Girls Inc.: A Non-Profit in a Web 2.0 World

In a previous Blog Post, you will see my personal interest in Girls Inc. of Worcester.  I love their mission, “inspiring girls to be strong, smart, and bold.” Through my time working in the Marketing Department I learned first-hand that September 2012 to May 2013 was expected to be a time of marketing transition for Girls Inc. National and all Girls Inc. affiliates; more specifically a new marketing plan is being developed, and within that a new social media plan. Girls Inc. understands that at a National Organization they need to learn how to utilize all different forms of social media, and are making a blatant effort, however it’s necessary to see if their new attempts are making a difference.

Trends

Google Trends: February 19, 2013

First, it is necessary to see what the social media history of Girls Inc. is. Notice how in October, 2005, Girls Inc. of Worcester achieved its peak research volume. If six and a half years was the peak research volume at 100, only a few months ago was the smallest research volume at only 7.

Girls Inc., in 2012 began to notice the decrease in online traffic, but understands the potential that they have as an all-girls non-profit, and need to increase traffic through Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc. I believe we have seen some success because today, February 2013, only a few months since December, Girls Inc. research volume has consistently increased from 7, to 8, to 10! What are they doing successfully to gain this increase, and what do they NEED to do?

Interestingly, throughout this graph, the highest points are March/April, and towards the end of the summer. At Girls Inc. there tends to be an Annual Event in Spring, i.e. March/April, and many host summer camps that end in August/September. This means that people are talking about Girls Inc. when they are hosting events and getting involved, not just posting and tweeting.
 

Social Networking           

Let’s start with Facebook because it is a form of social media that we are all so familiar with. Girls Inc. of Worcester’s Facebook page is relatively active, and new friends like the page, daily. From February 19 to February 25 they went from 14,236 likes to 17,292! The increase in 3,056 likes in just 6 days proves how interactive the Internet is, and how quickly people move!

Engaging posts ask friends about feminist opinions and keep people updated on successes. Notably, the Facebook site seems to facilitate adults more than student members of the organization; however successes of the students are highlighted.

Way to understand their audience! However, non-engaging for the girls. 

So, this is the demographic they are trying to reach through social media, while they are trying to reach the girls through word-of-mouth.  While girls will talk about their experiences after school, at school, parents, teachers, and affiliates are going to talk about it online!

The Active Girls Inc. Facebook Page

Also, it’s interesting to see how now Girls Inc. is involving “Causes,” a link for non-profits to add to their Facebook page that ‘builds awareness, fundraises, and advocates for change.’ This is a new development, and something that a lot of non-profits are picking up on, so it’s great to see Girls Inc. staying current. Interestingly, Girls Inc. does not seem to be posting much on the weekend, which is a really important time!

Webstarts highlights when to post on Facebook and Twitter

Webstarts suggests 3 ‘best times’ to post on Facebook. Specifically they labels 5pm on any weekend day and noon on Saturday. He also mentions that it’s best to only post of Facebook every other day, while it’s best to tweet 1 to 4 times a day.
 
Let’s now segue into Girls Inc.’s use of Twitter, now that we know they are using Facebook, and gaining friends, but not necessarily posting WHEN they should, just AS MUCH as they should.

To be honest, I was impressed when I saw Girls Inc.’s Twitter Feed. Girls Inc. @Girls_Inc, developed Twitter Account, Girls Inc. itself gives out congratulations and thanks to the organizations that support them, 2,728 tweets, 485 following, 20,503 followers. Girls Inc. recognizes that Twitter is a way to network and post, while Facebook is a page to post and brand.

As mentioned above, it is suggested that companies Tweet regularly to stay active. It appears that @Girls_Inc posts around every 4 hours, and posts come from President and CEO Judy Vredenburgh. The organization makes transparent who is tweeting, not just what they are tweeting, a SMART MOVE!

