‘It’s a small world after all!’ How to use niche social networks to spread your message Twitter: #10NTC, #nichenetworks
May 10, 2015
‘It’s a small world after all!’
How to use niche social networks to spread your message
Twitter: #10NTC, #nichenetworks
WHO ARE WE?
Manny Hernandez @askmanny
Peggy Duvette
@WiserEarth
Danielle Brigida
@starfocus
• Active players in the social media field
• Representing TuDiabetes, EstuDiabetes, National Wildlife Federation, WiserEarth
The importance of Niche Networks
•Connect people that don’t normally know each other
Enable new offline connectionsDevelop new online synapses
•Strengthen focused communities•Reach out to an attentive audience•Allow for meaningful conversations
How to outreach to niche communities
If you are targeting a specific passion, interest
If your audience is in a specific location
If your audience has already an established community
Location Existing Community
Passion/Specific Interest
Quality over Quantity
If you are looking for quality
Location-based network
Ncwildlife.ning.com
•547 members
•Very useful for events and groups
• Members post events, blogs and photos
Audience-based network
Kirtsy.com
•Like Digg for women
•500 + page views from a popular item
•Active community: 200,000 + registered users
Audience-based network: GovLoop
GovLoop.com
•Social network for government community
•25,000 + members
Interest-based network
Tudiabetes.org.
•14,000 + members
•Connecting people with diabetes, caregivers and others touched by diabetes
Interest-based: Sustainability
WiserEarth.org
• 35,000 + members
•Bridging non- and for-profit sectors
•Focus on sustainability/ social justice
Outreach to your community means...
•Better traffic quality
•Enthusiastic participants who listen to what you are saying
•Relevance to your topic: greater impact of message
•Easier way to find leaders
Stepping stones for successful niche network
Don’t focus on the tool
Leverage other social networks
Listen and reciprocate
Engage
Go where your community is
Impermanent networks such as Twitter
Keep experimenting
Listen and learn from your community needs
Empower your top members
Can you devote enough time to engage with the community?
Hidden challenges
Interaction happens where people are
Don’t expect people on Facebook to automatically come to your site!
Niche networks are time-consuming
Is this the right fit with your organization’s strategy?
• Blogs to follow– Beth’s Blog: http://beth.typepad.com– WiserEarth Blog: http://blog.wiserearth.org/– Community Spark http://www.communityspark.com/– Ning Blog: http://blog.ning.com
• Some useful posts:– Ning for nonprofits: How to create, manage and grow
your own social network– Using Ning to Connect your Community– Ning and niche social networking
Resources you may be interested in
– Manny: @askmanny– Peggy: @wiserearth– Danielle: @starfocus
Follow us on Twitter
THANK YOU
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