Nonprofits Find Following in Social Media

Tom S.

It’s not a secret that social networking sites have become the newest go-to marketing tool.  If you haven’t already joined the masses on social networking sites, you know someone who has. At the very least, you have heard about them in the news. The most popular sites include Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and the highly anticipated social media collaboration tool (among other uses) – Google Wave.

All of these social platforms allow businesses to reach friends, fans or the curious consumer (hopefully turned customer/donor) with minimal to no monetary input.  All of the social websites have similarities, but utilizing each one to effectively reach your target market can be tricky.  Some nonprofits seem to have found their niche.

The fact that most of these websites are entirely free of charge for use of their basic services has rightly caught the attention of nonprofit companies. With the recent flood of people joining the Twitter community, nonprofits are running here for fundraising. Companies can reach out to those who choose to follow their tweets, hopefully alerting a dedicated follower to donate to the most recent fundraising goal. Part of the success of Twitter for nonprofits is that the followers choose to follow and receive updates. This audience wants to help already – a great starting off point. Also, adding a link to simplify the donation process can help make the odds of a contribution increase drastically, according to an article in the The NonProfit Times.  Some argue that this type of fund raising is much more effective than traditional e-mail blasting and even face to face propositions.

Nonprofits are finding more ways than just fund raising to put social networking to work for them.  In one specific case outlined in the article from The Nonprofit Times, a tweeter for Red Cross Santa Barbara used Twitter to keep followers up to date on shelter and emergency care information after a tragic wildfire displaced thousands from their homes.  The Red Cross’s unique use of Twitter gained them national news coverage and the not-for-profit saw a huge increase in their Twitter following.

New ways to make social networking work for your company’s benefit are emerging every day.  Many companies find that making the commitment to maintain a social media site can prove to be extremely beneficial. Exposure, funding, public relations, and even talent acquisition can all be boosted with the help of a social networking site. Is your company riding the social media wave?