What Social Media is Really About

At a meeting a few days ago, a Marketing VP said to me: "I want this to go viral as soon as possible. Is there a way to email this to everyone in Boston?"

Marketing Directors-- the great ones I've worked with-- have one thing in common. They're optimistic. They're enthusiastically optimistic. They're believers even when no one else is.

They’re great are what they do because they’re optimistic even though they know that at best, only one in ten people gives a damn about their organization's mission. And for them, it's all about making sure that one person in ten is exposed to their message.

When I think your idea is bad, my face shows it. And this marketing VP saw that, way before I could come up with a response. So she explained, "everyone in Boston should care about this," which made our conversation a whole lot worse.

If Web 2.0 has taught us anything, it's that we are deeply social.  We are voyeuristic and narcissistic. We want to watch and be watched, love and be loved—in our own way. And interactions in which that cycle is incomplete are unfulfilling.

The hurdle that nonprofits seem to stumble over is that real connections, which are essential for attracting the involvement of young people, are difficult to create in the sterile, one-size-fits all paradigm of website marketing.

Social media is about personal connections, even when it's not. I don't know you, but when you tweet about how much you love real mayonnaise or about how your morning commute looks very 'Soviet,' I feel like we're a little bit the same.

People want to know who you are, and that doesn't mean your resume.  Their interaction with your organization will be through you or your staff, whether they're writing a check, volunteering, or requesting services. So are you worth working with? Do you connect? Are you real?

No one is generic, and no one likes being treated generically. When you produce content for a general audience that is broadcast via a person-to-person network of social media, the vast majority of people are turned off—including the people who could really love your mission. 

Like the marketing director who wants to email everyone with an address, I think nonprofits are still very afraid of missing out on identifying those few who will care about them.  And social media is one medium that will work amazingly well-- if you’re willing to accept that casting a wide net is exactly what you don't want to do.