July 24, 2008
How Should Charities Use Social Networks?
Is it wrong to use social-networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter to help promote your nonprofit group?
A debate on that topic is brewing among nonprofit experts, as some people express concern that marketers show a lack of respect for the purpose of social networks by intruding with messages about their causes.
Michael Gilbert, a nonprofit consultant, recently expressed concern on his blog Nonprofit Online News, that “instead of being a platform for the organization’s support and participation in communities of practice, instead of being a tool for empowering the connections and voices of their stakeholders, to many nonprofits an online social network is just another mailing list.”
But Kivi Leroux Miller, author of the blog Nonprofit Marketing Guide. says she thinks charities have the kind of material people want to learn about through social networks.
“I strongly disagree with this whole notion that nonprofits who want to use social networking as part of a larger communications strategy, including as a way to get their messages out and to reach new people, are somehow being disrespectful for even considering it,” she says.
“When you use social media/networking tools as they were meant to be used — to engage in real conversations where you neither control nor dominate the dialogue — then I see no problem with using them to talk about your cause and your work and to make new connections too.”
This topic was also debated during a recent online discussion sponsored by The Chronicle.
What do you think? Is your group using social networks to promote itself? Tell us about what has worked and what has been challenging as you approach social networks.
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One of my “Seven Keys to CFC Success” is to “Use the tools of the 21st Century” including e-mail, Web 2.0, podcasts, etc. (but don’t forget some of the old fashioned messages – like saying “Thank You.”
This debate is another example of the non-profit sector looking like the Democratic Party of the 1970s, e.g. a circular firing squad. Do you really think for 1 second that Coca-cola and the other billion dollar marketers are not planning on how to use every tool available to them them to sell sugar water or $100 t-shirts?
That’s the real competition to the donor’s dollar, not other non-profits.
Here’s an easy history lesson – Luddites always fail.
Part II of the history lesson – leaders who are the first to capitalize on a new technology, often end up the winner – Huey Long with sound trucks in Louisiana, Franklin Roosevelt with radio, John F. Kennedy with TV.
Regards,
Bill Huddleston
www.cfcfundraising.com
— Bill Huddleston Jul 24, 01:17 PM #
Social networking is about people connecting around anything whether it is what they enjoy socially or what they believe in. LinkedIn was established to be a place for business people to connect and network. Nonprofits should have equal rights to do that as much as businesses. I also think it is about the kind of social networking the nonprofit does.
If they are spamming it is going to be very poorly received. The power of social networking is that each individual gets to promote what they want to promote. If a person wants to promote a charity they that’s great. If a person does not want to then a charity is going to have a really hard time using that medium.
Jason Dick
www.ASmallChange.net
— Jason Dick Jul 26, 11:42 AM #
It strikes me as wrong to join online social networks just to take advantage of visibility. For example, when I write a blog post for our nonprofit’s blog, and people post barely relevant comments just to get their name out or to have a reason to post the link to their website, it’s counter to the peer learning purpose of these networks. The comments feature, like other web 2.0 tools, is meant to foster dialogue, i.e. two-way conversations, not spam.
Is it wrong to put your organization on Facebook? No. Is it wrong to put it on Facebook so you can send email blasts to your “friends” or cause group members? Yes.
If we turn web 2.0’s dialogue tools into spam machines, it’ll only alienate users and drive them somewhere else.
— Elizabeth Clawson Jul 31, 12:24 PM #
I agree with your sentiments, Elizabeth. We all have a choice with the internet- to use it as an effective means of communication, or to manipulate it in hopes of broadcasting our cause. Whoever the recipient of your message might be, trust in the fact that they will be sensitive to your intentions. Ultimately, the time spent on these insincere communications is not only fruitless, but destructive to the reputation of your organization.
— Holly Aug 1, 02:04 PM #