3foldComm

The end of the year and beginning of the next brings the onslaught of retrospective posts and posts taking a glimpse into the future. Overall social media and the digital world advances at a rapid-fire pace, taking giant strides year-to-year in both function and application. It’s fascinating to imagine what the future might hold, so a few 3folder’s had some fun and took a crack at making some bold predictions at what the future of the social and digital space might have in store for us (even if that means years from now!).

Digital Retail Tours
Based on your shopping habits or preferences your phone can guide you from store to store and product to product, on a journey to discover and explore items that are based off your budget and taste. (Clay Nutting)

Ready-and-Waiting App
Program your order into an app, once you enter a zone close to the retail environment, your order will be ready and paid for, all you have to do is pick it up! (Clay Nutting)

Enhanced Brand Experiences with QR
QR codes have been a buzz word for the last year or two, but brands are finally figuring them out. Forget snapping them and being sent to a website, the next phase of QR will involve snapping a QR at a museum and hearing the artist talk about the work you are looking at, or snapping one on a street sign for reporting potholes, accidents or even crimes to the local authorities. (Angela Criser)

Textbook Gamification
Learning has never been so fun! You achieve an epic win for completing a difficult chapter, points for improving your test scores from month-to-month, and recognition for top scores – pitting you against the brightest minds in the class, state, country or even the world! It is a virtual competition against yourself and fellow students with incentives provided by some of the top educational foundations. (Clay Nutting)

Facebook Teen Tracker
Facebook will release an enhanced timeline feature for parents interested in better monitoring their growing kids’ activities. A special feature will notify parents when their children mention activities that cost money, automatically calculate the value of that activity and provide a running total at the top of each parents profile.  Parents will then have a better understanding of whether their kids really need money for more books in college, or whether “book fees” are just supplementing a pizza party or “gotta-have-that-new-top-at-Abercrombie” run. Warning – May be thwarted with “Damn It, My Mom Is On Facebook” app unless advanced controls are activated — for an additional fee of course! (Gordon Fowler)

The Year of Pinterest
Social bookmarking upstart Pinterest will get bigger and better as a social bookmarking tool in 2012. Besides being fun and refreshing, it’s a great space for inspiration and bookmarking the things you love. (Alicia Allen)

Social TV
This one is starting to become a reality, from social networks like GetGlue to the just-announced MySpaceTV to custom TV show apps – TV is getting social. Only problem is, these apps still won’t solve tape delaying shows and events. (Brian Blank)

Mining the Mobile Stream
While paid apps, freemium services and social advertising can generate revenue through mobile devices, it will be the companies that create interesting ways to mine the endless data stream mobile device users generate that will create the real value (and hopefully revenue). Scary Big Brother issues aside, the basic bits of data (location, travel, age, gender, etc.) our phones provide could be useful in other areas beyond augmented reality and location based services. (Brian Blank)

What are your thoughts? Do you see any of these coming through in the next year? Even better yet, what are your predictions?

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Social media giants like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ continue to reinvent (or invent) themselves, rolling out changes more frequently than ever in an effort to outdo each other in a battle for people’s time and attention in the social universe. Many of these changes seem to have exciting implications for businesses and brands, but as a busy executive or business owner, it can be hard to keep up.

To save you some time, here is a closer look at some of these changes and what they could mean for your business:

Facebook Timeline

Timeline is here. Initially rolling out for personal pages, it’s safe to assume that branded pages will be right around the corner. As a business, the present Facebook brand page doesn’t provide many opportunities to differentiate your page from others, but that will not be the case with Timeline, the brand benefits of Timeline’s unique features will be huge.

With a large “cover” image spanning the top of your profile, brands will be able to tell a more visually impactful story. Of course conversations are still key, and with a few slick features Timeline will highlight your efforts more prominently than ever. It will be important for your business to know what stories you want to tell and to use this new real estate effectively to draw your audience in for more.

Facebook’s Acquisition of Location-Based Service Gowalla

Location-based services allow businesses to push information to a potential consumer when they are in or near their business. While Facebook abandoned their Facebook Places application this past year, the news about the company’s acquisition of Gowalla indicates a recommitment to the Facebook geo-location experience. Expect Facebook to take location-based services to a new level, not only hoping to rival Foursquare but integrate more features making Facebook even more mobile friendly. Also, with the continuing proliferation of smartphones mixed with retailers’ desire to drive traffic in a tough economy, geo-location will be even bigger in 2012 with Facebook poised to make an impact.

Twitter Brand Pages

Like Google+ and Facebook, Twitter has launched its own version of brand pages to help businesses create and present a stronger brand presence on their platform. The Twitter brand page will include a large customizable banner, which can include bio information, graphics and links. Business will also be able to freeze any tweet at the top of the timeline providing the opportunity to present strategic messaging on your page. At the moment, Twitter brand pages are only currently available to a few select partners. However, we anticipate a full rollout sometime in 2012. How will your businesses take advantage of this new look to enhance your brand presence?

