Alexandria Samuel, a writer for the Harvard Business Publishing, published an article entitled "Why Nonprofits Are So Good at Social Media". She comments on how nonprofits have always seen the key of relationship building which has allowed them to use social media simply to grow and expand their relationships. Alexandria gives example of various organizations that she says demonstrate good use of social media tools.
Her article set off debate online though because people felt the organizations she had picked were stand-outs from the thousands of other organizations that simply are following fads without any guidance or strategy.
Michael Hoffman of see3 Communications then commented:
"I think the argument here - are nonprofits good or not - isn't really that useful.
There are nonprofits who are doing the right things, making long-term strategic investments in communications, not taking short-cuts, integrating their social media work with their overall communications and fundraising activities, etc. And there are those who are not.
I think a bigger question is exactly what it means to be successful with social media. Is social media simply another marketing channel for you to push your agenda? Or is the promise of social media a new way of doing business, where your stakeholders are real partners in your work. The latter is much more interesting, but will require serious cultural changes among nonprofits who are often very concerned about brand and control."
Michael is very right in his observation. Rather than just comparing websites or Facebook pages, there is a larger issue. There is a need for vision, the proper mindset, and a strategic approach. It takes much more than a comparison to develop these things and then act.
Additional information taken from the article "Are Nonprofits Good at Social Media?" by Tom Belford
-- Jessica High is a Research Assistant at Christian Foundation Grants (www.christianfoundationgrants.com) which is a subscription database of foundations that provide grants to faith based organizations. iDonate.com is a website (www.iDonate.com) that allows ministries to receive non cash gifts online