I had the opportunity to attend the July Super Swap at ASAE yesterday. I attended two sessions: one on volunteerism, one on technology: fad v trend.
The best things I learned/heard include:
Volunteerism
- Different tools have different strengths. Match the tools you offer your volunteers to what it is they’re trying to do.
- Create volunteer job descriptions and publicize them before recruitment, so people know what they’re getting into. Then interview applicants before accepting and assigning them.
- Volunteering is more than just serving on a committee. Other ideas include writing an article for a newsletter or magazine, presenting for a webinar or at a conference, taking over items from staff to do lists that you never get around to (how about calls to members?), providing or promoting content on social media, organizing local networking events, fundraising, acting as a focus or advisory group, mentoring, membership recruitment, advocacy…
Tech: Trend v. Fad
- Fads are generally negative, but they can lead to new ideas.
- A trend is a fad that’s graduated.
- Trends gain momentum, while fads lose it.
- Particular tools may be a fad (MySpace), but the ideas are trends (connecting with people you know or would like to know online and simply).
- Until you’re answered the “why,” there’s no point in considering the “how” – it’s ALWAYS easier to do nothing.
- ALWAYS have a call to action in any communication, otherwise, why are you bothering me?
- Don’t expect less from social media in terms of measurable ROI than your other communications channels, but don’t expect more either.