Photo: By Beth Kanter

.ORG and .NGO, The Internet Sisters

It is amazing how many nonprofit sites don’t have the 501(c)(3) in the United States or other designations in other countries clearly marked somewhere on the donation page of their site. It really should be in the footer of every page. Not every donor is educated to find this information, except people who:

• give as part of the culture they were brought up in;
• give as a yearly tax-related habit; or,
• are researching related to a sizable donation on behalf of a corporate or an estate

The .ORG found at the end of an Internet address has done a lot to help nonprofit organizations self-identify as an organization that has a mission to help others without a profit motive.

Public Interest Registry (PIR), who is a client of Zoetica, has been the manager of the .ORG Top Level Domain (TLD) for 25 years. PIR is a non-profit organization and does not gain financially from .ORG addresses. All income from domain names goes to the Internet Society (ISOC), which works to ensure the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world.

Keeping .NGO in Nonprofit Hands

PIR is now applying to ICANN to manage a second domain, .NGO and is seeking the support of the community it has served for so long. If they don’t get this new domain, it will most certainly be taken by others, and thus dilute the nonprofit community.

If you are  are a part of a nonprofit organization, you can sign a letter of support in just a few minutes, it costs nothing and ensures that this new nonprofit extension will stay that way.

Social media measurement should be an integral part of any outreach program, but it is often difficult for organizations to work it into the mix. What should be measured? What matters? How can we set benchmarks?

We believe in building measurement into every campaign and program and have developed a framework to use for measurement. In the pursuit of helping our clients, friends and even competitors to do that, we are publishing this whitepaper.

We believe that the more quality social media programs there are, the better is is for everyone.

The whitepaper, embedded below, is excerpted from the book, Welcome to the Fifth Estate, by Geoff Livingston, one of the original founders and former executive of Zoetica. It was written by Kami Watson Huyse, a current partner and CEO of Zoetica.

Here are Kami’s original posts about this subject, upon which the whitepaer is based:

• Part I: A Commonsense Approach to Social Media Measurement
• Part 2: Setting SMART Objectives
• Part 3: Measurement as a Diagnostic Tool
• Part 4: The 3 As of Social Media Measurement

In the whitepaper, the thoughts of some foundational thinkers on the subject of social media measurement are included. We want to thank our mentors for blazing the path for the thoughts in this paper. Among these people are: Katie Paine, Avinash Kaushik, Jason Falls, Augie Raye, Jeremiah Owyang, Dr. Walter K. Lindenmann, Olivier Blanchard, Iain McDonald, and Linda Childers Hon and James E. Grunig.

Commonsense Framework to Measure Social Media

A recent study sponsored by PayPal Nonprofit, and penned by Geoff Livingston and Henry Dunbar for Zoetica, shows that a personal story, a tight knit community and the authenticity of the messenger count more than simple fame.

Through case studies and examples the paper outlines the following four tips for fundraisers looking to incorporate celebrities or weblebrities in their online campaigns.

Four Tips for Using Weblebrities for Fundraising

Personal connections and authentic passion for the cause.

As demonstrated by cancer survivor Paddy O’Brien in UCSF’s Causes and blogger Ali Edwards in the Six Degrees launch contests, personal connections are critical in generating donations. DonorsChoose’s Doherty notes the vital connection between passion and success. “It is more about identifying the person who would be a strong advocate,” she says, “It’s not social media. The base level [for successful campaigns] is really a passionate advocate. Social media just helps them.”

Willingness to ask their personal friends to get involved and not just their ‘publics.’

For its blogger and social media challenges, Anna Doherty at DonorsChoose.org said they have learned that this is critical for social fundraising success. She said the celebrity champion should be willing to go beyond their public contact. “Once we know that person is willing [to contact friends and family] then we know it is going to be successful,” she said.

Identify avid users of social media, both by the celebrity and their social networks.

TwitChange’s King said they now look for celebrities who are better engaged with their fan based, specifically citing Zack Levi as a model. “His followers are part of a community,” King said. “He engages with them a lot. They feel personally connected.”

