A special post from AJLI‘s Laurie Dodge, Marketing and Communications Director

48 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute*
YouTube is the second largest search engine*
70% of branded content is created by consumers*
The average user of Facebook creates 90 pieces of content per month*
57% of people communicate more online than off* (really????)

This past Monday I had the good fortune to attend the Social Media For Nonprofits conference in New York City, organized by Darian Rodriguez Heyman and Ritu Sharma. In 2012 the series has been scheduled to visit San Francisco; Washington, DC; Chicago; Atlanta; Los Angeles; Seattle and New York City and I encourage you all to attend when it’s in your neck of the woods. It’s inexpensive, the presenters are approachable and the information shared is useful/valuable. It’s the second time in less than a year I attended this conference and had the privilege of sitting among my peers to listen to those well versed in the social media space (they all seem aligned in their thinking that there are no experts in the field as it’s evolving too quickly).

Monday’s topics ranged from content curation (halleluiah! And thanks to Beth Kanter and her special guest, Robin Good for reminding us that content should bring value to our audience(s) and that social media is a two way street) to fundraising (too many presenters to name…clearly this is a hot topic) to getting the most out of social media with a lean staff to a presentation by Google+ (why should nonprofits care??… Google’s question, not mine). There also was a presentation called Social Media for Nonprofit CEOs and while that might not seem like an immediate concern for most Junior Leagues it contained some really good information about the development of social media guidelines (and I know you’re all interested in that).

Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of Save the Children spoke about how social media is changing the 93-year old organization (be where your audiences are…) and how her organization used social gaming to help raise funds for Haiti.

Interesting points by those who talked about fundraising:

  • giving is emotional, you must awaken the heart to arouse the mind; giving = happiness so give donors the opportunity to be happy
  • people don’t give because you have needs, but because you meet needs
  • people don’t give to you, they give through you

This was a tools and tips conference (and there were a lot of information shared that will be helpful to you as you lead your Junior League and other nonprofits in your local communities), so have a peek at the presenters’ slide decks when you have a moment and let me know if you have any questions or would like to share a thought.

*stats shared by presenters at Social Media For Nonprofits conference.