Members for private spaces are added by copying and pasting your email list or by importing a CSV file or vCard. Private spaces do not allow auto-posting to social networks. Instead, your posts are sent via email to the members. You can choose to have them sent individually as you update the site or in a daily email.
[img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/uPZElQzTGbI3JOLRR-P0-qDJcQsGdd7WwaMYVK-TtoRYf8xF8EnSz10cYqmBBoQu-CgKQ1TD9syHNId7ouRCte-bfHm7zVEIhDMQTX4ovvjb87o80yo" caption="" credit="" alt=""]
In your public spaces you can have you updates posted automatically to your social network accounts. That way your followers on those sites will automatically receive your posts online, via email, and by text depending on the network's capabilities and the person's preferences. Apply a little thought on what social networks you want to use and try to create uniform account names in those sites. This will help your audience find you and help build your brand.
One note on this process; all of these sites, including Posterous require a valid email address. I recommend you set up a free email account in Google, Yahoo, or a similar service and use it for your Posterous account and the social network accounts that you are linking. You can then set up auto-forwarding from that account to your main email account. This allows you greater flexibility to organize your mail and provides a buffer between your social networks and your work email account. You'll be able to reassign or deactivate the emails generated from these sites without having to reuse or lose a staff account. Once you have one or more social network sites set up, choose the Autopost Setup menu option and add your accounts.
[img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/GCnyJ35fTsnn8fTY_pGbQQkyHF6SnNgoEVjCGANFEid5hiJgjFO2NakHucrQ72pg5YfiFL0OpyoxBPkBuSrx9YtPR4wx6Kw__H2U8F3Iwo2shaltZxc" caption="" credit="" alt=""][img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/l2-GMn4yn3oCmjxBBLQoQJyQ4qgunElYVviezvI0MKRmlwn1w2rMAW7mkn22rAtfsF9GkTRutkl_zTQCDBkEM9RXFu2UfuqwETZ5kuZLBkJMNjUT-2Q" caption="" credit="" alt=""]
Note the number and various types of connections you can make. You can even post to other blogs. Adding a post to your space is very simple. You can type in your content through the web interface, import a document, or email it to your space. Your posts are automatically sent to your linked social network accounts.
This is what a post looks like when it goes to Facebook.
[img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/BYtByniMBUWJ58IxyFgBk01VqYFdm2VlJgio5rLw4mOr-s5hKQlHGWqCvqoSyoc8pM1fwh9-sa4NhvZu19yM9_S4vAUmJ0W4i5z4z1r12cm1EfKSC2Q" caption="" credit="" alt=""]
In Twitter, the post will contain the title and a shortened url to the post within your Posterous space.
[img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/DVokk1oYp2sz45Xw3eap56sGC314XusaXKXmG4C6g3-mOG3FSDt4sFlVNiKsS_jrPPb2XjkRjjN_7Wo96lU4yy0AgNxPpc6OmxCjNTZ7ov4a2zS-_mw" caption="" credit="" alt=""]
Now that your space is linked to your social networks, you can add functionality to and information for users who view or follow your space. In a sense, you are setting up a website. You might want to add links to fund raisers or affiliates. You can also add pages containing info about your mission, volunteer policy, event schedules, etc. The intent with the links and pages is to have them always accessible to your audience as menu items or links on the space.
[img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/jTTNWlNF6Qv0VPDNc-_N2HwAw6dnAkpqTkzc4-aSQtN09634s9RhS6m4hG17sXObdvafoPFYX4e-Uq5Ij4-uXYuk097g1x5G-fslUTAFiSiV_jsqXAc" caption="" credit="" alt=""]
Finally, you want to create a look and feel to your space using a theme. Posterous has several shared themes to choose from. If you can't find a theme that totally suits your needs, the tool does allow you to customize a theme. This isn't difficult but you will need someone who can read html and style sheets.
[img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/fPhjgsfKdhN4V-Oe_U2ZMkAhH0Nu5dVy8cCqpWcmWbyvjewP6UAp5gprKjSicwml-bD2xULqLXOVvCA5-i0vbEtloAE7s-Rs7Ji24iY2tH4fYsngxkI" caption="" credit="" alt=""]
I spent about an hour setting up my demo email account, social network accounts, and Posterous space. The end result is a centralized social media platform that your nonprofit or charitable organization can use for initiatives such as cause marketing, attracting donors, volunteer engagement, and employee engagement.