By now you’ve heard that Facebook Hashtags have been rolled out to many users.

These hashtags link conversations together like they do on Twitter or Instagram, so that your community can go deeper into a specific topic. For example, a hashtag for

How to create a Facebook Hashtag

A Hashtag is simple a tag that links together all content that includes that hashtag. Creating a Facebook Hashtag is as simple as typing a “#” in front of any word or phrase (no spaces).

For example, a Breast Cancer org might use #BreastCancer to link together topical posts. Hashtags that are created elsewhere but posted to your Facebook Page will be automatically clickable and searchable on Facebook.

How nonprofits can benefit from Facebook Hashtags

So how should you start using hashtags? Here are five tips to help you begin using hashtags.

Listen First - Search Facebook for #hashtags related to your cause (as shown below). In addition to understanding how people are talking about that topic, you will discover which hashtags are used the most, and who is using these hashtags.

1. Create a Hashtag for Your Organization – Creating a hashtag for your nonprofit allows you to easily join existing conversations on Facebook.

2. Extend your Current Campaign - If you are currently using hashtags in a campaign on Twitter or Instagram, start including those hashtags in your Facebook content. This makes it easier to integrate all your social channels as one.

3. Piggyback on Trends – once you discover a popular #that’s related to your cause, use it in your updates. This will enable you to create more exposure for your posts when other Facebook users search through these hashtags.

For example, the Best Friends Animal Society can use #BestFriends to be seen among the thousands of updates using this hashtag.

4. Apply Hashtag Glue – Use hashtags around specific topics so that your community can easily aggregate those conversations with a single mouse click. This would be especially useful for an awareness campaign, or to help an existing community connect with each other in a new way.

5. Use Sparingly – On Twitter, Hashtags can be quite annoying if they are overused. Be selective about the hashtags you use in your page posts, sticking to the ones your community uses the most.

6. Facebook Ads – Like every other piece of data provided by users, Facebook will eventually let marketers target hashtags in the near future. This will give you the ability to promote a campaign to users who have been actively using specific hashtags.

Hashtags will not make you awesome

Keep in mind that Facebook Hashtags are just another shiny object. They will not save your organization if you lack solid goals, a smart strategy, and a measurement plan,

Are you using Facebook Hashtags?

The Tampa Bay Times, Center for Investigative Reporting, and CNN have created a list of the 50 worst nonprofits in America.

Kids Wish Network tops the list.

What should we do about this dark side of fundraising? Check out what Roger Craver has to say.

Nonprofits seem to “get” social media way more than brands. Or at least they have a baked-in advantage.

Brands spend billions trying to get people to feel passionate about them. And still very few, like Starbucks, Apple and Google, actually succeed.

Nonprofits have passion in their bones

The short-term crush between a customer and a brand can’t compete with the passion between a supporter and a nonprofit. If I’m passionate about Nike, it’s only because I bought their sneakers three hours ago.

When people support a nonprofit, it’s usually for deep, personal reasons. Their mom died from diabetes, or their brother committed suicide after coming back from Iraq. For them, supporting a cause is often a way to heal, give back, and become a better person – things money CAN’T buy.

But brands, like Walmart and Nike certainly try like hell with corporate social responsibility.

Why brands have it so hard

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure sincerity exists within most corporations. But acting like a good company seems to only become a business goal, if it can help grow the bottom line.

I’ve observed this throughout my years of working at software companies, and think a lot of people would agree. In fact, I’ve concluded that the reason why many brands hire agencies is because it’s cheaper than changing their culture.

So what does this mean for you?

Never forget the seed that is your nonprofit. The seed that once exclaimed “I want to make the world and awesome place!”

As long as you keep this seed alive in your culture and in how you treat your supporters, you will kick ass in fundraising, employee happiness, and changing the world.

What do you think?

Virality is the percent of people that saw an update that liked, commented on, or shared it.

For example, if 1,000 people saw a photo you posted on your Facebook Page, and 100 people liked, commented on, or shared it, the virality would be 10%.

Because virility highlights how people talk about your posts, it’s essentially a measurement of content quality.

The more relevant and interesting your update is, the higher your virality will be for that update.

But what is a good virality?

It seems like everyone wants a quick answer on this one.

The problem is that every single Facebook page community is very different. Each community responds to content differently on Facebook (some communities are more social than others). Each community is also at a different stage in maturity.

What all communities do share is that they respond more to content that’s awesome, and ignore content that’s boring.

And if you’re like most Facebook Page community managers, publishing awesome content is something that you’re always improving.

Why you should ignore virality benchmarks

Let’s say NTEN suddenly announced that 10% is the average virality for nonprofit Facebook Pages. You would feel really great (even arrogant) or really crappy depending on your Page’s average virality.

So in the end, a good benchmark for virality is this:

Better than your most recent best

I recently hungout with Phil Gerbyshak and Berni Xiong who allowed me to be on The Shut Up Show.

We discuss a number of topics, which often include a healthy dose of icky personal stuff.

• The stuff for nonprofits  - starts at 8:00.
• The “secret” to Facebook success  - starts at 9:30.
• The personal stuff – starts at 13:30.
• How my mom became my eternal mentor  - starts at 17:40.
• One of the scariest things I’ve ever done  - starts at 19:27.
• My favorite quote from Vaclav Havel - starts at 31:00.

Warning: Contains NSFW language.

As social media platforms seem to keep changing at an exponential rate, there is one thing that you can count on to remain the same for at least the next thousand years:

People will always make decisions based on emotion and justify those decisions with reason.

As an example, let’s take the hipster with the iPad at Starbucks. He’ll tell you that he bought his iPad because it helps him do his work faster, or that it’s easier to bring on client visits. But the truth is that he bought it to look cool and/or fit in. Everyone from Apple to Don Draper knows that understanding psychology is essential for selling anything–offline and online.