Notice how right before the Oscars started last night (2/24/13), around 7:00pm, Girls Inc. tweeted, and linked the mega movie event with something of interest to @Girls_Inc followers:
 

• Girls Inc. @Girls_Inc: Watching the #Oscars? @GirlsIncAlameda Exec Dir Karen on +/- of women's roles in films & need 4 media literacy bit.ly/Xs54xt
• Girls Inc. @Girls_Inc: Role model for women & sports RT @espnW Celevrate Black Hist Mo. Stephanie Ready, 1st female coach of men's pro team bit.ly/FirstCoachPro

….how interesting how this links to my post about Media Literacy at Girls Inc. of Worcester. Also notice how Girls Inc. stays current with the media, and Tweets inspirational, gracious comments. The conversation and dialogue surrounding Girls Inc. is positive and encouraging.

I find it interesting that Girls Inc. does not focus on photo-sharing, and perhaps this is one of the reasons Addictomatic and SocialMention are not as strong.  Even though they have a Flickr photostream, they do not highlight it on the website. With all the photos that get taken at the affiliates, I think that it would be a critically smart move to include these photo-sharing sites, because what’s better to tell a story than a picture.

Facebook includes photos, and Girls Inc. branches have endless amounts of photos, however without a recognized National Flickr account, etc. it makes it difficult for the branches to utilize the photos in sites other than Facebook. I mean…look at how interesting these photos look on the background of the Twitter page, and that’s only the TIP of the iceberg.

 

SocialMention and Addictomatic

Screen Shot Captured 2/13/13

When initially looking at SocialMention it’s impressive to see 6 minutes avg. per mention. This was viewed at around 10:00 pm, which says something about the times that people are tweeting, etc. about Girls Inc. Its 4:1 sentiment demonstrates a 121 positive feedback.

Something interesting, when noted throughout this research, is that because ‘Girls Inc.’ is the brand, often times other girl related companies pop up- You can see above a mention about ‘baby caps,’ and no videos are related to Girls Inc. itself.
 

The very next day, (2/14/13) at 2:00 pm you can see this video that exemplifies this sentiment. This you video is completely unrelated to Girls Inc., but comes up on the feed. Note how the sentiment has dropped to 2:1 and 5 days per average mention, and strength of only 0%.

While sometimes Girls Inc. is something to talk about, it seems that it’s not something to talk about all the time. People forget about it, and that needs to change considering the new initiative. It’s important to note that by the 19^th, only 5 days, the videos all represented Girls Inc. and a YouTube presence is notable.

 

This is the exact video that was on SocialMention on February 19th, just 6 days after all of the YouTube videos that were unrelated to Girls Inc. Great news for Girls Inc!

 

On Addictomatic, it seems that YouTube videos are always well represented. The YouTube videos sit right next to its Flickr images, however the website does not even DIRECT you to these Flickr images. While sometimes things can be posted on the Internet without the know-how of the organization itself, it is important, and shows that Girls Inc. needs to be more aware.

Addictomatic even shows that people are talking about Girls Inc. in blogs! People support the @Girls_Inc mission!

 

Screen Shot Captured 2/14/13

While this is a religious blog, it only says positive things about the organization, i.e. positive sentiment. This just proves that the Web 2.0 world allows everyone and anyone to learn about and comment on your brand. While Girls Inc. is not at all religiously affiliated, someone with interest can say anything good, anything bad, or nothing at all.

Kiva: Money for the Masses through Media

Have you heard of Kiva?

I had not heard about Kiva until 2009, but was so impressed with what I saw.  A professor in a social entrepreneurship class told about this non-profit, with a mission "to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty." To me micro-lending was a revolutionary idea. It was so cool to think that people all over the world could lend just $25 to help someone towards a goal, and then get paid back, when the person has the funds.

 

This video demonstrates how Pedro can get a full loan, and repay a loan. You as a customer, can then choose to give that money to someone else on Kiva, or choose to withdraw that money from your Kiva account.

 

The Easy to Understand 4 Part Loan Process

When you watch the video, you can see how Kiva works as a social network in itself, connecting people in 67 different countries needing micro loans to the Web 2.0 world. There are 894,356 Kiva Lenders, $406,673,200 in Loans, 185 Field Partners, 450 volunteers around the world, and an amazing 98.99% repayment rate. staggering numbers like this make you understand why so many people invest money in Kiva.

