9 posts tagged “social networking”

This recent OnPhilanthropy article suggests that Web 2.0 technologies are now in use by all ages of Internet users, not just the young.  More 'traditional' email appeals aren't having the same impact, with open rates dropping to 14% in the latest Convio Online Marketing Nonprofit Benchmarking Index Study.  Facebook Causes and YouTube's nonprofit channel have started to play a large role in online fundraising and constituent engagement.  Yet Harry Lynch of SankyNet says the email is not dead yet in this AFP article, Isn’t Email Just Like Regular Direct Mail—But on Steroids.

Nten's WeTheMedia Project offers an interesting challenge this month to Create the Ultimate Nonprofit Social Media Toolbox, categorizing web 2.0 tools by:

• listening - monitoring conversations, using RSS readers and social bookmarking
• participating - commenting on conversations
  
• sharing your story - using blogs / podcasts and sharing photos / videos
  
• spreading awareness, generating buzz - accessing 'crowd sourced' news and content, using micro media to broadcast content to targeted communities, and using a 'life stream'
  
• social networking for action and fundraising - using social networks and fundraising widgets / applications.

My take: when even the value of email communications is being questioned, it's time to sit up and pay attention to the many new ways a nonprofit can develop ongoing relationships with its constituents.

Addendum 10-15-08
Social networking expert Beth Kanter offers How Much Time Does It Take to Do Social Media, - apparently enough to fill a full time position.

More from Craigslist Foundation's recent NYC Nonprofit Boot Camp;  Big Duck's Farra Trompeter offered an engaging session on social networking - is this a tool that nonprofits should be taking full advantage of now?

If your organization does take the plunge, expect that it will require a 2-3 hour investment daily.  A recent feature at Philanthropy Journal confirms this, also describing who is best suited to fit this role:

• Knows and enjoys social media
• Is tech savvy (but doesn't have to be a geek)
• Knows your organization and is committed to its mission
• Has a personable, outgoing writing style

Is your main goal is to raise funds or to attract and interest current / prospective constituents?  So far, few nonprofits have successfully been able to prove that the potential return is definitely worth the dedication of resources to social networking activities.

Farra recommended these first steps in Facebook:

1. find out whether other organizations with compatible missions are already there, and what they are doing
2. create fan page
3. create cause

Some nonprofits have been also to receive donations through text messaging, although this also is a relatively new initiative.  Twitter is already used by nonprofits such as Red Cross and ASPCA to distribute information.

Starting and maintaining a presence on social networking sites confirms the trend that your constituents may never find your organization's web site, so why not go to where they already are?

Other good resources on this topic:

• Beth's Blog - How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media
  
• Media Rules - book & blog 
• Nten's We Are Media Project - social media starter kit for nonprofits
  

Probably the best book I've read on how the Internet has changed our world is Groundswell, Similar to my posting last week on how donors are bypassing traditional nonprofits to make direct contributions, authors Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff define groundswell as a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations.

The main idea is how organizations can use tools such as blogs, social networks, wikis,  forums and other web 2.0 technologies to listen and to communicate with customers.  Many examples are offered such as Salesforce's IdeaExchange and Dell's IdeaStorm where customers participate in an online community to help develop products.  This is a very different approach to how communication and branding have traditionally been handled since no longer is the organization controlling the messaging vehicle and the content.

How can we apply these ideas to nonprofits?  By engaging with our constituents all year, not only when we are seeking a donation.  By having a presence on social networking sites.  By communicating through blogs and paying attention to what others are blogging about our cause.  By rewarding constituents who not only support our organizations, but also spread the word to others.

It's not so important that we figure out which tools we should use, but instead utilize whatever technologies are available to connect with our audience.  As the authors point out, Even though you may have a clear vision of what the company needs to do, getting the company to embrace the groundswell will take a lot of small steps and a lot of time.  The first step is to find others in your organization who already understand the value of these strategies and can help win management support, which is essential for successful implementation.

