Nonprofit Promotions in the Digital Age: Is Success Tangible?

On April 22, 2009, The Washington Post caused a stir with an article entitled "To Nonprofits Seeking Cash, Facebook App Isn't So Green." The Facebook app in question is Causes, established in 2007.

The article made a number of points about the relatively small amount of money raised through Causes and, in essence, tried to say that the Web is an ineffective tool for most nonprofits. The reaction to this statement by many was not, to say the least, kind.

Beth Kanter, CEO of Zoetica, which provides top-notch communication services for nonprofits, writes in her TypePad blog, "Back in 2007, when Facebook opened its doors to people older than college students...[Frogloop] did an extensive analysis 'The Long, Long Tail of Facebook Causes' using the dollars per donor analysis." Frogloop, for the uninitiated, is an online marketing blog for Care2, the "largest online community for healthy and green living, human rights, and animal welfare."

Kanter goes on to say that at the time, Causes was still in its beginning phase, and Frogloop came to the conclusion that the social network fundraising idea was never expected to be an overnight success.

Kanter's colleague Allison Fine, author of Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age, agrees wholeheartedly. In her April 22, 2009 blog entry "Wash Post Disses Causes on Facebook," Fine deconstructs the Post's criticisms of Causes, saying, in essence, that they attempt to boil the entire app down to a money-grabbing program.

Following her analysis of the accurate number of nonprofits using Causes for active fundraising (8000 at the time), these had raised a total of $7.5 million - amounting to "an average total of donations to each cause of over $930."

Fine concludes her blog entry by once again quoting Frogloop: "...the same challenges apply in any medium - you need to cut through the noise, develop a list of supporters, get those supporters to pay attention, and encourage those supporters to do something."

And Your Point Is...?

Since the Internet, and its corresponding digital media like MP3s, RealMedia, and Quicktime have become almost ubiquitous, it seems harder to grab people's attention.

For those businesspeople who very much rely on written communication, it can be a challenge to keep the interest of their target audience. While social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are proving effective for business as well as casual purposes, the question becomes: what media do I use where, and when?

As with those of you who are writing for Associated Content (and other such sites), you may have wondered, "Who is my target audience?" This can take quite some time to determine, but think about some of the primary subjects you write about (e.g. health, relationships, and/or sex), and then consider those that have subscribed to, read, or commented on your work.

If your articles, videos, and/or audio clips have been successful in generating page views, which ones have had the best results in this area?

For a nonprofit organization, the same online tools (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, WordPress, etc.) can be highly valuable, even if they take time to learn and develop.

Twitter, Reexamined

Twitter, for example, is an indispensable hub for not only social networking, but keeping up with trends and educating oneself about online media. When just beginning, building up a list of followers, and retweeting some of their content, is one of many ways to attract the attention of a potential network.

Twitter Search, which can ideally be used daily, is an excellent way to discover what's going on worldwide, outside of your personal network. Even if the trendy topics seem unrelated to your personal page, they may connect you to some potential readers/customers in the future, or help you brainstorm about greater expansions of your online presence.

Twitterfeed, as well, can serve as an important addition to your blog and Twitter page (provided you keep it updated frequently). If you're familiar with other RSS feeds, Twitterfeed works essentially the same way. Type in the address of the RSS feed for your blog, and the site will automatically syndicate updates to your subscribers.

Facebook: Companions and Colleagues

Facebook, too, is constantly developing as a professional community, as much as it is a personal one. This is why Causes, even if its use doesn't always translate to dollars, is a valuable network for meeting like-minded individuals and disseminating information.

In addition to giving you the tools to develop a Cause, Facebook, as you may already know, allows you to create "Pages," which differ from Causes in that they are not necessarily related to a nonprofit, or involved with money in any sense.

They can be helpful to your business (or career) in that, like Twitter, the Pages enable you to make constant updates, visible to your entire network (which has the potential to grow continually).

Granted, if there aren't many people in your network to begin with, Facebook may not be the best starting point, but further down the road, it's one more place to potentially reach your audience.

WordPress: More Than a Blog

Despite the glut of blogging sites out there, WordPress comes across as one of the most professional, partly due to its appearance.

Secondly, the multitude of options it offers (in terms of formatting and personalization) allow you to make a very direct connection between your blog and your personal site (or business).

As with any online Social Media, how you use WordPress (or whether you use it at all) is a matter of personal taste. Strictly in terms of being a well-maintained site with a great number of opportunities, however, WP is at the top of its game.

Too Many Media!

If you're new to the Social Media game, it's understandable that the education process will take time; after all, Twitter wasn't built in a day!

Even if the prospect of jumping into professional use of these tools is intimidating, it's reasonable to say "give it a go," whether your profits are immediately visible or not.

Just don't inform The Washington Post of your decision.