What a silly question! Of course social media works! So does sponsorship marketing, radio, outdoor, newspaper, TV, and so on. But your expectations need to be realistic. Reality check: You need to know what you are trying to achieve. Then determine the channel or channels that will best lead you to achieve that goal.

We have always said to our brand clients who buy sponsorships: Sponsorship is not a stand-alone medium. It needs to be integrated with your other marketing and communications plans and programs—social, digital, traditional, PR, GR, IR, etc. It goes the same for other media. Radio works well with a mix of print and social media. TV works well with the support of outdoor, etc. So why have non-profits thought that social media was their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

As I researched this TMC, I found a terrific article from a terrific site that I go to often – Nonprofit Tech for Good. It is a fundraising and social media blog for non-profits. Back in September, they posted a fantastic article entitled “12 Not So Great Realities about Nonprofits and Social Media.”  I encourage you to visit their site in general, but also for the full article. In the meantime, I have selected my favorite 6 of the 12. Here they are.

For more than a decade the blogosphere has touted the power and promise of social media but there is also a downside to using social media for your nonprofit. Granted, the positives do outweigh the negatives, but it is important to step back occasionally and take a critical look at how social media is impacting nonprofit technology at your organization as well as your digital staff. Beyond the power and promise, nonprofit technology needs to produce results that can be quantified and that’s becoming harder to do in respect to social media.

1.  Nonprofits have spent years promoting Facebook and get rewarded with a 3% organic reach. 

Millions of nonprofits worldwide have been asking supporters and donors to “Follow Us on Facebook!” or “Like Our Facebook Page!” for nearly a decade. Our reward? An approximate 3% organic reach. Facebook’s organic reach is equivalent to sending 100 donors a fundraising email and having 97 of them classified spam and consequently blocked. That’s a wasted use of time

5.  The Next Big Thing in social media has no tangible ROI.

Snapchat is the Next Big Thing of 2016 and though it’s all the rage in the social media blogosphere, there’s absolutely no tangible ROI in using it. You can’t link to your nonprofit’s website or accept donations through the app. Your Snapchat friends can’t even view your past snaps unless they have saved them as Memories (and why would they do that?!). Yes, Snapchat is good for branding among 18-30 years olds if your Snapchat Stories are awesome, but if they aren’t, Snapchat could actually be hurting your brand.

6. The last Next Big Thing still has no tangible ROI.

Instagram was the Next Big Thing in 2015 and tangible ROI still remains illusive despite the fact that four in ten nonprofits worldwide now use Instagram. Your nonprofit will get more likes and comments on Instagram than any other social network and if engagement simply for the sake of engagement on social media is a priority for your nonprofit, then Instagram is useful. But ROI is minimal in the traditional sense. Only .003% of referral traffic to Nonprofit Tech for Good comes from Instagram which means very, very few (if any) of our Instagram followers have registered for a free webinar or downloaded our Global NGO Online Technology Report. 

7. You are not a videographer or broadcast reporter, but to be good at the Next Big Things you have to be.

Current trends in social media – Facebook Live, Periscope, Snapchat, Instagram Stories – require that your social media manager be effective behind and in front of the camera. Without training, that’s no easy feat. Live reporting requires an advanced skill set, lots of practice, and plenty of free time to experiment, fail, and succeed. Most nonprofit social media managers can barely keep up with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, so early adoption of the Next Big Things is becomingly increasing difficult.

9. Social media often distracts nonprofits from other more important, more ROI-producing online tools.

Countless nonprofits have gotten so caught up in the buzz and potential of social media that they have neglected other, more ROI-producing tools, such as email and crowdfunding. It’s a very common mistake that nonprofits – especially small nonprofits – need to rectify immediately. If your nonprofit only has 5,o00 fans on Facebook and you are posting everyday, yet your nonprofit only manages to send an email to supporters and donors once a month, then your organization needs to seriously rearrange your online priorities.

12. Going viral only exists for the .0000001%.

The Ice Bucket Challenge. We are all very happy for the success that the ALS Association achieved, but that success can not be duplicated. It came down to someone having a good idea at the exact right time and being able to communicate that idea effectively online. Someone else in the future will also have a good idea at the exact right time and communicate it effectively online and experience virality, but that will only happen to .0000001% of us. So, for the rest of us nonprofit social media professionals, just keep on keepin’ on and do your best. The world thanks you and social media needs you.

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