In the social media world, Pinterest has become a widely popular tool for users to share content. Compared to other social sites, though, it is considered somewhat new, and many organizations are still trying to figure out whether to use it and how. Consider these suggestions for getting started with Pinterest and building an audience who is engaged with you.

6 Steps to Get Started

Before you begin using Pinterest, it is good to get an understanding of what it is and how it works. Pinterest is a social content sharing tool where users “pin” content to “pinboards,” akin to tacking photos, paper, etc. on a corkboard.

The type of content that users can share, or pin, is unlimited to what is available online. Recipes, products, cartoons, infographics, video and more. What is required is that the content pinned has an associated image, which displays on the pinboard, along with the URL to the content and a user-submitted description.

Pins are organized by pinboards, which are essentially user-created categories such as “art,” “books I’ve read,” and the like. Users can share pins, or selectively choose content that remains private. Users can also “follow” other users.

1. Follow users with content you like. You can follow all of their pins, or you can choose which pinboards to follow.
2. Find users who are pinning content you like and repin it.
3. “Like” pins of content that you want to share with your followers, but don’t want to add to your own pinboards.
4. Upload unique content to share with your followers.
5. Organize your own unique pins and repins into pinboards.
6. Add the “Pin It” button to your own web site where you want content to be available for pinning.

Source: Put a Pin In It: The Nonprofit’s Guide to Pinterest

As challenging, and even scary, as it is to collect and analyze data, the truth is that if you are measuring, you are better able to change. By paying close attention to results, nonprofits can more easily identify problems, successes and opportunities to change. Resource Media has been focused on close measurement for over a year, and has seen a positive impact. Consider these suggestions for how your nonprofit may benefit from closely analyzing data.

3 Tips for Measurement Success

1. Start now. Measuring data doesn’t need to have the clearest of goals to start. The point is to start and you can adjust as you learn what works and what doesn’t. If you wait for the “right time,” you are missing the change to collect and understand your data now and establish a baseline.
2. Establish a routine. For measuring to be effective, you need to do it regularly. Establishing a set routine and timetable for measuring results allows you to always be “in the know” when it comes to your data. You can share this information regularly with stakeholders use it to adjust future efforts.
3. Find the right fit. Measurement can be a deep hole and, as such, you can spend time measuring, using tools and trying to analyze when it isn’t benefitting you. Carefully consider the tools that will let you do what you need without overwhelming you with features that aren’t relevant to your organization.

Source: What Gets Measured Gets Better

For nonprofits struggling to make their fundraising efforts successful, a multichannel approach may offer a better way to raise money and connect with donors. In Social Change Anytime Everywhere: How to Implement Online Multichannel Strategies to Spark Advocacy, Raise Money and Engage Your Community, authors Allyson Kapin and Amy Sample Ward offer six simple steps to plan and execute a multichannel fundraising campaign.

6 Steps for Multichannel Campaigns

1. Fundraising Goals. Establish your complete fundraising goals from the beginning, and be conservative based on staff time and vendor fees that may be associated with your campaign.
2. Campaign Goals. In addition to your fundraising goals, establish goals for the campaign itself in terms of the outcomes you want your campaign to achieve that support your nonprofit’s mission.
3. Messaging. Define the “hook” you will use in your communications to attract attention and engaged with your audience. This should be a compelling example of the outcomes donated funds will help achieve.
4. Donors. Identify who are your target donors, as well as what channels they prefer. Know who you want to reach and how they want to connect with you.
5. Calendar. Map out timelines for all parts of the fundraising campaign. Include everything from staffing to messaging distribution.
6. Staff and Resources. Prepare staff and resources for the campaign, making sure you have enough of both to execute your plan.

Source: Six Steps to Plan a Multichannel Fundraising Campaign

As more nonprofits gather data to demonstrate their value to stakeholders, more nonprofits are struggling to transform that data into meaningful information. KD Paine’s 7 Simple Steps of Measurement provide a solid foundation for measuring any type of data. These steps should be considered before a campaign is created, so that all phases of effort can be accurately defined, measured and analyzed.

7 Steps of Measurement

1. Define your goals in terms of measurable objectives. What is your nonprofit trying to achieve?
2. Define who the audience is you want to reach. Be sure to also define how efforts to connect with this audience will tie back to your original goals.
3. Define your investments and what it will cost to achieve the goals. Be sure to factor in hard and soft costs.
4. Define the benchmarks you will measure your efforts against to help evaluate success and identify where change is needed.
5. Define how you will analyze your progress and success. What are the metric indicators?
6. Choose what tool you will use to collect data.
7. Analyze the data you have collected and transform it into action, then measure again.

Source: Linking Results To Key Performance Indicators Is Like Hooking Up A Big TV

Today’s workers seem to be struggling with overwhelming demands to get more done in less and less time. Checking email at all times of day, skipping meals in favor of meetings, working longer hours and sleeping less. While these habits may boost productivity in the short term, they damage it in the long run and are worsened with poorer job performance and health problems.

Strategic Renewal

According to a growing body of research, actively “relaxing” may be the solution to managing both productivity demands and a healthy life.

• Lack of sleep is one of the best predictors of job burnout. Sleeping more than 6 hours a night can improve performance, as can daytime naps. In fact, a University of California study found that a 60- to 90-minute nap improved memory test results as fully as did eight hours of sleep.
• Vacationing is also an important part of the relaxation and “renewal” workers need. Accounting firm Ernst & Young found that regular vacations not only improve employee retention, but that for each additional 10 hours of vacation employees took, their year-end performance ratings improved by 8 percent.
• Working in discrete and scheduled intervals can also help worker renewal. A Florida State University revealed that the best performers in music, sports, chess and acting typically practice in uninterrupted sessions that last no more than 90 minutes.

Source: Relax! You’ll Be More Productive