Are you counting on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to grow your not-for-profit? You’re not alone! A Google search for “social media + not for profit” brings up dozens of case studies that position social media as the special ingredient for successful community engagement and movement building. The TckTckTck climate action campaign gathered more than 10 million petition signatures in just five months leading up to the Copenhagen talks thanks, in part, to social media activity. In a 2011 survey of Forbes’ top 200 charities, 97% report having a Facebook presence, 96% a Twitter account and 92% are using YouTube. But, is Facebook and Twitter the answer for growing your cause? 

We don’t think so.

Here’s the problem. Today, there’s just too much “noise” on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. Yes, there are 600 million people on Facebook, but there are also thousands of big brands and not-for-profits competing for attention in that channel. And hundreds more are coming online every day. So, making a big splash simply by updating your Facebook page or tweeting daily is no longer a sound strategy.

So, how can you use these tools effectively in today’s noisy social media space?

When we create an online strategy at Biro Creative we put social media activities into two buckets: heartbeat activities and remarkables. Both categories are critical, but have different goals and objectives. Heartbeat activities are used as a way to deepen relationships with friends, fans and supporters while remarkable activities get you noticed with the goal of growing your fan base. Here’s how they work together for a thriving, growing movement.

A Healthy Heartbeat

There’s a solid reason to dedicate resources to social media. Your blog and other social media channels are ideal for connecting with fans – those who already know you and like you. A steady flow of updates, campaign success stories and calls to action delivered via these channels keeps your community close and your not-for-profit front of mind. Social media architecture – comment threads, “likes” and RTs – makes conversations easy and natural. There are, of course, many heartbeat activities outside of social media. Email newsletters fall into this category, as do donor relations and news releases. 

Connecting regularly with your tribe is the healthy heartbeat that feeds an engaged, active and in-step community. When you deliver thoughtful, compelling content for your community via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and on your blog, you’re striving to deepen ties, not fish for new fans.

Growing Your Community with Remarkables

Caring for your community is essential, but so is growing it if you’re going to drive change. So, if Facebook and blog updates aren’t going to do it, what will?

Remarkables are campaigns that make a big splash. We’re fans of marketing guru Seth Godin and piggyback on his “purple cow” philosophy here when we talk about “remarkables”. In his must-read marketing bible, “The Purple Cow”, Seth tells the story of taking his family to France. At first, his kids were enchanted by cows grazing in the picturesque countryside – that is until they passed field after field of cows. Then cows were boring. “A Purple Cow, though. Now that would be interesting.” The metaphor here is to make your organization or campaign a purple cow so that you’ll stand out in a field of boring brown cows.

Here’s an example. This past February, Greenpeace launched “ A New Warrior ”, a fundraising microsite for the construction of a new Rainbow Warrior to replace the tired vessel. But, this is no run-of-the-mill online donation form. From gripping video footage that recounts the Rainbow Warrior’s battles to sophisticated blueprints of the new vessel – viewable from every position and angle – the highly-interactive website is remarkable. And the coolest part? Donors “buy” parts of the new ship. From windows and GPS devices to smoke detectors and boilers, visitors browse these items on the site and “purchase” them to outfit the new Rainbow Warrior. Donors even get a certificate of ownership for their contributions. This approach riffs on the growing online shopping trend and gives donors a real sense of ownership of the new Rainbow Warrior. It’s a remarkable strategy that made me a first-time Greenpeace donor.

We believe the two-pronged “heartbeat” and “remarkables” approach is a solid strategy for using social media more effectively. While heartbeat activities can go a long way to deepen ties within your tribe, flexing your creative muscle with remarkable campaigns can help you get noticed in an increasingly noisy online world. Together these activities can help to both grow and feed your movement.