Reflection 3: Baltimore Toolbank

(image from Baltimore Toolbank)

The Baltimore Toolbank, located in Pigtown about 3 miles away from the harbor, is a nonprofit that works to provide quality, inexpensive tools for rent for local nonprofits and volunteers to use around the community. They sometimes describe themselves as the nonprofit behind the nonprofits. An example of what they do is provide tools to help reconstruct local parks and playgrounds. They also host events where local kids can learn tool competency by building small carnival games like corn hole! 

What stood out to me about the Toolbank is that they run very successful social media pages despite being a staff of only two! 

Their Facebook page has 1,624 likes and 1,589 followers.

Their Twitter has 1,381 followers

Their Instagram, which I last heard is what they are now working on growing, has 344 followers so far.

Now, these numbers may not seem that great compared to bigger companies that we're used to; but for a small city nonprofit with only two people running the whole show, these numbers seem pretty amazing. Based on the article we read by Keitzmann et al. the Toolbank is so successful because they are big on Presence, Sharing, Relationships, Reputation, and Conversations; five out of the seven in the honeycomb of social media. (Kietzmann et al., “Social Media?”)

First, the Toolbank established a strong presence by deciding they wanted to reach nonprofits and volunteers in the community through social media. They share and repost every time they are mentioned by members of the community, whether its a feature in the local paper or a mention from a volunteer who enjoyed their time at the Toolbank. They also share photos form every time a volunteer visits or their tools are used by someone in the community. But they don't just use social media to self-promote, they also create relationships. They follow and support numerous nonprofits in the area and does a great job of highlighting them as well. They are always involved in conversations with their followers and comment or reply whenever someone tags them in a question. They also respond in a good timeframe so that followed know they are active. Lastly, the Toolbank is big on their reputation not only in the community but also on social media. They are professional, helpful, and always friendly in their posts, tweets, and replies.

Kietzmann, Jan H., Kristopher Hermkens, Ian P. McCarthy, and Bruno S. Silvestre. “Social Media? Get Serious! Understanding the Functional Building Blocks of Social Media.” Business Horizons 54, no. 3 (May 2011): 241–51. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.005.