One of my friends works for a charity that over the years has won supporters for its big annual college scholarship fundraiser event with e-mail blasts, brochures and personal calls to big donors.
But that’s soooo yesterday.
This year, the nonprofit group began posting event information to its new Facebook page. It also is tweeting on Twitter and uploading video to YouTube. Then, of course, the group also blogs and shares photos on Flickr.
The result? My friend (who’s an officer with the group) says registration for this year’s event is nearly triple what it was last year.
That’s the bottom-line promise of “social giving,” which uses online networks to raise awareness and, ultimately, money. Organizations with a cause are “friend-raising” on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and elsewhere to bolster that old-as-money objective: fund-raising.
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Social giving exploits online networks, which offer exponential possibilities for building personal relationships. Once an organization makes a connection to an individual, that person can leverage his or her personal contacts – the old “friends of friends” gone viral. When campaigns also include interactive contests, creative video clips, and real-time information, donating money becomes less of an obligation and more of an experience.
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Everybody saw the success of the Obama campaign — lots of small donations through online networks added up to big bucks for the candidate. Bo Bothe, president and chief creative officer at BrandExtract, says that nonprofits can replicate that success.
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“In an economy where purse strings are triple-knotted, the strategy has particular appeal,” Bo said as he and I were chatting after he had just finished participating in a panel discussion at the recent Online Marketing Summit in Houston.
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“It’s not a magic cure-all,” Bo remarked. “They’re wonderful tools. It’s just not automatic, that if you’re on social media, your fund-raising is going to go through the roof. Social giving at its best, however, can be the gift that keeps on giving. It has tentacles. You have so many more people you can reach. The status updates and tweets allow nonprofits to have “two-way conversations” with supporters.”
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Clearly, the key is to reach out to people in the right way, establishing and understanding how social media fits into a specific nonprofit group’s goals and mission. While social media offer low-cost marketing options, they shouldn’t drain or distract nonprofits from doing the public good.
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I think it’s possible for nonprofits to explore the potentials and pitfalls of social networks while working their connections. Post tweets and update Facebook fans about blog posts or public service announcements on YouTube.
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A nonprofit that keeps that kind of cycle going will potentially reach people who might not otherwise be exposed to or engaged in the group’s cause.
Renee Griffin, MBA, APR
My PRgative 