Comments on Nonprofit SOS: Social media isn't as prevalent as we all think it...

I think one of the biggest factors here that the r...

2009-05-29T18:09:19.879-05:00

I think one of the biggest factors here that the report misses is WHO is doing the "social media". While Nonprofits are historically behind the tech curve, volunteers are much more "aggressive".

The key point is from #2 - you have to go where people are. And nobody is better at being where the people are, then the people themselves. Engaging and empowering your base is the best way for nonprofits to tackle social media.

How you do that, of course, varies vastly from organization to organization. But certainly listening to what people are saying in the various social media channels will point all organizations in the right direction.

I also find the lack of internet marketing strateg...

2009-05-12T11:05:00.000-05:00

I also find the lack of internet marketing strategy to be surprising. In honestly, my organization does not have one yet but I am currently developing it (hence interest in blogs like this one). Also, I'm surprised by the blog as the one place to be. We are only on Facebook and the reasoning was to go where people already are instead of trying to bring them to a new place. All very interesting.

For sure, Lindsey. We were really surprised at how...

2009-03-25T12:41:00.000-05:00

For sure, Lindsey. We were really surprised at how many people said they didn't have an Internet marketing plan. Plus, another 14% said they didn't know if they did, which could mean even more than that don't.

The lesson here is pretty clear: give some thought to strategy, otherwise your social media experiments can be a big time sink.

What I find most interesting about this report is ...

2009-03-24T14:48:00.000-05:00

What I find most interesting about this report is the lack of having an internet marketing plan. Social media, while it looks easy, does require proper strategy in order to be effective. l

Thanks for commenting! The sample was taken of MA ...

2009-03-24T14:21:00.000-05:00

Thanks for commenting! The sample was taken of MA orgs, and they said the sample size was 150. Here's the other demographic info she sent me:

Talance solicited participants from non-profit listservs, blogs, in-person events and colleagues in Massachusetts, with most respondents from Boston and its suburbs. Talance targeted executive directors, campaign directors or other decision makers. The survey was distributed both in an online format to appeal to more tech-savvy groups, and a printed version to capture thoughts of those less aware of technology.

Participants ranged from volunteer-run peace action groups to organizations working on youth civic engagement to national environmental groups. A few had annual budgets over $100 million, but the vast majority had annual budgets less than $1 million.

Demographic responses show that:
- Survey respondents work across the spectrum of non-profit industries, including education, the environment, healthcare, youth issues, economic justice and professional associations.
- 69% of respondents operate on a budget of $1 million or under, and 28% operate on a budget of between $1-5 million.
- Respondents have a small number of paid staff with many run entirely by volunteers.

Hi, Peggy. Thanks for your feedback. We saw a diff...

2009-03-24T08:55:00.000-05:00

Hi, Peggy. Thanks for your feedback. We saw a difference with the kind of non-profit we surveyed. Professional associations certainly felt more comfortable with technology than those focused on humanitarian aid, for instance.

I still think a blog is better bang for the buck (assuming you can commit the time), but I'd be interested in knowing some specifics about the success you're finidng with Twitter, Facebook and Flickr. Are these for the associations?

In my opinion nonprofits are CRAZY not be be invol...

2009-03-24T01:31:00.000-05:00

In my opinion nonprofits are CRAZY not be be involved in social media and blogging. There are all kinds of reasons you could say this is a bad idea and you could argue that it's a case by cases determination, but the fact is the internet is here to stay and it will only continue to grow.

Kids are growing up with 'social media' so you tell me where today's high school students will do their giving in 10 years.

Please go check this out: Don’t Fall Behind, Fundraising is Moving On ... and please do chime in on the conversation.

I know these are not the norm, but in my opinion it's the future.

http://twitter.com/franswaa

I'm finding this report curious because my experie...

2009-03-23T07:46:00.000-05:00

I'm finding this report curious because my experience is somewhat different. The difference could be though simply that I'm more connected with membership nonprofits rather than service nonprofits (think assn vs charities) but I'm still wondering though if maybe it's the sample that is skewing the results. No where did I see the sample size or territory or any reference to demographics of the study - can you fill us in? Also, wish the surveyers would post a white paper with the demographics instead of charging us $99 to view that portion.

With the groups I'm working on, blogs are not my first recommendation simply because volunteers are less likely to commit to that time, but we are finding success in working with Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.