Live Mint Story on Indian Non-Profits (Not) Using Social Media

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I was interviewed recently for a Live Mint story on Indian non-profits (not) using social media.

My view is that there aren’t any short cuts to using social media effectively, for either corporates or non-profits. Some causes spread virally, like the Pink Chaddi Campaign, but most don’t. What non-profits need is a more rigorous approach to social technologies, rooted in a commitment to long-term communities and constituent relationship management programs, and a willingness to let the people set the agenda.

Dave and I have explored some of these issues from the perspective of corporates in the 20:20 Social position paper on Social Business Strategy. I’ll be re-writing it from the perspective of non-profits later this week, so do look out for it.

Here is the full text of the Live Mint story –

The Anti-Social Nonprofit: Looking for Instant Gratification
Saabira Chaudhuri on Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Recently, marketing guru Seth Godin stirred up something of a storm in the blogosphere with a scathing post about how nonprofits don’t use social media because they “abhor change.”

While Godin was both harsh and overly general, his post came to my attention while I was in the midst of puzzling over why so many Indian nonprofits that work towards such admirable causes have such poor online presence. Internet usage is rocketing upwards, yet non-profits are still virtually invisible online, and seem particularly reluctant to invest in social media.

Even when Indian non-profits do use social media, they don’t seem to make much of a splash. I’m not talking about that small non-profit in Gujarat that is strapped for resources and know how. I’m referring to larger names like Oxfam India, which has only 37 members of its Facebook group, or GiveIndia, which has 56 Facebook fans – organizations that do good work, and are manned by intelligent, capable individuals.

Right before I read Godin’s post, I received an email from a campaign called aTEEtude of Giving, which aims to motivate youngsters to donate new, rather than used, clothing to charitable organizations. The campaign began on the 16th of September and runs until the 2nd of October, as part of the Joy of Giving Week. Upon going to the Facebook fan page to find out more, I found the campaign had only 16 fans. It’s now day 8 and the campaign has 83 fans.

Similarly Twestival Local, a Twitter meetup for charity that recently took place in Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi and other cities around India, did not resonate widely: New Delhi’s event had just 15 attendees, and while Mumbai and Bangalore fared better, attracting about 100-150 people each, the events can hardly be said to have created waves – online or offline.

So what’s going on here?

According to Robin Abraham of social media consultancy, Drizzlin Media, nonprofits are adopting the wrong approach. “The problem in India is that there is no consistency in spreading the word. Everything is a campaign; it’s short- lived. Causes need something sustained to really take off but most organizations are not able to, or don’t feel the need to, dedicate the resources,” he says.

Abraham points out that cause marketing is still in its infancy in India: “Most non profits are just exploring avenues about how to do it. The medium is there, but the spread is just not there yet.” He also says that Indian non-profits “need to take a leap of faith” to be willing to invest time and resources in social media. “They still struggle with traditional marketing strategies.”

When asked what advice he would offer a small non-profit trying to make a foray into social media, Abraham says that very first step non-profits must take is to define their objectives and the message they want to convey, and then shape their strategies around this. “The medium always comes last,” he says.

Gaurav Mishra, CEO of social media research and strategy firm 20:20 Social, offers a similar view: “I work with non profits and brands – usually everyone thinks social media is Facebook and Twitter. This is the wrong place to start. The right thing is to decide what you’re doing and then build community around that. It takes time, skills and money — once you have a community then you start outposts on Facebook and Twitter. Without anything to anchor them, these posts don’t work,” he says.

He goes on to underscore that social media should not be thought of as a tool to develop initial awareness about a cause or organization. Rather, it should be used to supplement existing contacts or efforts, both offline and online: “If you have a mailing list of 100,000 people, these social media communities would help you do more with those 100,000 rather than take you to 500,000. You need to build critical mass first and then use social tools to engage them more deeply.”

Mishra points to the example of Kiva, a site that connects lenders to borrowers from the developing world. “When people think of Kiva they don’t even think of social media – it’s the perfect example of how to use social media. It is basically structured like a community. Doing good is easy and has a social aspect – these are two compelling reasons for why it works.”

Of course this isn’t to say that Indian non-profit campaigns are never successful — initiatives like Jaago Re, and the Pink Chaddi campaign, as well as nonprofits like Wildlife SOS, have successfully harnessed social media tools in a manner that other organizations could learn from. But that’s a story for another post.

If you liked this post, you should check out some other posts like this:

• LiveMint Story on My NASSCOM Foundation Workshop on Social Media for Non-Profits
• LiveMint Article on Indian Brands Using Social Media
• Global Post Article on Caste-Based Communities on Facebook and Orkut
• My Talk on Digital Activism at Social Media Club Delhi
• Are Indian News, Media and Entertainment Companies Social Media Savvy?
• Livemint Story on Twitter Etiquette