Here are six ways brain science can increase fundraising results, get more volunteers, and change behaviors:

1. Tell them what the Jones’ gave

One interesting study by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University found that potential donors take action when they hear why their peers gave, and they gave more when they were told what dollar amount their peers gave. A donation page that talks about why other people like the organization, and how much they gave will maximize this effect.

2. Leverage the halo effect

The halo effect is a cognitive bias in which one’s judgments of a person’s character is influenced by one’s overall impression of that person.

Researchers in Canada found that people make judgements about websites in just 200 milliseconds. This means that your site should load fast, and you should have an emotionally pleasing design, among other things.

3. Show them how far they have to go

One factor that determines whether people will take action on a goal or not is how attainable the goal is. Epic Change is a nonprofit that provides support and attention for women who are radically changing their local communities. During their Epic Thanks campaign, they showed what the achievement of each campaign milestone would provide for a middle school in Tanzania.

4. Let them see the impact

No one will ever read a thousand words on your donation page. But they will look at a picture. Pictures convey a tremendous amount of subconscious information that can influence a person to act. In fact, researchers have recently found that most of the decisions we make are primarily unconscious and emotional.

5. Swap out stats for stories

You need to make your cause personal so that people take action. Start by understanding how to translate statistics into a series of compelling story. The average person doesn’t care about the concentration of E. coli in an aquifer, but they will do everything in their power to keep poop out of their tap water.

6. Ask them to promise

A powerful study by Rediscovering the Civic and Achieving Better Outcomes in Public Policy Project found that a pledge to donate increases individual charitable donations.

From a tactical perspective, this means allowing people to make a pledge (joining an email list) and then converting those pledges into dollars via email.

How is your organization changing the world by understanding how the brain works?

http://pinterest.com/pin/44262008810635249/

If you visit the websites of most nonprofits, you will find a critical piece missing in their list-building strategy.

They haven’t the answered WIIFM question.

What’s WIIFM, you ask?

WIIFM, means “What’s in it for me?”, and is the foundation of any successful marketing strategy.

And because people are asking themselves this question every time you ask them to join your email list, it’s also the key to building your email list.

WIIFM ultimately means making joining your email list so valuable that NOT joining is never an option. You do this by focusing exclusively on what your audience wants.

Here are six answers to WIIFM for your email list:

1. eBooks – With an e-book you can offer a a lot of value for very little money. For example, a dog shelter can put create a short e-book of “How to Housebreak Your Dog in One Week”.

As you can imagine, this is a common question for all new (and potential) dog owners. It also helps the dog shelter build a list of people who might have adoption on their mind.

2. Sponsor Sweepstakes – This is a perfect way to build an email list AND enhance an partner relationship. The Needham Community Farm is enhancing their relationship with a local pizza shop by offering a chance to win a pizza party.

They’re also building their Facebook page fan base by putting a fan-gate on the offer (as shown below).

3. Advocacy – Research has shown that advocates are more likely than non-advocates to donate to the cause for which they signed a petition. If you’re an advocacy organization – like Citizen Action of Wisconsin (below) – you’re probably already doing this.

4. Pledges – Research has also shown that people who pledge to make a donation will likely will follow through on that promise. For example, the American Diabetes Association has a micro site around making a pledge to stop diabetes (below). People joining this list are likely to support the organization by volunteering or donating.

5. Photo Contests – Photo contest can be a powerful way to build your email list, as long as the incentive is huge. Participants know they probably won’t win, so make the value of joining (WIIFM) is really about the chance to win, instead of the actual prize. For example, PetSave New Hampshire (below) offered a weekend getaway for the winner and their dog (a huge incentive).

6. Action Alerts – Action alerts can be a powerful approach to building a list of volunteers, specifically. After all, they’ve opted into taking some kind of action! Greenpeace international does an excellent job of this in the example below.

The key is in the carrot

The most important of the above approaches is that the perceived gain is greater than the pain of joining your email list.

Start by asking yourself, “What’s in it for potential email subscribers?”, and “Is this enough to overcome the hurdle of joining our list?”

What WIIFM incentive are you offering?

Nichiren Daishonin (a 13th century Japanese Buddhist monk) once shared the following story with a disciple:

“Deep in the Snow Mountains lives a bird called Kankucho which, tortured by the numbing cold, cries that it will build a nest in the morning.

Yet, when the day breaks, it sleeps away the hours in the warm light of the morning sun without building its nest. So it continues to cry vainly throughout its life.

The same is true of people.”

Many nonprofits are like the Kankucho bird. They spend their days worry about raising money now, but spend very little time cultivating and retaining donors for the future.

Four strategies to retain more donors

Allyson Kapin, who co-wrote Social Change Anytime Everywhere with Amy Sample Ward recently shared four strategies to increase donor retention:

1. Personalize your communications – You need to understand what makes your donors tick. Conduct surveys and study actions they’ve already taken with your organization.
2. Segment your lists – Segmentation enables you to create messages that are specific and relevant to each person, which means more engagement and conversions!
3. Always thank your donors – Go beyond the auto-responder “thank you” message sent when someone makes a donation. Thank them in a way that’s sincere, authentic and unique.
4. Move donors up the ladder – A smart donor CRM will enable you to segment donors based on their actions, and queue them up for the next level. For example, someone who’s donated more than four times could be upgraded to a monthly donor.

How are you nurturing long-term relationships?

• Next to the name of a Page
• When hovering over the name of a Page
• In Graph Search queries
• In stories about a Page
• In News Feed ads for a Page

Facebook will automatically verify Pages that have the highest risk of duplication.