In the latter years of my publishing career, I was responsible for technology/media products. The publisher I worked for was never first with their technology products. Their products were never the market leader.
But We're Better!
The products we produced were (in our opinion) better than our competitors. Our development teams spent more time adding functionality, testing, and providing more stable technology. Did that matter? Not as much as we thought it would.
People are creatures of habit. When they find something that's interesting and interactive - and they get used to it, they don't like to change. Even if you create something that gives them everything they ask for, the very "newness" of it will be perceived (by most people) as hard work. They have to invest time in something new - and they might not like it better. So why leave something they enjoy and are comfortable with?
Web 2.0, Charities & Fundraising
We see many white papers, consultants and experts telling us that social networking and to a lesser degree, email direct response are not providing great fundraising results for most organizations. If we measure these things strictly by immediate donations made from specific solicitations, this is true. However, is that how we should measure these initiatives?
How long did it take to build a high performing direct mail list or build a major gifts and/or planned giving program from nothing? In most cases many years. Perhaps because of the nature of the internet, we expect the returns to be as immediate as a google search? But that's foolish. The reality is - with any technology you need to cultivate your audience and it will be much easier to do that if you're speaking to that audience before someone else is.
Be First. Become the Best!
It is absolutely critical that organizations spend time planning a marketing and communications strategy that is effective and incorporates online/media initatives into an integrated approach and uses best practices. However... don't seek perfection and don't delay using communication tools while you wait for perfection. In fact, your strategy and plan will probably be better after you've spent a little time trying new things.
If you wait for someone else to show you the way, chances are your audience will already be listening to and engaging with the people who were first. You will have a very difficult time redirecting those individuals to your organization - regardless of how great and impactful your strategy, site, tools etc. are. It's ok to be imperfect as long as you're flexible enough to try new and different things and to pay attention to what people want and what they respond to.
Yes You Can!
If you're the first to lead a horse to water, he's far more likely to drink than if you're the 2nd, 3rd, or 1000th, person to lead the horse to water. Internet and technology audiences are changing at a remarkable rate. As the fine folks at The Agitator noted recently, the number of USA Facebook users over 35 has doubled in the last 60 days (at the time of their post). Sixty days! Imagine a demographic doubling in 2 months? Seems fast right? Well it is and it isn't. The change happened quickly, but Facebook has been around for a long, time.
How likely do you think these new users will be to join a new and different site that does what Facebook does, but better? My experience, says that winning individuals over from a 'competitor' will be a hardfought battle and will require your offering to be absolutely extraordinary and for the incumbent to be performing very badly or to have become so stale that it's just no fun at all.
Facebook is a much different place than it was 1 or 2 years ago. They've taken the time to build an audience. They've cultivated and stewarded their audience. They've engaged people and over time created a place that is now attracting new audiences. That demographic shift occured over 2 months, but it took years to build and cultivate.
Build It & They Will Come
So while you may not see direct and immediate revenue results from your online efforts, don't give up. Don't wait for someone else to show you how to do it right. Start today, make a plan and revisit that plan based on realistic goals and best practices - and understand that you will need to redefine as you go.
Experiment, explore, experience and engage with people. Eventually, you will build an audience and be successful. If you're talking to people first - chances are they'll ignore other people who try to talk to them later.
If you think you're constituents aren't online yet - now is exactly the time to start talking to them, because they will be online eventually. Be first and you'll be waiting for them when they arrive! And is it possible that there are people that could be your constituents that you haven't reached because you weren't talking to them to begin with?
Being first is never easy and sometimes it fails... but if you're flexible, strategic and willing to learn from those 'failures', you'll figure it out and you will ultimately find the voice that people want to hear and will respond to.
Leap & The Net Will Appear!
It's far easier to become the best, if you're willing to risk being first.
Many consultants & experts will tell you not to invest too much time in these low ROI activities - and with limited resources, you do have to be cautious. But you also have to look to the future. How will your future resources be impacted if you aren't there when your constituents show up? And they will show up - and if you're not there, someone else will be.
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