Charity organisations are just beginning to realise the importance and value of social networking, 21st-century style, to enhance interaction between organizations and the general public, as well as increase donations to wide range of social and community based philanthropic organizations.

Whether it comes to global warming or Habitat for Humanity, today's society has grown increasingly visual-based through the use of Internet use and habits. For example, social networking websites on the Internet have exploded in both use and function. Not too long ago, MySpace, a common social networking arena for high school and college age students, has now been taken over by the post 35-year-old age set.  YouTube, a popular create-it-yourself-video website, receives over 100 million visitors per month. Facebook, another popular social networking website, increased its members by over 120% in a mere 12 months.

Charity organisations need to take advantage of the popularity and ability to connect with millions of users through such social networking websites. One such organization, Defenders of Wildlife, has utilized the tools and options on MySpace to create alerts to blog posts, bulletins, and advance notice of special events in their calendars. By utilizing special tools and codes on MySpace, friends and visitors to the Defenders of Wildlife page are able to create banner ads to place on their own MySpace pages.

Another charitable organization, the Humane Society, has a huge following on MySpace.  A large network of friends enables the Humane Society to write and create content that addresses common and popular issues between MySpace members, animal lovers, and methods that encourage them to help in their own communities. By including links back to original websites outside of MySpace, charitable organizations are able to encourage and develop hundreds of contacts through social networking member databases.

Another method, through which the Humane Society helps to spread its message throughout social networking websites, is to provide videos and links to return to the organization's homepage. The ability to share such videos and links among members helps spread the word faster than any other method used today.

Catering to the desires of consumers and fledging philanthropists not only in the United States but around the world, charitable organizations are taking advantage of social networking when organising charitable websites to enlist and encourage visitors and donors to make a difference through their own contributions. Some of the most common charitable or non-profit organisations seen in MySpace or Facebook social networking websites today include:

• Stop global warming
• End global hunger
• Protect endangered habitats
• End homelessness
• Promote fair trade

Organisations have begun to understand the importance of focusing on issues that encourage action. Recently, the Chicago Tribune noted "…non-profit organizations are testing ways to raise money through these networks, betting that the Internet's viral nature will open fresh avenues for fundraising and marketing."

Brendan Byrne (www.receptive.com.au) is an internet marketing consultant. Brendan runs workshops on how to manage your online business and effectively market yourself.

With the growth of social networking on the Internet, many people have turned to networks found online as a source of money earning potential. Some of the most popular sites, such as YouTube, Facebook and MySpace, are great locations to boost your own company or organization's sales, gain additional customers or donors and even market your products or services.
 
If done successfully, everyone has the potential of earning money on any of the social networking sites within a reasonable amount of time. Internet marketers increasingly use networks to increase their own demographic, since sites such as Facebook bring in thousands of new members each month. Using social networking as a way to promote or advertise is extremely beneficial, since it reaches a massive audience around the world all at the same time.  YouTube, a site where anyone can post videos, tutorials or anything else they have a mind to post, reaches up to 100 million visitors per month. By using this site as a source of advertising or marketing, companies or organisations are able to share their message in ways that would be impossible by traditional methods.

To begin setting up marketing through a social networking site, the first step is to sign up for an account. MySpace, Xanga and Facebook are just a few of the many websites that contain networking capabilities. Signing up for an account can be done either with a company name, a charity name or even the user's actual name. Many Internet marketers commonly use a pen name to register, and then create a profile to advertise or market their ideas or products.

Selling products on social networking sites usually does not have a limit. Opportunities to post links back to personal websites helps to generate traffic and offers users more potential to understand more of what is being advertised.  Websites such as MySpace allow video or music capabilities that work much like television commercials, without the astronomical costs involved in a televised media campaign. Another beneficial feature found in many social networking sites is the ability to share information through the use of bulletins. This allows anyone to write message or display information that posts throughout the entire network that individual users belong to. Providing links or product reviews and then sending them as a mass bulletin to thousands of people generates commission sales for products advertised by the user.

Many individuals use their profile as a way to generate and earn money through social networking websites. Social networking on the Internet enables direct relationships between individuals, companies, organizations, charities, and encourages dialogue, direct involvement, and immediate feedback for causes and events. Social networking profiles are used in promoting a product or even to promote second party products. Using profiles to post reviews, informative pieces, and links to the product itself or other sites are just some of the ways that marketers make use of social networking sites in the 21st century.

Brendan Byrne (www.receptive.com.au) is an internet marketing consultant. Brendan runs workshops on how to manage your online business and effectively market yourself.

With the rise of social networking, more people are using it as a platform to obtain exposure as well as a way to broaden professional circle and social impact. With thousands of users visiting social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace on a daily basis, there are opportunities for you to break through to millions of people around the world. Anyone can gain access to your message, product or event all in a single moment.

While belonging to the social networking group does not mean that professionals or organizations will have an easier chance of finding jobs or platforms, it certainly helps promote causes and contacts that might be able to assist with a wide wealth of resources at some point in the future, depending on content, intent and even career paths. Since popular social network websites obtain millions visitors per month, companies, non-profits and charities are beginning to market to a variety of demographic users logging on to these sites.

Not all social network sites have thousands of users. Networks may also consist of smaller, specially designed sites created primarily to help users gain professional connections or contacts. For example, Linkedln is a professional networking site that promotes professional contacts, resumes and skills, as well as employment opportunities. Navigating through social networking sites such as this one allows users who are members to make professional connections.  Networking has become important in most professional arenas, since companies now commonly search through these professional sites in order to find potential employees.

