How and Why Rockland County Nonprofits are Tweeting
In this blogpost, Stephanie (aka @RocklandBizBuzz) takes a look at how some Rockland County nonprofits are utilizing Twitter today.
The last two RocklandBizBuzz blogposts examined how a variety of Rockland County area businesses are using Twitter; by design, the posts didn't focus on any one type of business or organization. For this blogpost, I elected to focus specifically on Rockland County area nonprofits who are utilizing Twitter. In general, I have been noticing recently, both here in Rockland and beyond, that an increasing number of nonprofits are now tweeting. So, I conducted interviews with several of our area's nonprofits' representatives who commented on how and why their organizations are using Twitter today here in Rockland County.
Jawonio (aka @Jawonio on Twitter) writes tweets often in an effort to raise community awareness about the services and support Jawonio offers for individuals with disabilities and special needs. Jawonio communications director Diana Hess explains: "As a non-profit, we must approach our outreach efforts in an efficient way. If we tweet about our hearing aid dispensary, our health center and women's gynecology center, [or] our new adult mental health services, you may say, I thought I knew Jawonio, but in that 30 seconds or so it took me to [read that] tweet, I learned something." Ms. Hess also explained that Jawonio not only sees value in being 'followed' on Twitter but also sees great value and possibilities for connections in 'following' others, in that Twitter is a two-way street of sorts: "We think that it's also critical that people who are following us, may look for ways to help us too. I think that 'helping tweets' work both ways and [in] many ways. For instance, Jawonio is following governmental organizations and private organizations that either have research money or grant money available."
Different organizations and agencies are using Twitter in different ways, and not all nonprofits in Rockland are both 'followed' and 'following'. For example, the JCC of Rockland (aka @JCCRockland on Twitter), an organization that offers recreational, physical, educational, social, and cultural programs, currently does not follow others on Twitter but does have followers. This organization currently finds far more value and community presence in Facebook, but also sees the possibilities in educating other organizations on Twitter about what JCC Rockland has to offer. Joshua Krakoff, Chief Operating Officer of JCC Rockland, explains: "Facebook....is a more reliable source for outreach for our organization than Twitter - a lot more of our members use Facebook [and] our community is more likely to be on Facebook than on Twitter. Nonprofits are still figuring out how best to make use of Twitter. We use it largely to publicize big events, but I find that the majority of our members are not on Twitter yet, [so] I think the biggest benefit to us has been in linking us with other organizations doing similar work. Mostly it has provided access to a network of other professional and communal organizations both in Rockland and beyond."
The Palisades Federal Credit Union (aka @Palisades_FCU on Twitter), a not-for-profit credit union serving Rockland County, also acknowledges that their audience may be more likely to be on Facebook than on Twitter at this time, but "it [Twitter] seems to be gaining momentum everyday", according to Michelle Hopkins, PFCU Marketing Manager. Palisades Federal Credit Union has recently been very active on Twitter, especially when promoting a low-priced gas promotion at a local gas station in Rockland, but the organization's tweets are not limited to promotions. Ms. Hopkins explains: "It [Twitter] is a great way to communicate directly with our current members, other organizations and potential members for free....We want to be current. We want to be where our members are and be relevant to others. We hope to get more exposure to the community but we also want a direct line of communication to our members and vice versa."
It will be interesting to see, three months from now, six months from now, a year from now, etc., how the level of engagement changes in Rockland County with regard to social media such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and others, and if and when only one social media service will emerge as the favorite, or will instead enjoy sharing the spotlight together.
Posted by Stephanie on October 22, 2009 at 1:22pm ET
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