Yet there seems to be a general hesitation to adopt social media within the nonprofit landscape. Perhaps because social media strategy is so “entrepreneurial,” so “for-profit.” Indeed. Funnily, no one is more masterful at it than those clever, nonprofit rockstars over at NPR.

Case in point. The most listened to time on public radio stations across the country is during a fund-drive. Think about that. They remove what we love (programming) for an entire week or more and we keep listening! What’s more is they ask us for money! And because we’re fans, we give it to them. Again and again, year after year — long before Twitter even existed.

Enter Web 2.0. Now, more than any other time in history, accessing fans — connecting with them in real and meaningful ways, and then using this connection to achieve your goals has never been easier. Not just for NPR… but for anyone. Which is why it’s also never been more difficult.

For one, the scale of competition has increased exponentially, dividing all of us into two teams — broadcasters and fans — many of us straddling both to the point where literally everyone is vying for attention/fans; from Coca-Cola to suburban mothers to the CIA (yes, really! FB login required). In short, social media is everywhere, and has emerged not just as a way to reconnect with old college buddies but as a defining litmus test of sorts — a public measure of viability and integrity for both individuals and businesses. To be sure, if you’re not involved, you’re not relevant.

But it’s not enough to simply participate. Because oversaturation is rampant, we all must fight harder to stand out… to cut through the social media noise. Which means you also have to do it well.

Remember: social media runs on sharing. You could say that sharing is the very thing which makes it social. And people are naturally inclined to share. In fact, they are most likely to share content which creates civic value (vs. content which creates mere entertainment value). After all, civic value is emotion-based. Again… nonprofits = civic value in spades.

What’s more is, according to a recent Pew study (via Air Force Director of Public Affairs Capt. Nathan Broshear) 61% of people believe in someone like themselves, meaning: personal, relatable experience — a “story” — enhances emotional value. So ask yourself: what’s my story, what’s my emotional connection to the work? Because nothing is more powerful than this connection and one’s ability to relate it to others. After all, humans connect with other humans… not mission statements, not websites, not initiatives, not strategies….

The trick then, is to get comfortable communicating in a way that marries personal experience with company goals (note: “personal” not “private”). Take White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs for example, a few of his latest tweets:

1. Company-Centric:
Find out if you can save $$$ on your taxes thanks to recovery plan #arra – pass it along! http://bit.ly/av84Lk

2. Company-Rooted/Entertainment:
Hope folks got to see Obama and CBS analyst/former All-American college hoops player Clark Kellogg in a game of POTUS http://bit.ly/aYox4Q

3. Personal:
WOW…said I couldn’t wait to see @jasonheyward play for the Braves – hits home run in FIRST major league at bat…just unreal

What’s common throughout the above is Sec. Gibbs’ ease with the platform’s vernacular (the platform in this case being Twitter’s 140-characters-or-less parameter); short, concise, relatable, conversational — the overarching language characteristics of so-called digital natives. Not button-down formal but jeans-and-T-shirt casual, which, in Gibbs’ case, also equals likable. Share-ometer = high; translation: invaluable word-of-mouth publicity.

Think of it like this: your content only has life if it’s shared, only if you have an audience, only if you have fans who are listening. And Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, WordPress, etc… all of those companies are in the business of sharing. Their success literally relies on us, every time we share their product. Which is why they’ve made it ridiculously easy to do exactly that. Remember: sharing is an innate human tendency. People want to tell others about the emotional value you’ve brought into their life. Your job is to make it as easy as possible for them to do so, in part by participating within the social media platforms where your fans already exist.

Time to show ‘em how it’s really done.

My Mom

Think about it like this. Not only are you competing with a bijillion other musicians out there — both established and off the couch — but now, thanks to Twitter and Facebook (MySpace is soooooooo last century) you’re competing with my mom. Seriously. If her micro-blogging content is more compelling than yours, you’re screwed.

After all, fans are semi-limited. There’s only so much room we have in our hearts. And only so much time in the day. And only so much money to give/spend. And we are hella choosy. If you don’t have me at RT, somebody else will. And that somebody could very well be my mom. Or your mom. Or Joe the Plumber.

Web 3.0 = everyone has the potential to have an audience, to have fans. It’s like some uber-version of Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame. Only now it’s 140 characters or less. So yours better be good.

xo

No matter what your business (musicians included), it’s your job to go out and find fans. Assume that they otherwise won’t find you. So while putting up a website is nice, who cares? It’s nothing if you can’t get people to GO TO IT and BUY YOUR SHIT. Newsletters, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc… if you’re still pooh-poohing any of these, wake the fuck up (and then call me).

Because it’s not enough to just get out there… you have to lure your fans in: you have to create compelling content that can be shared. Certainly, a quality end-product (your CD) helps. But remember: how I feel about you is directly proportional to how much money I’m willing to give you, no matter how good the record is. Quality is secondary to connection. Which is why social marketing is everything. Newsletters people want to read. Tiny URLs people actually click. Blog posts people forward around….

xo

The point is, we’re a tribe connected by vibe… hence, this month’s compendium:

1. Nerdcore

Yes, it is an actual music genre. Who knew? From Wikipedia: “There is no canonical definition of nerdcore. The most general definition of a nerdcore artist would be ‘a rapper who is also a nerd.’” But really, I just like the name. The idea of an actual nerdy core of people, i.e. those of us who were practically knocking each other over for front row panel seats at SxSW Interactive. The same sort who follow Grand Master Kawasaki religiously (who were likely consequently devastated to discover Guy’s “message” is frequently bogus). Nerd alert! Yet somehow cool?

2. Twitter
Speaking of Sx Interactive, I now officially and regularly tweet. After Austin, I was convinced. But seriously, who has the time? Apparently me. As of last week. Follow me, I’ll follow you .

3. Late Arrivals
Welcome to the party Bob, we’ve been waiting for you.

4. A Pure Drop
Another Jeff Buckley biography. Really poorly written… I actually kept checking to make sure that the copy I have isn’t an advance. Nonetheless, I can’t put it down. Love Jeff. For fans, you’ll want to read it. Plus, he was just so freakin’ hot.

5. Bitchfork

OMG, are you laughing? How fucking brilliant is this? The brainchild of my friend David Peris: “Going to be a music hipster parody site. Mock all these people who I don’t think even like music… going to review music reviews!” Coming soon.

xo