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Leveraging Social Media to Market a Non-profit

Guest post by: michelle crossley

Article Overview: The wave of social online media is taking the world by storm. No organization can afford to ignore their growing importance any longer. Websites such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace have immense reach and power that can be leveraged by a non-profit at practically no cost.

Leveraging Social Media to Market a Non-profit

The wave of social online media is taking the world by storm. No organization can afford to ignore their growing importance any longer. Websites such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace have immense reach and power that can be leveraged by a non-profit at practically no cost. Here are some key ideas to maximize the power of social media to market a non-profit organization: Find volunteers who are good at online social networking Within your team itself you may be able to find a member who is able to hand online social networking efficiently. Alternatively, you may seek the volunteer services of an outside who may be willing to assist you with the endeavor. That will help you to kick off your campaign much faster and more effectively. Maximize all options allowed by the online social medium Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter allow you various options such as becoming a verified member, or operating as a group or an event. Some sites may let you sponsor a group or community officially. There are various applications provided by such sites that might help you to enhance your presence, and engage the readers’ interest. Integrate your non-profit website with the social media links Make sure that a reader who visits your non-profit’s website is able to notice your presence at the social media sites. The reader must be able to visit and join your social media network seamlessly from your website. Create great content with mass appeal The whole purpose of social networks is sharing information. Create such compelling content that the visitors to your site are prompted to share it with others. That can create a huge viral marketing campaign for your non-profit, and give you wide exposure without investing any time, effort or money. Invite potential supporters to your social network Make full use of your database to invite all potential supporters to become a part of your online social network. Tell your existing supporters to pass around the invitations to their own networks. This can go on to generate greater interest and participation of people at your social network. Maintain dynamic content and communicate regularly The world of social media moves very fast. If your content is stale or static, people will move on to other interesting networks. Therefore, ensure fresh and dynamic content to maintain the active involvement of the members at your network. Make sure the communication with the members is done on a continuous basis so that they feel they are a part of an active and alive network. Social networking may not yield immediate results, but it is a worthwhile investment for your non-profit’s future. A very large section of the young population is converging to the social networking websites. Therefore, you can reach a very homogenized market of younger people through such new media.

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Article Tags: charity, donations, Facebook, Leveraging Social Media to Market a Nonprofit, nonprofit, Twitter



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