Last week I went to an NTEN event about how nonprofits can take advantage of Foursquare, a mobile app that is gaining about 100,000 new users a week.

At the event, Naveen Selvadurai, one of the founders of Foursquare explained how their invention was driven by a series of questions: “How can we get better at living in our cities?” And, “How can we turn life into a game?”

For uninitiated, here’s how Foursquare works: get to a location and “check in.” Once the app registers where you are, businesses and nonprofits nearby can alert you to special offers — like a discount for frozen yogurt. Like Meetup, it’s also a way to connect with friends in real time. Depending on the number of times you check in, you can earn “badges” or be anointed “Mayor” of that place – which can come with special privileges and…

read more »

Have you heard of Shoes of Prey?  The custom shoe design site had an explosive experience last week – thanks to a 16-year-old’s YouTube site.  Juicysatr07’s had 450,000 viewers, and combined with a giveaway prize from the company, lured 200,000 to Shoes of Prey’s site, according to PSFK.

How are you adapting to and including new voices in your online marketing?  How do you find the right influencers?

You can learn how to apply every kind of makeup, reorganize your closet, sketch a portrait, and a million other things thanks to the force of young women on YouTube. The tone of the video, the number of YouTube subscribers, and their comments can help you figure out which YouTube lady is the best to help your product, company or organization.  If you have an evening, watch their videos!

Women research their purchases and the…

read more »

Have you seen the promos for the “Shine the Light” contest by American Express and NBC Universal?

The campaign, which invited the public to nominate and vote for the “small business story that most inspires them,” wrapped today with the announcement of the winner: Sacred Wind Communications, a telecommunications outfit based in Albuquerque that is working to wire Navajo lands with telephone and Internet access. The company will receive with $100,000 in grant and marketing support.

“Shine the Light” is a great example of a campaign that was not overtly marketed to women as the target audience, but nonetheless capitalized on a number of marketing principles and tactics that appeal to them:

1. You decide: The entire contest was driven by public input, from nominations to voting for the winner – the principle of putting women in CONTROL in action.

2. iVillage: This women-oriented online entity, which NBC…

read more »

A new study out by SheConnected, “The Power of Social Networking For Women Research Study” shows how women use social networking sites. It’s important to note that these women were recruited from social networking sites so the numbers are skewed but still informative.

Some highlights include:
- 59% are are visiting sites multiple times per day.
- Facebook was the most popular social network among these users, with 83% belonging to the site.
- 55% were on Twitter.
- 93% said that control over their own privacy settings were very important.
- 71% said using social networks to network professional was very important and 62% said to stay up-to-date with friends.

More women use social networking than men and if your organization doesn’t understand the trends and strategies on how to maximize them you’re missing out on a key audience.

read more »

Women make more of the charitable decision making at home (Source: http://bit.ly/OP2t8) and wealthy women give away nearly twice as much as of their wealth as their male counterparts (Source: http://bit.ly/hSZNL). For the non-profit sector these women are a must get.

In a new post today on Media Post’s Engage Mom blog Tiffany Jonas suggest that affluent women expect more online. According to Jonas wealth women are turned off by Web sites that are sloppy and disorganized. She suggest design with a clean “high-end” design. She sites Vera Wangs Web site as a good “art level” example.

Not all NGOs want or can afford “high art” but they can take Jonas’ advice and make beautiful, yet functional sites. Chen and I argue in the She Spot that women, in particular, are looking for Web sites that reflect real people and excude authenticity. Here are some good…

read more »

Females aged between 35 and 49 are the fastest-growing group within social networks and blogging sites, according to recent research by Neilson.

Libby Chivers of SEO Optimise gives the following tips  to marketing to women online:

1. Women enjoy socializing online more than men. Chivers suggests that  confrontational forum debates are out and supportive social networking is in. She suggests allowing users to personalize their platforms, encourage the sharing of ideas and support and create a space for off-topic chat.

Don’t be afraid to have your site not be 100% about your mission. The goal is to foster community. Remember, when you connect women to each other you deepen your own brand.

2. Attract women with attractive Web design. Men tend to appreciate functionality in websites. Women want that too but they also want colorful, attractive and textured sites.

3. Grow your user generation content. Women trust each other…

read more »