Nonprofits Need Social Media

Nonprofits are doing a lot of work in the community, but sadly, they are not getting the exposure they desperately need. Understandably, these sectors are operating on small budgets – grants that have been awarded to them by corporate sponsors. With such a disadvantage, there is no reason why they can’t be innovative, especially where social media is concerned.

 

About two months, I was reminded of how effective social media can be for nonprofits. After an episode of Empire aired on Fox, in which the main character, Luscious Lyons learned that he had ALS disease, the debilitating illness began to trend on Twitter.

 

This is not a first for ALS. Who could forget the ice bucket challenge that sparked a conversation about ALS on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and generated donations? People wanted to learn about ALS, participate in the challenge and help nonprofits, namely the ALS Association raise awareness and funds. That’s exactly what they did and the ALSA benefited big time. They fostered $22.9 million dollars in donations.

 

After the 2010 earthquake that rocked Haiti, Twitter lit up. The Twitter-tracking service Sysomos reported that 2.3 million tweets included the word “Haiti” or “Red Cross” for two days (the day of and the day after the earthquake). In addition, the American Red Cross was able to raise millions of dollars because of the social media platforms that it used to its advantage.

 

On the contrary, there are some nonprofits that are not using social media to raise awareness and make their presence felt in the community. I used to volunteer as a mentor for an organization whose mission is to remedy the school dropout crisis and provide opportunities for deserving low-income students.  I searched for them on Facebook so I could like their page and share some of the great things they were doing, but the were nowhere to be found.

 

After some time, a page was created and I received an email to like them on Facebook. To my dismay, nothing the organization did –like the huge college fair they hosted at a major resort – ever got posted. I addressed it to the director of the program who informed me that it was just something they were trying out.  I didn’t understand their lack of enthusiasm to attract more mentors, donors and parents who could use the program’s help.

 

They always encouraged me and the other mentors to spread the word about their open enrollment dates, events and fundraisers. I don’t know about the others, but sometimes I forgot or just didn’t care because the organization didn’t seem to care.

 

With that being said, nonprofits should really make it a priority to market themselves – cheerfully – via social media.  With all of the social media platforms available for use, they can generate visibility, network with other nonprofits and potential sponsors, engage with supporters and seek volunteers, and showcase their staff and efforts. Overall, social media is the best way to achieve high impact at a low cost.

 

 

Here at MCP, we have lots of experience with nonprofits. So if you are part of one who needs to expand their strategy to social media, give us a call. We would love to help you accomplish great things for your organization. 1.800.627.1265

 

This post was written by Ifonia Jean. Ifonia is the newest team member to join Media Connect Partners. She is a Social Media Content Specialist.