Nonprofits that have many programs and services, can sometimes find it to be very difficult to keep everyone up-to-date on the nonprofits successes and daily rewards. Social media now makes it easy and free to keep everyone up-to-date, including volunteers. In addition social media allows olunteers to share this information easily and for seasoned volunteers they are sometimes the ones updating the social media tools. If you have read my previous articles you know my feeling on volunteers, that they are an essential piece of the nonprofit’s puzzle. Without volunteers many nonprofits would not be able to survive and offer the much-needed programs and services vital to today’s society. As nonprofit leaders we must use all tools available to use to ensure one hundred percent ownership of the organization and to retain our valued volunteers. When board, staff and volunteers feel they have ownership, and their comments, questions and suggestions are taken seriously, the organization excels at a rapid rate.
With building awareness and spreading your message, social media helps nonprofits enhance their campaign, campaigning and advocacy. We know that advocacy is now a mainstream word in today’s society and nonprofits are now leading the way at the state and federal level. As with any endeavor nonprofits undertake they need help from the general public and what better way to sell it than telling the nonprofits story? We know the best way to pull at potential supporters and donor’s heartstrings is storytelling. Social media allows the nonprofit to tell the story to a wider, broader audience without the expense of mailings. In addition social media helps nonprofits in educating and engaging the general public on issues that affect them.
In the next article we will continue discussing the steps for getting started using social media for your nonprofit.