Wired Causes

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My dream is to see more robust informal peer learning networks in the nonprofit sector. As a trainer,  I’m intensely interested in creating learning experiences that integrate or about how to use the technology for nonprofits that engage and inspire people to put the ideas into practice.    I’ve been obsessed with peer learning and self-directed learning [...]

AdAge had a very useful article last week that summarized new millennial research from ComScore, based on nearly 1,000 TV tests and 35 digital advertising tests.

The key finding? Millennials react to marketing differently.

Here were the takeaways:

1. Millennials don’t respond to TV ads as much as their elders. Younger people have always measured as less responsive to TV ads than older people, but the gap has grown with Millennials.

2. With digital, you don’t see that difference.  Millennials are about as responsive to digital ads as other generations.

3. Millennials respond to the same advertising approaches as prior generations. They care most about what makes a brand unique or better - and they react best to the product and brand shown clearly.  In other stories, they’ve also been shown to put a premium on trust.

4. Millennials are more engaged in all kinds of media than older folks. For example, millennials had engagement scores that were 22.2% higher than boomers with digital media.

5. Millennials may respond less to TV ads, but at least they remember them longer. This finding was amusing to me - as someone with a fading memory, I think that’s just the gift of the young—total recall!

So what does this mean to you?  If you’re seeking to engage younger supporters, the digital avenue is the best.  Make clear what makes your cause special.  Be authentic.  And don’t be so creative you forget the basics: clear, simple communication and a memorable messaging wins the day, whatever the generation.

Source: developers.facebook.com via Beth on Pinterest   Remember last September when Facebook announced all those changes to individual profiles, including the timeline?    One of the changes  was that your friends and fans can do more than “Like” or “Comment”  on Facebook. Three new actions were announced at the time, including:  Read, Watch, Listen to  help [...]

Dear Nonprofiteer: I recently joined the board of directors of a small nonprofit (4 staff, $200k budget). Within a month of my joining, our executive director announced she would be leaving as her partner has a new job in another state. In addition, while she won’t move for a couple of months, presumably giving the [...]

Edelman’s 2012 Trust Barometer is out, and the biggest finding is the increasing stock people put in the recommendations of their peers - who surpass nonprofit staff in terms of their trustworthiness as messengers.

In speaking about this finding, David Armano of Edelman notes, it is important that we “share the stage with ‘regular’ people who have a voice via a variety of social channels,” as well as to be “in tune with the topics and issues they care about and discuss. Last year I speculated that the decline in attention given toward people like ourselves—our friends and peers may have been related to social media fatigue. This year, it’s possible that many of us who make social networking part of our digital routines have gotten a bit better at filtering the signal from noise, thereby being both more generous but focused with our finite attention spans.”

From my perspective, this is just one more piece of data illustrating the importance of third-party endorsement in all of your outreach and engagement.  (More evidence is here.) You can’t be your own, only messenger.  You need respected authority figures, experts and definitely, everyday champions - who are more powerful than ever.

Take two minutes and look at your latest outreach piece or your website or your organization’s Facebook page.  Who is speaking for you?  Where are they on the trust barometer?  If it’s your CEO or ED, you may need additional voices.

(Hat tip to Caryn Stein here at Network for Good for the data!)

This is definitely not a chicken and egg question!   A debate in content marketing circles is whether or not you should simply focus on creating original content and forget content curation.   Let’s be clear as my fellow content curator, Jan Gordon, says:  There is no curation without original content. I might qualify this [...]

The folks over at YouTube just sent me a free e-guide on video.  It’s called Playbook Guide: YouTube for Good, and you can access it for free here.

The Guide walks you through how to create effective videos on a shoestring - and how to use YouTube for Good to engage your community.

If you’re looking for inspiration, here is one shoestring video I really like.  It connects, tells a great story and shows where the money goes.  That’s how it’s done - and done well.