 

Kiva gives you the ability to track where your money is going, and track how well the person is doing that you're loaning you. By providing you with pictures, you can SEE where your money goes.

 

The mosaic of faces on the home page tells stories of people like Francess, or Beatrice who need money to support their families. Icons for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, RSS, and LinkedIn are forefront and center on the web page, and are all active. With 182 thousand likes the Facebook page could definitely be more interactive, however it seems the Kiva puts an emphasis on Twitter. (This seems to be a trend developing for non-profits....)

 

Kiva tweets every few hours, and messages seem to be really encouraging. The tweets show a lot of gratitude for what people have done, and people are interested in updating others about reinvesting in their Kiva account. They have 496,024 followers and 5,182 tweets- a great effort to engage in the groundswell!

• Follow @Kiva coolest social enterprise ever! #givingback #socialbusiness #microfinance
• With $300 she made at a garage sale for Kiva over 4 years ago @thisiscarrie has now made 71 loans! #socialgood
• I've just reinvested in my @Kiva loan. If I can do it, you can do it! :D
 





...Our Evolution to Twitter

It is noticeable that there is no link to a photo sharing site on the Kiva website. Pinterest, and other photo sharing sites are gaining support in the Web 2.0 world, however Kiva has not jumped on this band wagon. These photo sharing sites would be perfect for Kiva, because so much of their work can be photographed through the partners, located in the 67 different countries.

 It is so interesting to me to look at Kiva from this analytic lens because it puts a whole new perspective on this website. While Kiva in itself is a form of social networking, the Kiva organization knows they must utilize social media to facilitate the most money in loans! When I first heard about Kiva I thought about it from the social entrepreneurship perspective, but now that I look at it from a Social Media perspective; it is truly such an inspirational concept!

 

 

Empowering, Energizing & 'E'mazing

As has been the trend, Li and Bernoff have again managed to consume and inform me with Groundswell. There are so many different points that the authors bring to the surface that truly separate them apart from other texts on Social Media- by labeling 'listening, talking with, energizing, and embracing,' Li and Bernoff transform such a complicated medium into something understandable. For the purposes of this post, we are going to limit our conversation to A.) the importance of the groundswell base, B.) the side of groundswell that is not just for profit, and C.) Twitter!

The concepts of listening to the groundswell, talking with the groundswell, energizing the groundswell, and embracing the groundswell create a base of people from which companies can learn things. Once this base is established, it is manageable to talk with these people and encourage a participatory culture (Henry Jenkins) (pg. 164), which means the consumers CONSUME and CREATE. The 'base' creators/consumers create this conversation and dialogue (pg. 167).

 

Above is a Ted Talk with Henry Jenkins. I don’t know one person that does not like Ted Talks, so it’s a good watch if you’re interested. He says, “The Web has pushed a hidden layer of culture activity into the foreground” (pg. 164). Acknowledging this culture and embracing it is so important!

If you have this base of energized customers, then eventually you can create a Wiki (pg. 168). It is necessary to have people AND content. Without these, it is not the proper situation or not the right time for a Wiki.

When reading this I could not help but think of a project I have been working on. With a small group I am revising/creating a Social Media Marketing plan for this non-profit. Unfortunately, what they have in existence has not created this base that’s necessary, and because of that, even though a Wiki would be PERFECT, I cannot suggest this option in our plan until a solid base has been formed. Therefore, I can only recommend this as a future recommendation. Or do you think otherwise...?

A second point that I found particularly important was Li’s and Bernoff’s reflection on TJ and Michelle’s battle with having their twins. It is incredible how supportive CarePages was for these two, and finally after 75 entries, on June 7, 2007, they brought the twins home (pg. 157).
 

TJ, Michelle, AND their community were devoted to this forum, and it gave all a resource for support. This story was so compelling because it was a transition from the ‘profit’ approach I generally take to how social media is beneficial. Although not lengthy, this part of the book was extremely thought provoking, and made me think of the vast and PERSONAL connection that social media can produce. It’s all about people knowing what’s on their finger-tips, and becoming those creators.

