Gracie Communications

by Jennifer Stringer, who provides content marketing, social media and direct communications management for Gracie Communications’ clients

In an ideal social media world, we would add new fans and followers every day because our posts, exciting videos and thought-provoking questions would result in consistent likes, comments and retweets.

In the real world, social media growth often occurs in a cyclical pattern, not a linear one. For some organizations, there’s a natural rise and fall to their organization calendar.  For example, if your organization has a big 5K or fundraiser planned in May, you’re probably going to have a period of growth prior to and leading up to the event, a gradual decline after the event and a significant drop a month or two after the big event.

If your nonprofit seems to follow a cyclical pattern, here are a few tips on how to survive each social media “season.”

Spring-Planting Your Seeds

How you know you’re in this season:

You are moving from brainstorming to developing and committing to a plan. You are letting your staff, partners, donors and partners know about your plans.

What you can do during this season:

Create a plan that is easy to follow and execute. Create an editorial calendar for posts, blogs and tweets. As you fill in your calendar, use Gracie Communications’ story arc model and develop a beginning, middle and end to your organization’s story.

Create your copy, shoot the videos and pre-write the posts and blogs.

Build excitement and relationships both online and off.

Summer-You’re Hot, Hot, Hot

How you know you’re in this season:

You’re launching your new service or the BIG day of your event or fundraiser is here! Your issue is “in” because it’s the latest, greatest thing, because a celebrity is talking about it, because it’s making national news and you’re a local expert, etc.

What you can do:

Take pictures and create videos and new copy as the event happens so you have info to share during and after the event.

Post, share and blog. Repeat.

Ask your fans and followers to post their photos, comments and reactions.

Comment and RT on others’ posts, blogs and tweets about the topic so you’re part of the conversation.

Fall- Sow Now, Reap Later

How you know you’re in this season:

You’ve pulled off your big event but the online buzz has moved on to the next big thing. Your Facebook posts and mentions start to dwindle.

What you can do:

Remind everyone about how successful your product launch, event or program was, how much money was raised after the final tallies, what programs can now be funded, how people can be helped, etc.

Check your harvest. Jay Baer, owner of Convince and Convert, offers these six tips for measuring your social media efforts.

Promote your partners and their events and programs now, and they’ll support you later.

Winter-Going Underground 

How you know you’re in this season:

Your Facebook page says no one is talking about you. You can’t get your BFF to RT a tweet. You don’t know what to post besides, “Happy Monday, everybody!”

What you can do:

Remind people of the work you do all year.

Reach out to potential new partners, donors and fans and invite them to be a part of the next event.

Experiment with new social media tools so you can use them for your next campaign. Check out Pinterest or other sites that are attracting new online buzz.

Go dormant – for a little while. Resist the urge to post just to post. Our friends at Firebelly Marketing emphasize that you should make sure content is relevant.

Peek through the soil – let people know you’re working on new programs and events and you’re excited about sharing more details soon.

In every season, you can be growing.  At times, the growth will show in your numbers, and at other times you will be growing underground in preparation for the next spring!

(Photos courtesy of IN.gov, atgeist.com, and indyhomesblog.com)

Last week I was reminded of a valuable lesson about being an entrepreneur.

You don’t always have to do it yourself.

I was helping my youngest daughter, Helen, work her stand at Lemonade Day Indianapolis’ kick-off event. She’s been a part of Lemonade Day from the start and I am wildly proud that she has made all the decisions, secured the venue. picked the charity beneficiary, and designed the booth all by herself.  She was pretty proud too, until she heard that her total revenue was way under the other kick-off event participants.

This wasn’t a case of the other kids having Daddy Did It All Syndrome (for the most part). The real difference was the other kids found locations using the resources of the Lemonade Day organizers. They were inside when we were out in the rain last year. They were working with corporate office support and marketing efforts.

Helen and I talked all the way home about what she was going to do differently at this May’s event. She is still going to raise money for Joy’s House, but she is going to get help from the organizers in picking a higher-traffic location. She is going to go to one of the preparation workshops. And she is going to borrow ideas she learned from the other kids at the event, including adding some entertainment to draw people in.

My 10-year-old’s story reminds me of my own (and many others in business for themselves). Entrepreneurs go into business for themselves to fulfill a lifelong passion or a dream. They’ve always wanted to be their own boss. To make the rules. They are excited every day to get to work. It is their great idea or unique way of providing a service and no one is going to tell them what to do or how to do it.

Here’s the rub. When you do it all yourself, you miss out on others’ great ideas on how to make your great idea even better.

Who should you be partnering with, listening to and emulating in your business?