Small staff associations: now’s your chance to get recognized by YouTube! For the third year in a row, the online video giant is awarding prizes – including grants – to the best in nonprofit videos as part of the Do Gooder Nonprofit Awards.

If you’re a member of YouTube’s Nonprofit Program, submit your video by February 29! This is a great opportunity to spread the word about your organization and get some awesome publicity! Keep in mind: it doesn’t matter how small or big your organization is. Great videos deserve the recognition!

Check out the video (above) and get even more info about the contest here!

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend.

I wanted to share a few great slideshows to encourage everyone to use tools – such as YouTube – to their greatest potential. I’ve also included a primer on Twitter for those who may not know the basics. It’s always good to have a refresher!

As I’ve discussed before, from time to time I come across awesome resources online and like to share them with readers. Today, I’ve got two videos courtesy of ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership‘s YouTube channel. Video is a powerful mechanism for conveying information to members and stakeholders, and can often be more engaging than written content.

Does your organization use video as a way to engage with your members?

By the way, for more information about video for associations, check out my Beyond the Big Three posts on YouTube and UStream.

After a few days of percolating on what I experienced at GSAE’s Annual Meeting and Tradeshow, I’ve finally got a recap! Because I’m extremely interested in how association professionals use social media, I attended Deirdre Reid’s session, “Using Social Media Effectively,” and Sterling Raphael’s “Social Media and Your Membership: Engagement Strategies.” (MemberClicks sponsored the latter session.)

Everyone has different levels of understanding when it comes to social media, so I think it can be very difficult to present a session on that topic. It’s so broad, and encompasses so much, and there’s no way to hit all of the fine points during a 60- or 90-minute presentation.

However, I think both Sterling and Deirdre did a fantastic job of hitting the high points during their sessions – the key for any organization is to listen before jumping in.

Some of the key points I got from the sessions:

- You can’t just throw up a Facebook page for your organization without nurturing it.
- Be authentic
- There’s a complete paradigm shift between different generations regarding the way they communicate
- There are three building blocks to an organization’s Web presence: database, website and social media
- The average user is connected to 60 pages, groups and events on Facebook – brands, organizations and companies are all competing for attention
- Aim small and miss small. Get out there and learn what does and doesn’t work
- Your members are your best tools online
- Leverage your database to create a community and engage with your members – marry new and old media

Some great tools recommended:

- To collect and distribute conversations: Tweetdoc or Wthashtag
- To recap and evolve conversations, and drive people back to your website: Slideshare, YouTube, Flickr
- To improve operational efficiency: Skype, GoTo Meeting, BaseCamp, Remember the Milk, HootSuite

I think all organizations, no matter how big or small, can take advantage of these tools. In a way, some small-staff organizations could almost have an easier time engaging their members online because if the organization has fewer members, they likely know each other better to begin with.

If your organization has a social media strategy, how did you get started? What is your best tip for associations that are just getting started? Do you have any cool tools to recommend to others?

For more photos from GSAE’s Annual Meeting, check out our Facebook page!

I have absolutely no idea how I hadn’t heard of this before, but I just found out today about the YouTube Nonprofit Program. Basically, YouTube provides nonprofit organizations with premium branding capabilities, the option to allow fundraising through a Google “Donate” button and tons more tips and tricks!

Right now, the program is only available in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia. Additionally, YouTube stipulates that the campaign cannot be focused on religion or politics.

Other benefits include:

- A listing on the Nonprofit channels and the Nonprofit videos pages
- Option to add a “Call to action” overlay on videos to drive campaigns

The tips page is definitely helpful, and includes information on how to customize your organization’s channel, develop content and network and distribute your videos.

The program also brings organizations with similar missions together, allowing them to partner and work together.

I think YouTube’s suggestion to tell serial stories is a fantastic one – decide on a theme or central message for your campaign and keep viewers coming back for more. Additionally, weaving any current events into your videos will make them that much more timely and significant.

I previously wrote about YouTube as part of the “Beyond the Big Three” series here. I wrote a lot about what YouTube can do as part of providing a virtual conference experience, but videos can truly be more powerful than just interviews with attendees or keynote speakers.

Online video is absolutely a noteworthy channel and can be a great way for nonprofits to help supplement and drive their campaigns. Through videos and comments on YouTube, your organization can touch base with donors and people who care about your mission.