iSHOUT interactive » Consulting http://ishouti.com Social Influence Specialist - Can you afford to whisper? Wed, 23 Jun 2010 22:53:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Being Strategic with Technology. http://ishouti.com/2009/10/being-strategic-with-technology/ http://ishouti.com/2009/10/being-strategic-with-technology/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:34:33 +0000 admin http://ishouti.com/?p=145 Here is the question I have for you:  Is technology or the use of technology a part of your strategic plan?  and if not, why?

Does your staff use technology; do your volunteers use technology? do your donors use technology?  Then why are you thinking strategically about technology?

Technology has become one of the cornerstones of operating a nonprofit – we use email to communicate, cell phone to call and text information,  Websites to provide information, services and collect donations, and yet Technology is not part of your organizations strategic plan.

Now this is not to suggest that you should throw out you strategic plan already in place and start again – that would be crazy!  But what I am suggesting is that your organization take some time and make a technology plan.  Then the next time you’re in strategic planning mode you can use the plan as a junping off point.

What should going into a technology plan?  Start with where want to be and work backwards from there.

Inventory what you have and what you think you might need in the future consider everything from the phone systems to servers.  What you think you might need may very well change right along with technology.  Please don’t forget to considerany purchase cost maintenance and staff needs?

Look at how you presently use technology and how its changed – five years ago you bought a server, now with cloud computing is a server necessary? There are dollars to be saved by looking at these items.

What others areas of technology do you need to look at?

If we Work backwards from  where we want to be we can learn our next step . You can see all the places where technology can help you succeed -  Still need help figuring out the details – drop us a line at info@ishouti.com

]]> http://ishouti.com/2009/10/being-strategic-with-technology/feed/ 0 Meeting Donors through social media http://ishouti.com/2009/08/meeting-donor-through-social-media/ http://ishouti.com/2009/08/meeting-donor-through-social-media/#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:22:38 +0000 admin http://ishouti.com/?p=58 The obvious place for a nonprofit to look at social media is in donor relations.  As donors become more savvy about researching and selecting charities online to make donations. The questions is not if charities will join the social media world, but when and how.

Josh Bernoff of Forrester Research offered figures showing that 92% of technology buyers considered themselves engaged in some form of social media.  Who do you know, that is not engaged in buying technology?  Are your donors engaged in buying technology, then they are most like, 92% chance they are involved in social media.

If the donors are out there utilizing social media, then building a development strategy around social media to engage them seems like a no brainier.  Are you ready to build that strategy and engage donors?  That’s why iSHOUT interactive is here to help.  Call us at (408) 431-1363 or email us for a free analysis of you social media strategies

]]> http://ishouti.com/2009/08/meeting-donor-through-social-media/feed/ 0 Three Steps into the pool of Social Media http://ishouti.com/2009/08/three-steps-into-the-pool-of-social-media/ http://ishouti.com/2009/08/three-steps-into-the-pool-of-social-media/#comments Sat, 22 Aug 2009 20:54:49 +0000 admin http://ishouti.com/?p=13 I’m a coach and consultant to small to medium sized business and organization who are interested in developing a presents on the internet through social media and marketing.   To be honest, most of my clients don’t have the money to spend on doing a full analysis of their situation or creating a full-blown marketing strategy.

I suggest they take some time, about two to three weeks and do three simple things.

1.    Simply Notice
2.    Choose and Play
3.    Being the Process

The first step is to simply notice, be aware, pay attention – don’t ask any question, just look and jot down some notes.  Watch how other present them selves. Notice what information people are offering or not.  Reflect on how a site or words use made you feel.

This is an important first step – because it connects you the first impression.  Everyone has them and unless you are way out I left field most people fall generally in the same place.

The second is to choose one or two sites and play with them not from a business perspective, but from a user’s seat.  I ask people to do this for two reasons – one, if you find the platform or network difficult to work with from a personal user perspective then you will not enjoy working with in as a business tool.  The second is you have to know what the customer experience will be like.  Are you customers that much different then you?  I didn’t think so – so if you like the customer feel, your customers most likely will as well.

This is also a great time to continue just simply noticing how business and other users interact with each other and yourself.  Remember, making no judgments or conclusions, just simply notice!

Finally, begin the process.  Now, you are in a position to better understand what you business needs and wants.  You can now use me a tool to help create the best strategy for you customers and business, based on platforms and networks are you comfortable working with.

Remember the internet and social media are not going anywhere, so there is no reason to go rushing in making mistakes and getting frustrates, when just taking the time to notice and play can make all the difference.

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