· Should non-profits get involved in social networking? ·
I can't quite believe I have to ask the question, but there it is: "Should non-profits get involved in social networking?"
Idealware, via Techsoup, has published an article discussing the signs of whether or not social networking is for your organisation.
True, it's not for everyone. It's particularly not for you if every single one of your target supporters are elderly, or you work within a small community (analogue works better in these circumstances). You also shouldn't get involved if, like the article says, your target supporters don't use social networks or you want clear editorial control over your brand and message.
Most of all, you should not get involved if you're impatient. We are still experimenting with social networks: what works best, what types of results we should expect, how long it takes for us to get results. On that last point, I suggest you wait a year before deciding whether or not a particular tool is working for you - that is unless you can see soon after launch that it is a waste of time. Speaking from personal experience, I don't do anything for anyone that I've met online unless we've been having a conversation for a while ... it takes quite a few conversations over a period of time before I trust them and feel confident they don't just want me for my body. So I expect that it is the same for our supporters who meet us on MySpace or Facebook.
Having used MySpace as an advocacy tool for a year for ANTaR, I've decided to stick with it for now. The relationships we're building are worth the time I spend on MySpace. As for Facebook, we've been on there for about six months and I'm a bit disappointed with the results, but we'll continue with our investment because I feel that it is too soon to tell whether it's going to be worthwhile in the long term.
Thursday January 10, 2008
Categories: General
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