See the Groundswell blog for more ideas on how to get started. .    

Guidestar summarizes recent Giving USA online fundraising survey:

• while Internet giving is widely used, it still represents a small portion (under 5%) of overall fundraising
• most common way organizations raise money over the web is through an online donation page
• best results come from organizations that combine an online donation page with email appeals

Overall, social networking tools aren't contributing much - yet, but an organization that utilizes online 'communities' is likely to improve results.

Care2's FrogLoop blog interviews Phillip Artez, President of Artez on how to choose an eCRM.  Phillip says that successful nonprofit fundraisers "aren't afraid to share brand, content and promotion with their supporters" and reminds us that a large portion of funds will come from a small group of fundraisers so we should "treat them differently."  He mentions three areas where nonprofits should especially pay attention to: potential of social networking sites such as Facebook, donations originating from mobile devices and more organizations utilizing SalesForce (which has excellent connectivity to other systems and provides up to 10 free licenses to nonprofits).

Finally, the Nonprofit Times explains the importance of using multiple channels since many donors will visit the web before making a donation - even if it's offline and, surprisingly, even more so for constituents 65 and older.  Per Donordigital's Nick Allen, "more people are online, more people are doing research online, checking out charities they support or are thinking about supporting."   But NPAdvisor's expert Rick Christ warns that "nonprofit's Web site should try to support direct mail, but not replace it." and that direct mail is still how many first hear about a nonprofit.  Convio's Vinay Bhagat adds that while blogs and social networking are getting more attention, the core web site is still the main way constituents will evaluate a nonprofit.

Many contributors to the Nonprofit Times article, including Nten's Holly Ross stressed the importance of integrating the web site with email appeals.

I joined over 2000 colleagues who help nonprofits raise money at Fundraising Day last week.  Some takeaways:

Mark Rovner offered these tips:

1. Ask When the Time is Right - when your organization / cause is in the news
2. Avoid the Constant Ask
3. Synchronize Your Channels - direct mail, email, web site
4. Avoid ‘Soft Asks’
5. Ask for Feedback - surveys, online focus groups
6. Finish the Story, Close the Loop - don’t ask again after donation before informing how past donation was used
7. Don’t Ask for the Wrong Amount – know what levels your donors have previously gave
8. Recognize Cross Channel Behavior - many will donate online after receiving direct mail
9. Make Sure You Thank More Than You Ask
10. Test – Find Out For Yourself

Tom Gaffny demonstrated the value of asking for a specific amount for a specific purpose, rather than simply requesting a 'general donation.'

A day later, I attended the ePhilanthropy Social Networking Symposium, where we debated the value of social networking tools to nonprofits.  Some highlights:

Steve MacLaughlin, Blackbaud's Director of Internet Solutions suggested that we 'experiment first, plan later' to make sure our organizations are represented in these new web environments.  He suggested a POST approach:

• People - who are you targeting?
• Objectives - what do you want to achieve?
• Strategy - what will it look like when you're done?
• Technology - what tools will you use?

Philip King of Artez Interactive suggested the value of recruiting fundraisers instead of donors, and suggested that the 'from' line in an email will often be more important than the 'subject' line;  i.e. people give because of their relationship with people, not necessarily because they support the cause.  He also discussed the 'game changing idea' of Kiva, where people can donate without going through a nonprofit organization;  Oxfam Direct has also used this technique successfully.

To keep up with latest trends, many speakers mentioned the value of following sites such as Beth Kanter's blog.

1. After sending out email blasts, are you reviewing reports to learn how many of them were actually opened and what links were clicked?  See the recently released eNonprofit Benchmarks Study
   
2. Have you tried 'microsites' - a separate page focused on a specific event or campaign with an strong call to action - see NothingButNets.
3. Have you created an organization presence on social networking sites such as FaceBook and MySpace?   See this blog posting on Best Practices for Non-Profits Using Web 2.0 and Idealware's Should Your Organization Use Social Networking Sites.
   
