Google has declared that their networking-platform Google+ is strictly for people only. They have discouraged groups, corporations and brands from forming their profiles on the platform. And even went to as far as making an impression to anyone that non-user profiles will be deleted from the system.
Non-profit members can still take advantage of this. All though being in an organization as they are, a good thing to note about non-profits is they are made up of individuals. They are people of the people who are there for other people.
The following are ways that non-profits can make use of Google+ best features:
Host Organization-exclusive Hangouts
Google Hangouts is a great way you can involve members to the causes of your organization in a comfortable manner. You can establish webinars and maybe host talks with key speakers to members of your organization. This individualized manner of establishing a spirited discourse can be a very rewarding experience to dedicated volunteers and supporters of your organization.
A good thing about Google+ is you can just simply create a circle for almost anything. You can make a circle with people who wish to participate in a certain project of your organization.
Tammy Gordon, American Association of Retired Persons’ (AARP) director of social communication and strategy, said, “It will be a great way to connect with key volunteers.”
Perhaps, it is better to have the speaker host the hangout. That way if the speaker on your team is a part of your organization, everyone can maintain a sense of contact to your organization.
Hosting a large-scale hangout can be a daunting idea to anyone though. With the Google+ policy, it is not something to take lightly. This is also why people have been more than eager for groups and business pages to come by soon.
Cater to Your Circles
It is always a good thing to organize your circles properly. Circles can be created with a specific theme in mind. You can create them by grouping people with shared relations, location, teams, etc.
You can create circles with people with regards to their shared interests or functions. There are people you know who might be programmers, artists and medical professionals yet all are volunteers to your organization. People can belong to various circles and you can try to bring them in whichever circle so as long as they fit the description. With that done, you can start conversations or ask opinions about matters that they are learned or interested with.
Gordon hopes for business circles to be of opt-in basis. This is so that people who are interested in a certain part of an organization’s undertaking can choose for themselves to join if they want. The AARP hopes to create circles for different matters like health, customer entertainment and social security among others.
To Huddle or To Hangout, there is no excuse
Google+ communication features let’s no one left hanging. With Hangouts, anyone on your team no matter where they are or what time zone they are on can meet and talk about anything. As long as you have your computer and a data connection available, you’ll never be behind with the latest organizational updates.
Another option you can try is to huddle everyone up. This is Google+ mobile version of the Hangout. With Huddle, you can send text messages to a specific group of people. With a smart phone that runs a Google+ app, you can easily turn text messaging into a party-chat system. The app stores all memory of your conversation making it easy to pick up where you left off.
For any organization that spans geographical locations and time zones, Google+ makes conferencing easy and ready.
Huddle Up Volunteers
Huddle allows fast correspondence among volunteers. This is especially useful in fast-paced and urgent events like parades, rallies or protests.
Huddling is done through adding specific people onto a group. This group can send and receive text messages to everyone on that huddle about the happenings in an event. This keeps everyone up to date with just a few ticks on your smart phone.
With the speed and ease huddles provide, this will be an interesting and useful means of communication for non-profit organizations.
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