We're getting better at this social media thing

Live and Learn New Mexico! (L&LNM) has been focusing on getting the word out that we are here to help New Mexicans learn toward a better life. This spring, we have been concentrating on the New Mexico part of our name. We have been researching, blogging, and curating (supporting other NM organizations on Facebook by Liking and Sharing their posts). 

Just as we suspected, New Mexico is full of amazing people who know we can change things for the better if we just pull together as communities and help each other succeed.  

For the last year and a half, as I've been blogging and putting my posts on Facebook, I've "boosted" some by paying to get the post out to more people. This worked to build a following but I discovered that FB will only help so much. 

If I boosted one post twice, for example, I'm pretty sure FB just re-sent it to the same people I paid to reach the first time. Boosting a post twice was a waste of money. Then a kind person read one of my posts and recommended I use Actionsprout to reach more people. I signed up for the free version right away and am thrilled with the results.

Actionsprout sends me emails that show me how to make the most of my money and how to most effectively share content without spending even more money. I've already learned so much and more people are commenting and reacting to my posts.

The most promising thing that has happened with Actionsprout is that a woman in Belen has said she would like to be part of our project to convert homes to sustainable energy, one home at a time. Woo hoo! It only takes one person in one community to get the ball rolling. We are looking into costs of converting a home to solar, local experts to volunteer their expertise, and what kinds of local organizations might be able to provide grants to support our projects. 

Civnet

I recently attended a bees and seeds festival in Abq and met the man who has started a similar service that is Abq based called Civnet. I signed up as a beta user. Civnet will help us find volunteers and other resources to help us complete projects. L&LNM believes we need to go local and go organic. We try hard to support local businesses so we would like to further explore Civnet. 

Social Media's Power

Using social media to build L&LNM has been an intense learning experience and an expensive one. It would have been a fun one, too, if it didn't take so much money to get the most out of it. But we wouldn't be American if we weren't all about the money, right?   

Ending on a positive note, we might have to spend money now but hopefully, once we have grown support across the state, it won't be about money at all.