Gary has garnered 2,298 cultivated and devoted followers within little more than a month’s time. He expects to more than double that number by the end of April. “When I hit 5,000 [followers], that’s when I’m going to pull the trigger on a fundraising campaign and it’s really going to take off because I’ve invested time at the front end.” Gary says that donations have increased since the October 2008 financial meltdown. While he can’t directly attribute it all to Twitter he says he believes it is a big part of it. “This is how people are connecting with causes they care about today and you can’t ignore that fact.”
Tips for Successful Twitter Campaigns
Gary was reluctant to share his best Twitter secrets and kept his best ones close to his chest. He welcomed readers to follow him @wearethecure and check in from time to time (see his strategy at work here?), and see for themselves. The tips he did share were with the intensity of the radio broadcasting executive that he once was.
1.) Communicate personally with every single follower … especially if he or she “follows” you first. Go to their bio, read about their dog, direct message them back with some bit of information that shows you took the time and effort to read about them.
2.) Copy their entire Twitter conversation and add it to their donor file.
3.) Seek out the “influencers” among your followers and develop strong relationships with them so that they will respond when you need them to, pushing out your message to their followers and onto their own social media networks.
4.) Everyone in the nonprofit world is a sales person whether they like it or not. Every time you open your mouth you are selling yourself and your organization. The same goes for your tweets and direct messages! Be very purposeful in all that you tweet.
Twitter: It Isn't Just for Breakfast Anymore
Gary has garnered 2,298 cultivated and devoted followers within little more than a month’s time. He expects to more than double that number by the end of April. “When I hit 5,000 [followers], that’s when I’m going to pull the trigger on a fundraising campaign and it’s really going to take off because I’ve invested time at the front end.” Gary says that donations have increased since the October 2008 financial meltdown. While he can’t directly attribute it all to Twitter he says he believes it is a big part of it. “This is how people are connecting with causes they care about today and you can’t ignore that fact.”
Tips for Successful Twitter Campaigns
Gary was reluctant to share his best Twitter secrets and kept his best ones close to his chest. He welcomed readers to follow him @wearethecure and check in from time to time (see his strategy at work here?), and see for themselves. The tips he did share were with the intensity of the radio broadcasting executive that he once was.
1.) Communicate personally with every single follower … especially if he or she “follows” you first. Go to their bio, read about their dog, direct message them back with some bit of information that shows you took the time and effort to read about them.
2.) Copy their entire Twitter conversation and add it to their donor file.
3.) Seek out the “influencers” among your followers and develop strong relationships with them so that they will respond when you need them to, pushing out your message to their followers and onto their own social media networks.
4.) Everyone in the nonprofit world is a sales person whether they like it or not. Every time you open your mouth you are selling yourself and your organization. The same goes for your tweets and direct messages! Be very purposeful in all that you tweet.