So, my new year’s resolution was to write more blog posts and, as December is just one sleep away, I thought I’d better get my act together. In hindsight, I might not have chosen the best time as, in the run up to Christmas, tech news is being overlooked in favour of Christmas jumpers and mince pies. Still, we managed to find a little something to whet your appetite…

A niche opportunity?

Do you feel that Facebook and Twitter have become crowded? It’s true the number of users on these networks is growing by the day – a fact which usually has us singing their praises. However, this week, we’re reminded that some niche networks deliver big results for brands. Heather Whaling describes:

‘Niche social networks and online communities offer additional opportunities for brands to connect with consumers in an environment that’s highly targeted and often less congested.’

For example, online retailer ModCloth found success with platforms such as photo sharing app Instagram and online pin board Pininterest. ModCloth used the networks to connect with pre-existing fashion communities and now cites Pininterest as one of its top referring sites.

So, does this mean you should abandon Facebook and Twitter? We would say definitely not. Will Instagram and Pininterest work for everyone? Probably not. But this doesn’t mean that there aren’t other niche networks which could benefit your organisation or boost charity campaigns. Having clear objectives will help you discover what networks might benefit you most and best target your audiences.  This approach worked very well for us, when we worked on this campaign.

Google has another rival

We’re big fans of WordPress at beautiful world and were interested to learn about its latest development, and its answer to Google Adsense, WordAds.  If you’re a blogger, this means you have the potential to monetise your musings but with 50,000 WordPress powered blogs coming online everyday it isn’t only bloggers who should be pleased. WordAds promises its ads will be more relevant to blog content and ‘the ads will be targeted so that they are a good fit with a genre’ – opening up a whole lot of potential for charities to advertise its content.

We will eagerly await further updates…

Is your charity going to be the next Britney Spears?

So we’re still sitting politely on the fence about Google+ but this week we learn that Britney Spears is its most followed user. Google+ was a hot topic for some at NFPtweetup last week (Ade and Ross I’m definitely talking about you!) and we’ve been wondering how those charities that were first to set up their pages have been getting on? Tell us about your experience and if it’s working – or even if it’s not – in the comments below.

Presentations and cake

We’re still fresh from celebrating NFPtweetup’s third birthday last week and we hope you enjoyed yourselves – and the cake! If you haven’t done so already, please complete our short survey and help us make the next one even better. For those who missed out, the presentation slides are on the NFPtweetup slideshare. Also, keep your eyes peeled for details of our next event in the New Year as (fingers crossed!) we’re planning something a little bit special.

Finally, for those who are seeking the key to making something ‘go viral’ it turns out the answer lies with one man and his dog…

Until next November

Teri

Tags: Google, Instagram, NFPtweetup, Pininterest, WordAds