NFPs embracing social media- good call/bad call?

I'm currently working on another assignment regarding issues that can arise when branding not-for-profit organisations as opposed to for-profit organisations. A comment that keeps coming up from the online discussion regarding this topic is the issue of marketing campaigns; these organisations have to walk a very fine line between using advertising to promote their causes, but not spending so much on marketing that people stop donating because they feel that's the only place their money is going, rather than to the actual cause (World Vision has been brought up a number of times here!)

It got me thinking that social media sites, if used and managed correctly, could be so incredibly important to NFPs. They're free to use, often easy to set up and give NFPs the chance to highlight their causes (in a market sector that is becoming increasingly competitive) without needing to spend huge amounts of money to do so.

The Australian Red Cross has a fantastic, interactive facebook page that is truly inspiring. They keep fans up to date with campaigns they are running, volunteer drives they are conducting and events that are happening around the world that are related to their core purpose and values. Naturally it also includes links on how to donate too.

What do you all think about NFPs using social media? Do you think its a good idea? Or do you think that many of the problems of social media that we have discussed throughout the semester could apply to NFPs if the SM platforms used are not managed correctly?

Tacky Tweet

Given the recent 10 year anniversary of 9/11, it is not surprising that many celebrities took to their respective social media platforms to send out messages of thoughts, prayers and love to honour all those that lost their lives in those horrific terrorist attacks. However one celebrity tweet that I thought lacked taste and sincerity was made by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. She tweeted the following:

 

At first I didn't think much of this when I saw it. However I then remembered that Kylie released a song called 'All The Lovers' last year and I then questioned the point of this tweet. It seemed to me to simply be a means to mention her song rather than using the tweet as an opportunity to express her genuine thoughts and emotions regarding a very somber event. 

Perhaps I'm being overly sensitive. But given the scale of tragedy of 9/11, is it really appropriate for an artist to integrate the name of one of their songs-particularly a name that doesn't really articulate the mood or nature of the occasion in any real way- into a social media message? I realise this is not a new song and she was essentially sending out 'love' to all those affected, but it just still seems a little tacky to me. What do others think?

Could you resist the Absolut Temptation?

I just wanted to share with you all this fantastic guerrilla marketing campaign that Sweden's Absolut Vodka ran at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam in early 2005. It is clever, cheeky, and very in-line with the company's quirky, 'think-outside-the-box' marketing techniques. It also would have been very inexpensive. This brand certainly likes to get people talking, and I love the simplicity of the idea.

People have to wait around to collect their luggage at airports, and everyone has their eyes trained to the conveyor belt to ensure they don't miss their bags sailing past. Absolut therefore would have everybody's undivided attention- a very difficult thing for marketers to obtain these days! Plus there is an interesting undercurrent running through this ad- the people who are intrigued by the bottle of vodka going past are forced to question whether they should take the lonesome bottle out of the battered box. You can almost see them questioning whether it would be wrong to take it. By teasing all the people watching the bottle of vodka go past, Absolut is no doubt leaving a strong impression in many of their minds that would be hard to shake...they may well go home, regret not grabbing the bottle and go out and buy one instead!

What do you think about this stunt? Worthwhile? Do you think many of the people at the airport realised it was a stunt? And does it matter if they did or not?