Recent reports from Colorado indicate that the sale of license plates does not provide any non profit group with the ideal way to raise money. Reliance on such plates shows a failure to recognize the PR potential in Twitter.
Readers of Twitter expect to find quotes; those are often posted on this social networking site. A non profit group might have a quote that has helped to motivate its drive toward a certain goal. Twitter gives that nonprofit group a platform from which to broadcast that quote. The posting of such a quote could help increase the size of the organization’s membership.
A number of people blog about different causes. Each nonprofit agency should pay attention to what is on the different blogs. If there is something on one blog that a specific nonprofit group feels to be important, then that group might want to take advantage of the availability of Twitter.
Twitter is also the ideal place to post notice of a new law. A nonprofit group that has chosen to focus on the environment would want to put on Twitter any information about new environmental laws. A group that espoused smokers’ rights would want to put on Twitter any information about new non-smoking ordinances.
A number of nonprofit organizations seek to help any patient that suffers from a particular health condition. Such organizations could draw attention to their cause by posting research advances on Twitter. A Twitter posting could also be used to announce the release of a new drug, a new diagnostic test or some other new health aid.
Twitter can help to publicize any “special day.” The American Lung Association could have used Twitter back in the late 1980s, when it scheduled a “Non Dependence Day”for a July 5th, the day after Independence Day. Announcement of that Day was meant to encourage a non dependence on cigarettes.
The American Lung Association put out a press release, but it was not widely distributed. One PR rep in California read about that release. She did a lot of “sleuthing” before learning from a local pharmacist how to get a hold of that release. She did get one article about the Non Dependence Day in the local paper.
If the American Lung Association had used Twitter maybe that one PR rep would have had better access to the information she needed.
