Nonprofits looking to start using social media as a marketing tool will find a wealth of sound advice online, but putting the pieces together into a solid strategy? That's the real challenge. No one simple strategy will work for every nonprofit group. (In fact, trying to give step-by-step ''one size fits all'' directions for using social media is ...

Internet users are getting used to — and expecting, even demanding —  greater levels of interactivity in the websites they visit. They're looking for websites that are much more than a simple digital publication. Websites that engage them in some active way, even if it’s simply to leave a comment on a news item, subscribe to get updates or ...

Since the earliest days of world exploration, maps have told compelling stories to people who may never see the places depicted. Topographical lines on paper only go a small way to recreate the traveller's experience, however, and the rest depends on the viewers' imagination. Now, personalized and interactive maps are stretching those ...

Media outlets need to enrich the syndicated wire service stories with local content if they are to attract readers and advertisers — but few have the budget, these days, for a cadre of local reporters to seek out and report on the ''local angle'' of a story. Nonprofits working on the ground in a community do have that local content to ...

The original intention of sites such as Twitter may have been purely social, but like many Web 2.0 tools, it has evolved in the hands of its users. This time last year, the Canadian Marketing Association saw Twitter as a new toy for the tech savvy Millennial, “an easy, non committal way to keep tabs and staying emotionally close to our ...

Facebook is fast becoming a popular way to publicize an organization’s event, invite guests, and track who plans to attend. Facebook Events may be just what your group needs — but could you be shutting out some of the people who might support your event, by relying solely on Facebook to manage it? The fact is, for non-members of the site, ...

Has this ever happened to you? The printer jams, just as you’re trying to rush out a newsletter. Or you come up short on stationery and stamps, a few letters short of your mailing list run. Or you’re on the road with only a web-enabled phone at hand, when you remember an urgent note that must go out by mail… Some days, we can’t help wishing ...

RSS is a very powerful technology, useful for anyone to gather and digest many information sources in one place — and even more useful for nonprofits to get their information out to their members and supporters.  If you were to put all of your most important news sources onto a single web page, what a useful resource that could ...

The trick to effective mind mapping is finding the right tool for the job — whether that tool is pen and paper, as Guy Lewis used to unravel his personal life, or dedicated software, as Patrick Lynch used to explain Wild Apricot’s features to his colleagues. What is Mind Mapping? Mind mapping is a non-linear, highly visual method of ...

If your organization makes PowerPoint slideshows for special events, meetings and conferences, you've probably put a lot of time and effort into creating each one. Why not get extra mileage from those PowerPoint presentations by putting them onto your website or blog for others to see? Here are four different ways to share PowerPoint files on ...