Don't Abandon Your Blog

A recent Harris Interactive/Verilion survey showed that a small percentage of charity supporters use social media to engage with organizations. The headline from The Chronicle of Philanthropy (Few Charity Supporters Read Nonprofit Blogs; subscription req'd) probably scared a few good organizations off blogging or even engaging with Facebook or some other social network site. However, the article does point out that 43 percent of those surveyed indicated they were interested in receiving information from these organizations through these media. So, don't abandon your comment tools or social bookmarking links just yet.

OK, so 36 percent say they wouldn't be interested in receiving updates through a blog... have they read your .org's blog? Have they discovered that your organization has an engaging voice and tons of information about the programs and resources you offer? Have they even noticed that they already read your blog because your blog is so seamless with your website? Ah, well, don't abandon your blog just yet.

Most charity supporters may not know if you have a blog or a Facebook page. You have to let your constituents know where your organization has a social network presence. Try promoting your social media with a homepage link, a webpage with links to all your social media (and don't bury it), a newsletter link, a donor newsletter article, or even as an action item on a donation acknowledgment page. Engage your existing social network constituents and donors to also help spread the word with their friends and colleagues.

Also, it's important to engage within these media once you establish them. Send newsletters, updates, and even appeals through them. Make sure friend requests or group access is granted on a rotuine basis. Update media files and build links back to your website. Ultimately, see if your CMS or CRM tools can help you capture constituent data and update content more frequently through these social media interfaces.

The cost? Well, it depends on how deep you go with your development and how much you want to market your social media presence. However, even the simplest blog, the one or two YouTube or DoGooder videos, or a Facebook Cause could catch fire with the right amount of patience attentiveness. Your 43 percent could be waiting for you online right now.