​Widgets: A column on technology and the Web

The use of social media for business and organizational purposes has exploded in recent years. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media have gone mainstream and are no longer the exclusive territory of computer geeks.

Presence in social media for organizations is now so commonplace that it is rare to hear of a business, school or nonprofit which does not have some sort of presence in at least one of these platforms. However, an ongoing challenge for staff charged with implementing social media programs for organizations is learning how to use these tools effectively on a day-to-day basis. Plenty of popular books I’ve read on these technologies deal with theory and societal implications, but they have left me asking, “OK, but how do I use these tools on the job?”

A new book, Social Media for Social Good: A How to Guide for Nonprofits, by social media consultant Heather Mansfield aims to teach readers just that and delivers a practical, how-to guide for the busy professional or volunteer on how to use these technologies in their work.

A sample of questions addressed by the book gives an idea of its scope.

• What is a Facebook page and how can a organization align this with their main website and other communication channels? Now that I’ve set up a Facebook page, what types of content do I put on it and how often should I post? Which organizations have the best Facebook pages and in what ways are they using them?
• What are hashtags and how do you use them in Twitter? How can you use lists in Twitter to organize your followers into different categories? What benefits are there to doing so? What are the most popular apps people use for Twitter and what do these apps do?
• How do you define and measure success in the use of social media? What tools are available out there to help one gauge effectiveness and impact?

Syncing social media

The book covers the major social media platforms (and more) in detail. Facebook, Twitter, blogging, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Flickr are all represented in their own chapters. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the book also included sections which dealt with traditional websites, e-newsletters, the mobile Web, the mobile websites vs. mobile apps debate, QR codes, text-messaging campaigns, smartphone apps and location-based services, such as Foursquare and Gowalla.

Mansfield breaks down the various options for organizations to participate in social media. Each chapter covers a particular technology and delves into best practices, useful tips, and suggestions on proven vendors that deal with particular technologies. She also explains how each technology can be used and for what purpose. Each chapter ends with an “Examples of Excellence” list and a “Google This” listing of keywords and search terms for further research and self-study.

Mansfield advocates an integrated strategy in the use of social media, keeping organizational objectives at the forefront. This is important as many experts who deal with social media often give me the impression of being enamored by the use of technology and tools for their own sake (the “geeking out” syndrome) or in theorizing about “what it all means.” Mansfield keeps things in perspective and takes the approach of educating readers whose main interests are how these tools can be used to attain specific, organizational goals and how they can be used to make the work of mission-driven organizations more effective.

Social Media for Social Good is filled with practical tips and advice which can be readily applied to one’s day-to-day work on the job. There is very little fluff and a lot of substance and experience between these pages. Staff in organizations other than nonprofits can also benefit from the book—for example, community colleges. Nearly every department at a community college can find a useful nugget here, from communications and media relations, to alumni relations and fundraising.

Much of the book’s content is inspired by Mansfield’s popular social media blog. It’s a good place to review to see if you would find information in the book useful, and it’s certainly worth bookmarking to stay abreast of the tips she offers.