Social Media Is Bull&%@#?

"Social media is bull&%@#," Roger Craver asserted during his keynote presentation at FundRaising Success' Engage Conference held in Philadelphia on May 9.

Roger has been called a "bomb thrower" for his work in the political arena. He certainly got the attention of the conference participants.

While his comment generated lots of conversation and a few friendly barbs later in the day, it does resonate. Many nonprofits expend a lot of resources to be active in social media. Some volunteers, staff and even donors tell their organizations that they just have to be in the arena.

I agree — but what "being in the arena" means varies from organization to organization.

Social media has enabled organizations like never before to communicate directly with their constituents. And those who are effective are having conversations. Through the Web and its many tools, you can share impactful videos, images and content directly. You can get to know your best supporters — and potential supporters — in a personal way.

I enjoy connecting with friends and colleagues through social media — Facbeook, LinkedIn and Twitter. But I'd say that of each group, fewer than 10 percent of my connections are active in a given week.

Be sure that whatever your social-media strategy is (and you should have one), it is appropriate. If your key donors are not active in social media, how much time should you spend there?