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December 15, 2008, 02:19 PM ET
Why Charity Employees Should Have Access to Facebook
The American Red Cross in Washington had, until recently, prevented its employees from using social-networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace during work hours.
But a funny thing happened when the charity changed its policy earlier this year.
Instead of witnessing a loss in employee productivity, the Red Cross actually found that it was able to find new and creative ways to raise money, writes Beth Kanter on Beth’s Blog.
In fact, the Red Cross was able to win a $50,000 grant from the Western Union Foundation through a campaign on the popular networking site Facebook.
“Since the great wall fell, we’ve been able to promote initiatives like the Western Union Foundation contest to all of our chapters and blood regions,” Red Cross social-media specialist Wendy Harman said in an interview with Ms. Kanter. “When 700+ entities across the country are all asking their supporters to vote, we have a much stronger turnout.
“This contest marked the first time we were able to put a notice about taking a social media action in our internal communications channels and I believe that was the key to our success.”
To discuss how your organization can more effectively use online tools such as Facebook, join the Chronicle for a live online discussion with Tom Watson, a technology expert, tomorrow at noon Eastern time.
Does your organization have a policy on the use of social-networking sites? Click on the comment link below this post to share your experience.
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