What social networking site should you use to reach potential donors? The answer is this: It depends on your audience. You need to determine what your audience needs from you and where they already live online in order to choose the best sites to court supporters. Here are two places to start your search/investigation:
- Survey your email subscribers. Most likely, the people who are willing to take an online survey are pretty engaged online, and they can tell you where they congregate online.
- Find the smaller networks. In addition to the major social networking players, you can find niche sites like Care2 that focus on what's called the LOHAS, which is "Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability." This group is comprised of women who are in their 40s have a lot of disposable income. Other social networking sites focus on African Americans or the Millennials-the current, youngest generation.
Source: Adapted from the Nonprofit 911 Presentation "The Experts Are In! Your Online Fundraising and Nonprofit Marketing Questions Answered."
