Do Nonprofits Have an Edge in Social Media Marketing? Guest Blog by Tiffany Jones

Guest Blog by Tiffany Jones, Production Manager, SW Creatives

While a lot of businesses are struggling to find the best ways to take advantage of sites like Facebook and Twitter, nonprofits have a decided advantage in social media marketing. In fact, the most savvy and efficient nonprofits are already using social sites to boost volunteerism, fundraising, and public awareness.

Given that businesses usually have an easier time marketing themselves than their charitable counterparts do, why is it that nonprofits have an edge in social media marketing?

Here are the three biggest and most important reasons:

1. PEOPLE ARE MORE OPEN TO HEARING FROM NONPROFITS.

To put this another way, people cut nonprofit organizations more slack than they do for-profit companies. At the very least, they’ll feel worse about deleting one of your messages or taking you off of their “approved” list.

Certainly, that shouldn’t give you license to abuse people’s in-boxes and attention spans – that’s counterproductive to your goals anyway – but it is something to keep in mind. You can keep in touch with donors and other concerned parties every couple of weeks or so, something most businesses can’t get away with.

2. IT’S EASIER FOR NONPROFIT MESSAGES TO ACHIEVE VIRAL GROWTH.

The advertising departments of major corporations know that they need to craft messages that are very entertaining and unique to win a customer’s attention, much less to get them to pass along what amounts to a commercial or sales pitch to one of their friends or colleagues.

When it comes to nonprofit messages, however, people think of them differently. They aren’t afraid to stand up for a cause or send communications along through their network. This is partly because nonprofits aren’t as intrusive, but also because spreading nonprofit messages virally makes contacts feel better about themselves and their own contribution to your cause.

3. NONPROFITS CAN USE IMAGES AND SHORT VIDEO CLIPS MORE EFFECTIVELY.

In the same way, advertisers inundate us with lots of pictures and video clips trying to get us to buy things, but we’ve become almost immune to their marketing power.

Nonprofits can take advantage of powerful images and scenes to create an emotional response with far less effort. That means that quick ideas are easier to convey on social sites, another advantage that nonprofits have over other types of organizations.

Of course, knowing that nonprofits have a social media marketing advantage and actually using social sites to boost your own fundraising, public relations, and volunteer registration are two entirely different things. The key, as always, is to develop a following, craft the right kinds of messages, and then put these tools to use in the most efficient way possible.

If you aren’t sure exactly how to do that, or how to turn your social media marketing campaigns into real-world results, you’re not alone. Why not talk to the experienced team at SW Creatives today and see how we can put our expertise to use for you? Our knowledgeable team of nonprofit marketing experts is only a phone call away, and one free consultation could change the direction of your organization and help you meet your goals. Contact us today »

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