Social Networking for Nonprofits What is Social Networking (abridged from TechSoup article:
http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page5504.cfm?cg=searchterms&sg=socialnetworking ) Online social networking involves connecting and sharing information with other likeminded people via the Web. Internet message boards and Yahoo Groups (http://groups.yahoo.com ) fall under the general category of social networking, as do social bookmarking tools like del.icio.us (http://del.icio.us/) and Technorati (www.technorati.com ), applications that let users add their own keywords (or tags) to Web pages and blogs.
I will concentrate today on the friend-of-a-friend (FOAF) side of social networking and how they can help a nonprofit reach their objectives. FOAF sites are designed to connect individuals and groups with others who share their common interests. Sites such as MySpace (www.myspace.com ), Friendster (www.friendster.com ), Facebook (www.facebook.com ), Bebo (www.bebo.com ), have emerged as one of the primary methods of communication for many individuals, especially from a younger demographic. This brief synopsis will focus specifically on social networking ‘friend of a friend’ sites as apposed to having social networking components housed on your own site. A typical FOAF network will display a directory of people or topics. When you find someone with similar interests, you can send them a message asking to be added to their contacts list. This in turn allows you to meet other like-minded folks in that person's network, theoretically expanding your organization's contacts more efficiently and quickly than you could in the real world. Your network grows exponentially with each person you add, and you can interact with others using tools such as public and private messages and discussion forums. How do I decide if Social Networking is right for my organization? Organizations should ask themselves a few key questions before launching into the social networking world: a) Does my audience live in the social networking world? – This is the ‘meet people where they are’ argument. Rather than create a platform that no-one will use, organizations should first think of their target demographic and find out if they actually use Myspace, or are on Facebook etc. If your audience doesn’t use social networking sites, maybe you don’t need to be there. b) Do you have the resources? – Simply having a presence on a social networking site doesn’t mean you will drive traffic to your homepage. Successful usages of social networking require engaging with your audience on a consistent basis, providing them with options to take action and means of
interacting with the organization. If you don’t have the resources to commit to this, social networking might not be appropriate. c) Can you take negative comments on your page? – If you have an online presence on a social networking site you must be prepared to have negative comments about your organization or programs. Best practices of social networking sites always allow users to voice their opinions, however some of these opinions might not be favorable to your organization. If you’ve done your site right, the group will be able to respond to negativity but as an organization you need to be ready for negative posts. I want to start using social networking, where do I start? First thing again is to assess where your audience is. If they are on MySpace you should have a MySpace presence. Once you know where your audience is, it is quite simple to create a profile for your organization. One big mistake most nonprofits make when developing their space is to create an organizational profile- meaning most nonprofit social networking sites are created the same as a webpage, pushing content to a user about the organization itself. Remember: social networking sites are about linking people together. People want to feel there is a person behind the organization they can interact with, rather than talking to an info@youroganization email. Once you have a profile you’ll need to begin promoting it to your own network first. Build a user base and have your own members help you get the word out. There are a number of sites that can help you draw traffic to your social networking sites such as care2.com (www.care2.com) and change.org (www.change.org). Content is king for the Internet, and the same applies to social networking. People want to know what is happening on these sites, but not in the form of a press release. Make your content human, explain in simple terms what the problem is and make sure to offer ways your community can help you get there. If you’re honest and include your growing community in the process of achieving your non profit’s goals, you’ll quickly build an active user base of committed members who will consistently help your organization Sites to visit • http://www.linknrank.com/ • http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Cultures_and_Groups/Cyberculture /Social_Networks/ • www.care2.com Resources • http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page5504.cfm?cg=searchter ms&sg=social%20networking • http://www.christine.net/2007/04/7_tips_for_succ.html
Questions to Consider • List some best practice examples of effective uses of social networking for non-profits • How can non-profits use social networking to increase their fundraising? • What can we learn from political campaigns who have been using social networking for years?