4 ways to encourage supporters to use social media for social good
- Mon, April 18 2011
- Filed under: Social networking and web 2.0
Having your biggest champions spread the world about your organization is a powerful thing. It injects your cause into the context of human relationships and places it within an authentic conversation between individuals.
So how do you encourage more of this?
1. Make it easy. Make it easy for a person to spread the word or do personal fundraising, and make it easy for that person’s friends and family to support that champion. (For example, with a tool like Causes.)
2. Make it fun. Ensure your tell-a-friend and personal fundraising initiatives are fun and enjoyable. Check out Crowdrise for examples of this done well.
3. Use social proof. Social proof is the powerful idea that if we think everyone else is acting in a certain way, we’re likely to act that way, too. Count your community, highlight its members and show its collective impact.
4. Celebrate and cultivate your growing circle. This is where so many nonprofits fail. They get people excited and involved, they have success and then they don’t continue to be in relationship with their new supporters. You are creating an ever-widening circle of supporters. Don’t forget to tend to it!
Comments
Great list,Katya. Two more to-dos to add after make it easy:
1) Ask. So often our networks are eager to help but wouldn’t have thought of it. Ask them!
2) Train them. Provide talking points, suggestions for practicing, whatever it is that they’ll tell you will make them more effective.
Excellent tips. I have a few examples.
If you’re thinking of setting up a Facebook page, have a look at Ecotricity – a clean energy company. Not only has the company created a personalised landing page for new visitors, but also added a tab that allows users to sign up for their newsletter.
Fairtrade International – Fairtrade umbrella group and owner of the Fairtrade Mark – is another great example of an engaging page, with its personalised tabs and integration of their YouTube channel, making it easier for users to access their other online content.
As a final point, don’t use only your own content, share content from other sources that your target consumers will find useful/interesting, creating value for your audience. The more value you create, the more people will start to buy into your brand as well as your cause. Look at Cafédirect – it uses social media to share content, such as recipes, which offers its consumers a valuable way to interact, while raising awareness of the brand. It also has a YouTube channel, which hosts a series of films and documentaries about the Fairtrade industry, giving consumers a chance to learn more about the industry and further strengthening the cause.
Totally agree with all of the above and have one more to add.
Make it meaningful.