I’ve seen several articles and blog posts recently that address the issue of social media being used by nonprofits. To boil them all down, they say that social media are great resources for nonprofits because they are free, that if nonprofits use social media resources that they have to keep up with the content to keep it current and changing, and that the nonprofits shouldn’t expect immediate fundraising results. That’s all well and good, but if I’m a nonprofit wanting to get started, it doesn’t tell me what to do. Here are my suggestions for getting started.
- The first thing you have to do is learn what options are out there and pick one or two to get started. If you don’t have strong IT staff, look for a volunteer or Board member who has knowledge in this area or who can connect you with someone who can. Ideally, you want to choose solutions that can tie your donors and volunteers to your mission and those you serve. For example, if your mission is to empower women and your programs are targeted towards women working on their GED and to established professionals learning advanced leadership techniques, create a blog that deals with issues pertinent to the entire constituency. Then set up a community or group that allows them to communicate and discuss those topics. The more your (potential) donors have first hand knowledge and participation in the mission, the easier it will be to persuade them to make donations.
- You have to provide compelling content. Often, nonprofits only use enewsletters, blogs, and social media postings to advertise events and ask for money. If this is what your nonprofit is doing, you are likely causing people to tune out and are possibly causing negative reactions. It is very easy to create donor fatigue if all of your communications are around “asking” for some type of support. Remember, Web 2.0 is a two-way street and you have to give your supporters a reason to come back.
- Managing social media and virtual marketing can be very time consuming and cannot fall on only one staff member’s shoulders. Set up a rotation for staff members to make status updates on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. Asking a staff member to come up with two 140 character status updates a few times a month isn’t much and it’s an easy way to keep your content changing and your organization in front of your followers. If you have a blog, you can also rotate the responsibility of writing the blog. If your staff is still stretched too thin, consider hiring a Virtual Buzz Assistant. This is a relatively inexpensive way to get the job done without adding staff.
- Lastly, your blog and website could be generating revenue by using affiliate programs such as Amazon or eBay. When people click through your website and purchase items from the affiliate’s site, your organization earns a commission. By recommending products that tie into your mission and the subject matter of your blog posts, your followers won’t feel as if they are being “advertised” to. Also, if your followers are aware that the organization receives funds when they click through your website, they may visit your site and click through for other purchases they would have made anyway. Not only do you get the revenue, but you keep them coming back! If you’re uncomfortable using affiliate programs directly on your website or blog, consider setting up a Squidoo lens on a topic that is mission related and you can generate affiliate revenue in a less noticeable manner. With Squidoo, you can even encourage your supporters to create their own lenses on any topic and have the revenue donated to your organization.
I’ll be going into more detail on these topics in future posts. If you have a strong need for me to cover one of these topics sooner rather than later, please leave a comment in that regard and I’ll focus next on the greatest need/interest. If you’re interested in working with a Virtual Buzz Assistant, please contact me directly and I can give you more information.
‘Til next time!
