Twitter vs. Facebook: To Tweet or Not to Tweet?

To Tweet or not to Tweet? Is that really the question? With this week being Social Media Week, the answer is definitely “to tweet!”

If you’re new to the social media scene, you may be wondering what the differences are between Twitter and Facebook. You also may think that using Twitter is just another thing to do on your long task list. Most importantly, will using this site really benefit your nonprofit?

Here is a simple breakdown of the differences between Facebook and Twitter: first of all, I think that depth of communication is one of the main qualities that separate these two applications. If Facebook and Twitter went on a date then Facebook would be the woman sharing family photos, what she did that day and using a ton of words to communicate her thoughts. Twitter as they guy would respond in shorthand-type statements, stick to bare facts and hang out with guys with similar interests.

Secondly, Facebook has “friends” that follow you via invitation; you must approve them or they won’t be able to see your posts, pictures or make comments. Twitter allows anyone to join your group of followers and lets them comment on your Tweets unless you specifically block that individual.

Finally, Facebook is a more personal approach with its unlimited word count verses Twitter’s 140 character limit. However, Twitter’s advantage is that you don’t have to sort through extensive paragraphs to find the point of the message. Facebook is great for building relationships and Twitter is perfect for business goals such as gathering concise opinions or commenting on conferences or events.

Which one is right for your nonprofit? I’d have to say both. Different methods attract different donors, so it would be an asset to implement both social media sites into your development strategies. Facebook allows supporters to really get a sense of your organization through pictures, updates and links. Twitter could be used as a reminder when you have a new blog post, if there is a website you want to share or to give updates on a campaign.

The most important strategy for fundraising is to build relationships and meet your donors where they’re at. Twitter has over 300 million users and 1.6 billion search queries each day. Facebook boasts of having more than 845 million users and more than half of those people log on each day. Since these applications are free, it would be a shame to miss out on connecting with all of these current or potential supporters!

To continue the theme of Social Media Week, tomorrow’s topic will help give you practical tips on how to incorporate social media into your fundraising strategy.

In this series:

Happy Social Media Week – http://bit.ly/yKlkNr

Woman Uses Fundly and Facebook to Help Fulfill Stranger’s Last Wish – http://bit.ly/wluGiv

Twitter vs. Facebook: To Tweet or Not to Tweet – http://bit.ly/ADdqwn

Implementing an Online Fundraising Plan for Beginners – http://bit.ly/x5BymH

Starting Your Own Blog – http://bit.ly/yxR2kG