4. Have you looked at Barack Obama's web site, which has changed the landscape for online fundraising and engagement?
5. Do you get ideas from other nonprofit organizations that have done especially well in raising money online?  According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy (June 12 issue), these five organizations have raised more than 10% of their revenues online: Heifer International (28 percent), Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (27 percent), Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund (21 percent), National Multiple Sclerosis Society (15 percent), and Make-a-Wish Foundation (10 percent).
6. Do you participate in groups, both online and off, to share success (and failure) stories?  People in Nten are always willing to help.  Don't forget about for profit groups - I recently discovered the Internet Strategy Forum, which discusses many of the online strategy challenges that we also deal with in nonprofit.
7. Are you too busy to leave the office occasionally for a conference, such as this week's Fundraising Day and Social Networking Symposium in New York?  If so, you're missing the opportunity to learn from our colleagues.
   

Years before social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook became popular, the magazine and web site Fast Company started the Company of Friends list, which combined online communications with occasional in person events.  Eventually the group disappeared, apparently out of lack of support and interest.

In the April 2008 issue of the magazine, Fast Company not only apologizes for that decision, but rolled out an entirely new version of their web site which has as many social networking features as I've ever seen on a home page.  The new site includes almost all personalized content, access to groups, blogs, contact lists etc.  Is this where the web is going?  Do nonprofits have the resources to develop sites like this?  I just signed up for an account and will report back at a later date.

At the quarterly Not-for-Profit Webmaster Round Table meeting this week, I initiated a discussion on social networking, stimulated by Tuesday's Wall Street Journal article, A New Generation Reinvents Philanthropy. In addition to the popular MySpace and Facebook sites, the article mentioned many new ways in which our supporters are finding to raise money for their favorite causes.

David Milner, who has run the webmaster group for several years, raised an interesting question.  If pages are created on these new sites and successfully generate interest in the organization, this will hopefully increase traffic to the nonprofit's main web site.  But if the nonprofit maintains the MySpace and Facebook sites while neglecting its own web site, how will this come across to the constituent?  I also asked - how does the nonprofit decide which content to put on these sites while making sure there is consistency with its own web site?

The social networking sites present an interesting opportunity for us to engage a new audience.  It is likely that visitors will seek out an organization on these new networks before visiting an organization's main web site.  So we'll need to make sure that our nonprofits have a presence on these new sites while also keeping our own web sites fresh.  This will be a challenge, but it's easier to go where our constituents are than hope that they'll find our organization web sites.

In addition to MySpace Impact and Facebook's Causes, other sites mentioned in the article that are attracting interest especially among younger constituents include Change.org, DoSomething, Firstgiving, GiveMeaning,, Kiva and SixDegrees.

A recent article in Philanthropy Journal described how nonprofits using new media to engage constituents.  Major points:

• delivering information to cell phones will become increasingly popular
• using available web based technology instead of 'custom' applications for needs that are not really unique
• through web based products, nonprofits now have access to the same technology as for-profits
• social network / viral fundraising can be done by allowing constituents to promote causes on their own web pages
• even small nonprofits can reach a large audience through technologies such as YouTube
• nonprofit staff responsible for information technology, communications and marketing tend to drive their organizations' social-network campaigns rather than traditional 'fundraising' staff

Overall, while the tried and true ways to raise money and engage constituents still have value, it is the nonprofits that take advantage of the new strategies that will benefit the most.  Katrin Verclas, leader of the Nonprofit Technology Network which I've been involved in for years, says that organizations need to "learn to adapt to ways in which people are now expecting to participate." 

I think the most interesting observation is that fundraising is now a joint effort of multiple departments, not just the 'development' staff.  As a current member of an IT group who spends most of my time advising staff on how to do online fundraising, this is clearly a valuable direction for nonprofits that are still relying on more 'traditional' techniques.