 

 

The last point I want to bring up is about the author’s explanation of Twitter. I have been waiting for this…

 

 

This is where I admit, formally, on this blog and forum, that I do not use Twitter. I have recognized how people really do it, and don’t think anything against them, but haven’t seen a use for me. Today this all changes.

This is me, Katrina Fryklund, finally signing up for Twitter!

After reading this chapter, however, made me realize that it’s okay if I do not like Twitter personally, but the fact is, it can be used for many objectives (pg. 201). I have recognized that Twitter can be used for professionals and businesses, but up until this point I have not thought that it was important for me to use it. By getting used to the format, it will only help me as I graduate school, and aim to become a professional.

 

 

Twitter is so important, because the Creators, on the Social Technographics Ladder, are the ones that use this devise. Even though only 7% of people on the Internet use Twitter, those are the people that you want to reach out to, and the people that will give you information that can only help a company improve. The Creators on Twitter are the ones that are going to tell you a zipper does not work, or that a lid is inconvenient to use. Hash tags allow for specific searches that can relate to your business directly, and mostly, Twitter enables that back and forth conversation.

 

As I end this blog post, thinking about this mom and her love of McDonald’s because of one simple “Wolverine” toy, I can’t help but think of Rose’s example in class regarding her friend and Milano cookies. Maybe if I get a Twitter, I can get a personal stash of Milano’s! Just kidding, but on a serious note- the professional potential of twitter, totally separate from that of private interests, are almost immeasurable.

 

Today in the News...

As my knowledge of social media grows, it is impossible but to think about everything that everyone has to say about it. People all over the Internet, are discussing the Pros of Twitter and the Cons of Facebook, and people are discussing the advantages  of living social and the disadvantages of GroupOn; etc. On the Internet, through blogs and news updates, people are dissecting which media is best for what purpose. One of the issues, it seems, is that everyone has a different thing to say.

In writing this blog post, however, I am just becoming one of the group, and discussing the pros and cons of Facebook as a social media tool. I am trying to attack this from a different perspective though, and analyze what others have to say about it, and then what my reflections are.

Googles overwhelming response...

After typing into Google, "The Pros and Cons of Facebook," I received 6,980,000 results in .22 seconds. This is remarkable, and demonstrates the multitude of the opinions that absorb the Internet regarding Facebook and it's uses.

In order to tackle this I decided to go through the entire first page of results supplied by Google. Google really dominates how Internet users can search the web, so I think it's the fairest way to approach this question.

Hub Pages suggests that Facebook’s best advantages are that it's free, and that it's "the best" medium for communication, while its main disadvantage is that it’s addicting. Clearly this approach is not from the business perspective, but rather the personal.

Facebook itself notes that its fast communication is the best advantage, while its lack of security, or “theft of personal information,” is the biggest disadvantage.

Lorna H. Findlay of Ezine Articles notes that Facebook’s best advantage is its enabling you to find people, while its disadvantage is its overcrowding. Interestingly, BizCentral notes the SAME EXACT qualities- is this a coincidence? I don’t think so.

ShoutMeLoud suggests that Facebook’s best advantage for Business is its enabling businesses to make more profit through networking and marketing, and that its disadvantage is its lack of security.

Lifestyle Lounge lists the largest advantage is that Facebook’s interface is easy to use and orderly, while its first disadvantage is that its interface is boring compared to other social media sites.

After all this is said and done- I think that it’s fair to say that the advantages of Facebook, from a personal perspective, are that you can connect with people that you have never dreamt of before. Facebook enables grandparents and connect with grandchildren, and parents to meet class mates from high school they had ALMOST forgotten about. Its greatest disadvantage, from the personal perspective, is that is can be overwhelming and extremely time consuming.

From the business perspective, I think that it is fair to conclude, based on Groundswell by Li and Bernoff AND these blogs/news articles, that Facebook can be used extremely advantageously to make online communities. By interacting with a company’s audience, rather than just regular updates, a company can build their brand and in-turn increase business revenue. New and aged businesses alike can grow from successful use of Facebook.Contrastingly, if companies do not engage appropriately, than Facebook can be a stagnant form of business growth that just proves to be a waste of time.

