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Offer incentives
One of the unique aspects of social-mobilization technology is that it allows supporters to view each others’ actions. This often creates a sense of friendly competition among supporters who keep track of one another — similar to other social-networking sites. This is valuable because it ultimately creates a sense of community within supporter bases and instills a sense of pride and camaraderie. It’s important that organizations use this opportunity to provide incentives to their supporters whose actions stand out. Not only does this make volunteering and donating fun, it recognizes individuals for their support while perpetuating competition amongst the group — driving others to donate more time and money.
Utilize system features
When using a social-mobilization platform, it is important not to rely solely on the system or the supporters to do all the work. This type of technology is usually equipped with a number of tracking and analytical tools that enable organizations to monitor where supporters are being recruited, the growth of supporter bases over time, actions that supporters are completing, and results of actions both online and offline — all in real time. Organizations can utilize customizable templates for newsletters that can be sent to supporters and also can see who is actually reading them. In order to effectively manage fundraising initiatives and activities, organizations must use all of the features that come with their social-mobilization platform.
Know how to process and use information
Although social-mobilization technology presents a variety of practical information that enables organizations to continually build and manage supporter bases, it is ultimately up to the organization that uses the platform to effectively process and leverage the information provided by the system.
For example, by focusing volunteer opportunities toward those who have a track record of donating their time, organizations increase their odds of filling all volunteer slots. Or by soliciting donations among those whose actions show that they have contributed significant sums of money, organizations are more likely to receive monetary donations in lieu of volunteer time. Likewise, choosing to host events in cities that are shown to contain the most supporters most likely will yield a healthy turnout as opposed to choosing a site that is less populated.
Although social-mobilization technology provides many intrinsic advantages over more traditional methodologies, it is ultimately up to the user to process and use the information provided by the system to efficiently conduct and manage a campaign.
As news of social-mobilization technology spreads amongst cause-driven organizations, increasing numbers of organizations are choosing to leverage platforms that enable them to reach supporters quickly, virally and on a massive scale.
Caleb Clark is the CEO of Atlanta-based social-mobilization software provider WeTheCitizens.
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