For the last few years, we’ve all been told that social networking was the wave of the future. Make friends and influence people on Facebook! Get your voice heard on Twitter! Connect with colleagues and forge partnerships on LinkedIn.
But what started as an enthusiastic “tweet tweet” from non-profits optimistic about reaching new audiences VIRTUALLY has dulled to something more reminiscent of crickets chirping quietly. What happened?
According to a new study by Philanthropy Action(http://philanthropyaction.com/articles/social_networking_and_mid-size_nonprofits_whats_the_use), the results non-profits have achieved through social networking has been, in the author’s words, “dismal.” For example, when asked how many new volunteers were attracted as a result of social networking, 85% said “fewer than 25” or they couldn’t say. When asked how much money they had raised as a direct result of social networking, 74% said “less than $100” or they didn’t know. Only about 2% boast gifts of $50,000 or more. Still most of the 250 charities surveyed will continue to invest time and money in social networking.
While this study certainly does ask the non-profit sector to check its unbridled hope in social networking as the panacea of future fundraising, what it does not do is underscore the possibilities. Let’s remember that fundraising is not a moment in time but an arc, a pathway, a long-term engagement. The connection we make on LinkedIn today might not lead to a gift or volunteerism TODAY or even tomorrow, but it plants the seeds of passion and commitment that could one day bloom into something amazing.
Although the fate of non-profit social networking doesn’t seem yet cast in stone, a couple things are clear upon reviewing Philanthropy Action’s study:
1. Non-profits must do a better job of MEASURING the outcomes of their social networking efforts. Create polls, ask people how they found you, and ensure that your database is updated with this information. Further, mind what you measure. If you define success as getting a $100,000 gift from posting photos of the gala on your Facebook fan page, you will surely be let down.
2. Non-profits should not forsake traditional methods of engaging donors and volunteers. Fundraising success relies on touching PEOPLE–unique, complex, opinionated, passionate people–who all like to be engaged differently. Find a way to integrate your social networking efforts into your master plan, ensure your language and message are the same throughout out all fundraising vehicles but don’t stop any method in its tracks simply because it’s “old school.”
So, that’s what the Captive Consultant has seen. How has YOUR organization fared with social networking?
The Captive Consultant 