From my recent talk at Power Tools for Nonprofits at NRG Park on behalf of Tendenci Open Source Membership Management Software
Tapping into human motivations for Social Media success
Humans motivations that drive Social Media success
View more presentations from Katie Laird
Ed and I had the opportunity to speak to a great group of nonprofit professionals at the 2011 Power Tools For Nonprofits conference in Houston, TX this week.
Our topic touched on ways nonprofits can view their online marketing strategy differently by exploring their audience’s motivations and tapping into them throughout a campaign or network content activity for maximum impact.
If you haven’t read it, Ed’s article ‘3 Motivations of People: Material, Social and Ideological‘ is a great read — although with this presentation he offered up a fourth motivation: FEAR.
It’s amazing how fear (both individually and as a population) can control our actions. Whether it’s holding off on a big purchase, switching banks, seeking stress release opportunities and more, it truly is a driving factor in our daily decision making.
Nonprofit groups can leverage this fearful motivation by pointing out what could happen without an audience’s support (no dinner for a local family) or what is currently happening as they read / watch / Tweet (rainforest demolition) – but we’re quick to encourage using your influence for good on the Web to also help paint a more positive picture with a more balanced approach.
Talking candidly about the big scary issues is important, but don’t forget the value of connecting through social, material and ideological motivations too!
You can see all of our slides here on Slideshare and be sure to connect with us on Twitter with questions and comments: @eschipul and @happykatie