° Dan Warison Kea Maccanoee Doug Ua F oer Segal NEW MEDIA ACADEMIC SUMMIT | Exc NGOs: Advancing Issues ‘According to Edelman’s 2009 Trust Barometer, NGOs are the most tusted institution globally ~ more so than busi ness, media and government. This panel discussed what NGOs are doing to build rolalonships with and engage slakehalders through social media NGOs and social media: A snapshot ‘+ Relinquishing message control: The most challenging task for nonprofits is learning to let go of message control, But this Is essontial to shift from one-way communications to open dalogue about a cause, The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is one organization that is taking stops to release some control of its established brand — including having ts president ‘woet, The organization is positioned well online — it is accessible and consistently active on most online networks, and has gained modest success in mem: bership. Howover, what is most bonofic'al tothe orga- nization is seeing how conversations among thought leaders spill ver Into the now moda space, coating an echoing impact. ‘+ Embracing the social media era: Newor NGOs om. brace social media from day one, This is the case with 1Woll, which mobilzes social notworks to help accomplish its Intemational dovolopmant projects. Ie identifies partners in high-need communities for ‘social venture capitalists” to engage rectly in ro} fects in which they belive, ‘+ Engaging — not e-mailing — constituents: The marketing success of nonprofits typically has been gauged by the size of its e-mail databases, Today, is no longer about the numbers but the core audlence a group can empower, The Lance Armstrong Foun: dation has adapted to these changes, allowing the ‘organization to find altermate ways to create a valu able campaign without wasting money and effort, For example, the Foundation’s new media clirector held a ‘utorial session to showits flowers how to use Titer to supplement the cause ofthe Foundation, NG THE NEW INFLUE: Lessons for academia ‘Academic curricula should incorporate what the most ap- propriate socal media tools to use are for specific tasks, ‘Some situations would benefit fram a Twitter campaign, While others require a dedicated blog. itis Important for ‘communicators inthis new era to understand the dffer- fences and learn haw to apply these tools. Succeeding in the social media realm will require not only technical skis but also a deep passion for the mission and an Understanding of how traditional marketing vehicles can foster dialogue and drive action ‘Social media is not always an obvious fit for us..let- ting go of control is not something that comes easly = Kira Marcbanese ‘We're building a platform that will empower people to leverage new media tools to take our message cut there...and then, engage in a dialogue with their social network and start that conversation and drive them to action. = Dan Morison Key takeaways: ‘+ NGOs must learn to release control of their messages and allow for free dialogue. Social media allows organizations to be ‘transparent and see immediate results. ‘Inthe nonprofit space, itis no longer about how many people the company has access ‘o, but more about how many people it can ‘empower to support its cause.