Givvy Blog

Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog has an interesting post about some of the misconceptions and fears people have about embracing social media.  She lists the following four things:

1. It’s not hard
2. It’s about social, not media
3. Social media cranks “word of mouth” up to 11
4. Be different - not YASN (yet another social network)

In general I agree with much of what Katya posts, but it’s a bit simplistic.   Yes, being social in a network is not hard.  Join one and find out - it’s harder to not be social!  But making any value out of social media and networks is a bit harder if approached from a business angle.  We can join all of the networks we want, but how to translate that into more or better donations is pretty hard.

From a user’s perspective - it is about being social.  But from a nonprofit perspective, it’s about the media.  Can you engage with your donors and supporters in a deeper way through this medium than, say, a marketing newsletter or email list?  Absolutely - and that’s the value.  You can give users a great experience but if you don’t use the medium to communicate your message you’ve missed the point.

Word of mouth can be a two-edged sword.  You may be the best charity out there, but a few bad reviews can have a hugely negative impact.  So, with the extended WOM comes a commensurate increase in diligence and monitoring.  In the for-profit world it is all too often that competitors use social media to spread negative viewpoints about perfectly good companies.  Are nonprofits prepared if that happens to them?  Of course, you can’t stop it from happening - it’s already starting to take place.  The key is to see that WOM is powerful but engage WOM like you do any other messaging strategy - you gotta know what’s being said about you and be ready to reply and defend if needed.

The last point I agree with wholeheartedly.  First movers get the advantage - so the first movers in nonprofit social media get the press and eyeballs.  Everybody else is playing catch-up.  Don’t try to create your own social world if you have a small constituency - use Facebook and other platforms to spread your message to the masses.  It works!