5 Things I've Learned From My First 100 Tweets

Sending out this blog post will mark my 100th tweet and so I thought I would take a moment to share 5 things I have learned from my twitter experience so far...

1) Follow Quality over Quantity

• Maybe I am not using the "Lists" well enough but there is a massive amount of content shared via twitter and finding a way to navigate through the noise is difficult.  The more people you follow the more difficult it is to keep tabs on things you really care about so choose who you follow wisely!

2) Every tweet should end with #IN and/or #FB

• All I ever hear about is "integrated marketing" and I have seen very few true cases on integrated marketing be successful because the reality is that the audiences between Direct Mail, Telemarketing, Email and Social Media don't have enough overlap.  Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have tremendous overlap and its an easy way to share great content.

3) You can Tweet too Much

• What is too much?  I have no idea, and it may depend on the day and my mood but you can tweet too much. My first 100 tweets can in just over 100 days...I have not tweeted once a day but more in spurts when I was really motivated to contribute.  I think the key here is relevance...if you have something good to say I will probably keep following you but know it is hard to have something good to say that often.

4) Don't Be Afraid to "RT"

• I struggled with this concept at the outset but I may be more of a "re-tweeter" than I am a "tweeter"...sharing something GREAT that someone else wrote is of high value to me when others do it.  It expands the people I follow and great ideas expand my mind and it's a nice way to acknowledge someone who said something great in hopes they will keep it up knowing someone is listening.

5) Automated Messages Still Suck

• Acknowledgement mailings, emails, etc in fundraising all suck...we always ask for money...again (because it works) but it just never feels sincere.  If I follow you and I get your automated "thanks for following me" that is strike 1!  The better etiquette I have learned is tweeting a thank you to new followers...it gets their names out to your followers and its a nice way to show everyone there is someone real at the keyboard.

I may be a late adapter (a trend in many cases with me) but I see high value in Twitter and am always looking for ways to make it better.

I am hopeful this post will generate some response because I know I still have a long way to go!

Order A Whopper And Create Your Next Breakout Strategy

Over the last few months I have spent the majority of my time focused on developing 2012 strategic plans for our nonprofit clients and my new favorite theme has become "What's our breakout strategy"?

I have dedicated several posts on this blog talking about ways to think using the 80/20 rule.  And, for me, thinking in terms of "breakout strategies" has helped me separate the true opportunities from the tactics. I believe it is very possible that 80% of your growth in 2012 can come from 20% of our ideas...putting more attention and focus on ONLY the 20% may actually improve your success rate.

Maybe I am suffering from the Tetris Effect but now I am looking for breakout strategy motivation and found one among the fast food giants to share to get you motivated...Burger King's push into delivery service.

To be truthful, I have not studied the timeline of innovation among the top fast food giants but would summarize past efforts as follows:

1. Cheaper prices
2. New french fries
3. Super Size
4. The McRib (a category unto itself)
5. New french fries (again)
6. Healthy alternatives

None of the above qualify as breakout strategies but instead tactical changes to gain incremental revenue, market share, etc. like testing a new OE teaser on an envelope.

To be clear, nothing is wrong with incremental as long as you spend less time here and more time on areas where you can truly breakout. 

So for your next brainstorm meeting, order some BK for delivery and take the extra time answer this question "What can we be doing differently to TRULY create separation from our competitors?"

More About the 80/20 Rule for Creative...

I am starting to sense an emerging obsession with identifying ways in which the 80/20 rule can be applied in marketing considering I have covered this topic in an earlier post.

With that disclaimer aside, I came across a great blog post by Michel Fortin on
Copywriting the 80/20 Way and this part really resonated with me:

Less Effort, Better Results

Writing copy the 80/20 way is about getting maximum results with minimum effort. It’s about doing more with less.

Don’t waste hours trying to create the “perfect” sales letter. Rather, write a letter that’s good enough. Then split-test it to success. Let the software do all the heavy lifting for you.

