The Big Stick and Social Media

The largest corporation in the U.S. that has offices in all 50 states and employees about 2.65 million people. This corporation provides products and services to about 310.3 million people, the United States Federal Government. The federal government is one of the best corporations as all levels of government have started using social media to reach its market and engage its audience and even fight bad guys.

All For It

Allaboutadvocacy.com The government has become a social media machine giving multiple blogs, viral videos, even photos and tweets about up and coming bills, legislation, and all things politics. USA.gov's website has a portion of links to this social media sources for both federal, state, and local level governments. Even the military has joined the fight with Facebook pages for different military groups and missions. The social media wave has hit the government hard as they are realizing that they must stick with social media to be able to reach many of their constituents and younger voters.

Tweeting For The Masses

NASA's Twitter Page

We have seen how effective tweeting and promotion through twitter can be for large corporations, small businesses, and even non-profits. But twitter has become a whole new world with mayor's office of NYC and NASA joining twitter to post updates and information about things they are working on (Information Week-Government).

"With these new channels, the city will be able to get New Yorkers the information they need in the way they want to get it," Bloomberg said.

 NASA has become one of the most popular pages on twitter along with that of the U.S Marines. The Obama Administration has also taken a interesting take on tweets as they have used Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to reach the masses through a program called Town hall @ The White House, this interesting program allows users to ask questions, give suggestions, and chat about updates in the Presidency. The video below demonstrate what the program is trying to achieve. 

Townhall, YouTube.com

Combating Crime Through Social Media

Finally the U.S government has begun to use sifting software to look at Twitter and Facebook pages that have the possibly for crime and even terrorist attacks. The Department of Defense and the Office of National Intelligence are behind this project in the hopes that it will continue to make our country safer. The program focuses on groups rather than individuals. The hope is that the program will filter enough to show what is possible threat to the nation and what is free speech.

"It really ought to be the golden age of intelligence collection in that you've got people falling all over themselves trying to express who they are," said Ross Stapleton-Gray, a former CIA analyst.

Seems that social media like Facebook and Twitter have larger purposes than just for individuals but as we have seen can promote all sizes of business as well as improve your government and make our nation safer.  

It Ain't Optional for These Guys

Delwarefirst.com

There purpose and management is quite different from a normal business or corporation, but it does not mean that social media cannot work for them. Social media cannot be optional for non-profits, currently 84% of non-profits use social media to improve their fundraiser and outreach methods according to a recent study. The study continued to say that only 39% of organizations are using social media for the primary purpose of fundraising. As well it was recorded that most organizations experience success with social media and little dissatisfaction with this type of marketing.

"Nonprofits approaching social media strategically -- setting goals and objectives and then measuring results against them -- are the most satisfied," said Krista Endsley, senior vice president and general manager for Nonprofit Solutions at Sage. "You really do get what you measure. Knowing where social media fits within an organization's overall mission, and having goals and objectives in place, will take that organization much further than sporadic social media activity."

It's all in the videos

Kony 2012 - Invisible Children

The best way that non-profits can make effective use of social media is to target the correct audience, create a story that causes change or action, and try to get others to get involved through donation or volunteering. A great way to create this process is to make a story that target's the viewers heart through videos. Online videos have start with one viewer and are passed on through the population very quickly. If the video has the ability to affect change than it will become viral very quickly. A great example of a video that caused major change was the KONY 2012 video. With over 88 million views this video sets the example for other effective social media videos. With the help of Google which has created a new non-profit system where views can donate straight through online videos.

"Undoubtedly, social media has transformed how nonprofits communicate and engage with their constituents and supporters," said Endsley. "Americans spend more time using social media than any other activity online. No matter an organization's mission, establishing a social media presence online is critical to both expanding awareness and reach and engaging constituents."

Making your Message Count

http://www.dreamgrow.com

The Nonprofit Quarterly published an article recently that walked organizations through how to make Twitter mean the most to their purpose. They gave the same steps as with making viral videos. First, you must connect - start by joining these sites then target your audience - so your message reaches those that it truly impacts. Thirdly, be consistent - post consistently and make sure your messages agree with each other and support the organization's goal. Lastly, keep it interested - engage your audience and allow for feedback or discussion, this will help cause your audience to take action.

Takes Time
Success will not come over night, but nonprofits must continue to fight to get their message and voice head as the American public continues to move online and turn to social media.