For the nonprofit professional that’s getting their feet wet in the social (or online) fundraising world, this list can help introduce you to what I consider the best blogs on social media etiquette, philanthropy, and fundraising. Now, that’s not to say there are other great blogs out there . . . I just had to limit it to ten. 🙂
Some of the things I took into consideration when picking these was their relevancy to social fundraising, their insightful perspectives that I learn from, and their continuous communication with their readers through regular posts and commenting (i.e. they engage us).
So, here’s my list of favorite blogs that I’d recommend to anyone wanting to learn a little more about effective social media and online fundraising.
10. Socialbrite: this group blog features regular posts from experts in the field, including Shonali Burke, Debra Askanase (who’s featured later in the list), and our very own, John Haydon.
9. Social Media Today: This site features great articles from experts of different backgrounds that could help give you ideas on how to manage your social media strategy.
8. Frogloop: another group blog, with contributing authors like Allyson Kapin (@WomenWhoTech), you can get great nonprofit social media tips from here.
7. Frank Barry, NetWitsThinkTank.com: Frank offers his nonprofit readers good insight about cultivating supporters to become donors through social media outreach.
6. Radian6: When you need tips on how to actually measure your engagement, these guys have good perspectives on installing a metrics system that’ll help you evolve your social media strategy.
5. Kivi Leroux Miller: Kivi’s got you covered with practical information, like tips to revamping your e-news signup box, to help enhance your social media outreach.
4. Mashable’s Social Good: Mashable’s the go-to place for everything social media, but when you want a glimpse of what others out there are doing in the social good space, these guys will cover the interesting, out-of-the-box, groundbreaking news you’ll want to know.
3. Katya Andresen: Author of the best-selling book, “Robin Hood Marketing,” Katya is in my top three because she hones in on the point where social media meets nonprofit outreach and derives all sorts of information that’ll enrich your strategy.
2. Amy Sample Ward: Amy’s one of the top experts in the field. With her monthly scheduled TweetChat #CommBuild (here’s a transcript to June’s chat), you can learn from others and pitch in ideas about community building.
And the number one spot goes to . . .
1. Debra Askanase: One of my favorite bloggers (I’m a suck-up, I know) is Debra. She nails it when it comes to
developing metrics for your social strategy. It’s not only about the amount of likes, but when you measure the engagement of your audience, you can come up with better content for your supporters and an improved social strategy overall. One of the leading experts in the area, she’s definitely one you want to follow.
Bonus
Beth Kanter and Geoff Livingston are our consultants from Zoetica Media, and John Haydon and Alex Bornkessel are regular contributors to our blog, so by default I didn’t include them in the top ten list, but I would definitely add them to your RSS feeds and Twitter stream!
What other blogs would you recommend?