How do you see the 80/20 rule applying in your marketing approach to your creative planning, analytics, etc?

A "20 Second Rule" for Marketers

I recently finished a book called The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor. In the book, the author identifies seven principles for improving performance or maximizing our potential to improve our work, lives, etc.

In reading this book, my marketing mind got going around Principle #6: The 20-Second Rule.

Simply stated, the premise of the 20-Second Rule is based on the fact that we will always gravitate towards tasks that are easy to start regardless of the known fact that it may be less satisfying or productive than something that may take ONLY 20 seconds longer to start.

Attention All Marketers!

You have 20 seconds to make a point. Take this advice to heart when planning around any brand campaigns, fundraising efforts, etc.

This isn't necessarily a new problem, in the digital world we obsess about "limiting clicks"...the less clicks the more likely the close but has this principle been lost on the world of direct mail?

In today's competitive DM landscape with cluttered mail boxes I challenge you to make sure your next DM package makes a point in less than 20 seconds.

I look at it, I open it...tick tock!

Is the Data Telling the Real Truth About Online Giving?

There was a very informative post recently from Blackbaud about the current statistics around online giving. If you don't have time to read it here are a few key highlights:

1) Online fundraising generated $22 billion in 2010 (up 34% vs. '09) Online still only represents about 8% of total giving in the US
3) 32% of online donors will switch to offline giving

Clearly, online is the fastest growing giving channel and we've likely only seen the tip of the iceberg (I hope) but I want to caution fundraisers to be careful what you glean from two other data points.

1) Only 3% of offline donors will give online
2) Multichannel donors are more loyal than single channel donors

It's All About Causation vs. Correlation

First, let me be clear, I do not dispute that this is THE DATA. The data clearly shows the correlation (the fact that these two points are related) but doesn't explain the causation (what is REALLY the relation between the two).

Only 3% of offline donors will give online

1) Does this mean that 97% of offline donors don't use email or Internet?
2) Does this mean that we shouldn't bother soliciting offline donors via other channels?

I think that neither of the above are true. My guess, the large majority of organizations started their online giving long after they started their offline giving and that offline represented 92% (or more of the giving) so the Director of "Offline" giving probably got the final say in whether emails were sent to "their donors" when a offline channel effort was underway.

Kudos to Steve MacLaughin and the rest of the team at Blackbaud for doing the hard work on aggregating all of this data. All I ask is that we challenge ourselves (fundraisers and agencies alike) to look a layer deeper at what this all means.

This may be a job for Market Researchers to find out directly from the donors!

3 Things the American Cancer Society's "Report Card" Didn't Tell Me

As a follow up to my blog post yesterday someone sent me the American Cancer Society's 2011 "Report Card" that was recently posted to their website.

First, kudos to the American Cancer Society for making strides in the fight against Cancer in 2011!

Now here are a few comments (and I welcome others):

1) They should email it to me (yes, they have my email address)!
2) It feels heavy on facts and figures and lacks a "human feel".
3) They didn't tell me why my continued support was needed in 2012!

The American Cancer Society is a first-class organization in many ways so I will give them a pass on this single page as I suspect it was done by the Corporate Communications and not the Fundraising team so maybe this is type of communiciation is soon to follow!

4 Things Nonprofits Should Tell Donors About 2011

As we all hold our collective breath waiting to see how the few remaining days unfold for 2011 giving, I think all fundraisers should be polishing up the finishing touches on their "2011 Report cards".

To reiterate, I am saying "report card" because I have no time or interest in reading your Annual Report...and I am betting I am not alone there!

In our fast paced world of short attention spans I think a report card of sorts may be a worthwile communication strategy nonprofits should consider.

Recently there was a great post on Katya's Non-Profit Marketing Blog which cited recent market research that had two findings I found interesting:

1) Donors don't spend a whole lot of time researching charities to which they give.

