Social media as the new can't-be-without-it for non-profits

By now, whether you have your own blog or not, you probably have heard about all the "make millions of dollars blogging" get rich quick hype. But many have likely forgotten how, in its infancy, the Internet had people believing that this virtual "world" might be more altruistic, and would be a place to share, communicate and view the world without all the marketing hype.

Much like a child that loses their innocence as they grow older, the Internet has become more focused on profits as it has matured. Yet there is still a way in which you can provide some positive karma in a virtual world that has become very capitalistic-centric.

SocialVibe.com, now in Beta testing, has developed a site in which you can advertise (they call it sponsor) your favorite charities and "feel-good" non-profits and earn fun prizes at the same time. Essentially you sign up with the site, choose your favorite charity or feel-good organization, then copy and paste the code into your blog or website to display sponsorship ads letting your readers know of these organizations. When your readers click on the ad you earn points toward "perks" like products and downloads.

There is no question that non-profits have the most to gain from social media developments. In the virtual world of Second Life, the non-profit Relay for Life has earned millions (yes, literally millions) through hosted events, signs, banners and other efforts. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons this organization has done so well is that it essentially has a monopoly on the non-profit "please help us out" market there. Today, you can't move an inch in this virtual world without coming across some type of advertising for a Relay for Life event or sponsorship ad.

The effort of SocialVibe will be one with far more competition than that of Relay For Life in the Second Life context, but it is one that could prove quite effective. There is no question that organizations, especially the media industries, are having a tough time monetizing their web content, but when non-profits can reach billions of individuals in a day, asking for just a few cents appears to have more appeal to users than listening to a five minute sales pitch for laundry detergent.

One great example of this type of success is the recent Obama campaign. During the election campaign Obama's team capitalized on small campaign contributions from millions. And while these small monetary contributions didn't add up to billions, they are still pennies, and nickels and dimes, that add up in the end.

But the most significant element of Obama's success was not the money that was raised - compared to high-profile giving, these contributions were still chump-change. No, the significance was in the "feel-good" that contributers received knowing that they were "part" of the process. Many of these givers had never contributed to a political campaign before, but were compelled in this case because the Obama campaign made it not only easy, but a great thing to do! It also helped that most small contributions included a button, sticker, or other small memorabilia that made contributors feel they were getting something too.

So this new social media effort by SocialVibe has the potential to reach a very willing and eager group - those who want to feel good about contributing, participating, and being a "part" of something important, but can't contribute much. By offering them a chance to contribute by doing nothing more than just posting a small sponsorship ad on their blog or website, this site is providing users with an easy way to feel good about what they do online, and a simple way for non-profits to get the word out for little cash up-front.