Not too long ago, we hosted a free webinar on “Using Social Media to Expand your Fundraising Horizons.”  If you missed it, you can view the video here.  And there’s also a lively discussion, with Q&A from the webinar, happening on Facebook.

One topic that comes up a lot in the social media discussion is social media etiquette.  How do you introduce yourself and jump in to the discussion?  When you open-sourcetr your communication, should you moderate it?  How should you respond to negative comments?

The U.S. Air Force has been asking the same questions, and they’ve put together the following highly detailed flow-chart:

click chart for pdf version

 Your organization may not be as militaristic as the Air Force, but there’s some useful stuff here for everybody.  If you don’t already have one, devote some time to developing a plan for evaluating and responding to your donors and supporters.  And take a look at the chart’s “response considerations”–these are things every organization should be thinking about:

• Transparency Is key-be clear about where donor money is going.  Share stories that communicate the impact donor money has on advancing the mission of the organization or reaching a goal.
• Sourcing Speak with authority on your organization’s work and back up your claims with facts, links, and references.  Make it easy for people to find out what other people are saying about you.
• Timeliness Your donors are investing in your organization, so you should also be investing in them.  Make sure your communication is clear and reflects that you consider engaging with them a very worthwhile investment of time.  
• Tone Your communication, whether through snail mail, email, Facebook, or Twitter,  should always be consistent with your brand.  You can often communicate in a more casual tone through social media, but make sure you aren’t compromising on what your organization represents.  Consider meeting with others in your organization to discuss your target audiences.