Often in discussion on social media people bring up the Digital Divide. As we are moving to spending more time engaging populations online we can’t forget that there are many who do not have access and we have to integrate online social media strategies with offline engagement and promotion. At the National Conference on Volunteering and Service I realized that there is also another problem with many nonprofit’s social media strategies. We focus on engaging people who already on Twitter or Facebook instead of recruiting new users. There are a lot of people out there who have computers and smartphones but aren’t using Twitter, Foursquare, or other websites. Many nonprofits don’t spend any time thinking about how to bring people not using these mediums on board.
What I saw at NCVS is that engaging non-users can be more effective then trying to appeal to information overloaded users. For example: one group during NCVS was doing a Foursquare contest to get people to check in to a particular site. After the first day when no one checked the group reflected on how to increase engagement. One person suggested that many people aren’t aware of Foursquare so perhaps on the next day they should try to get people on Foursquare and teach them how to check in. So the next day one team member asked people who attended meetups and sessions whether they were on Foursquare. To her surprise many people she asked had smartphones but weren’t aware Foursquare existed. When she explained the concept many people were eager to have her help them download it to their phones and help them with their first check-in.
It proved to be an excellent icebreaker and while she was helping them download Foursquare she could have a long conversation with the person. In the end the team member helped about a dozen people on Foursquare in just two days. Those people built a relationship with the team member and the organization through the process. This is one of the real pros I see to spending time teaching people about social media. You are more likely to have users that stick around, comment, and build a relationship with you online because you’ve introduced them to the site offline. They will become more engaged then their your average new Twitter or Facebook user who finds your site online.
Let me give you my personal example. I have a VISTA in my office who I recently introduced to Twitter. During NCVS we had a TweetChat for VISTAs who were not attending the conference and I knew that the VISTA in my office really wanted to find out more. So I called her right before the TweetChat and walked her through the process of participating. It was painful at first and slow but after fifteen minutes she was set up and made her first comment with the TweetChat hashtag. As the conversation went on she made more comments and reflections. She was one of the most active tweeters in the discussion and she gave such a new insight to the conversation. At her VISTA site she works with people with disabilities and she brought a completely different view point to what we were discussing. I was so proud of her but I also learned my lesson: by teaching people how to get on Twitter, Facebook and other social mediums we can create a more dynamic and inclusive discussion.
So moving on from NCVS I’ve learned that I need to spend more time teaching people and engaging people offline to join the discussion online. I focus a lot on getting nonprofit organizations on Twitter but I also need to spend more time getting new people on to. That way I can share the wonderful Twitter community I have come to know and love with others in my office and in return they can share their unique perspective with the world.
What do you think? Are you teaching people how to get on Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, or others? How are you engaging users who aren’t using those mediums? I am always listening @rsteggy.
