A few articles last week spoke of the demise of social media – from teens not finding it cool, to the uneducated demographics of Twitter, to the lack of financial stability on Wall Street, it seems like some are ready to throw in the towel. So why continue to focus on this space, especially as a nonprofit with limited resources and time? Because these articles miss out on the most valuable asset that social media has going for it right now – untapped potential.
The dynamic nature of the tech industry means that sites, concepts, and strategies are constantly changing. While this sounds daunting, it isn’t a bad thing. As we continue to learn about trends, influences, and ideas across these platforms, we have the ability to use them for the greater good, and in a more direct case, for the betterment of the causes we support.
Social media allows nonprofits to have a cost effective resource to tap into their current volunteers and their future constituents in a way that was unfathomable in years past. Relationship building is still the goal, but now on a much grander scale. The networks created on these sites are the true untapped resource, as they can be the base of your future fundraising and volunteer efforts that was previously unreachable in the era of cold calls and direct mailings.
Take for example Sumazi, a new service built on the Facebook platform (and soon to be others). Sumazi allows you to take advantage of the network you already have and expand it to make the connections that are vital to the success of your organization. And this tapping of resources is impossible without the participation and dedication to social media platforms.
As we’ve written about previously, it is hard to predict what the future of social media may hold, but one thing that we know will remain constant is the need for nonprofits to continue to communicate with and cultivate volunteers and donors. Relationship building is at the core of this; the same relationship management that has been happening for decades thanks to dedicated boards, staff members, and volunteers is still vitally necessary today. Despite the recent criticisms of social media, there is no better time to take these relationships to the next level and utilize the untapped potential of this dynamic communication platform. Let us help.