The most often-asked question about social media is, “How can we raise more money using Facebook/Twitter/Foursquare/YouTube/etc?” But this question has it a bit backwards.
The more helpful question for us to ask is, “How can we use Facebook/Twitter/Foursquare/YouTube/etc., to raise more money?”
When we turn the question around, our focus becomes using social media not simply as a gift giving vehicle, but rather as a robust tool to share, engage, educate, cultivate, and steward donors and prospects in new, exciting, and effective ways. When we turn the question around, we use social media to meet donors where they are in their electronic lives.
Your institution is better able to fulfill its mission and achieve its vision when you raise more money – regardless of how the gifts are delivered. Much in the same way that our goal would never be to “raise more money using checks,” raising money on social media is not our aim. Instead, effectively using social media to raise more money should be our focus.
