Earlier this year, we took a look at the US Air Force's social media policy. I still think that not only is a social media policy for employees increasingly becoming a legal necessity for your nonprofit, but it might also be the most important thing you can do for your marketing and PR.

Here's another one to check out. Timo Luege has just finished putting together a social media policy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and he's posted the policy on his blog (via). Of course, the IFRC is a huge conglomeration of individual Red Cross and Red Crescent chapters around the world, spanning a multitude of social and political mores. How do you craft a policy that's applicable to every IFRC employee (or, for that matter, not downright objectionable)? "I realize that the parts about 'neutrality' and 'keeping your manager in the loop' might sound very restrictive to some people," Timo writes, "especially those from democratic countries." He goes on to explain that the IFRC code of conduct is actually more restrictive than the social media policy. Rather than squelching employees' freedom of expression, the policy actually empowers them to communicate thoughtfully on behalf of their employers. That empowerment means setting clear boundaries. From the policy:

The IFRC believes that sharing of information and experiences benefits the whole humanitarian community and ultimately the beneficiaries we serve. Feel free to share and discuss your experiences in e.g. vaccination campaigns, field communication, building of transitional shelters etc. If IFRC staff is perceived to be knowledgeable and helpful this will reflect positively on you and on the organization.

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Here's an idea from our friend Laura at Idealware: what if you measured any communications method by whether it would have more or less impact than spending the same amount of time calling donors on the phone?

…You could spend that time simply calling donors and constituents at random, to thank them, or to ask them a quick set of questions (how did they like the services they used? what do you do well? not so well?). If you've never done this, it can be pretty magical. Often people are amazed that you've called, happy to talk, and have useful insights. It gives you a great sense as to who your constituents actually are and what they care about. And not coincidentally, my experience is that it fosters great new connections. People want to volunteer, wanted to ask you something, and, not coincidentally, donate at considerably higher rates after. Nothing starts a conversation like, well, an actual conversation.

I love the way Laura articulates this. When we adopt social media strategies, we often tell ourselves that it's not just about donations, it's about starting a conversation. There are plenty good reasons why it's important to keep conversations going with supporters, but are Twitter and Facebook always the best way? If your goal is to have a conversation, then why not pick up the phone and have one?

This is not to say that there's no place for social media; rather, I think that the phone test can actually help you articulate the purpose of any communications tactic, be it a fundraising letter, a donor event, a print ad, or a Facebook page. If you can clearly identify who the target audience is for a particular effort and what action you want that audience to take, you can put together the right campaign for achieving that goal. It might be a letter, an email blast, or a social media campaign, and it might be a phone call.

Whether you're a regular TechSoup user or haven't heard of us til now, we've got a free webinar coming up that will likely show you something new about how you can get more out of the variety of (free) services we offer to nonprofits and libraries.

Learn How TechSoup Can Help Your Organization

Join TechSoup.org content creators, community leaders, and customer service support on November 12 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon Pacific for a tour of how your organization can use all that TechSoup has to offer to improve your technology and help reach your mission. TechSoup, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is working toward a time when every nonprofit and social benefit organization will have the technology resources and knowledge they need to operate at their full potential.

We'll walk you through the process of registering and requesting donated and discounted products from more than 35 donor partners like Microsoft and Adobe. We'll also take you on a virtual tour of other resources in TechSoup's tech arsenal including;

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The latest round of the America's Giving Challenge is on. This is a national competition to encourage people to use their personal and social networks to help win cash for their favorite nonprofit. The Giving Challenge is not focused on how much money you can raise, but on how successful you are at getting people to donate to your cause. The goal is to get as many unique daily donations as possible (minimum of $10), to your cause each day. The contest runs through November 6, 2009.

Since Windows 7 launched last week, there has been a flurry of activity from nonprofits and libraries looking to start using the new operating system. TechSoup has written a bunch of articles, blog posts, and forum threads to help people figure out whether to upgrade and how to do it. One thing we haven't really mentioned here yet, is the cool contest that Microsoft is hosting right now — specifically to benefit nonprofits and other social benefit organizations.

