Social networking for social betterment!

What better use of social networking sites than the betterment of society itself!? It might come as a surprise but as per a mega list created by 411 Philanthropy Blog some weeks ago, almost 90 foundations Tweet! and many more are active on Facebook and the like.

What makes us curious is this. What exactly are these NGOs doing on social media? From sharing their history, vision, mission, important research to recruiting candidates, initiating discussions on important issues, these NGOs have used the social media for a number of reasons.

Working with the aim of forwarding the cause for which these NGOs are working for, they have been successfully using this medium to connect to a vast number of people across the world. Imagine what this can do! From finding the right employee who is passionate for the cause to raising funds, these social media sites are opening new avenues for the development sector everyday! Through social networks, NGOs are able to reach out to philanthropists and donators and easily raise funds for a cause. More than anything, these NGOs are able to create awareness among the youth, who are most active on these sites, and make them aware of how they can contribute positively towards the betterment of society.

The accounts managed by NGOs on social accounts mainly fall in three categories. These are:

• Pure foundation brand providing foundation-related content such as news, grants information, research studies and job announcements.
• Foundation with personality: This is same as the previous one except that here an individual manages more interactive conversations with followers of the foundation.
• Employee with Foundation Association: These are usually maintained by an employee of the foundation and the accounts don’t formally represent the foundation.

The kind of account that an NGO maintains depends on the organization's objectives and social media strategy. More proactive ones usually have well-defined guidelines on social media use regarding their philosophy and policy.

Despite the presence of many NGOs on social media sites, it has been pointed out that there is still a want for increased conversation and discussion among the foundations and those following them. This can be done by a few simple steps such as using hashtags on tweets for people to find them more easily, having a more interactive blog, and encouraging comments on their blog. Another creative way is through distribution of viral videos on charity and linking them with their accounts.

An initiative taken by Giveindia, a donation platform working for about 200 NGOs, is an inspiring example of how NGOs are making use of social media to their advantage. Being tech savvy in its approach, Giveindia uses social media as an effective medium to reach out to people and generate funds online with minimal advertising. They are on all social networks including Twitter, Facebook and Blogger.