July 24, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
Is it wrong to use social-networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter to help promote your nonprofit group?
A debate on that topic is brewing among nonprofit experts, as some people express concern that marketers show a lack of respect for the purpose of social networks by intruding with messages about their causes.
Michael Gilbert, a nonprofit consultant, recently expressed concern on his blog Nonprofit Online News, that “instead of being a platform for the organization’s support and participation in communities of practice, instead of being a tool for empowering the connections and voices of their stakeholders, to many nonprofits an online social network is just another mailing list.”
But Kivi Leroux Miller, author of the blog Nonprofit Marketing Guide. says she thinks charities have the kind of material people want to learn about through social networks.
“I strongly disagree with this whole notion that nonprofits who want to use social networking as part of a larger communications strategy, including as a way to get their messages out and to reach new people, are somehow being disrespectful for even considering it,” she says.
“When you use social media/networking tools as they were meant to be used — to engage in real conversations where you neither control nor dominate the dialogue — then I see no problem with using them to talk about your cause and your work and to make new connections too.”
This topic was also debated during a recent online discussion sponsored by The Chronicle.
What do you think? Is your group using social networks to promote itself? Tell us about what has worked and what has been challenging as you approach social networks.
