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Social media is having a significant impact on the way all businesses communicate both internally and externally, and in particular, Not For Profits (NFP) organisations need to leverage these social channels strongly to create real and meaningful relationships that connect with supporters, service provider and employees.

So to understand how NFP are leveraging the opportunities that social media offers around volunteers and building engaged communities we were joined by Andrew Everingham CEO of Sydney Homeless Connect and Peter Chalmers from the Executive Committee at Sydney Homeless Connect who outlined their experience with social media and offered 3 great insights into the issues that should be considered when planning your NFP Social Media strategy.

  1. Collaboration: Using a social network (such as chatter) is key for NFPs allowing business to collaborate not only with supporters, employees and service provider, but also allows those members to be connected to all relevant business data and documents in one spot giving transparency of communication amongst all participants. Social networks like chatter also provide the security of who can view and access that information. By utilising a social network that is based in the cloud, you can access it from anywhere and also on any device. 
  2. Scalable: You need to be able to upscale or down scale your needs quickly and easily and without a financial impact. Get your NFP into a scalable formation now, Enable business units, Streamline workflow with tools, Scale with Peer to Peer communities, grow an unpaid army of advocates and ensure you integrate with your other business systems. 
  3. Access: All social media channels need to be accessed in real time, from anywhere you have an internet connection, on whatever device is the personal preference. 

By leveraging these 3 insights your NFP will also benefit from: *Instant feedback within the social network from all connect parties *Find that social networking members have a super fast adoption of these tools due to ease of use and familiar interface (just like facebook) *Your business processes will see a reduction in communication bottle necks, as everyone is connected to what is important to them. Which all lead to a much better more transparent social strategy that can transform your NFP organization.

3 Ways to use Social to Rally Volunteers and Build an Engaged Community from Derek Laney