Weighing the Pros and Cons

Expanded Reach. Social media makes it easy for an organization’s online supporters to become evangelists for the organization by passing on the organization’s name, links, and information. This allows the organization to connect with new potential donors, volunteers, and staff; community influencers; news representatives; and funders.
Can Raise More than Money. Social media provides opportunities to increase brand awareness, recruit new employees, and build knowledge about community issues.
News Spreads Quickly. Particularly due to cell phone access, news often travels quicker through online social networks than traditional news media.
Opportunity to Listen. Organizations can eavesdrop into what others are saying about their brand and the issues they care about. Organizations also can gain insight into what donors, funders, and the media most care about.
Free Accounts. The vast majority of social media platforms allow nonprofits to create accounts at no cost.

Human Resources Demands. Success requires staff to regularly monitor and update.
Learning Curve. It takes some trial and error to understand how to use these platforms effectively to accomplish the agency’s goals.
Time. It takes time to learn the platforms, discover how to use them effectively, grow a following, build online relationships, and witness the fruits of social media efforts.
Difficult to Measure Effectiveness. It can be challenging to isolate which results are specific to social media work and which are accomplished primarily because of other channels that are part of an organization’s marketing and communications or fund development strategy.
Confidentiality and Ethical Issues. There continues to be grey area surrounding social media and issues of legality and ethics. The law hasn’t kept up with the quick pace in which social media has developed. Common questions for nonprofit human service organizations relate to client confidentiality and staff use of these platforms.

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Cover: Issue 1 – 2011