Social Media Strategy Tips From Bloggers Unite

June 2nd, 2009 by Easton Ellsworth

I recently asked Richard Becker, a consultant for Bloggers Unite, to share some insights on how he and the BU team have used social media to recruit members and encourage participation in their efforts. Here’s what he had to say.

What was your strategy for spreading the word online about Bloggers Unite when you first launched it?

The initial Bloggers Unite challenge was distributed in the discussion section of BlogCatalog, which is how my company was first introduced to Antony Berkman’s idea.

Since I was managing an experimental nonprofit blog, which highlighted business giving, I thought the initial BlogCatalog challenge — for bloggers to all post about the same social awareness issue on the same day and raise money for DonorsChoose.org — fit in well as a best practice. (The purpose of the blog is to stimulate business giving by providing examples from companies of different sizes.)

I contacted Tony to see if he had a news release about the event, but he didn’t. Instead, he gave me a call and asked if I would be willing to write a release, which I could then use for the blog. Since I have a long history of supporting nonprofit events, the release was relatively easy to write. In addition to the blog and our own distribution, Tony sent the release out on the wire and to some tech writers he knew. It received a surprising amount of attention, which reinvigorated the discussion for bloggers.

How has your promotion strategy changed or evolved since launch?

In terms of coordinating main events for Bloggers Unite, we’ve since developed a flexible campaign outline with several stages of a strategic communication plan within BlogCatalog and beyond BlogCatalog, which includes mainstream media and social media.

Once BlogCatalog members discuss and pick an underserved social awareness issue, we seek (or sometimes they find us) a primary benefactor such as Amnesty International, AIDS.gov, or Heifer International. Working with those benefactors, we are able to provide an outline of possibilities that bloggers can choose to write about on a designated day. BlogCatalog develops the badges and our company writes an abstract that highlights various topics. We always stress that they can write about anything they want within the context of the topic.

We release news and information about Bloggers Unite events using traditional and social media outlets, specifically publications, media outlets, and bloggers that have an interest in the topic. We also augment release distribution with announcements on BlogCatalog and other social networks as appropriate. With a base of 190,000 bloggers, BlogCatalog members are the real heroes in helping us announce these main events. And, we place a priority on recognizing these bloggers whenever and wherever possible.

BloggersUnite.org will operate a little differently because the vast majority of events will be driven and managed by bloggers or BloggersUnite.org members on their own.

What has been the single greatest motivator for bloggers to join your community?

The initial BloggersUnite.org community is currently being driven by BlogCatalog members who have always supported the Bloggers Unite initiative. Many of them asked us to host more events, which is why Antony Berkman, Angelica Alaniz, Daniel Tijerina, and Oscar Tijerina made launching BloggersUnite.org a priority.

BloggersUnite.org provides anyone the opportunity to launch an event, but we’ll still coordinate three official events every year. In terms of what motivates bloggers to join BloggersUnite.org, the primary motivation seems to be that most bloggers want to make the world a better place. While we encourage bloggers and recognize them the best we can, a high percentage of them appreciate that they can collectively change the world by raising awareness and providing example.

What has been the greatest obstacle to getting people involved in Bloggers Unite?

The greatest obstacle was determining how many events were too little and how many were too much. Originally, Antony had hope to launch an event every other month, but several BlogCatalog members felt it was too much. Since, we’ve found that best events require about 90 days of planning and promotion, from conception to completion.

Occasionally, some people criticize the campaigns for either not doing enough. However, after receiving some feedback from the benefactors and reading thousands of posts, I’ve found that the results are solid. Beyond increasing the level of awareness, many benefactors report they gain lifelong supporters and members who take tangible action on their behalf. But even more remarkable are what readers share after the bloggers post. I’ve seen hundreds of comments that thank them for the inspiration to take action and/or sometimes seek help. It’s amazing to see the sheer size of the impact, even when that impact might not be measurable on a scalable method.

What advice would you have for those who are trying to develop a long-term social media marketing/promotion strategy for an online community like Bloggers Unite?

Everyone involved with Bloggers Unite would agree that the most important element in developing any type of online network is to listen to what the members of your community are saying. That doesn’t mean you accept or implement every idea, but developers have to listen to those ideas that have real merit.

For example, after the initial challenge, Bloggers Unite became much more sensitive to the needs of international bloggers, and adjusted accordingly. Given that a high percentage of BlogCatalog members do not reside in the United States, it made sense that they might not be supportive of an event that was tied exclusively to the United States. For this reason, we’ve always worked hard to find international alternatives to whatever organization might benefit in the United States.

Please keep in mind that this approach is different from some definitions of crowdsourcing. We look at the merit of each idea rather than the total number of comments surrounding an idea. The very best ideas — whether recommended by one or one million bloggers — are those that become implemented. In fact, I cannot remember a single campaign that hasn’t been made better by the bloggers who participate. Their feedback means everything to sponsoring a successful program.

Thanks so much to Richard Becker (Twitter: @richbecker) for these insights on how to use social media to spread awareness about a non-profit website.

See case studies of my social media work for more ideas.

Any questions for Richard or me?

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