by Stephen Butler

I am often asked ‘what’s the payback?’ This is especially true for charities who want to know when they will get a return on their investment – or if they will at all. So, the Fundraising Director of CEO rightly wants to know “will it raise us money?” Charities, perhaps more than other organisations, require a degree of rigour and accountability on their expenditure.

My own opinion is that, while there may be ways in which social can, and does, generate direct income, one of the most powerful arguments for developing a social media strategy for every non-profit organisation is that of promoting donor loyalty.

“Listening to what your donors are saying about your organisation has never been easier”

The principles of fundraising can be applied even more rigorously to the world of social media marketing than ever they could to traditional media. What we knew previously about the correlation between donor involvement and loyalty is just as relevant now with the new media streams as it ever has been. And this, it seems to me, is one of the key ‘returns’ for a non-profit and one of the main justifying reasons for developing an integrated social strategy. In other words, the dictum holds true in every medium, the more loyal a donor, the greater their financial value to the organisation.

Here are 3 fundraising principles which you need to be aware of as you think about a social media strategy.

1. Closing the donor bridge

The donor ‘bridge’ is the function of the charity to connect the donor with the work. The closer the donor is to the work, the better the charity:supporter relationship and, therefore, the more effective the fundraising. There are examples of charities getting this wrong. People do not give to organisations, or even brands. When the brand gets in the way, or the charity talks about the organisation, then there is a break in the bridge.

Have a look on Twitter at some of the charities. Having a presence on Twitter does not mean that an organisation has a social media strategy. Too many of them are simply ‘present’ without understanding why, or what they should be doing. I’m not interested in seeing a charity logo tell me they had a rough day at the office. I don’t want to hear from the fundraiser or the CEO telling me they are just off to Starbucks. Tell me, show me and put me in touch with what you are accomplishing. Take me to see your projects.

“Connect me directly with your work so I get excited about what you are doing. I might want to join in with you.”

2. Don’t push me, engage me

When you have created a donor ‘bridge’ ensure that both parties have access to the relationship across it. One of the most effective methods of bringing supporters closer to your cause is to open up 2-way dialogue. Conversation. For many non-profits their fundraising has traditionally been a ‘push’ method. With the sophistication of segmentation, aspects of direct mail can at least be highly personalised and tailored to the donor’s preferences, but this gets nowhere near the capability of a social programme which allows much greater participation on both sides.

“It’s not about telling people about your organisation anymore. Now it’s about what people are saying about your organisation.”

By opening up the work to supporters, not only will they be able to see what you are doing, but they will be able to participate in it too. Albeit at a distance, but now they can comment, listen, interact, be updated and in a way which suits them.

3. It doesn’t need to cost a shed load.

The whole point about social media is that it is a great leveller. I can compete on equal terms with Oxfam now, as long as I have a good ‘product’ and a compelling offer. Any charity can start a Facebook group or a Twitter stream for next to nothing. So whatever the response it is going to be positive in financial terms. However, it does need to be integrated with the rest of your fundraising in order to have any impact.

Simply creating noise and smoke will not result in a fire. To get the best out of social media it has to be planned, strategic, integrated and consistent with other messaging. Then you will begin to see an impact.