It seems that almost everyone today has a blog, MySpace account or website. These pages are easily customizable and offer internet users a place to express themselves. Why not give your supporters something to decorate their space with?
If I had one piece of advice for all non profit organizations that want to increase their online presence, it would be to design and create a Web 2.0 badge. Now some of you may be reading this and have a blank stare…what is a web 2.0 badge?
A web 2.0 badge is simply a graphic people put on their website, blog or social networking site to express themselves. Web badges are generally small and come in all shapes and sizes. Organizations post the badges on their website, usually as a .PNG, .GIF or .JPG, which visitors can download or copy from the site. Then post the badges on their blog, social site or web page. A couple of badges I came across ask visitors to link the badge back to their website or include their web address in the badge (see below).
Recently, I found a website called GreenJobsNow that incorporated web 2.0 badges into their marketing plan. The website promotes this idea of building a sustainable economy from green jobs. For instance, erecting wind turbines, installing solar panels and planting gardens. To show support for the idea they created the following badges that anyone can download and post on their various pages to show support.
Putting these badges on my blog was simple, all I did was:
- Download the image
- Upload the image to WordPress by selecting insert image
ASPCA is another organizations that uses Web 2.0 badges to promote their cause. From the ASPCA’s MySpace page anyone can copy the code of the banner below then paste it on their MySpace page or into their blog.
Providing the html code on your page is great because all people have to do is copy the code and paste it where they want it- no download no uploading. The downside to only providing a code is some people may not know where to paste the code so that is show up as an image.
While your organization is going into planning mode for the fourth quarter why not incorporate these simple Web 2.0 badges into your marketing plan. Here are a few ideas:
- email the badges to past and present donors and encourage them to add them to their blog or social networking pages
- Post the badges on your website, blog and social networking site with instructions for adding them to a blog, website and social networking page
- create more than one badge, give supporters a variety
- Host a design contest and have supports select the ones they like best
- Give the badges as gifts to donors
- Post a video on GoodTube or YouTube then create a badge that links to the video or your organizations video page
The possibilities are endless.
Tell me about your organizations success or failures using web 2.0 badges and post your favorite badges here and we will all vote on our favorites.
1 response so far ↓
Frank Pot // September 20, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Building Web 2.0 Business Websites: Business Process Innovation with Web 2.0 and Joomla! – This book is an excellent guide to build a web 2.0 corporate or organization website using Joomla. It also demonstrates how to use crowd-sourcing, social networking, and other web 2.0 tools to create business values in product development, recruiting, fund-raisers, marketing campaigns, sales, and support.