Why Facebook isn’t working for you

Many (I’d say most) nonprofits that are working to engage with donors on Facebook wonder if it’s worth the trouble.

I don’t know the answer to that. I can imagine a Facebook presence that deepens connections with large numbers of donors, leading to better fundraising. But I have a feeling that part of what would make this happen is outside of Facebook.

That’s what John Haydon says at Ten Reasons Your Nonprofit Should NOT Be on Facebook:

1. Your website sucks
   
2. You don’t have a blog
   
3. You post stuff that nobody wants to see
   
4. You don’t capture people’s email addresses
   
5. You don’t have something concrete to offer
   
6. Your contact management system is broken
   
7. Your customer service sends the wrong message
   
8. You don’t want to devote enough time
   
9. You don’t want to spend any money
   
10. You don’t have a communications strategy
    

I’d add one more: The message s in your offline media don’t mesh with your Facebook and other online media.

That’s a lot of reasons. But each one may be critical. Your donors don’t live in single-medium silos. You could build a great experience built on Facebook, but if your website isn’t all there, Facebook is just a door to nowhere.