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.

Wired Wealthy: The Rich Like YouTube?

Convio, SeaChange Strategies, and Edge Research recently released "The Wired Wealthy: Using the Internet to Connect with Your Middle and Major Donors", a fascinating look at how middle and major donors use the Web and donate online. The study surveyed donors with with email addresses who had given more than $1,000 online during an 18-month period.  The report breaks the surveyed population into three smaller groups: the "all business" donors, the "casual connectors", and the "relationship seekers", or folks who really want to build affinity with an organization online. This "emotionally connected" group made up 29% of the surveyed population, a big target for your organization to reach out to online.

Other interesting demographic notes about these high net-worth individuals (HNWI):

• 84% earn more than $100,000 annually
• 87% have a college education
• The average age is 51 years old
• 18 hours per week spent online
• 90% make purchases online
• 52% use YouTube; 16% use LinkedIn, 9% use Facebook

Your organization should download this report and decide how these HNWI survey results and figures will change your strategy. A few things can immediately change:

• Your Major Gifts group needs to communicate with these donors online, not just through dead-tree media and phone calls
• Use video on your site, preferably your homepage
• Site logins, segmented newsletters and appeals, and personalized messages should be standard issue for your website and messages with anyone who gives over $1,000
• Set your site giving levels with $1,000 or higher tiers (57% of those organizations who participated in the survey said they have received gifts at this level and above).

Ultimately, you should treat all your donors with respect and try to personalize communications. However, if you've often just siphoned off big donors from your CRM and separated them from the online world, then think again. The wealthy are wired, indeed.