Organizations are encouraged to create a short video submission to tell the world how Windows 7 could help them change the world. For example, if you've got smoother running systems, maybe that leaves more time for you to do your real work of providing domestic violence counseling to women, children, and families in need. Or maybe upgrading the public computing lab you run for local lower-income community, will help people access job-hunt, language learning, and healthcare information easier. Whatever it is, tell your story. Here's more, direct from Microsoft:

Today on Beth Kanter's oft-fascinating blog, there's a discussion on social media and arts organizations. This is a topic that's near to my heart. Many galleries, theatres, opera companies, and orchestras are sporting slick new ad campaigns in an attempt to attract younger audiences. The results are sometimes a little embarrassing, as they seem to assume that twenty-somethings don't know anything about the arts or even particularly like them. The problem isn't that young people don't like ballet; it's that we can't afford it.

Of course, social media is a huge part of attracting a new audience, but Beth suggests that it's best thought of as a long-term investment. Beth asked the San Francisco symphony via Twitter if they see social media campaigns directly impacting ticket sales. Not really, they said, but it does foster long-term relationships and education. They use Twitter to reach people who appreciate the symphony but might not attend regularly. I think this is a much more mature and intelligent approach to garnering new audiences than "Look kids! We're cool!"–style ad campaigns.

One wonderfully effective social media campaign is Anaheim Ballet's YouTube channel, which combines performance footage with clips from classes, rehearsals, and goofing off. You just need to look at the comments to see that these videos are reaching the young and uninitiated en masse. It's the third most popular nonprofit channel on YouTube (well ahead of many heavy hitters), and I think that's largely because of the amateurism of the videos. It doesn't look like a big-money ad campaign posing as a YouTube channel; it just looks like a really good YouTube channel.

Last night, we held our Digital Storytelling Challenge Awards Party here at TechSoup headquarters in San Francisco. We screened highlights from the more than 100 video, image, and GoldMail submissions and celebrated the great work nonprofits and libraries are doing to tell their unique and important stories. These stories help convey the work they do, advance their missions, and highlight the communities they're working within by giving a visual (and sometimes audio) story to help supporters connect with their mission and values.

If you missed the party, here's the full line up of our awardees:

• First Place: Kramden in 60 sec by the Kramden Institute awarded a Flip Video camera.
• Second Place: Dragonfly Forest by Dragonfly Forest awarded Adobe Audition software and a Flickr Pro account 
• Third Place: Tabor Kalaka 2009 by The Community Foundation of Odorheiu Secuiesc awarded Adobe Production software.
• Fourth Place: 30 Ways to Create Peace by Legacy International/Global Youth Village awarded a Goldmail Synergy account.

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You may have heard about TechSoup's Digital Storytelling Online Event that's been going on all month. Well, tonight we're rolling out the red carpet for the finale where we'll be announcing the big winners! We received more than 100 submissions from nonprofits and libraries around the country (and world) who've shared their digital stories in video, photo, and GoldMail formats for the Digital Storytelling Challenge! These stories are being carefully reviewed by our esteemed panel of expert judges.

If you're in the Bay Area, join us at 7 p.m. Pacific at the TechSoup headquarters (525 Brannan Street, Third Floor) in San Francisco for the mixed reality awards screening party. If you're not in the Bay Area, you still join us by viewing the event in Second Life and follow the action on Twitter (hashtag: #tsdigs).

Whether you're a challenge participant or just interested in seeing the power of stories to help social benefit organizations convey their messages, don't miss this opportunity to mix and mingle with nonprofit colleagues, show your support, and see the winners! Our winners will be receiving some of these cool prizes. In the meantime, check out the challenge submissions below. See you on the red carpet!

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Global Voices Online is reporting how social media is playing a role in the latest parliamentary and council elections in Botswana. While they note that their use of social media tools is behind countries like Nigeria, Uganda, or South Africa, there are promising signs that individuals like journalists and students are using such tools to monitor and report on the ongoing elections. One blogger in particular, Patricia Maganu, notes that:

If you haven't done so already, you've got to check out the submissions we've received so far for the Digital Storytelling Online Event that's been open all month. You can see the video submissions on YouTube and check out the photo submissions on Flickr. There are some inspiring digital stories in there from nonprofits far and wide.

But don't worry. If you've not had time to get your five-photo story uploaded to Flickr or your 60-second video onto YouTube (you can also create a GoldMail story), there's still time. We've extended the Digital Storytelling Challenge deadline over the weekend so you've got until Monday morning (9 a.m. Pacific) to throw your digital stories into the proverbial ring.

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