Regardless of the changes, one thing remains constant — social media is never static. If your business is not taking advantage of the opportunities social media presents, you risk falling behind. We are in a competitive market, getting in front of a large targeted audience in a strategic way helps get your business positioned for success. Think ahead with your plan, then dedicate the time and resources upfront to keep yourself ahead of the competition.

Clay Nutting heads up 3fold’s Social Media Management services, www.3foldSocial.com. His team helps clients develop custom, strategic social media plans designed to work for their industries and their target audiences.

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We love innovation, we love technology and we love the nonprofit community here at 3fold, so in the spirit of Thanksgiving we decided to have our staffers each recognize a nonprofit they are thankful for. This list is more than just great nonprofits with an incredible goal (that list could easily be in the hundreds!), but ones we think are doing innovative things and leveraging technology in incredible ways to share their messages and advance their causes. We of course cannot list every one, but would love to hear about your favorite innovative nonprofits in the comments below!

Charity: Water (www.charitywater.org) — Bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations … AND 100% of public donations directly fund water projects (including the credit card fees from your donation). Why are they innovative? They use the digital space in a clever and unique way to very clearly outline, promote and report the progress on their goals (in numbers we can all understand, plus you can check Google maps to see where every completed water project is located).

-Gordon Fowler, President & CEO

826 Valencia (www.826valencia.org) — They help kids become better writers while helping over-burdened public schools and teachers provide the one-on-one attention that budgets no longer allow. But why are they innovative? They also run a pirate supply store which pays the lease, and how cool is that? At first, 826 Valencia started as just the address for a San Francisco publication to house its offices. However, looking at the education need in their own community, they decided they should add a free tutoring program for local kids. Running a publication in the morning, then when school ended, offering up staff as tutors. Because the building was zoned for retail, though, they needed to sell something to stay in their location. They created the Pirate Store, which turned out to be the perfect connection for 826 to the very community they wanted to help, as curious neighbors and visitors stopped in to see the unique store, and more often than not became new clients, donors and volunteers. Far from being part-time now, they have a volunteer roster of more than 1,700 local creative professionals and serve more than 6,000 students in San Francisco alone…and they have even opened seven more chapters across the country.

-Angela Criser, Director of Digital Strategy

Francis House Center (www.francishousecenter.org) — They serve as a triage center for newly homeless individuals and families, providing great emergency assistance, referrals, and case management. Why are they innovative? Francis House Center is the only organization in Sacramento that helps homeless people obtain State-issued identification, which is critical to enrolling in programs, obtaining health benefits, getting a job.

- Kim Tucker, VP Nonprofit Division

Project 7 (www.project7.com) — Simply put, You buy, they give. They are a cause-related company that makes everyday consumer goods like bio-bottled water, gum, mints and coffee. However, they aren’t asking you to buy more stuff, just change the products that you already buy in order to help others. Why are they innovative? Project 7 uses hardcore cause marketing (like retail space at the cash wrap in Walmart) following a hard-nosed, straightforward brand …”Buy this and do that.” Brilliant.

- Steve Alfano, Creative Director

These Numbers Have Faces (www.thesenumbers.org) — TNHF educates and empowers South African youth to ignite community transformation. Why are they innovative? They’re a pretty well-rounded and great organization. They are active on Twitter – and I especially love the quotes and statistics they push out. They also utilize pretty much every major social network and even have an iPhone app — it’s impressive to say the least for a nonprofit to truly understand technologies connection to new audiences.

- Alicia Allen, Social Media Coordinator

Cottage Housing, Inc. (www.cottagehousing.org) — A solution-focused, participant-driven and strength-based organization where homeless people help themselves — and each other — through their transition from the streets to self-sustainability. Why are they innovative? Cottage Housing, Inc. is not the patient type.  They were not interested in sitting around waiting for the economy to improve so they could find their formerly-homeless graduates jobs.  Instead, they started creating jobs by starting businesses.  Take Finishing Touch. This is a mobile detailing business that employs a formerly homeless workforce who graduated from Cottage Housing’s program.  Job skills, employment readiness, a living wage, a self-esteem boost…and a shiny, clean car. And that is just one of many.

- Scott Moak, Director of Nonprofit Services

TED (www.ted.com) — TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, and Design. Since then, its scope has become ever broader. Why is it innovative? They believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world. The TED website offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with those ideas and each other.

