The last three months have been exciting and daunting at the same time as I have tried to enter the twitterverse with our cause OperationSAFE.  Most non-profits (certainly us) are not well-known or well-funded and don’t have a lot of time or resources to throw at online social media, and yet the potential for social media to help raise awareness and garner support is too appealing not to get involved.  So many smaller causes are jumping in and this is where you can be a very real help!  Here are three ways that you can help a favorite cause get started.

1.  Help Them Get Up To Speed

There is a learning curve involved in using social media.  One of the most important things is to understand where they are, what is acceptable and what is annoying.  Like anything social, causes need to understand the culture to really make an impact.

I look at Facebook as being like a large party, where some kids are playing games, a group of guys is chatting about sports and movies, some women are passing around some photo albums and you can kind of drift over to whatever group you want and join in for a while.  Twitter on the other hand seemed more like a large convention where everyone is wandering around exchanging business cards and looking at what people have on display. So I came to Twitter wearing my business suit and tweeted away about our program and the difference that we are making for children.

Then one day Susan @BuzzEdition pulled me aside (that is what DM’s are for) and helpfully told me that I was doing it wrong.  She told me to stop talking at people and start talking with them. (Thank you Susan!)  You see, just like at a convention, the true value of Twitter is not in getting as many business cards as possible, or even getting them to take our literature.  The real value is to join the conversation.  As people interact with you as a real person they will catch some of your passion.  I am sure that I have many lessons left to learn but since we don’t have a budget to hire a consultant or even someone to be our social media person, I am very grateful to those who have been donating some of their expertise to the cause.  It could be as easy as suggesting to your favorite cause that they keep their posts at 120 characters so that you can RT them easier.

2.  Lend Them Some of Your Clout

I don’t know who said it first, but in Twitter “love” is spelled “RT”.  The RT is changing but it still means that you think highly enough of the message to add your support to it.  It is very encouraging when someone RT’s one of our messages and a stream of RT’s come in from that person’s followers.  What is intriguing though is that it is not necessarily just those with followers in the tens or hundred’s of thousands who have the highest rate of RT’ers.  Even someone with only a handful of followers has a measure of clout within that circle.

This is true in real life as well.  While it can be a great boost to have a celebrity mention the cause, real support in the form of dollars contributed and hours volunteered usually comes from regular folks.  It is their passion and commitment that are the backbone of any cause.  So even if you are very small in comparison with others, your RT is incredibly valuable for your cause because it speaks of your passion.

3.  Set a Personal Example

While activism and raising awareness are important the true goal of any cause is to make a real difference, which almost always translates into dollars given and hours volunteered.  Never underestimate the power of personal example.  I have made a habit in my life to always put things into practice in my life before I try to preach it to someone else.  One of the powerful things about a quote is that not only is it true, but it is also affirmed by the life of the person who said it.  So when we read the quote, “Never give up” the fact that it was spoken by Winston Churchill is just as much part of the message as the actual words.

Make it your habit to set a personal example of giving and volunteering to any cause that you trumpet online.  Volunteer a few hours of your time and then blog about the experience.  Give a few dollars and then challenge your followers to match your gift.  If you make a personal investment, not only will it help your cause but it will also be proof of your passion to those you are influencing online.