Community sites like Kiva have begun to pave the way for those in poverty to receive help from the online world. Now, users can log on and provide micro-loans to those in need around the world. The idea is simple, but could not be organized without the web and social media.

Kiva, and projects like it, succeed for a variety of reasons. Here’s how social media best practices ensure the success of charitable giving.

1. They include personality. When the person with the need is introduced, so are details of what makes them unique. This plays on the mentality that users are helping someone they “know,” as opposed to donating blindly.
2. They tell a story in their description. Why does this person need help? What got them to the position they’re in now? Adding these details creates an impact on users, providing them with something to relate to and understand.
3. They use photos. It’s common to hear the term “There are children starving, so finish your dinner,” in the United States; it’s not common to SEE a starving child. This image speaks volumes beyond what any description, cliche, or story could possible communicate.
4. Easy, 24 hour accessibility. This provides a greater audience. If users have donations to give, they’re probably not doing so while at work. Putting the opportunity online transcends physical boundaries and time restrictions.
5. Team participation. By allowing users to step into teams, they encourage each other in their participation. It also provides an opportunity for exposure for the user (”I’m a good person, look what I did!”) They types of teams take the giving to another level; religious, commonality, or otherwise,
6. Case studies. The stories are logged via blogs/journals. Once the giving is complete, the story continues! Case studies reveal the consequences of the donation, encouraging ongoing donations!
7. Users can makes recommendations. This engages users and encourages them to talk to others about what they’re doing. It’s the crowdsourcing of advertising!
8. They offer embeddable media. Oh, look, a badge that touts how wonderful the user is for donating! They can’t wait to post it to their blog, their profiles, their websites… SEO VALUE!
9. They make it easy to email friends. No logging in necessary–do it right from the site. This keeps traffic centrally located, users can talk to their friends, and it draws new traffic in.
10. They offer live participation and community. At any given point, users can communicate with each other in real time. Users can ask questions, share stories, and grow within the community!

Learn more about Blog Action Day here.

Tags: best practice, business, How to, Kiva, non profit, NPO, Social Media

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 at 2:22 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.