In summation of this post, I would like to leave the audience with this. Today in the news Ignite Social Media rates the top 50 Branded Facebook Pages from the beginning of January 2013 to the end. Regularly, Facebook, YouTube, and Coca-Cola make the top three. This past month, however, Blackberry moved up 26 spots, at a HUGE 86%, to #15. CartoonNetwork, at #28, grew 7%, and Amazon, at #29, grew 8%. This really shows how Blackberry ignited a community around its release of the Z10 phone.  The video below demonstrates this hype perfectly. Even though the people are confused in the video, it is funny and creates interest.
Ultimately, people are talking.

I ask in this post, what do you think the advantages and disadvantages of Facebook are? Do you think it’s fair to listen to what people are saying online, or should all people AND businesses make up their own rules, and find how Facebook best works for them?

A Breath of Fresh Air!

Before jumping into the ideas, themes, and overall concepts discussed by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff in Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Technologies, I want to start by saying how refreshing this book is. As I jumped into the readings our first week, I quickly realized that Li and Bernoff's goals were to ignite a fire under the reader while teaching about the strengths and weaknesses of social technologies. Many concepts and statements jumped out at me from the first 6 Chapters; the three described below are just a few that spoke to me, and seem to interlaced throughout.

First, Li and Bernoff emphasize the importance of "thriving in the groundswell" (pg. 13). Rather than running away from the shift in technologies, (considered the biggest shift since the industrial revolution), it is  important to embrace it. Social networks create an ongoing community and enables connections, between the consumers AND the producers. As the authors suggest in chapter 5 and 6, by listening and talking to groundswell you can tap into these communities (pg. 87).

The above Hierarchy, borrowed from Nigel Fenwick's Forrester Blog, explains how to thrive in these groundswell communities.

Second, Li and Bernoff describe the Social Technographics Ladder and the Social Technographic Profile, which, I feel, is incredibly applicable across a variety of forms of social technologies, demographics, and geography's, etc. (pg. 43-59). The ladder takes qualitative aspects of social media, like whether online users just view, post, join, all or both, and almost quantify them, by creating categories ranging from 'Creators' to 'Inactives.' For example, 'Creators' at only 24%, publish on blogs, Facebook, Flickr, etc., whereas 'Joiners,' the majority, at 59%  will browse on Facebook or Twitter, but not post on blogs.

As a producer of a service or product, if interested in social technologies, by inserting your company/organization into a social technographics profile you can see whether joiners or creators  may be the active buyers, or participants in a given social network you have created. Consider the Alpha Mom scenario described on page 48, and below described by Bernoff himself.

 

The Social Technographics Profile was not just pertinent yesterday, and is not just pertinent today, but will remain pertinent throughout the duration of and increase in social technologies.

Finally, Li and Bernoff describe the necessity to ACT on the information groundswell can teach a company, whether it be a product or service (pg. 82). Don't just learn, you must act!

They explain from the forefront that "the groundswell has changed the balance of power" (pg. 13). This change in the balance of power has enabled organizations of all types to gain incredible insight on their products/services. Social Media, if used to its full advantage, can force companies to see their flaws. By simply imputing "[product/service name] sucks/awesome," as the authors suggest, social media managers can see what people are saying about the product. The authors follow by explaining techniques to achieve this insight, i.e. setting up your own private community and beginning brand monitoring (pg. 82).

An example, using the relatively controversial show,
Tosh.O on Comedy Central

This is such a powerful suggestion by the authors because, as suggested towards the beginning of this post, it ignites a fire under those interested in gaining insight from social technologies. It can be easy to ignore the negative feedback, however BOTH the negative AND positive feedback that social media community monitoring, etc. defines, can be unmatched. If you act on this achieved insight, it is the only way that social technologies can actually be effective.

What makes Li and Bernoff's Groundswell such a breath of fresh air is is the way that these authors attack social technologies head on. They understand how to use these technologies inside and out, and want to teach the public, even giving them tools to use on their website.

It's important to recognize that the research is still mounting on the success of social media and "online buzz" (pg. 92). But, in my opinion, and in the Li and Bernoff's opinions, by jumping in full force now and understanding its impact within your company, we don't need all the research to utilize these tools to their full advantages.