- Clay Nutting, Account Manager Social Media Services

Doctors without Borders (www.doctorswithoutborders.org) — Doctors Without Borders began in 1971 as Medecins Sans Frontieres by a group of French doctors and Journalists in the wake of the war and accompanying famine in Biafra and Nigeria. Why are they innovative? In light of them being an organization that has been around for more than 30 years, they continue to grow and change, now utilizing social media such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Tumblr to spread the information regarding their great body of work.  Their webpage is designed to show everything from current events affecting the world to ways to donate, from how to work with them to annual reports spanning the last decade.  They currently have 435,738 followers on Facebook and 155,208 followers on Twitter!

- Curtis Ebo, Operations Coordinator, Nonprofit Services

Center for Land Based Learning (www.landbasedlearning.org) — They teach California’s urban youth about the importance of agriculture and watershed conservation. CLBL exposes these kids to farms and ranches — a world they typical do not interface with. Why are they innovative? They work with youth to help them develop leadership skills and learn how sustainable agriculture practices contribute to a healthier ecosystem and create connections to agricultural, environmental, and food system careers. They also use channels like Facebook and YouTube to share these hands-on experiences, hoping to connect those not able to participate first hand with their mission. Besides, who wouldn’t love this video of kids rapping in a field about what they learn.

- Andi Justice, Account Manager

Special Olympics (www.sonc.org) — Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Programs give athletes continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in the sharing of gifts, skill, and friendship with their families, other athletes and the community. Why they are innovative? Beyond their incredible use of social networks to spread the message, they have partnered with pop culture media, including the TV show Glee and the Not Acceptable R-word PSA. In their social networks, the positive messages, incredible images and dynamic stories always bring a smile to my face.

- Brian Blank, PR and Social Media Manager

Kind Campaign (www.kindcampaign.com) — An internationally recognized movement, documentary and school program based upon the belief in KINDness that brings awareness and healing to the negative and lasting effects of girl-against-girl “crime.” Why are they innovative? They use a very “real” documentary to reach out to victims (and perpetrators) of adolescent girl-against-girl violence and then provide an immediate outlet for girls to gain support and empower themselves with their tagline “We’ve all been a victim. Unfortunately, we’re also the cause. Help us change.” They also have support from stars such as Lady Gaga.

- Elise Crispen, Account Assistant

Girls on the Run (www.gotrsac.org) –  The nonprofit is geared to girls from the 3rd to 8th grade and they teach them the value of eating right, having a healthy body image and ultimately showing them the joy of running.  Why are they innovative? With so many obese boys and girls in our country, it is great to see a program like Girls on the Run.  At the end of each session, each of the girls ends up running in a local 5K race.  Also, depending on the financial need of the school district the program is instituted in, the organization outfits the girls with new running shoes from New Balance.

- Ross Villegas, Account Manager

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Twitter has always been a valuable tool for sharing and collecting news or gaining feedback quickly but what about how media outlets use Twitter? It might be surprising to find out that most media outlets are just using Twitter to share news stories of its own, rarely sharing other links or engaging with followers. A new study, a collaboration between the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism and The George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, took a peek at the Twitter feeds of 13 major news organizations and found some interesting facts. Continue reading “Study shows media using Twitter to self promote, not engage” »

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Our own Clay Nutting recently moderated the Social Media Club’s Social Media Best Practices for Charities, exploring how social media plays a pivotal role for several Sacramento-area charities. As a recap, we wanted to provide some insight for nonprofits that are exploring using social media.

Many nonprofits are finding social media to be an effective way to engage current supporters and reach new ones.  At your organization, you may already have asked where tools like Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other social media channels fit within your long list of priorities.

The tools you should use depend on what you want to accomplish, and who you want to reach. That being said, once you choose the platforms that are right for your organization, here are a few tips that can help you on your way to social media success:

1. Define goals and audience. It is often not enough to merely have presence. Think about what you are trying to accomplish and who you are trying to reach.
2. Engage with your supporters. Don’t just use your profiles as a sounding board, engage your supporters, pose questions, and collect thoughts and insight. If someone asks a question, respond. If someone shares feedback, thank them and ask for more insight. When people take the time to reach out and share, return the favor with a friendly response.
3. Drive traffic to your website. Post links to drive traffic to your website where information about fundraising, volunteering and advocacy opportunities can be found.
4. Make connections. Search and follow people with common interests, hobbies or professions. Identify your most influential supporters and get them active on your page. Engaging other profiles of like minded people or organizations is the fastest way to build an audience for you and your organization.
5. Show, don’t tell. Bring your communication to life with photos and videos. Use photos of staff or your organization in action, a video of you thanking your customers, clients, donors, or volunteers for their support, or given the season, share holiday wishes from your organization.

Joining the right social networks for your organization is half the battle! Once you’ve joined there are many great resources online to help guide you through social media management. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to 3fold by visiting www.3foldsocial.com.

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