Social Media for Good, Not Evil

Anyone out there working or volunteering for societal benefit? This post is for you. Future posts will be for you, too, if there's interest – there's plenty to share about do-good strategies.

Recent discussion on this blog (and elsewhere) regarding social media in-fighting might drive skepticism or paranoia into your heart. As proven day-in and day-out, people and organizations that put their necks "out there" run the risk of being lambasted online. (Photo credit: "Paranoia" by disneymike.)

Nobody wants to scare you away from becoming a 2.0-friendly nonprofit or association. Indeed, the need for charitable, government and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to engage smartly in digital dialog is greater than ever, given the state of our economy-at-large and the boundless potential to do something about it.

Take Heart, and Notes

In her April column for Fundraising Success, Katya Andresen - VP of Marketing for donation/volunteer marketplace Network for Good and sorceress behind Nonprofit Marketing Blog - reminds us of a lost art: selling to souls. In brief, missions get better mileage when their messages are focused on the audience's interests and needs. Social media tools are simply a conduit for engagement and feedback. This should not be earth shattering knowledge, but here's an excerpt of Katya's advice just in case.

• Lay your ego to rest. ". . .are you really connecting with your list and its feelings, or are you just talking about yourself all the time? Nothing turns off a list like narcissism, and nothing turns it on like showing your emotional side and appealing to its perspective."
  

• Stop playing copycat. "Focus on your audience and what they want (instead of what other organizations are doing) and [be] your unique self in front of that audience. Don’t throw wristbands and blogs at your audiences unless that’s what they want AND unless those things are completely aligned with what makes you special in your audiences’ minds."

This servant/listener mindset does not naturally parlay in the self-focused form of citizen media. However, it will always trump the norm if you keep an ear toward your audience. Fortunately, most potential donors, volunteers and members of social cause groups have something in common - a bleeding heart on their sleeve.



Images courtesy of indieshirts, discography and fussybaby.

So what motivates these people? Katya teamed up with Mark Rovner (Sea Change Strategies) at NTEN's 2008 Nonprofit Technology Conference to discuss just that.

Their session, "The Seven Things Everyone Wants: What Freud and Buddha Understood (and We're Forgetting) about Online Outreach," revealed the 7 Deep Human Needs all marketers need to keep in mind - especially anyone filling out a Form 990. Keep these motivations on hand when planning your next nonprofit/social cause campaign:

• Need 1: To be SEEN and HEARD


• Need 2: To be CONNECTED to someone or something


• Need 3: To be part of something GREATER THAN THEMSELVES


• Need 4: To have HOPE for the future


• Need 5: The security of TRUST


• Need 6: To be of SERVICE


• Need 7: To want HAPPINESS for self and others

Ask yourself why you support certain causes or ideas. If Katya's right (and she is), "No one here said, 'I gave or volunteered because of a tool,' like email or Twitter. You supported a cause because of how it made you feel" (per Britt Bravo's recap of the session - which includes an excellent overview of all 7 needs as they pertain to your marcomm efforts).

Will you ignore or leverage these needs? By listening to and learning from your audience, you can help redeem the "social" in social good, social media, and social movement.

Those who feel they must, go ahead and mock 'the hippies.' We're quite busy caring about bigger things than ego-bashing, but appreciate your heartfelt concern all the same. Peace.

Cross-posted from my April 8th post on The Buzz Bin.