Does Social Media Work?

Much has been written about the use of social media in fundraising – as well as in life in general.  After all, there are probably very few people who own a computer that don’t tweet or post on Facebook – or both!  But I’m interested to know how many charities proactively use social media to fundraise – and if they do, how successful is it?

I came across a nifty little piece of software the other day (www.fundrazr.com) that makes fundraising – and encouraging donations from your ‘friends’ – a straightforward process.  Now this isn’t a review of the software – I will state now that I’ve never used it – but it seemed to me that on reading the information it was not only a good way for individuals to raise money for charities close to them – say if they were running a marathon and seeking sponsorship – but it also might give small arts organisations and charities a good way of raising small gifts from a large number of people.

Crowdfunding is another way to achieve similar results – raising many small gifts – and there is no doubting the power of social media when it comes to making a campaign go viral.  I’ve read lots about how social media can be used to fundraise and how effective it is in the US – but I haven’t seen many examples of it being used in the UK.  Or maybe I just haven’t been looking hard enough!

Personally, I think social media is a great way to achieve results and get people commenting and engaged with your organisation.  And I am particularly interested to find out whether, in these cash strapped times, as organisations develop new, creative ways to reach potential donors, whether they have used social media to achieve this successfully?