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Is social media good for fundraising?
by: Allison Riese
We recently attended the Association of Fundraising Professionals conference in Vancouver and social media was a big topic. The main message? While there is lots of activity online, few organizations have demonstrated success in using social media to raise money. Yet.
So, can we relax and ignore it all? Not quite. Social media is a great way to tell your story and build community. Both important, if abstract, goals! The most innovative and successful campaigns are “multichannel,” using regular mail that links to personalized URLs and integrates with sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
Plus, it’s getting harder and harder to measure exactly what ask got what action got what fundraising results. Donors’ preferred information channel (currently email) isn’t usually the preferred giving channel (currently mail). Finally, there is a lot of research and even more speculation out there about how this all plays out generationally.
What do you think? Are you using social media in your work? How do you find real donors and relate to them in the media that they prefer? Good fundraising still depends on specific and joyful connections. How do you plan to motivate your donors to stick with you in the long-term?
Feel free to connect with us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/tidescanada) or Twitter (@TidesCanada) and share your thoughts!
Were you interested in the conference but unable to attend? Full session recordings are now on up and available for purchase on the AFP website.
Allison Riese is a Client Services Manager at Tides Canada. Allison focuses on building our community of donors, social investors and grassroots fundraisers.
