Are your board members still doubting social media? Do they fail to “get it”, even though you’ve built a thriving community on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook?
Remember, board members are just like you. They want the organization to exceed its goals and help change the world, which is why they’re on the board in the first place. You are friends.
To get more board buy-in for using social media, keep these tips in mind:
1. Build Your Case
Use LinkedIn to research board members. Learn about their professional experiences, and what might be important to them. Don’t talk about cool Twitter tools. Talk about how Twitter can help them create stronger relationships with journalists and the media.
2. Seek Permission for a Pilot
Some board members are risk adverse. You know who they are. If this is the case, try presenting a pilot focused on low hanging fruit (achievable objectives) that you’ve already identified.
Once the pilot has been a success, leverage that achievement (show them numbers) for greater buy-in. For example, if you can prove that awesome content made the difference, get more resources (systems, money, time) for content marketing.
3. Focus on Their Objectives
Lowering your website bounce rate is not an objective board members will care about, or even understand. Speak in terms of organizational objectives, like increasing donor retention and volunteer satisfaction.
4. Talk About Your Peers
An easy way to sway board members is to talk about the “competition”—organizations just like yours who are embracing social media in creative and powerful new ways. Choose examples of recent campaigns, focusing on key take-aways that might apply to your next campaign.
5. Keep it Simple
Powerpoint, less than 10 slides is perfect. In fact, AgoraPulse has an awesome feature that turns Facebook Insights data into beautiful PPT presentations.
What would you add?
Thanks for the kind mention John! I appreciate 🙂
Your 5 points are very valid, good advice!