In this post, I talk about 10 social media trends that I'm seeing, and examples of those trends including fear of failure, mounting case studies, acceptance of ROI, employee use of social media, and more.

In an international survey of social network users, InSites Consulting found that social network users trust brands' social sites for information about the brand itself, second to peer information. Is this astonishing? In the article, I also think about how nonprofits can utilize this information for their brands.

Many foundations and philanthropies are using social media to talk to their stakeholders. If you are a nonprofit seeking foundation funding, make connecting with foundations using social media part of your overall development plan - and your engagement strategy.

How does social media fit into the overall messaging? What role does it play in the sales cycle? This post considers the value of social media in meeting organizational goals, conceptualized as a flow chart of the overall brand and program marketing strategy.

Why don't more nonprofits collaborate, online and offline? Social media culture is all about sharing, giving back, and being unselfish. You get more in return. In this post, I offer three examples of nonprofits working in collaboration to expand the potential return. What do you think?

Social media is a public platform, where we utilize the "power of weak ties" to move people to action. How does a weak tie become stronger, more fully engaged? It's when conversations move them from the public conversation places to private conversations. These private conversations are social media's "back yard." That is where the relationships are strengthened and built.

An interesting survey by Harris Poll shows that Engaged Americans (those who have volunteered, donated or advocated in the past year) want to be more involved in their nonprofit causes through social media. The survey also shows that they are already taking action as a result of social media engagement. How can nonprofits take advantage of this information?

Nonprofit organizations constantly need to raise funds, and many are turning to social media to raise funds online. Organizations ask, "when does social media lead to more money?" The real question to think about is, "when does engagement lead to more money." Using social media to engage, listen and learn from stakeholders is the first requirement for a successful online fundraising strategy.

Wonder what it takes to create a dynamic and growing Facebook Fan Page? The California State Parks Foundation's fan page grew from 517 fans to over 45,000 in a few short months. In this guest post, Brenna Holmes, of Adams Hussey and Associates, shares the multi-channel effort that created the Fan Page's growth and how they worked to save the California state parks.

Want to know how a Flickr campaign originates, evolves and grows? In this interview with Georgina Goodlander, of the Luce Foundation Center for American Art, she explains the history of the innovative "Fill the Gap" campaign, its progress, and how it will evolve.