Another example is Colbert, who had twice promoted social fundraising campaigns for DonorsChoose.org, raising $190,000 and $167,000 respectively. His collaboration with the Reddit community was much more successful. By adding his star-power to the already engaged social network on Reddit, the Restore Truthiness campaign raised more than double his first two efforts, netting $610,000 from 11,000 donors. Finding this kind of nexus of celebrity combined with a passionate online community can be huge benefit for nonprofits.

Operation Smile’s Kastrounis said they sought out singer Charice because of her engagement with fans. “She’s young and social media savvy, and she had just joined our cause as a Smile Ambassador so we figured she would be great face for the campaign and mobilize her fans to support us in this campaign,” Kastrounis said.

Welcome the non-traditional celebrity.

TwitChange’s King notes that they kept being surprised by which celebrities had the most response in their auctions. “Having followers is not the same as a fully devoted fan,” King said. “We have learned that.” Additionally, blogger Ali Edward’s and cancer patient Paddy O’Brien’s success on Six Degrees and photography Jeremy Cowart’s on TwitChange have shown that lesser-known and even “unknown celebrities” can be extremely effective fundraisers.

You can download the Effectiveness of Celebrity Spokespeople in Social Fundraisers, in full from the Scribed site.

Special thanks to PayPal’s Clam Lorenz, Network for Good’sKatya Andresen, DonorsChoose.org’s Anna Doherty, Operation Smile’s Kristi Kastrounis, and TwitChange’s Shaun King, all of whom provided the outstanding content and insights that made this paper possible.

Other coverage of the paper:

• Celebrities May be Overrated, Chronicle of Philanthropy
• Paypal Research Shows Strength of Community Trumps Popularity, Geoff Livingston
• Think that Celebrities are a Home Run for Fundraising? New PayPal Study Says Community Works Better, Kami Huyse

Image by Sean MacEntee

by Danny Brown and Geoff Livingston

Much has been said about marketing on Google+. Both of us have been intentionally conservative about marketing on the new network due to a statement from Google+ specifically asking businesses and brands to wait until it formalized its business offering. This offering is rumored to include an open API for applications and data usage. Yesterday, a confirmed report from KCET-TV in LA surfaced that Google+ community managers are enforcing the brand “no fly zone.”

To date, ABC News Radio, LAUNCH and Boing Boing have all been removed, or have voluntarily taken down their Google+ profiles. In the face of complaints about brands being unceremoniously dispatched, community managers have indicated that Google+ will focus on optimizing interaction between people first.

Image from KCET-TV

Both Bonsai Interactive and Zoetica represent real brands, corporate and nonprofit. We are posting this advisory to provide clear guidance for our clients and network on how to approach Google+ during this interim phase:

1) Do not invest in formal brand marketing on Google+. As we have seen, Google+ is now policing its network and you risk losing your entire time investment. Further, until the business offering is created by Google, no one really knows how corporations and nonprofits can successfully navigate this new social network. In essence, until Google+ for business is released efforts are likely to be all for naught.

2) Do experiment on Google+ and learn how the network works using your personal profile. It’s too soon to formally say that Google+ will be a significant consumer network, but with reports of 18 million followers and growing, momentum indicates the network is succeeding. Further, as demonstrated by its policing of the network, Google is clearly focused on community first. Becoming knowledgable through participation on Google+ is prudent at this point.

3) Be wary of marketing services firms and individuals who are seeking paid fees for Google+ marketing insights. Again, per the first point, no one really knows how to market on Google+. Investing financially in Google+ is not a good use of resources until finite offerings are available. Ethically speaking we would not charge our clients for advice and strategies in the face of such uncertainty.

Google+ is starting field trials with brands in the immediate future. As Google works through the kinks and formalizes its offering, it is a great time to become comfortable with the social network.

Many of our fellow bloggers are openly sharing their insights and learning together in a fashion we have not seen in years. Enjoy this time, friends. This kind of new social network launch is unprecedented.

Editor’s Note: Just before publishing this post, NBC voluntarily pulled down its Google+ profile.

