YOLO? Make it count!

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Kara Wheat

Back when I was in high school I first heard the slang term “LOL” and at that time I had no idea of the path that confusing slang would pave. Since then I have seen a wide variety of sentence abbreviations that was inspired from a simple “LOL.” However, there is one that has recently stood out more than the others.

YOLO. Let me tell you a little about “YOLO.” This refers to the saying “you only live once.” I find that my peers, Millennials, tend to use this saying as an excuse or reason to make a risky decision that is often times regretful. To prove my point I’ll just search #YOLO on Twitter and find one of the first tweets that comes up.

“Gonna win the lotto and recklessly spend it ALL at the cosino #YOLO my mums face when I told her LOOOOL She obviously can’t take jokes.”

This is a perfect example of how my fellow Millennials use this phrase. Let me stop you right now before you either roll your eyes or LOL at that tweet because I want to share my thoughts with you regarding this new attitude.

If we only live once, why would we want to do something reckless? Why wouldn’t we want to do something great with our lives? If everyone only lives once then why not help someone’s life who isn’t going well? Let’s make the most of our lives by helping others rather than doing something potentially wreckless.

I am not saying that we should not use this saying. It is just that I have yet to see “YOLO” used in a positive way. According to an article by Matt Miller there were 80 million Millennials born between 1976 and 2001. 80 million Millennials! This means there are tons of us out there and we have the potential to transform used phrase and make it into something good and positive.

But how do you get Millennials started? I would recommend starting where “YOLO” started, the Internet. If you don’t have Twitter or a Facebook page yet get one. Many people feel like they are doing charity or volunteer work just by liking a page or following someone on Twitter. Take advantage of that. Once you have those followers post, post, and post! Tell them about your big event coming up or maybe a story involving a family in need. You need to keep their interest and attention and that means keeping up with the latest social media trends. For example, give them a place to check-in at so they can post pictures and upload it all to their Facebook to share it with their friends. Then their friends will get curious about what it is they are doing and thus the butterfly effect.

Here are some examples of how Millennials are taking action around the world.

http://www.volunteermatch.org/volunteers/stories/spotlight.jsp?id=55

http://www.fastcompany.com/1686624/meet-five-amazing-millennials-who-have-already-changed-world

Take the first step in starting a chain reaction of new volunteers. 21% of Millennials have already started the volunteering movement which means there is still potential for 79% (VolunteeringsInAmercia.gov) to get involved. Why not start today…YOLO.

Showing Your Nonprofit Personality Through Social Media

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Kara Wheat

Back when I was in school Facebook was known for its capability to successfully delay homework and to help pass the time. I would see students on it in class, lectures, and even their breaks. Sometimes they would even be as sneaky as to check it through their phones because they just couldn’t wait one more moment to see what ‘Johnny’ has written on their wall. The same thing applied to me, unfortunately. I thought that Facebook could only be used for catty gossip and meaningless ‘likes’ of statuses. However, as I entered the professional world my eyes were opened to the potential this social media tool actually had.

On my first day at Achieve a coworker asked me if I had twitter and I replied “no.” I had never felt compelled to share my nonsensical thoughts and wasn’t sure why the rest of the world would care. I was then recommended to create myself one because I would be using it for work. So I did.

As time passed I started to develop an understanding of the purpose of social media in the workplace and how best utilize it. I could see how politicians and celebrities had used social media to tell the world their thoughts, opinions, and just random information. If celebrities can use social media to educate their followers why can’t our business?

In early August I attended Blog Indiana, a social media and blogging conference. I was then addressed with the same train of thought as I attended the first session about how visual content and social media can work together. The speaker, Allison Carter, discussed how to tell your story through an image because images get higher traffic than just links. She made a good point that Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook are all incredibly popular due to the fact that images are constantly being posted. According to a PsychologyDegree.net infograph about 250 million photos are updates daily on Facebook alone. That is a lot of images!

