learn what it is and how you can make it work for your nonprofit.

We all know that story-telling is crucial to getting our nonprofit messages across to the public and supporters. In Mobilizing Generation 2.0: A Practical Guide to Using Web 2.0, contributor Jonah Sachs elaborates on why story-telling is so crucial and how to do it effectively. His tips work especially well with youthful audiences but they also work with any age. Everyone responds to a story, well told.

A survey was done earlier this year of more than 1,000 nonprofits about how the organizations use online social networks. The survey asked about the use of commercial social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, for example, and about building their own house social networks.

Beth Kanter and Allison H. Fine have been experimenting with social media for years. They have both worked with innumerable nonprofits to learn how networked organizations operate and to educate others to the benefits of social media within a context of social change.