Use Social Media for Social Good
Use social media for a good cause and tap into your powerful social networks.
Aliza Sherman
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Use Social Media for Social Good
Hi there, The Digital Marketer here, ready to help you put the power of the Internet and technology to work for your business.
Are you looking to get your company involved with a good cause and are wondering how to do it? Or do you want to expand your nonprofit organization’s presence and reach online? If so, there are cause-oriented social networks to help you build a presence, garner support, and spread the word about issues that are important to you.
There are many great sites on the Web that allow you–as a business owner or as someone working with a nonprofit organization–to build a presence, organize, and galvanize the public. First, I’ll introduce you to some of these networks, and then I’ll give you a few ideas for using social media to help support a cause.
6 Social Networks for Social Good
I’ve worked with nonprofits on their Internet strategies since 1994. I know from my experience that social networks are not necessarily a guaranteed fundraising platform for every organization. I can, however, point to some fundraising success stories on Facebook, Twitter, and Second Life. Still, a nonprofit’s most effective use of social networks remains building awareness, organizing, and reaching out to supporters.
Social networks for social good use some of the basic features of sites like MySpace and Facebook to provide organizations and individuals with easy-to-use tools to help spread the word about an issue and to rally support. Whether it is encouraging people to sign a petition, attracting a larger volunteer base, or simply allowing company employees to support a cause, social media can be a powerful engine behind these actions.
Here are some social networks that help you get behind a cause or build support for your own cause:
Zazengo at Z-A-Z-E-N-G-O dot com lets you create and join projects and measures the results of your campaigns and service events. If you’re looking for a tool to help you organize and manage cause-oriented projects, Zazengo can help.
CauseCast.org is like the YouTube of cause-related videos. You can upload a video message about an issue to help spread the word and form conversations and communities around the video.
Change.org helps you learn more about causes and then connects you to people and nonprofits involved with each cause. Nonprofits establish their presence on Change.org while individuals and companies can create accounts to align themselves with the causes of their choice.
Care2.org (that’s the number 2) is a social network that focuses on green issues, human rights, and animal welfare. If those issues appeal to you, you can use Care2 as a platform to engage others in your cause.
Razoo at R-A-Z-O-O dot com helps you track all of your contributions in one place to build your giving portfolio. You can find and research organizations, donate to them, and as they say on their site,”Manage your charitable life.” Nonprofits are encouraged to set up a page on Razoo to access fundraising tools.
SocialActions.com calls itself a “social action network” and offers an enormous database that scours the Internet for causes you can volunteer for, donate to, sign petitions for, or get involved with in some other way. You can also find or create tools that help you share giving opportunities with others. Nonprofit organizations can add their actions to the database to make sure they’re accessible.
Using Social Networks for Causes
If you’re interested in supporting a good cause or encouraging others to get involved in your own cause, there are many ways you can use social networks.
Here are a few ideas:
- Create a Facebook Cause.
By using the application Facebook Causes, you can create a Cause page, enlist supporters from your slew of Facebook friends, and even solicit petition signatures or donations. I’ve seen some business owners solicit donations from their Facebook friends in lieu of birthday or holiday gifts.
- Get Your Favorite 20-Somethings Involved.
Check out the Social Citizen’s blog for ideas and inspiration about giving geared toward the Y-generation. And take the Social Citizen’s Quiz at SocialCitizens.org/quiz.
- Read the top nonprofit bloggers.
To access even more ideas, read nonprofit blogs. Some of the best bloggers on the topic include Beth Kanter at beth.typepad.com, Allison Fine at afine.us, Tom Watson at Causewired.com, Beth Harte at theharteofmarketing.com (that’s H-A-R-T-E), and Lucy Bernholz at Philanthropy 2173 at philanthropy.blogspot.com. Read them for innovative ideas, information, and best practices for using social media for social good.
Bottom Line: Social media is not a silver bullet. You need to be strategic, you need to have a plan, and you need to make thoughtful choices about the tools you use. A social network can be a powerful tool to help you achieve your goals–whether you are a nonprofit organization or a company wanting to align with a good cause– but like with any tool, you have to use it wisely.
Contact Me
That’s all we have time for today. Visit the show’s website at digitalmarketer.quickanddirtytips.com for links to all of the sites mentioned in the show. If you’d like to ask a question or request a topic for The Digital Marketer, email me at digitalmarketer@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email or leave a message by calling 206-339-6279.
The Digital Marketer’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Building Your Business With Web Tools is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips network at quickanddirtytips.com.
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Resources
Facebook Causes – Facebook Causes
Zazengo – Zazengo
CauseCast – Cause Cast
Social Actions – Social Actions
Razoo – Razoo
Change.org – Change org
Care2.org – Care org
Social Citizen’s Blog –
Social Citizen’s Blog
Social Citizen’s Quiz –
Social Citizen’s Quiz
Beth Kanter –
Beth Kanter
Allison Fine – Allison Fine
Tom Watson – Tom Watson
Beth Harte – Beth Harte
Lucy Bernholz, Philanthropy 2173 – Lucy Bernholz Philanthropy
Social Media image courtesy of Shutterstock