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How Social Networking Sites can Work for You
The internet continues to grow at a faster pace each year. As we approach the end of this century’s first decade, we hear more and more about the old web being dated and inflexible. It’s time for an upgrade to Web 2.0.
According to Wikipedia, a 2.0 force in its own right:
Web 2.0 is a term describing the trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users. These concepts have led to the development and evolution of web-based communities and hosted services, such as social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies.
The new Web allows people from all over the world to connect with each other; share information and media content; and support unique causes and initiatives. If you’ve been asking yourself how your organization can dive head first into the Web 2.0 pool and take advantage of its capabilities, an easy way to get your feet wet is by creating a profile on a social networking site.
Social networking sites ask you to set up a profile about yourself or your organization so that you can connect with others who share your interests. In recent years, websites such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn have popped up, offering their users a way to connect with other members. They are fairly easy to use and can provide your constituents/donors with another point of access to your organization and its needs. Media based sites like YouTube and Flicker can also share video and photos across a wide audience.
Setting up a profile on a social networking site, like Facebook for instance, is simple. First, you will need to sign up using an e-mail and creating a password (keep in mind that all updates and alerts from the site will go to this address). Once your account is created, choose the edit button next to Profile, and you can begin adding your specific information. Facebook asks for specific information such as: activities, interests, education, favorite quotes, etc. If desired, this is where you can also add a photo. From there you can find contacts, create a group for your organization or find out which alumni group your Associate Board Chair belongs to.
Before you begin any social network endeavor, there are some things to consider.
What are the Benefits of Social Networking?
Social networks can increase your brand identity, inform your constituents about new initiatives or fundraising needs, and provide you with an almost endless pool of new contacts. They expand your online profile beyond your website, providing an additional avenue to engage current and new audiences.
This technology can also provide powerful new tools for an organization’s staff members through their individual profiles. For instance, fundraisers can research prospects (LinkedIn includes profile information like current employment, job history and alma mater), connect with colleagues at other organizations and interact with current donors in new ways.
Who am I Trying to Reach?
Think about your organization’s core audiences when contemplating entrance into online networking. How would you like to grow this base? Are these donors people who currently use the internet to visit your website and make donations? Do they RSVP to your events via e-mail? What kinds of causes are they interested in? What are their ages?
There are a variety of websites that provide members access to both general and niche audiences. General networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, maintain an enormous and diverse membership representing varying ages, backgrounds and nationalities. Niche sites include Gather, NurseLinkup and MyArtInfo.
Are You Ready for Social Networking?
Not every organization is ready for social networking. If done correctly, it can be a time consuming task that may require 1-2 hours of staff time each day. If you are still developing your website, constituent database or internal computer network, you may want to think strongly about whether you are ready.
Social networks are still a work in progress. They require you to look for bugs, decide what does and does not work for your efforts and understand that your audiences may experience potential headaches that come from your page (i.e. spam alerts sent from your hacked MySpace account). There can also be a host of other issues that could arise from your use of the technology. In the end you have to decide as a staff whether these tools are right for your organization.
Social networking sites can create valuable resources for non-profits. They can bring you and your constituents closer through consistent interaction while providing you new outlets for disseminating information and acquiring new contacts. In the end, each organization will have to make decisions about what kind of online presence it wants and what it is willing to commit in resources. Social networking sites can be a powerful tool for your organization, especially as more and more individuals begin to get connected each year.
For more information see:
http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page7935.cfm
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2007/tc20070314_884996.htm
http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page8054.cfm
http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page7935.cfm
