Fundraising,Facebook,The,Myths marketing Fundraising on Facebook: The Myths and Realities
Awhile ago, I got an email from one of the "gurus" I follow and it shocked me. The gist of it was this person wanted to trade services for a household item.To say it floored me would be an understatement.What was worse was a few days later t Automation technologies represent a fundamental aspect of any modern industry. The major types of industrial automation solutions, such as DCS, PLC, SCADA, and MES, are used on a large-scale in process and discrete industries.DCS technologie
Facebook. You're probably using it. If not, many of your friends are.It has surpassed MySpace to become the leading social networkworldwide. For the environmental groups that I work with, more than 1in 3 of their members have accounts, and that number will surely growin the next few years. So if you're a fundraiser for a charityor not-for-profit organization, Facebook would seem to be a naturalplace to focus some effort. Where better than the web's hottest site tolook for potential donors?Unfortunately, at the time of thiswriting (January, 2010), traditional fundraising has pretty muchflopped on Facebook. By "traditional," I mean that you ask somebody fora small donation ($30, $75, $100) to your cause, and they reach intotheir pocket or write you a check for that amount. According to theWashington Post, only a tiny handful of charities have raised realmoney using the Facebook "Causes" application. Tens of thousands haveraised nothing or a only little pittance for their efforts. What'sbooming on the Internet generally, and Facebook in particular, iscorporate philanthropy. Here's how it works -- a do-gooder companypicks some charities to compete for a donation. Basically, the businessannounces "We'll give this money to one of these good causes -whichever gets the most votes at this website we set up." The website,of course, is basically a commercial for this company. There weredozens of these contests in 2009, and the number will surely grow in2010 and beyond. Seeking votes, charities then send pleas totheir Facebook friends, email subscribers, and anybody else to visitthe corporate website and vote for them. Those charities that haveworked hard to build their network of electronic contacts have a bigadvantage over those don't. Here are two tips for winning these corporate philanthropy contests:Tip #1: Build your electronic network NOW! Themore Facebook friends, Twitter followers, and email subscribers youhave, the more likely you are to win the money for your good cause.Once the contest starts, it will be too late. If you try to get peoplevote for you by mailing and calling them on the phone, you'll lose. Tip #2: Tell your supporters what you will do with the money if you win.Tell them that if you win the $10,000 (or $25,000 or whatever), you'llbuy some land where a rare butterly lives. Tell them you'll feed 100families for a month. Tell them you'll pay the salaries of 3 teachersin a poor country. Don't (just) tell them the butterfly isabout to go extinct. Don't (just) tell them there are hungry familiesnear you. Don't (just) tell them the children in this poor countrydon't know how to read. That's just depressing -- and part of your jobas a fundraiser is to be inspiring!Facebook is the newfundraising frontier for good causes. If you understand what you aregetting into, there's an opportunity coming up fast to win $10,000,$25,000, or even more in support of your good work. Article Tags: Don't Just Tell, Just Tell Them, Tell Them, Don't Just, Just Tell
Fundraising,Facebook,The,Myths