Jul

11

Business Blogging - Where do You Stop? (2)

Filed Under Blogging, Not for Profit, Success | 3 Comments

Back in the distant past I wrote a post on Business Blogging - Where do you Stop? and asked the question “Are there industries that should or shouldn’t blog at all?” My point was, does blogging solve a whole lot of problems or potentially create them, so it’s best left alone.

Banking was the industry I picked on as here, in Australia, and I’m assuming in other parts of the world, they have suffered a bad reputation of late.

John, from ThingsThatAreFun.com then commented that Not-for-Profits are an industry that would benefit from having a social commentary such as a blog. It was a ‘blinding flash of the obvious’ and I appreciate John’s time to let me know.

A Not-for-Profit (NFP) is all about building community to ensure they receive the necessary funds for their research and activities. And it’s a highly competitive field. I did some work with the Multiple Sclerosis Society in Perth, Western Australia a couple of years ago and found that is extremely tough to secure funds and there is ‘no rest for the wicked.’

So how, specifically, would blogging help?

Here are six benefits of a blog for NFPs.

  1. The key to communication is it’s timeliness and understanding. To have a tool that alerts constituents what is happening, real time, would be invaluable.
  2. The communication of ideas to the general public who don’t currently support the charity.
  3. Communicating to supporters how each initiative is tracking can achieve a momentum that is lost if the result is only communication after the event is finished.
  4. Building momentum. Having a common portal (the blog) can act as a meeting point for those wishing to know what is going on, build energy and promote events.
  5. The RSS feed is now the easiest way to keep up to date with your chosen charity. You will now, right away, what is happening.
  6. More than a website. A website, by comparison is static and if you visit it, you generally have to find the information. A Blog is the opposite - it pushes information to interested parties which can promote activity, energy and, most importantly grow a list of loyal supporters who will support the charity.

I am sure there are many other reasons that NFPs will benefit from a blog. I’m off to find some examples. Drop me a line if you know of any.