Many social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace or Linkedln allow users to search the database of other members in order to find people with similar interests, skills or talents, all by simply using search tools designed by the site.  Some social networking websites even allow members to ask or answer career- related questions that help companies become more familiar with them or vice versa.  Since these social networks are free, utilizing them is a huge advantage when looking for   a job or seeking the perfect professional to join your organisation.

Not every social network has been successful.  Fiendster, one of the first large-scale social networking sites, failed to catch on and soon became overrun by other sites such as MySpace and Facebook.  While Facebook was primarily intended to attract college students, anyone was able to join the site in 2006.  With its user-friendly applications, Facebook now sees millions of new users joining each month.

While certain social networking websites have different features or directions, users are continually putting a more professional twist on content and goals. Whether social networking is used as a career enhancer. To attract attention to a non-profit or charity organization or just make a few new friends, it has certainly allowed for open communication around the world.  Finding old friends or staying connected to the ones users already have was a major desire during the beginning of social networking.  In the future, sites such as Facebook and MySpace are expected to cater to professionals and the relationships they can build, resulting in important aspects of business and organization tools.

Brendan Byrne (www.receptive.com.au) is an internet marketing consultant. Brendan runs workshops on how to manage your online business and effectively market yourself.

Social networking isn't just for the young crowd. Charity and nonprofit organizations are now beginning to understand the power of social networking. That power is hard to ignore when recent surveys polled produced results that half the users on the formerly teen-popular MySpace are 35 years old and older. Add that to the number of viewers visiting Facebook and YouTube, and corporate boards are sitting up and taking notice.

The question is whether or not you and your organization are tapping into the potential and opportunities available through various methods of social networking. One such company has. Habitat for Humanity has long been known for their work helping communities throughout the United States. They are metro region-based, are charitable organizations, and they have joined the 21st century when it comes to social networking and media opportunities. In many locations around the country and in Canada, the charity uses Facebook for viral marketing programs to advertise their campaigns, their locations, as well as to generate information about attending various events that help finance their goals.

The well-known Humane Society has also seen the benefit of social networking. At last count, over 650 charities have profiles on Facebook. The ability to reach far and wide through the Internet enables donations not only from local residents, but also throughout the country and indeed the world. The Humane Society in the United States relies on social networking presence to help fund campaigns, generate information and to build their membership.

Recent studies have shown that nearly 50% of Internet users access one of at least a dozen well-known social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Blogging is also essential in today's Internet-based society, as it offers limitless opportunities for many different types of charitable organizations. Says Alan Rosenblatt, executive director of the Internet Advocacy Center, "Social networking platforms give nonprofits a forum for meeting like-minded organizations and potential supporters, and provide(s) a medium for spreading their message beyond the immediate community."

Some of the most popular social networking websites include but are not limited to:

• Flickr – www.flickr.com
• Care2 – www.care2.com
• Friendster – www.friendster.com
• Linked In – www.linkedin.com
• MySpace – www.myspace.com
• Facebook – www.facebook.com
• Ryze – www.ryze.org

Social networking allows both individuals and groups to connect with each other through blogging, Internet messages, and website discussion and forum boards. One of the best things about such social networking websites is that they are free to join and most receive tens of thousands of visitors a day in both unique and return visitors, allowing charities and organizations to spread their message and disseminate information without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on old-fashioned mail campaigns. When searching for the right network for any organization or charity, intended audience is a general determining factor.

Social networking websites enable charities and organizations to increase visibility and raise both awareness and funding. Consistent blogging, regular updating of websites and information offers nonprofit organizations and charities the ability to connect with one, hundreds, or the hundreds of thousands of people at a time.

Brendan Byrne (www.receptive.com.au) is an internet marketing consultant. Brendan runs workshops on how to manage your online business and effectively market yourself.

Social networking is great for business for many reasons. Until recently, many site owners forgot one of the main rules for selling – People buy from People. In almost every business, it is all about the relationship the customer has with a shop, a sales assistant or a product that makes me want to buy.  The internet and social networks make it easy to find people and information. Understand the relationships and communication patterns and you can experience real world results.

Advantages to Social Networking:

1. Social networks build better customer/company relationships. This comes from the idea that we will listen to a friend-of-a-friend long after we would hang up on a telemarketer. The message still needs to be appropriate, and the tone needs to match the connection.
2. Social networks build a sense of community; Staff morale and camaraderie are valuable commodities; motivated staff may work harder and be more productive. Social networks help bridge any physical gaps between staff in an organisation.
3. Social networks increase opportunities; for example keeping past employees in contact with your business can create new relationships to sell to their new employer.
4. Social networks help to share knowledge; both internal and external information is found more easily with social networks. Finding information, and the people who have it, is one of the primary advantages to social networks.
5. Social networking lowers recruiting costs; Encouraging staff to use their social networks, and link them with your corporate presence can help employee satisfaction levels which in turn may reduce staff turnover, and assist with recruiting.

Considerations before social networking:

1. Social networking is very time intensive: having simple goals and clear boundaries will help to ensure there is value to be gained, with fewer ramifications.
2. Control freaks beware. You will need to carefully consider the current trust levels before giving staff the opportunity to speak on behalf of your company. This may mean a big shift in your corporate culture.
3. Opening the communication within your business may place strains on the usual decision hierarchy within some businesses.

Brendan Byrne (www.receptive.com.au) is an internet marketing consultant. Brendan runs workshops on how to manage your online business and effectively market yourself.
© 2008 Brendan Byrne