5 Ways Non-Profits Can Powerfully Use Facebook, Twitter and Social Media

If you're a leader, employee, or volunteer of a non-profit or mission-driven organization with limited funding and resources, you've likely said more than a few (million) times you wish there was a way to wake people up, get their attention, connect with like-minded folks, and incite meaningful action. Maybe you've dared dream of making a real, lasting difference in your community, or in the world at large.

Now along comes "Social Media." For many, this overused phrase conjures up feelings of fear, overwhelm, technological anarchy, time suckage, and generational divides.

Please, don't let that be true for you.

Social media tools and resources ARE the inexpensive, viral, and action-inspiring answers to your most audacious wishes and dreams. And the good news is, you can use your passion and vision to transcend overwhelm and hype, and explode your reach and results.

Here are five easy ways to do just that.

1. Inspire Direct Action!

One of the best features of human nature - even (and especially!) in a shaky economic climate - is we want to GIVE. Most of us give what we can, when we can. So yes, you absolutely can ask for donations through social media.

Social-friendly applications like TipJoy, Tweet4Good, SixDegrees, ChipIn, and even PayPal make accepting on-the-spot donations easy for non-profits and mission-driven organizations. Make it easy for people who want to give, and put one of these tools to use now.

2. Inbound Links/SEO.

Search engines change their algorithms all the time so people can't game the system. But here's what will stay true no matter what: If there are links to your site from a highly-trafficked place of authority, and you regularly publish keyword-thoughtful content in those places, your search engine placement will improve.

As of this writing, Facebook is the fourth most-visited website. Five of the top ten sites are social media. Twitter is #36 and climbing fast. Get the picture?

3. Monitor & Engage.

Twitter Search makes it easy to find people talking about the topics relevant to your organization right now, and to join the conversation. Don't want to search right now? Applications like TweepBeep and Tweet Later monitor keywords and send you digest emails.

Meanwhile, Facebook Social Ads tap into the incredible treasure trove of information people publish about themselves. It's easily the most valuable marketing database on Earth - Microsoft invested $240 million for a 1.6% stake in Facebook in 2007, and news sources like NBC and the New York Times estimate Facebook's value at $10-15 billion.

4. Leverage.

Most people aren't looking to do more work. In fact, they're looking to do less - or the ever popular "do more with less." Facebook and Twitter are built for just these purposes. Sure, you can get lost in the depths that they offer, but you can also simplify your work with them.

RSS feeds created automatically by Twitter can be used to update your blog and Facebook profiles, groups, and fan Pages. Applications like Twitterfeed can send your Facebook updates to Twitter. And that's just touching the surface. The point is, YOU can decide which platform you like to work with best, update in one place, and use the wealth of automating tools available to spread your content out across your Social Marketing Content Ecosystem.

5. Crowdsourcing.

One of the under-used secrets of marketing is that your Ideal Audience will tell you exactly what they want from you. All you have to do is ask them! This old adage holds true in the social media realm, too - in fact, it's even more powerful, because the response can be immediate.

Your Twitter Followers and Facebook Fans will TELL you what works for them, whether you're asking about new product ideas, new marketing messages, even new branding and taglines. What's more, they'll "Stack Attack" the best ideas, too, building on each other's creativity in powerful and unpredictable ways. (Dell's IdeaStorm.com is a great example of how collaborative feedback gives way to innovative new products and services.)

So those are five ways for non-profits to use Twitter, Facebook, and other social media resources to boost awareness, raise funds, and rally advocates. And by the way ... if you're part of a for-profit business, everything in this article still applies - even the bit about accepting money. If you're not ready for a complete merchant account solution like AhaMerchant.com, PayPal and Amazon can both take care of you.

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