2) Individual donors simply want to know they are giving to an organization that will do good with their money.

Katya's point was make sure you put content on your website to let prospective donors know you're a good charity.

Certainly advice all good charities should follow.

To build on this, I believe your report card is a chance for the GREAT charities to differentiate the GOOD in an arena we all know is a very crowded marketplace.

Donors are not measuring great organizations for raising the most money but for doing the most with it.

As your donor I want to know these 4 things about your 2011:

1) What did you do that no other organization did?

2) How did your organization become more efficient and/or effective?

3) What happened in 2011 that will shape your organizational goals in 2012?

4) What you are going to do "this year" with my continued support?

If you truly did do great work and you make the case for continued support in a quick and simple I may click donate before I get to the P.S. (because I have a hunch if you are great at what you do there will be a P.S.)!

Please share your comments and tell me what other questions I have missed!

My 3 Pronged Approach to Effectively Using Twitter...

28 days ago I started a personal challenge to "take on Twitter" with the goal of acquiring 100 followers by December 31, 2011 (currently at 63 and counting @jwhichard).

During this quest I have pontificated about my strategies to achieve this goal the "right way". To be fair to my critics, my version of the "right way" has taken on many shapes and forms to date including:

1) I am only going to count followers with a link back to my focus around Fundraising, Nonprofits, Marketers, etc ("etc" defined as friends, family and Justin Beiber).

2) I am aiming for a 2 to 1 ratio (for every two followers I have I can only follow 1 fellow "tweeter")

3) I am going to use #Bold as my hashtag so I will show up as a trending topic (this one created the most "lol's")!

Simply stated, my goal is to be a focused voice targeting a relevant audience to innovate change in marketing/fundraising and use this medium to share and shape my thoughts and ideas into something much better than I can create on my own.

Twitter would become my own marketing agency made up of a larger collective experience pool!

My detractors and doubters (and there are many) who have snickered as I ask for proper Twitter etiquette around the use of "RT" and @ mentions have told me this quality over quantity approach is all wrong.

And now Seth Godin has come to my defense!

In a recent post, The Trap of Social Media Noise he states there are two types of people in social media in what he refers to as "The Game Theory":

The game theory pushes us into one of two directions: either be better at pump and dump than anyone else, get your numbers into the millions, outmass those that choose to use mass and always dance at the edge of spam (in which the number of those you offend or turn off forever keep increasing),

or

Relentlessly focus. Prune your message and your list and build a reputation that's worth owning and an audience that cares.

Seth refers to the former group who follow the "pump and dump" as "Junk Dealers"...for those who have spent years optimizing, competing for fundraising dollars have fought junk mail and faced this "noise" in what we call "competition in the mailbox".

Nothing ever good came from Junk Mail...the volume never helped keep paper costs or postal rates down, it made people more skeptical or less trusting of every mail piece they received, it was the cause for the inception of many 'Do Not Mail' lists on the market today.

Social networks have proven in a very short time to be very fickle media and the more we "play for numbers" the less relevant it will become and the less engaged we will be.

My suggestion, Be #bold! Be part of the small minority that generates the large majority of the content that really matters!

Your PowerPoint...Now A CRM Tool!

Came across a very interesting new product/service to make your next presentation count call PresentNow which is a platform to help facilitate the all important "2-way Dialogue" and may even help you raise more money.

From their website:

How can Present Now help non-profits and charities?

First, kudos to you. You're out to do some good in the world and we need more people like you. Ultimately, all charities need donations to carry out their mission. You've no doubt been running lots of fund raisers and you're always looking for new donors. At your next event, make sure to give potential donors the opportunity to connect with you using Present Now. Once you have their contact information you can turning those contacts into donors.

I have sat in many (not as many as I would like) presentations wanting more information, or more importantly have given several presentations and wanted more feedback.

If we are finding ways to create more conversation from our PowerPoint presentations it has to be even easier to create more conversations with our Donors!