We at Zoetica never tire of promoting the need for quality content and, by extension, great resources for creating it and good writing. In that vein, we are giving away five copies of Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman’s Content Rules. Winners will be the best responses to the question (graciously supplied by Ann): Can you have a social media strategy without a content strategy?

Selections will be made by a completely subjective judge from within our ranks choosing from all entries submitted by 9 a.m. EDT, Friday, July 15, 2011. If your entry isn’t chosen, you can still win by purchasing the book and following the advice therein.

Here’s what Geoff, Kami, and Julie have to say about content, social media, and their related strategies. Let us know what you think.

Aspiration Awards Winners...and the Next Gen of Tech Women

What if you knew there was a young girl who had the potential to cure cancer? What if you knew there was a teenage girl who had the potential to engineer affordable, realistic robotic body parts for amputees? What if you knew there was a young woman who had the potential to design sci-fi worthy tools that could repair broken bones and broken hearts, if she got the education, training, support and opportunities she needed?

What if you knew that these were real girls, with real aspirations, and there was something you could do to help them realize their dreams?

These girls are real and are a few of the 2011 winners of the National Center for Women & Information Technology’s (NCWIT) Award for Aspirations in Computing.

And…there is something you can do to help them realize their dreams!

With the help of people across the social web and corporate sponsors, NextGen Tech Women plans to raise $25,000 between now and May 5, 2011 to support the next generation of women technologists. Our effort will be hosted on Crowdrise, the fun way to do good, raise money, and change the world. You can also join us on Facebook and Twitter. The money will go directly to the Aspirations Award fund.

NextGen Tech Women is an effort organized by Danny Brown, a top 50 marketing blogger and co-founder of Bonsai Interactive Marketing; Geoff Livingston, a top cause marketing and non profit blogger and co-founder of Zoetica Media; Kami Watson Huyse, a popular social media and public relations blogger and co-founder of Zoetica Media; Allyson Kapin, founder of Women Who Tech and partner in RAD Campaign; and Julie Pippert, a well-respected parenting and political blogger and account director of Zoetica Media.

The Aspirations Award works to encourage women’s continued interest in computing, attract the attention and support of educational and corporate institutions, and emphasize the importance of women’s participation in computing and IT.

It has succeeded in attracting attention and support from education institutions. All of the following schools offer scholarships to recipients of the NCWIT award for aspirations in computing:

• University of California Berkeley
• University of California Santa Cruz
• University of Colorado at Boulder
• Colorado School of mines
• Harrison College
• University of Houston downtown
• Indiana University Bloomington
• IUPUI: Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
• University of Massachusetts Amherst
• University of Massachusetts Boston
• University of Massachusetts Lowell
• Notre dame
• Purdue University
• Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
• Rutgers University
• University of Texas at Austin
• Virginia Tech

Awardees are selected for their demonstrated outstanding aptitude and interest in information technology/computing; solid leadership ability; good academic history; and plans for post-secondary education. In its fifth year now, the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing has grown to a combined national and affiliate program. The 35 young women chosen as national winners of the 2011 NCWIT award for aspirations in computing were selected from among more than 2,800 students, representing all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and overseas military bases.

It’s time to do more than talk about supporting girls and women in tech. Come donate now at our Crowdrise page and help the next generation of innovative young women fulfill their dreams to bring their leadership, drive, creativity, intelligence and skills into the workplace.

It can only benefit us all.

For more information:

All About the National Center for Women & Information Technology’s (NCWIT)

• NCWIT
• About the work they do
• NCWIT awards and winners
• Facts, stats, details and need to know information about girls in tech

Zoetica (http://zoeticamedia.com), a leading online communications consultancy, is looking for a senior writer to assist with communications strategy and research documents. Our writer must be able to research and process complex information about online media, and then communicate it in clear, easy to understand documents. These documents range from simple client recommendations to formal research reports. In addition to performing research and writing on behalf of Zoetica clients, our writer may be asked to write and perform online marketing communications on behalf of the company itself.

