The teleseminar we had on Tuesday with Jessica Stout on social media was great! I hope you were able to attend. Jessica shared a ton of ideas about how you can use social media to increase adoptions, donations, and awareness. Plus, she had some tips for crafting your social media strategies and policies. (If you missed it and you're a Golden Paw Insider member, you can download the MP3 audio, which we uploaded to the Web site this morning.)
One thing that came out of the teleseminar was that even though sites like Facebook and Twitter can be great tools (and the price is right!), social media needs to be just one aspect of your fundraising and publicity plans.
You want to give people multiple ways to engage with your organization. Some older people, for example, may not ever be involved with Facebook, Twitter, or You Tube. You certainly don't want to alienate any of these prospective volunteers or donors. Some people don't have a computer. Or if they do, they have terrible Internet access.
Think about all the different ways and times people come in contact with you. Many of these interactions have nothing to do with a computer at all! A few that come immediately to mind are adoptions, in-person fundraising events, and sales such as bake sales or product sales, if you have a store or thrift shop.
It's easy to get excited about new options like social media, but don't forget the tried and true ways of making connections with people. Although computers are handy tools, nothing compares with actually talking to people in person. Sharing your passion for your adoptable critters in person is probably the best "social" tool you have ;-)
As always thanks for all you do to help the animals!
~ Susan Daffron
Founder & President, NAPRP