The rise of social media has given nonprofits another option to attract new donors. Yet with so many of these websites out there, it can be hard to figure out which one is best to use. Of all the options out there, Twitter presents an intriguing choice. It's simple to set up and, if used properly, can quickly spread the word about your mission.
Our own Sam Fanburg attended the 2011 National Catholic Development Conference (NCDC) back in September. One of the many speakers he listened to was Eric Streiff, senior vice president at Douglas Shaw & Associates. He explained how to best use Twitter to cultivate new donors:
* Engage -- Twitter can be great to gather information about what donors believe. Use the services to cultivate donors, prospects and friends.
* Pay Attention -- Spend time looking at what other people are talking about. Twitter is a place to create online buzz and tweets and re-tweets can help garner more supporters.
* Utilize Hashtags -- Use hashtags to try to get your cause to trend, or capitalize on other popular hashtags if they pertain to your organization. This is a very noisy, limited platform. Getting your organization noticed takes a lot of time and energy.
* SPAM -- Do not just send people endless tweets. As easy as it can be to cultivate and advocate, it is just as easy to turn someone off to your causes.
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