As you can see in these two Oreo advertisements they both have the same exact objects in each image. The only thing different is the placement. Even though these two images have almost no text they still tell two completely different stories. The bottom makes me think of eating Oreos for breakfast while the top makes me dream of snacking on milk and Oreos on some exotic island. What does it make you think of?

She went on to discuss how businesses should not be afraid to show who they really are. She explained that you don’t have to just post things about what your business is doing but maybe some interesting links of some fun photos from around the office. I was very excited to hear her discuss this issue because just the week before I had started working on the Achieve Facebook page because I thought it was missing a touch of personality. I posted pictures from a company party and of our leaving interns just to let our clients and followers know that we are fun people and we are fun to work with. The point was to add a bit of a human atmosphere because it seemed very sterile and a bit serious prior to that. So, naturally I was excited when Allison discussed this.

Later that day I attended another session by Ryan Brock. He talked on a similar topic about how companies are afraid to look wrong in front of their followers so they filter themselves down way too much. He gave the great example of Kanye West and how he never filters himself. Even though many people don’t like him they know what he stands for and what he thinks. He has no filter! He shows his true colors and does not hide his emotions. I am not saying that you should tweet about that awkward dream you had last night or post a picture of you in your newest pair of jeans you got on sale at Kohl’s. But just don’t be afraid to show some personality in your posts and images.

As a nonprofit, you can take these lessons and show your donors and volunteers a more personable side of your organization. This way they can connect and relate with you through your pictures and status updates. Take advantage of this social media opportunity to appeal to your supporters in a different ways. You might find that once you become more personable, they will be more likely to show further support and share what you are posting with friends.

How Nonprofits Can Make Google+ Great

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Hannah Staton

By Hannah Staton, Public Relations and Social Media Associate

It didn’t take long after Google+ launched for articles to spring up all over the Internet asking “But what does it mean for marketers?” and “How can brands use Google+?” Well, listen up, self-proclaimed social media gurus: You’re missing the point.

As someone who does social media as their job, I understand the questions. Social media has become, for many organizations, a deserved and important part of their marketing and public relations strategies. But if we look at Google+ head on and ask “How can we use this for our purposes?” we will miss this point entirely, and with it, much opportunity. Google+ is not about marketing and brands. If we’re lucky, it never will be.

The most raved about aspect of Google+ is how connections are structured. You place your contacts in “circles,” which can be friends, family, coworkers, acquaintances, etc., mirroring the way we, as human beings, cluster our “real life” relationships. This gives you fine-tuned control over the information you share and allows you to “segment” who sees this information based on audience (Marketing ears just perked up, I know.)

Google, much to the frustration of the aforementioned social media guru, has made sure brands cannot set up their own Google+ accounts. Why would they do this? Simple: Because Google+ is intended to be a social network, not a marketing network. It’s an obvious—but crucial—difference, and one that I think opens up tremendous opportunities for nonprofits.

Now, imagine if someday, when Google+ has gone completely gangbusters, that you make a circle for your major donors. You also make a circle for your volunteers, a circle for your mid-level donors, for your board members, even a circle for your first-time givers.

And when I say “you,” I mean: YOU. I do not mean your wonderful organization, as a brand and an entity. I mean YOU, an individual leader as a representative for your organization. You have these circles, not your organization, and it is you sharing the information and connecting. We’re already seeing this happening, as brands and organizations are circumventing the “no brand” policy by encouraging audiences to follow individual employees on Google+ (Check out Slate.com or Time Magazine as an example.)

Think about how exciting this actually is. Instead of—let’s be honest, forcing a social network to serve the purposes of branding and marketing—we can actually have real, social connections serve that purpose. When your communities have direct access to your thoughts and communication, why do they need canned Facebook statuses or passive tweets that may or may not reach them? We’re not marketing more, we actually ARE connecting—the true purpose of “social” media.

The implications of this could be huge, as our Millennial Donor Research has shown. The next generation of donors and nonprofit leadership want direct access to current leadership within organizations before giving support. Google+ can give it to them—and your nonprofit could see the results.

By Hannah Staton, Public Relations and Social Media Associate