Blasting Off With Social Media

Sarah, being middle-aged-ish (like me!) is just a bit bewildered about it all. She has heard so many conflicting ideas and opinions. She knows it needs to be a part of the program; she just doesn't know how.

I feel her pain. While serving as chief advancement officer of a residential liberal arts college in the '90s, I distinctly remember a senior staff meeting, with the president and the other VPs, where the subject was whether and how to put resources to strengthening the college's Web presence.

My boss, the most senior both in position and age, made a comment that was essentially, "I can't see the need to pour precious resources into this 'Web thing.' We're not Amazon." There was an awkward pause, after which a colleague spoke up to state, "I really don't think that a group of five men, all over the age of 50, have any real conception of what an 18-year-old thinks is important."

There it was. Truth placed into the middle of the room like a large and heavy box being set onto the conference table.

Just as the situation with my colleagues and me, it is very difficult — some would say nigh impossible — for us to understand the perspective of someone who by age or background is significantly different from us.

This is the challenge of social media. These tools are not just a reinvented party line. The millennials who are the drivers in the social-media world think and act differently than us oldsters. They just do.

I responded to Sarah that making social media work for her organization's fundraising program was both a necessity and a challenge. I gave her a few pointers on where to begin:

1. First, know who your constituents are. Determine what portion(s) of that group is the demographic that has embraced the social tools.
2. Second, find out which platforms your donors and potential donors use. Yes, each platform (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) has a typical audience to which it appeals. The various networks are not equal or identical.
3. Once your know to whom you're reaching out, then decide how you will integrate this engagement tool with your total program. What are the short-term operational goals?
4. Lastly, once your know how you will fold social media into your larger program, what metrics will you use? What goals — revenue and otherwise — will you set?