I am the vice-president on the board of a wonderful nonprofit affordable housing organization that is based out of Pagosa Springs and serves four counties in southwest Colorado. One of our marketing goals this year is to increase our web presence and luckily, we have a staff member who can help us implement this plan.
The challenge is choosing what social media to invest our valuable resource of time into. A Facebook page is probably our best free resource because it can allow fans and visitors to see organizational updates and interact with us.
Melissa Jun Rowley has a great article posted on Mashable.com that shows some great examples of what other nonprofits are doing with their social media resources. For some, it is about getting more volunteers and reaching out to the community they serve. For others, success is measured by acquiring donations. But whatever the desired result, using tools like Facebook, Twitter and blogs is free except for the time someone on the staff has to put into it. Investing in these free resources, however, is a great way to extend your nonprofit’s message far beyond the reach of traditional networking.
Keep in mind that a Facebook page or another online resource is a commitment and doesn’t guarantee any kind of success, but the tools are there to use and when done properly, you can generate the kind of return you are looking for.