The most common statement coming from Nonprofit organisations is ”I need a blog because so and so has a blog” or “we need a Facebook page because 400 million people are on it”.
Both are correct, just there is one thing to consider. Your resources. In your Social media strategy you must have time to post 4-5 Facebook updates or at least a blog every 2 weeks at least to be current and responsive. The organisations goals will best determine which channel or combination of channels best suit your organisation.
There is a great infographic going around called ‘Facebook or blog’. My only concern is that the closing statement “You get what you want… NOT what Mark Zuckerberg wants!!” may be a bit biased and it sums up the whole premise of the article. Besides that, it’s a great resource in favour of a blog.
Hopefully at the conclusion of this article you can make your own decision.
Storytelling
If your audience is upper level decision makers, a blog would benefit your cause. You are giving readers information and knowledge and thus telling a story of your organisation’s cause.
Story telling is the key to a great campaign. A reader can become more emotionally attached to your cause via a blog and can link to your website to gain more knowledge and hopefully make a donation. In terms of search Engine Optimisation (SEO) the more content that is indexed the more likely people will find you.
Becoming a friend on Facebook can boost the cause through making ‘friends’ and some nonprofits have 100,000 plus friends. The only downside to that is that people who are on Facebook tend to stay on Facebook and are less likely to leave it to view a blog or website. That is, unless you have crafted your post with captivating text or have attached a video.
Become a thought leader
You can be seen as a Nonprofit thought-leader with your blogs by producing meaningful relevant content. Cause campaigns can be released via a blog and its progress can be read in subsequent posts. Facebook is a great way to create a stir prior to a marketing campaign.
Feedback from readers is very important. Both have an option for reader comment. On Facebook you may receive a ‘Like’ or a short post response while a Blog can take the form of useful feedback in text form at any length. This can start a conversation with the organisation, which hopefully will lead them to your site for conversion.
Social Reach
That brings me to visibility. Blog posts can be seen be everyone and are search engine friendly, RSS feeds and of course, site visitors. Facebook posts are not that search engine friendly and only your fans can view them. Facebook has an algorithm that determines what is posted in your feed. What this means is Facebook determines what you see and this means you may miss a potential advocate and in turn a prospect may miss your post.
Branding your Facebook page is pretty limited. Don’t me get me wrong some brands have created stunning Facebook Fan Pages. While a blog, on the other hand, is owned and created by you which means it is very supportive of your brand and the skies the limit regarding branding your blog elements.
In terms of content, Facebook posts are immediate because of the posts size. Facebook posts can run the gamut of events, “what I am doing now” or “this is what I have seen” to begin engagement. Blog articles may take time to research and edit but they are more easily shared and rank higher on Google and other search engines.
Drive More Traffic
In conclusion, it comes down to which will drive more traffic to your site for conversion? And what resources you have that can create and monitor. The ultimate would be to have both as a communications/marketing strategy. If it came down to only one I would chose a blog. It is where most of your content lives. Facebook is more of a driver and a distributer of this content. I’m a big fan of story telling and Nonprofits of any size have many stories to tell.