Candidate must possess:

· Seven years of professional communications experience, as a journalist, as an in-house communicator and/or as an agency professional

· Outstanding writing skills that translate across media types, from formal business reports to casual blog posts

· The ability to research extensively online and create documents that cite sources

· Social media experience, including blogging

· The ability to deliver projects efficiently and on deadline

· At least one prior communications agency or consulting firm experience

· The ability to interface directly with clients

· A bachelors degree

Helpful considerations

· Journalism experience

· Nonprofit marketplace experience

· Residence in the Washington, D.C., San Francisco Bay Area or Houston areas

This is a full-time position. If you are interested in applying for this position, send us your resume, public social media profiles and two relevant writing samples to Kami Huyse at kami [at] zoeticamedia com no later than Friday April 22, 2011.

Photo Credit: By koalazymonkey

Please join Zoetica in celebrating the release of two books, Katie Delahaye Paine‘s Measure What Matters and Olivier Blanchard‘s Social Media ROI. Zoetica is giving away five free copies of each book today to the first 10 people who answer the question, “Why will ROI never die?” If you want to win a copy, please leave your answer in the comments section (responses that do not address the question seriously will not win). Congratulations, Katie and Olivier!

Last year, Zoetica has its official launch at SxSW Interactive with Zoetica’s Charity Challenge. It was the anti-SxSW in that we were looking for what we could give back rather than what we could get.

This year we are back again with a variety of events and panels in which we are participating. We hope to see you all at one or more of these.

FRIDAY March 11, 2011

Social Media Friends Nonprofit Meetup

Driskill Hotel Bar

Time: 6-9pm

http://plancast.com/p/3vv9

Our accounts director, Julie Pippert, has put together a Social Media Friends Nonprofit Meetup on Friday night. This gathering will include lots of fun and sharing, so plan to be there. Everyone will pay their own tab as this is less an event and more a gathering of friends. Would love to see you there.

SUNDAY March 13, 2011 

Nonprofits and Free Agents in a Networked World

Austin Convention Center, Room 6AB

Time: 3:30pm

http://schedule.sxsw.com/events/event_IAP5847

Zoetica partner Beth Kanter, will lead panel Nonprofits and Free Agents in a Networked World, which takes a key them from her book about how nonprofits can work with free agents to expand their reach. Here are the free agents and nonprofits that will participate on the panel:

• Danielle Brigida, Digital Marketing Manager, National Wildlife Federation, @starfocus
• Jessica Dheere, Founder/Director of the Social Media Exchange Beruit, Lebanon, @SMEXbeirut  and @jessdheere
• Mark Horvath, InvisiblePeople.tv and We Are Visible, @hardlynormal

Chevrolet Presents AllHAt III @SxSW

Guero’s, 1412 South Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78704

Time: 12:30-3:00pm

Zoetican Geoff Livingston is helping co-hosts David Armano and Richard Binhammer to produce this classic event, along with Mark Drosos. You can get on a waiting list to come here at Eventbrite.

MONDAY March 13, 2011 

Method Tweeting For Non Profits (and Other Players)

Austin Convention Center, Room 9ABC

Time: 9:30am

http://schedule.sxsw.com/events/event_IAP5947

One of our partners, Geoff Livingston, will sit on a panel about “Method Tweeting for Non Profits (and Other Players)” where they will discuss brand, messaging and creating a compelling voice on Twitter. Geoff will be presenting with:

• Carie Lewis, Director of Emerging Media at The Humane Society of the United States @cariegrls
• Dan Michel, Digital Marketing Manager for Feeding America, @dpmichel or @FeedingAmerica
• Eve SimonCreative, Director Beaconfire Consulting @naieve or @thebeaconsxsw.
• Jennifer Windrum, Founder of WTF? (Where’s the Funding) for Lung Cancer, @jenniferwindrum and @wtflungcancer

You can follow us on Plancast or Twitter to catch up with us there. Hope to see you soon!

• Beth Kanter, Plancast | @kanter
• Geoff Livingston, Plancast | @geoffliving
• Kami Huyse, Plancast | @kamichat
• Julie Pippert, Plancast | @jpippert

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